SAN FRANCISCO — One hot pitcher and one who hopes he’s heating up go head-to-head Wednesday night when the Colorado Rockies and San Francisco Giants continue their three-game series.
The Giants outlasted the Rockies in a pitchers’ duel in the opener Tuesday night Authentic Carlton Davis Jersey , with a bases-loaded walk plating the winning run in the eighth, one inning after starters Derek Holland and Chad Bettis had exited a 1-1 game.
San Francisco, seeking a fourth straight win, will send Madison Bumgarner (1-2, 3.20 ERA) to the mound Wednesday.
The four-time All-Star recorded his first win of the season in his last start, rewarded for pitching eight shutout innings against the San Diego Padres on Thursday.
Bumgarner has made 26 career starts against the Rockies, going 12-7 with a 3.05 ERA.
He will be seeking to continue a stretch of brilliant pitching by the Giants, who have given up three or fewer runs in nine of their last 12 games.
The starting staff has performed so well, Giants manager Bruce Bochy admitted he’s not sure what the team’s going to do when injured rotation regulars Johnny Cueto and Jeff Samardzija are deemed healthy enough to return.
That day is expected soon, especially with Samardzija, who has already made three injury-rehab appearances in the minors.
“I think you look at the way the rotation has been throwing the ball, it’s not going to be easy,” Bochy said of who, if anybody, gets displaced. “But we knew this would be coming when Jeff’s ready and Johnny’s ready.”
A matchup with the Rockies means Bumgarner will have to deal with hot-hitting Nolan Arenado, but it’s been Carlos Gonzalez who has given the Giants’ lefty the most trouble over the years.
Gonzalez has five career homers against Bumgarner, the most anybody’s hit against the San Francisco ace.
Arenado has two career homers against Bumgarner.
The Giants not only will have to deal with Gonzalez and Arenado, but also with impressive Rockies left-hander Kyle Freeland (7-6, 3.55), who already has beaten San Francisco twice this season.
Facing the Giants twice in a 12-day stretch in May, Freeland allowed them four runs and 13 hits in 12 innings in 6-1 and 11-4 wins.
The 25-year-old has gone 2-1 in June after a 4-1 May that included the two wins over the Giants.
Freeland has started six times in his career against the Giants, going 4-2 with a 3.15 ERA.
He’s 1-1 with a 3.55 ERA in two career starts in San Francisco.
Freeland can expect to see Hunter Pence in the Giants’ lineup Wednesday.
Pence has been relegated to part-time duties when not injured this season, but has come through big-time in his last two starts and has a history against Freeland.
Pence collected two hits and two RBIs in a 6-5 win over Miami last Wednesday Authentic Alex Cappa Jersey , then had a double and two more RBIs in a 3-2 victory over the San Diego Padres on Sunday.
Pence has faced Freeland eight times in his career, going 4-for-7 with a walk.
Drop into just about any bank or supermarket or sports bar in the Kansas City metro area these days and there’s a good chance you’ll see one of several photographs from just a few years ago hanging on a wall.
It might be Yordano Ventura unleashing a fastball. Or Eric Hosmer sliding into home at Citi Field in New York. Or Wade Davis with his arms thrust high into the air, his blazing fastball having just closed out Game 5 of the World Series and making the Kansas City Royals the world champions.
More than likely, you’ll find the now-iconic photograph of Union Station, where an estimated 400,000 people turned out to celebrate the club’s first title in three decades.
Those photos are reminders of better times. And how quickly things can change.
The Royals, who were indeed baseball royalty in 2015, are now neck and neck with the Orioles for the worst record in baseball. They’ve traded off their star closer, their best players are struggling and the prospects that might one day raise them from the abyss are years away from joining the club.
”The record is what it is. The hitting is what it is. The pitching is what it is,” said Royals manager Ned Yost, who presided over the rebuild that led to back-to-back World Series appearances. ”I have to continue to lead. We have to make sure this year has not been a waste.”
How did things fall apart so quickly?
To start, the Royals doled out big contracts to players that have not produced. Left fielder Alex Gordon consumes 14 percent of the payroll in the third year of a $72 million, four-year deal, but he’s hitting just .247 with five homers and 15 RBIs. Right-hander Ian Kennedy consumes 11 percent of the payroll in the third year of a $70 million, five-year deal, and he’s 1-8 with a 5.11 ERA.
The few stars that remain on the roster have likewise struggled to produce.
Salvador Perez likely will see his streak of five straight All-Star games end. The catcher, in the third year of a $52 million, six-year deal, is hitting .255 with 11 homers and 33 RBIs.
Good luck winning many games that way.
The Royals were 25-61 heading into their off day Thursday and had lost 24 of their last 28 games. They needed to go 38-38 the rest of the way just to avoid the ignominy of 100 losses.
Making things worse: The Royals are losing that many games with a payroll of about $144 million.
Another reason for the precipitous slide was year after year of poor drafts. Only one of their 13 first-round picks since 2010 is currently on the 25-man roster; Hunter Dozier is hitting .223 in 44 games as he struggles to lock down an everyday job.
”As a young guy you know you’re going to fail, and in some ways we want you to fail because that’s how you’re going to get better,” said Yost, who is going through the same slow learning process with infielder and erstwhile top prospect Adalberto Mondesi.
The son of longtime big leaguer Raul Mondesi, he is hitting .214 in 42 at-bats this season.
”We also don’t want to heap too much on their shoulders Authentic Jordan Whitehead Jersey ,” Yost said, ”so it’s balancing act.”
Maybe that’s why the Royals have been slow to gut their roster in favor of a complete rebuild, even if that appears to be coming. They’ve already traded utility outfielder Jon Jay to the Diamondbacks and star closer Kelvin Herrera to the Nationals, getting five prospects in return that the Royals hope will help restock a farm system that remains one of the worst in baseball.
More moves could be coming, too. The Royals are hopeful of trading third baseman Mike Moustakas, who signed a one-year deal when no long-term offers materialized last offseason. Versatile infielder Whit Merrifield could land a few solid prospects, and left-hander Danny Duffy and even Perez could be made available, though both have torpedoed their value with poor seasons.
The combination of an old and bad team has been made even worse by the fact that the Royals are, well, pretty boring. They don’t hit an abundance of homers. Their starting rotation includes the first two pitchers to hit 10 losses in the majors. There are no young stars yet worth watching.
As a result, the Royals are drawing an average of 20,283 fans to Kauffman Stadium. That’s a drop of more than 7,000 from last season and more than 13,000 from their championship season.
Still, for all the gloom, the typically irascible Yost has taken a decidedly optimistic approach to this season. He’s been through these long and painful rebuilds and come out the other side.
It takes patience. It takes smart moves. It takes more patience.
”There’s a lot of things to look at that you’re happy with, even though the record is what it is,” he said. ”There is progress that you’re going to see on the back end, in the light, just as we did in 2013 and 2014, when we turned the corner the last time.”
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