Jeff Samardzija (10-8, 4.23 ERA) and Jameson Taillon (3-2, 2.85 ERA) take the hill in the second of a three-game series between the San Francisco Giants (66-52) and the Pittsburgh Pirates (60-56) at AT&T Park. The Pirates won the last game 8-5, and Pittsburgh leads the series 1-0. Action begins at 10:15 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Aug. 16 and can be seen on CSBA and RTPT.
Samardzija pitched 5.2 innings in his most recent start, surrendering zero runs, striking out three and walking three in a 1-0 win over the Marlins. Brandon Belt (.282, 58 Rs, 14 HRs, 61 RBIs) had another good game yesterday, going 3 for 5 with one run. Taillon went 8.0 innings, surrendering zero runs, striking out four and walking two in a 4-0 win over the Padres in his last outing. Gregory Polanco (.277, 61 Rs, 17 HRs, 65 RBIs, 11 SBs) has been successful at the plate for the Pirates, going 2 for 4 yesterday with one run, one home run, and four RBIs.
Notes
The Giants managed to give up five walks in their last game. They’ll have to pick it up against the Pirates who are coming in with a 20-13 record against opponents who give up that many walks or more.
It looks like the Pirates have a slight leg up on the Giants, as the Pirates have won their last two games while the Giants have lost their last two.
When they outhit their opponents, the Giants are 47-12. The Pirates have a 39-9 record when outhitting opponents.
Ranking 16th in runs, San Francisco has earned 525 this season. Pittsburgh ranks 13th with 531 runs.
Ranking 18th, San Francisco is in the bottom half of the league for its on-base plus slugging percentage (.733). Pittsburgh ranks in the top half with an OPS of .737.
The Pirates are 32-43 when they allow at least one home run. The Giants perform similarly when they allow one or more homers with a 29-41 record.
