Lineups Posted: #SFGiants look to end skid on Orange Friday
Just-back-from-the-DL Chase Headley and his Padres are fresh off of a day off and a sweep of the other SoCal team that has blue in their logo and will be guests at AT&T Park this weekend. First, a public service announcement from the San Francisco Giants in case you are going to any of this weekend’s games.
Fans can expect increased security at AT&T Park that is similar to what has previously been seen at marquee events.
— San Francisco Giants (@SFGiants) April 19, 2013
In addition, mandatory bag inspections and wanding will be enforced at all gates. The #SFGianst urge fans to arrive early…
— San Francisco Giants (@SFGiants) April 19, 2013
..and appreciate the cooperation and understanding of our fans as we work together to ensure a safe and secure ballpark experience. — San Francisco Giants (@SFGiants) April 19, 2013
So get there early, and be ready to show off the insides of those bags you’re carrying. Onto the lineups for the visiting Padres:
#Padres lineup vs. #SFGiants: Denorfia 8, Cabrera 6, Headley 5, Guzman 7, Alonso 3, Gyorko 4, Blanks 9, Hundley 2, Volquez 1.
— Corey Brock (@FollowThePadres) April 19, 2013
Remember, Carlos Quentin is still serving his eight-game suspension, so he will miss this series with the Giants.
and the orange-topped Giants:
Tonight’s (4/19) #SFGiants lineup – Pagan CF, Scutaro 2B, Sandoval 3B, Posey C, Pence RF, Crawford SS, Belt 1B, Blanco LF and Bumgarner LHP
— San Francisco Giants (@SFGiants) April 19, 2013
Nothing out of the ordinary there.
Edinson Volquez, tonight’s pitcher for the Padres, has faced the Giants six times in his career, four times at AT&T. You’ll be (not) surprised to hear that in those four starts, he hasn’t allowed a HR to the Giants! Since the Giants and Padres both average less than a homer a game, don’t be surprised to see that streak continue. Here’s a scouting report on how Volquez has pitched to batters this year (warning: smaller sample size than usual for both pitchers considering they’ve only pitched a low number of games):
Looks like a pretty well-spread diverse set of offerings from Volquez, though there is definitely a lower chance of him using a fastball when he’s ahead or in a strikeout situation, and a higher chance of him using that fastball when the batter is ahead. Look for the Giants to sit on that when they get those hitter’s counts every hitter loves. That 51% for curveballs to RHH when he’s ahead is also interesting, but we need to keep in mind also how few pitches he’s thrown thus far.
If there’s any pitcher that’s right for the job of shutting an opposition down right now, it is Madison Bumgarner, who even when not sharp has been able to keep the opposition down. It’s unfortunate that there is some sort of concern with every other pitcher’s performance, but it is also still early in the season. The chart for Bumgarner goes like this:
Unlike Volquez who hasn’t featured his fastball much when he’s ahead, Bumgarner hasn’t been afraid to use it. So far into the season, we’re seeing he’s mainly a fastball-slider-occasional curveball guy to LHH and then he’ll use the changeup more to RHH.
Game time for tonight’s match is 7:15PM PST.
