Series Preview: SF Giants vs. Marlins - players to watch, game notes, and series details
The Miami Marlins hold a special place in my heart. Not because I particularly adore them, no - the 2003 NLDS dispels that notion - but because weirdly notable things tend to happen when they face the Giants. Hunter Strickland broke his hand because he blew a save and got upstaged by Lewis Brinson. Scott Cousins dove into Buster Posey's legs and changed the course of baseball forever. Marco Scutaro threw a ball that accidentally concussed Brandon Belt in warmups (which, fair or not, I've also done). Pablo Sandoval broke his hamate bone for the second year in a row.
You know, I'm not liking how this trend is going.
Okay, okay, so there's also the whole thing about us giving away Luis Castillo for Casey McGehee, but then also getting Cody Ross, but then also also not getting Giancarlo Stanton. It kind of takes a miracle for bad things not to happen when the Marlins are in town. But the Marlins are also responsible for me learning about Game Notes, which are an absolute gold mine of neat information about the Giants. They don't post each game's Game Notes entry until close to start time, which is why you'll probably read the Giants-Marlins entry before me, but I love poring over them and absorbing all the little details you don't realize until some underappreciated Giants' staffer puts them on paper for you.
So in the spirit of weird stats and fun tidbit, here are four players to watch as the weekend gets underway. Love them, cherish them, and maybe together, we can defeat the curse of the Marlins Death Fog.
Who's Hot:
1B LaMonte Wade, SF Giants - .271/.434/.500, 7 HR
Wade ended the 2021 as perhaps the most clutch player in the history of baseball, rocking a cool 1.409 OPS in the ninth inning that year. But he couldn't follow it up in 2022, hitting just .207 on the year due to a string of injuries. That made it nearly impossible to anticipate whether he'd be able to replace Brandon Belt, let alone become a cornerstone of the team. But "Leadoff LaMonte" has done just that, becoming one of the league's premier on-base artists. His .434 OBP ranks second in the majors just ahead of...
2B Luis Arraez, Marlins - .378/.433/.473, 148 AB/HR
Acquired by Miami this offseason in return for starter Pablo López, Arraez has taken the league by storm this season, his .378 batting average easily the best in baseball. He does it almost purely through contact mastery, trading any semblance of power (.040 ISO) for an otherworldly strikeout rate (5.1%), which is also best in the league. He's truly a test of old-school philosophy vs. modern analytics - is Wade better despite hitting .100 points worse because of his actualized game power, or is a freakily sustainable .378 batting average better every time? Whatever the answer, one thing's for sure - Arraez is a major pain in the butt against anyone he plays.
Who's Not:
RHP Sandy Alcantara, Marlins - 4.91 ERA, 51.1 IP, 3.50 K/BB
The 27-year old Alcantara is one of the league's brightest rising stars, having led the Marlins rotation for the past 5 years as arguably its top option. But Alcantara really turned it on last year, posting a 2.28 ERA over a league-leading 228.2 innings en route to a Cy Young award. That's why nobody saw Alcantara's rocky 2023 coming. He's flashed dominance, but it's largely been sandwiched between middling-to-bad performances like his latest outing, a 7.2 inning start that saw him give up 6 earned runs. Alcantara is still one of the few threats in the league to hand you a complete-game shutout, but his rockiness presents an opportunity for a Giants squad that's been vastly better against righties this year.
SS Brandon Crawford, Giants - .173/.239/.333, 31.8 K%
It hasn't been a banner year for Crawford, whose Spring Training ailments have helped sink a quarter of his 2023 season. The emergence of Thairo Estrada and Casey Schmitt as everyday players have cut into Crawford's playing time, with the two combining for 202 AB compared to Crawford's 81. It's not unthinkable that the Giants can still get a hot month or two out of Crawford, given that he went on a tear last September. But he's a 36-year old shortstop with a .173 batting average and a lot of swing-and-miss in his game. Right now, it doesn't look great.
Series details:
Who: SF Giants vs. Miami Marlins
Where: Oracle Park, San Francisco, CA
When: May 19-21, Friday (7:15 PM), Saturday (1:05 PM), and Sunday (1:05 PM). All times Pacific.
Giants' current streak: W3, 5-5 in last 10
Marlins' current streak: W4, 7-3 in last 10
Projected starters:
Monday: Anthony DeSclafani (3-3, 3.06 ERA) vs. Sandy Alcantara (1-4, 4.91 ERA)
Tuesday: Logan Webb (3-5, 3.20 ERA) vs. Braxton Garrett* (1-2, 5.40 ERA)
Wednesday: Alex Wood* (0-0, 2.87 ERA) vs. Jesus Luzardo* (3-2, 3.16 ERA)
*Indicates LHP
How to watch, listen:
- SF Giants broadcast: NBC Sports Bay Area, KNBR 680/1510 AM
- Marlins broadcast: Bally Sports FL, 940 AM WINZ/WAQI 710
- National broadcasts: None
