Giants Look To Continue A Winning Homestand Against Marlins

The Giants were coming off a so-so road trip, going 4-4, before tiptoeing back home to face the Padres.

Although, the roadie seemed much longer and dismal,  if you minus the mini two-gamer against the Blue Jays in San Francisco.

But the Giants went 6-8 over that fourteen game span, so it was somewhat of a “relief” for the bad road Giants to come back for a good stretch of home games.

They’ll look to continue their nice homestand after taking two out of three games from the Padres despite their multitude of injuries that crippled them during their road games.

Brandon Crawford, Angel Pagan, Pablo Sandoval, and Ryan Vogelsong, namely, are all still out of action.

The Giants will press on, sitting 1.5 games out of first, behind Arizona.

Trying to improve their own standing, they’ll look to beat up on a Miami Marlins team that’s in the cellar of the National League East, wearing a record of 22-49.

Chad Gaudin will face the 0-5, 5.09 ERA Tom Koehler in the first game of the series, which should have the Giants chomping at the bit to knock him around.

We at Around The Foghorn, had a chance to have a Series Preview Chat with Ehsan Kassim (Editor of Marlin Maniac) where he gave a mini scouting report on Koehler:

"Tom Koehler is a lower tier 4/5 starter that is better suited forthe bullpen longterm. Koehler has a strong fastball that comes in thehigher 90’s. He also features an impressive curveball. Koehler hasbeen knocked around in the month to a tune of a 9.18 ERA and an FIP of6.95."

Gaudin was most notably solid in his start against the Diamondbacks, striking out 7 of them. He struggled against Atlanta though, last start, giving up 4 runs on 8 hits.

Gaudin holds a 2-1 record and boasts a pretty impressive 2.83 ERA, though he’s only started three games.

One hitter he and the rest of the Giants pitching staff will have to worry about is Giancarlo Stanton who always is a Giant killer at AT&T Park.

The Marlins have a 7 game winning streak in San Francisco dating back to last year, so the Giants will attempt to snap that streak in their first meeting with The Fish this year.

Here are the pitching matchups for the rest of the series:

Nolasco (4-7, 3.61 ERA) vs Lincecum (4-7, 4.57 ERA)

Turner (1-0, 2.16 ERA) vs Zito (4-5, 4.67 ERA)

Scouting Report on Turner per Kassim:

"As for Jacob Turner, he was once a highly touted prep pitcher draftedby the Detroit Tigers. He was highly regarded as one of the toppitching prospects in baseball, but has not lived up to expectationsdue to the Tigers rushing him through their system. Turner posses afastball in the low-90’s, a curveball that is thought highly of, and achanegup that is a work in progress."

Eovaldi (0-0, 3.00 ERA) vs Cain (5-3, 4.55 ERA)