Series Preview: SF Giants @ Angels - details and 3 players to watch

The SF Giants hit LA for an interleague matchup against future Giants legend Shohei Ohtani, who leads an Angels team ready to break out.

The SF Giants are streaky. There's just no other way to put it. They're capable of winning 10 in a row, and they're also capable of dropping 8 in a row, as their current road streak stands. There's enough reason to believe that the Giants are legitimately a solid team that deserves a playoff spot in some form, but they play with the wild variance of a .500 team stuck in the mud.

What's odd is that said streakiness isn't just an artifact of whether or not they run into a tough stretch on the schedule. On the year, the Giants are 1-5 against the last-place Nationals, just dropped two games to the 32-80 A's, and have lost series to the Cubs, Royals, and Tigers. It's not like the Giants haven't beaten up on teams like the Rockies and the Cardinals. It's just that their hottest stretches have come against teams like the Dodgers, Astros, and Brewers. Determining how San Francisco will play on any particular afternoon is simply maddening.

Which brings us to the Angels, one of a few teams to have struggled fiercely since the trade deadline a week ago. In fact, they haven't won a single game since then, going 0-6 on the month heading into this series. For a team that's gone all-in on making the most of having Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout on the same team, an early August skid is bad news. Maybe in some darkly humorous way, this series will be a litmus test for who the Angels really are. Take the series against San Francisco, be doomed to finish under .500, go 0-9 out of the break, be sure to make the playoffs. It's like inclement weather on the day of a civil union.

Players to Watch

1. P/DH Shohei Ohtani

2023 stats: .306 AVG, 40 HR, 124.2 IP, 3.32 ERA, 8.4 WAR

LA Angels designated hitter Shohei Ohtani (17) celebrates in the dugout after hitting a home run against the Milwaukee Brewers (2023) / Michael McLoone-USA TODAY Sports

Let's start with the obvious choice; every San Francisco Giants fan tuning into this series is doing so to watch Shohei Ohtani. No disrespect to Mike Trout, who's been perhaps the best player over the past decade, but what Ohtani's doing in 2023 is simply unbelievable. He's outpitching Logan Webb, and outslugging Ronald Acuña Jr. Ohtani's averaging a home run every 10.4 at-bats, and he's doing so with a better OBP than LaMonte Wade Jr. Given that he's going to be a free agent after this season, every single team is going to be in on Ohtani as the next face of their franchise. You'd better believe the Giants will be sizing him throughout the series, including during his scheduled Wednesday start.

2. 1B Wilmer Flores

2023 stats: .303 AVG, 14 HR, .894 OPS, 35 RBI

Don't look now, but Wilmer Flores is the hottest thing since sliced bread. To be more specific, he's the hottest hitter in the league over the last 30 days besides Freddie Freeman, Matt Olson, and (you guessed it) Ohtani. In that span, Flores leads the next-best Giant in OPS by over .400 points. The offense in July and early August has been, with almost no hyperbole, Wilmer Flores and nothing else.

3. 2B Thairo Estrada

2023 stats: .272 AVG, 9 HR, .757 OPS, 18 SB

SF Giants second baseman Thairo Estrada (39) hits a single against the Oakland Athletics (2023) / Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports

Perhaps the reason why the offense has been so dull is that Thairo Estrada hasn't been there to spark it. With a team-leading 18 steals (no one else has more than 4), Estrada's been dynamite on the basepaths with a solid approach at the plate to back it up. Not bad for a young middle infielder that many wanted to trade instead of Mauricio Dubon. Estrada looks fully back from the hand fracture that sent him to the IL in early July, scoring the Giants' only run on Saturday with his baserunning and surprising the A's with an RBI bunt single on Sunday. Estrada will be the X-factor for an offense that's put up league-worst totals in runs/game, batting average, and OPS since the beginning of July.

Series Details

Who: SF Giants at Los Angeles Angels
Where: Angel Stadium, Anaheim, California
When: August 7-9, Mon/Tues/Wed (6:38 PM start for all). All times Pacific.

Giants' current streak: L2, 6-4 in last 10. 61-51 overall, 2nd place in NL West (4.0 GB)

Angels' current streak: L6, 2-8 in last 10. 56-57 overall, 4th place in AL West (10.5 GB)

Projected starters

Monday: Logan Webb (9-9, 3.45 ERA) vs. Patrick Sandoval* (6-8, 3.93 ERA)

Tuesday: TBD vs. Lucas Giolito (6-8, 4.36 ERA)

Wednesday: TBD vs. Shohei Ohtani (9-5, 3.32 ERA)

*Indicates LHP

**Indicates opener

How to watch, listen

• SF Giants broadcast: NBC Sports Bay Area, KNBR 680/1510 AM
• Opposing broadcast: Bally Sports West, KLAA 830/1330 AM
• National broadcasts: -
• Live stream: fuboTV (start your free trial)