San Francisco Giants Out to Rack Up Wins on Struggling Chicago White Sox

The San Francisco Giants get a chance to rack up some much-needed wins against the Chicago White Sox, starting on Monday.

Aug 3, 2024; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; San Francisco Giants pitcher Kyle Harrison (45) delivers against the Cincinnati Reds in the first inning at Great American Ball Park. / The Cincinnati Enquirer-USA TODAY Sports

The San Francisco Giants, fresh off beating one of baseball’s worst teams, will face baseball’s worst team, the Chicago White Sox, in a three-game series that starts on Monday at Oracle Park.

First pitch is set for 6:45 p.m. pacific time.

The Giants (63-63) just wrapped up the Bay Bridge series with the Oakland Athletics, winning Sunday’s finale, 4-2. It was San Francisco’s last visit to the Coliseum, as the A’s will move to Sacramento next year. It’s a temporary move as the franchise awaits its new home in Las Vegas.

The weekend was filled with nostalgia, but the Giants extracted a series split with a 4-2 win on Sunday that featured a 10-strikeout game from starter Blake Snell and extra-inning home runs from Jerar Encarnacion and Michael Conforto.

For San Francisco, their path to the playoffs is clearly a Wild Card berth. But even that could be a bit of a stretch. Entering Monday’s action the Giants are four games back of the final berth, held by the Atlanta Braves. The Giants would need to leap-frog Atlanta and the New York Mets to get in the playoffs.

The Giants are 5-5 in their last 10 games. San Francisco doesn’t have any head-to-head matchups remaining with either team.

Left-hander Kyle Harrison (6-5, 4.14) is the probable starter for the Giants. In his last start against Atlanta he threw five innings and gave up three earned runs. He also allowed six hits and two walks while he struck out six. In his last seven games he is 2-2 with a 4.54 ERA, and in his last 15 games he is 4-4 with a 4.15 ERA. This deep in the season he has emerged as a .500 pitcher.

Right-hander Jonathan Cannon (2-6, 4.02) is a rookie and is expected to start for the White Sox (30-95), who are coming off a loss to the Houston Astros. The White Sox are eliminated from playoff contention, the earliest that has happened in the divisional era of baseball.

In his last start he took the loss against the New York Yankees, as he gave up three earned runs in 4.2 innings. He gave up five hits and three walks while striking out four hitters. He is 1-4 with a 3.46 ERA in his last seven games (six starts, one relief appearance).

Offensively, third baseman Matt Chapman is one home run away from reaching 20 for the season, which would be his first 20-home runs season since he slugged 27 for Toronto in 2022.

After the Chicago series concludes, the Giants get a day off on Thursday before they start a three-game series at Seattle on Friday.