San Francisco Giants pitcher Ross Stripling gets the call against the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park on Friday night as both clubs return to action for the second half of the season on Fri Jul 13, 2023 (file photo from the Toronto Star)

Pirates Await Giants in Three-Game Series

By Barbara Mason

Friday night the San Francisco Giants (49-41) begin their first series after the All-Star break taking on the Pittsburg Pirates (41-49).

San Francisco is coming off a series win over the Colorado Rockies just prior to the All-Star game winning the second and third game of that series.

The Giants remain in third place in the NL West while the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Arizona Diamondbacks are tied for first place right now.

Probable pitchers for this game looks to be Ross Stripling 0-2 for the Giants. Right now he has an ERA of 6.37. Rich Hill will take the mound for the Pirates. The 43-year-old has a 7-9 W/L record and a 4.78 ERA.

This game could very well be the start of a close series. Michael Conforto has hit 13 home runs for the Giants this season with a .236 batting average. J.D. Davis is hitting at .277 and has 46 rbi’s to his credit.

The Pirates threat at the plate for the long ball is Jack Suwinski with 19 homeruns and a .235 batting average. Andrew McCutchen has a .268 batting average and is also a home run threat having hit 10 this season.

The Giants spearheaded the NL’s dramatic win in the All-Star game thanks to the pitching effort of Alex Cobb and Camilo Duval’s seventh inning performance. Cobb and Duval hope to continue their winning ways in the second part of the season in their next appearance at the mound.

San Francisco will try to stay on track as they head into the second half of the season with 72 games left. It’s hard to believe that they already have 90 games under their belt. The first part of the season has literally flown by. First pitch is scheduled for 4:05 PM.