Series Preview: Boston Red Sox vs. San Francisco Giants 4/30-5/2

The Boston Red Sox will take on the San Francisco Giants this week.  The Red Sox are coming off a series win over the Cubs, while the Giants are coming off a series win over the Pirates.

Boston Red Sox (16-13) vs. San Francisco Giants (14-15)

Game 1:

Date: Tuesday, April 30
Time: 7:10 pm EST
Broadcast: NESN

Game 2:

Date: Wednesday, May 1
Time: 7:10 pm EST
Broadcast: NESN

Game 3:

Date: Thursday, May 2
Time: 1:35 pm EST
Broadcast: NESN

Probable Starting Pitchers

Game 1: Cooper Criswell (1-1, 2.38 ERA) vs. Logan Webb (3-1, 2.33 ERA)

Criswell will make his fourth appearance which is also his third start, he is 1-1 with a 2.38 ERA, a 3.85 FIP, a 1.14 WHIP, and seven strikeouts in 11.1 innings. His last start came against the Guardians going five innings, he didn’t allow a run on three hits; he didn’t issue a walk and struck out three. He has never faced the Giants in his career. Webb goes for the Giants, he is 3-1 with a 2.33 ERA, a 2.75 FIP, a 1.11 WHIP, and 26 strikeouts in 38.2 innings. In his last start, he faced the Mets going eight shutout innings, he gave up six hits; walked one, and struck out four. In his career against the Red Sox, he is 0-1 in two starts with a 4.38 ERA, a 1.05 WHIP, and seven strikeouts in 12.1 innings.

Game 2: Kutter Crawford (1-1, 1.35 ERA) vs. TBD

Crawford is making his seventh start of the season and he is 1-1 with a 1.35 ERA, a 2.22 FIP, a 1.11 WHIP, and 34 strikeouts in 33.1 innings. In his last start, he went six innings giving up four runs, three of them were earned on ten hits; he didn’t issue a walk and struck out four. Crawford against the Giants in his career has made one start going 5.2 innings giving up one run on three hits; he walked one and struck out seven. The Giants haven’t announced a start for the middle game.

Game 3: Josh Winckowski (1-1, 3.50 ERA) vs. Kyle Harrison (2-1, 4.09 ERA)

Winckowski gets the finale he is making his third start of the season, he is 1-1 with a 3.50 ERA, a 3.46 FIP, a 1.66 WHIP, and 19 strikeouts in 18 innings. He got the start on Saturday against the Cubs going three innings, he didn’t allow a run on three hits; he didn’t issue a walk and struck out one. In his career against the Giants, he appeared in two games going 0-0 with a 3.38 ERA, a 1.87 WHIP, and three strikeouts in 2.2 innings. Harrison will make his seventh start, he is 2-1 with a 4.09 ERA, a 3.91 FIP, a 1.24 WHIP, and 31 strikeouts in 33 innings. In his last start, he faced the Pirates going six innings, he didn’t allow a run on five hits; he didn’t issue a walk and struck out seven. He has never faced the Red Sox in his career.

Boston Red Sox vs. San Francisco Giants Leaders

Red Sox:

AVG – Jarren Duran – .252
HR – Tyler O’Neill – 9
RBI – Ceddanne Rafaela – 17
IP – Tanner Houck – 39.1
ERA – Kutter Crawford – 1.35
K – Tanner Houck – 41

Giants:

AVG – Jung Hoo Lee – .269
HR – Jorge Soler – 5
RBI – Michael Conforto – 16
IP – Logan Webb – 38.2
ERA – Jordan Hicks – 1.59
K – Kyle Harrison – 31

Boston Red Sox vs. San Francisco Giants Numbers

Red Sox

AVG: .246 (12)
OPS: .733 (8)
R: 139 (10)
HR: 36 (4)
ERA: 2.68 (1)
K: 254 (10)
WHIP: 1.12 (3)

Giants

AVG: .245 (14)             
OPS:  .694 (17)
R: 116 (19)
HR: 27 (20)
ERA: 4.43 (24)
K: 215 (26)
WHIP: 1.26 (16)

Wrap Up

The Red Sox are coming off a much-needed series win over a good Cubs team. This series will be a tough one as they face the original products of Andrew Bailey, however, the Red Sox lineup has been much better compared to the Giants, and although both teams are close in average off by only .001 the OPS is a big difference as well as the runs scored, granted most of those are from Saturday’s 17-0 win it still can’t be overlooked. The Giants pitching despite being a product of Bailey are having a down season without their former guru as they rank toward the bottom half of the league in ERA, strikeouts, and WHIP. This is a series the Red Sox should take two out of three; with a sweep they could bring their record at Fenway back to .500 despite starting their record at 3-7 through their first ten games at their home ballpark.