San Francisco Giants shortstop Thairo Estrada, right, throws to first after forcing out Los Angeles Dodgers’ Will Smith at second during the first inning  at Oracle Park in San Francisco Wed Apr 12, 2023 (AP News photo)

Giants Look Ahead to Three-Game Series With Struggling Tigers

By Barbara Mason

The San Francisco Giants (6-7) had a day off Thursday after dropping a series to the rival Los Angeles Dodgers last night at Oracle. San Francisco had a three nothing lead going into the fourth inning in last nights game but the Dodgers Max Muncy hit a couple of home runs along with another long ball off the bat of Trayce Thompson to give the Dodgers a 10-3 lead in the top of the seventh inning.

The Dodgers went on to extend that lead winning the game 10-5. The biggest culprit in last nights loss was the Giants bullpen which did the team no favors. Too many walks and loading the bases with Dodger runners was their downfall in this game.

After the day off today, the Giants will be off to Detroit to take on the Tigers in a three game series at Comerica Park. The Giants will be looking to get their bullpen back on track sending Sean Manaea to the mound. The Giants offense will be facing Tiger pitcher Joey Wentz who will start for Detroit.

Wentz has not won a game this season and Manaea has not pitched a regular season game yet. His pre-season stats come in with one win and one loss. The Giants went through five pitchers in the loss last night and hope to right the ship in that respect.

They will need to get more innings from their starting pitcher Manaea on Friday night. The Tigers have been struggling this season with a record of 2-9 and the Giants are just below .500 with a 5-7 record coming into this game.

The Giants offense will lean heavily on Michael Conforto, should he be able to play, who has a batting average of .225 but is the home run leader on the team so far this season with three homers and six RBI’s. Thairo Estrada is the heavy hitter for the team with a .341 batting average which comes in at 23rd in the league.

The Giants will be without CF Bryce Johson who is out with a concussion after making a spectacular catch, saving multiple runs last night , but also crashing into the wall. He did remain on the ground for several minutes after the collision. He may hit the IL for the Giants but they await confirmation from the medical staff. Michael Conforto is also Day-To-Day. First pitch Friday night is scheduled for 3:40 PM.