Kyle Harrison vs. Andrew Abbott.
Another series is about to get underway, as the San Francisco Giants welcome the Cincinnati Reds into town. This would be a huge series to win: not only have the Giants lost each of their last seven series, but the Reds are one of the teams that they’re in direct competition with for a postseason spot. The Giants and Reds are each 1.5 games out of the final Wild Card spot, so the Giants have a chance to both rise up the ladder while pushing someone down. And since the two teams split their first series, this three-game set will determine who wins the season series, which is the tiebreaker should they end the year with the same record.
So … win, please.
But while a win is what’s most wanted, what’s most exciting is the player on the mound for the Giants: lefty Kyle Harrison, who makes his Oracle Park debut in his second career game. Quite arguably the top prospect in the system, Harrison — who turned 22 a few weeks ago — made his MLB debut last week against the Philadelphia Phillies. It was a lesson for him in how good MLB hitters are, as he gave up a lot of contact (including a home run to Bryce Harper) while ceding two runs in 3.1 innings. But it was also a reminder as to how absurd of a prospect he is, as he struck out five batters (all righties), and got a whopping 13 swing-throughs on just 65 pitches.
On the other side is a fellow lefty in their debut season, Andrew Abbott. Abbott was drafted a year after Harrison, but is two years older. In 15 starts, he’s 8-3 with a 3.16 ERA, a 4.01 FIP, and 93 strikeouts to 31 walks in 85.1 innings. Abbott struggled his last time out, but when he faced the Giants earlier in the year he was dominant, tossing eight shutout innings.
Enjoy the game, Giants fans!
Lineups
WAR figures from Fangraphs
Giants
- Austin Slater (R) — CF — 100 OPS+ (+0.6 WAR)
- Thairo Estrada (R) — 2B — 103 OPS+ (+3.1 WAR)
- Wilmer Flores (R) — DH — 144 OPS+ (+2.3 WAR)
- J.D. Davis (R) — 1B — 100 OPS+ (+1.7 WAR)
- Patrick Bailey (S) — C — 92 OPS+ (+2.7 WAR)
- Paul DeJong (R) — SS — 71 OPS+ (+0.6 WAR)
- Heliot Ramos (R) — LF — 78 OPS+ (0.0 WAR)
- Casey Schmitt (R) — 3B — 50 OPS+ (-0.8 WAR)
- Luis Matos (R) — RF — 87 OPS+ (-0.4 WAR)
P. Kyle Harrison — LHP — 5.97 FIP (0.0 WAR)
Reds
- Noelvi Marte (R) — 3B — 83 OPS+ (+0.1 WAR)
- Nick Senzel (R) — LF — 78 OPS+ (-0.4 WAR)
- Elly De La Cruz (S) — SS — 96 OPS+ (+1.2 WAR)
- Spencer Steer (R) — 2B — 117 OPS+ (+1.6 WAR)
- Christian Encarnacion-Strand (R) — 1B — 76 OPS+ (-0.4 WAR)
- TJ Friedl (L) — CF — 104 OPS+ (+2.5 WAR)
- Stuart Fairchild (R) — RF — 90 OPS+ (+0.6 WAR)
- Luke Maile (R) — C — 87 OPS+ (+0.2 WAR)
- TJ Hopkins (R) — DH — 18 OPS+ (-0.4 WAR)
P. Andrew Abbott — LHP — 4.01 FIP (+1.8 WAR)
Game #131
Who: San Francisco Giants (67-63) vs. Cincinnati Reds (68-64)
Where: Oracle Park, San Francisco, California
When: 6:45 p.m. PT
Regional broadcast: NBC Sports Bay Area (available on fuboTV)
National broadcast: n/a
Radio: KNBR 680 AM/104.5 FM