Three Takeaways From The SF Giants Series Against The Baltimore Orioles

SF Giants, Alex Cobb
SF Giants, Alex Cobb / Andy Kuno/San Francisco Giants/GettyImages
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Over the past few weeks, the SF Giants have been one of the hottest teams in all of baseball, but over the weekend, they did battle against one of the best teams in the major leagues in the Baltimore Orioles, coming away with a 1-2 record to get the season record to 29-30.

Three Takeaways From The SF Giants Series Against The Baltimore Orioles

Despite the series loss, the Giants once again flashed plenty of potential, esepcially with the young stars on their roster, and with two very winnable series upcoming, this will give them a platform to go on another run and get back over .500 on the season.

So what can we learn from the three game series against the incredibly tough Baltimore Orioles?

1. The SF Giants have two big aces

While the overall pitching staff has struggled for consistency throughout the 2023 season, recent times have given them plenty of reasons to be positive, with both Logan Webb and Alex Cobb firing on all cylinders.

In this series, we saw two great performances, with Cobb hurling 7.2 innings of 5 hit, shutout ball on Saturday, with Webb opening the series with 7 innings of three run ball, albeit in an incredibly close and competitive 3-2 loss.

At the deadline, the Giants should be looking to add another arm to complement their top two horses, but for now, if the Giants can make it to the playoffs, there will be few teams in the National League that can match up with them in a series.

Baltimore Orioles v San Francisco Giants
Baltimore Orioles v San Francisco Giants / Andy Kuno/San Francisco Giants/GettyImages

Three Takeaways From The SF Giants Series Against The Baltimore Orioles

2. The SF Giants offense needs to find consistency

At times, the SF Giants look like they have one of the most potent lineups in all of baseball, with a great blend of rookies and power hitting veterans, but as we saw in the Orioles series (2, 4 and 3 runs), they need to find some consistency in a hurry.

On the season, the Giants are ranked No. 17 in all of baseball offensively, boasting a team average of .247, and while their improvements have come since the arrival of Patrick Bailey and Casey Schmitt, along with the return of Mitch Haniger and Michael Conforto, there's still plenty of room for improvement.

In their past 10 games, the Giants have averaged 5.6 runs (with a 15 and 14 run performance mixed in), which is enough to win plenty of ball games, but until they can find the consistency to maintain that level, this is a team that will struggle to keep up with Arizona and Los Angeles in the NL West division race.

Pittsburgh Pirates v San Francisco Giants
Pittsburgh Pirates v San Francisco Giants / Suzanna Mitchell/San Francisco Giants/GettyImages

Three Takeaways From The SF Giants Series Against The Baltimore Orioles

3. Injuries could lead the SF Giants to promote more young talent

As mentioned, the Giants depth at starting pitcher has been tested in a big way this season, with struggles from the likes of Anthony DeSclafani and Sean Manea, and now that Alex Wood has officially headed to the injured list, it may open up the Giants to promote one of the biggest stars in the minor leagues.

Many have tabbed Kyle Harrison (3.55 ERA in 12 starts over 38 innings with 66 strikeouts) to make his Major League debut sometime in 2023, and with proven success from Patrick Bailey and Casey Schmitt already, the team may feel emboldened to trust another standout in Triple-A.

While it may not be Harrison, the Giants need to try something beyond DeSclafani, Webb and Cobb, and if they can find another young starter for the future, this is a team that could not only find success in 2023, but beyond that as well.

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