Preview: SF Giants vs. Cardinals, probable pitchers, how to watch

The SF Giants will look to build off their first back-to-back wins of the season in a four-game set against the St. Louis Cardinals.

Marc Delucchi | Apr 24, 2023

Preview: SF Giants vs. Cardinals, probable pitchers, how to watch /

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The SF Giants will host a four-game series against the St. Louis Cardinals this week, bringing together a pair of longtime National League rivals. While the stakes may not be as high as they were during the 2012 or 2014 NLCS, both teams are looking to bounce back from slow starts to the regular season.

The Giants enter the series 8-13 but are coming off their first back-to-back wins of the season. The Cardinals are a similar 9-13.

St. Louis Cardinals player to watch: Jordan Walker

Prior to the season, I considered Jordan Walker as the best prospect in baseball who had yet to appear in a big-league game (I was far from alone). After an impressive spring training, the Cardinals decided to have the 20-year-old skip Triple-A and begin the season on the Opening Day roster. Walker has tantalizing power potential and has been surprisingly competent in center field. He's only hitting .274/.321/.397 so far this season, but do not be surprised if he has some highlight-worthy plays.

SF Giants catcher Joey Bart hits a single. (2022) / Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports

SF Giants player to watch: Joey Bart

Joey Bart has quietly been one of the Giants more consistent hitters so far this season since returning from an early-season stint on the injured list. Bart has slashed his strikeout rate to 23.5% (it was 38.0% entering the season) and is hitting .300. However, the powerful catcher only has one double and zero home runs. It seems like the young backstop has focused on putting the ball in play early this season, but he had some deep fly outs against the Mets. With a pair of lefties set to start for the Cardinals, I expect Bart to blast his first homer of the season.

Series prediction: SF Giants take three out of four

Starting pitching is usually the most important thing in any individual game, and that is exactly where the Cardinals have struggled most this season. St. Louis has two lefties scheduled to start during the series, but the Giants' decision to option Heliot Ramos (Giants #17 prospect) on Sunday suggests that at least one of Austin Slater or Mitch Haniger will be activated. The Giants' struggles make it hard to pick them to win a series, especially against a team that made the playoffs last year, but they should be able to take at least three out of four at home.

Series details:

Who: St. Louis Cardinals @ SF Giants
Where: Oracle Park, San Francisco, CA
When: Mon 4/24-Thurs 4/27

Projected starters: Alex Cobb vs. Jordan Montgomery*, TBD (best guess is Jakob Junis) vs. Jake Woodford, Anthony DeSclafani vs. Steven Matz*, Logan Webb vs. Miles Mikolas

* signifies LHP

How to watch:

Giants broadcast: NBC Sports Bay Area, KNBR 680/1510 AM
Tigers broadcast: Bally Sports Midwest, KMOX 1120 AM/98.7 FM
National broadcasts: MLB Network (4/27)

Published Apr 24, 2023

MARC DELUCCHI

Marc Delucchi (he/they/she) serves as the Managing Editor at Giants Baseball Insider, leading their SF Giants coverage. As a freelance journalist, he has previously covered the San Francisco Giants at Around the Foghorn and McCovey Chronicles. He also currently contributes to Niners Nation, Golden State of Mind, and Baseball Prospectus. He has previously been featured in several other publications, including SFGate, ProFootballRumors, Niners Wire, GrandStand Central, Call to the Pen, and Just Baseball. Over his journalistic career, Marc has conducted investigations into how one prep baseball player lost a college opportunity during the pandemic (Baseball Prospectus) and the rampant mistreatment of players at the University of Hawaii football program under former head coach Todd Graham (SFGate). He has also broken dozens of news stories around professional baseball, primarily around the SF Giants organization, including the draft signing of Kyle Harrison, injuries and promotions to top prospects like Heliot Ramos, and trade details in the Kris Bryant deal. Marc received a Bachelor's degree from Kenyon College with a major in economics and a minor in Spanish. During his time in college, he conducted a summer research project attempting to predict the future minor-league performance of NCAA hitters, worked as a data analyst for the school's Women's basketball team, and worked as a play-by-play announcer/color commentator for the basketball, baseball, softball, and soccer teams. He also worked as an amateur baseball scout with the Collegiate Baseball Scouting Network (later renamed Evolution Metrix), scouting high school and college players for three draft cycles. For tips and inquiries, feel free to reach out to Marc directly on Twitter or via email (delucchimarc@gmail.com).