The San Francisco Giants' quest to repeat as World Series champs has not exactly gotten off to a great as the team lost nine of 10 games before finally getting a win against the Los Angeles Dodgers on both Tuesday and Wednesday. Currently sitting at 6-10 on the season, the team finally generated some much needed offense in the in-state series and hopes to get their first sweep of the Los Angeles team on Thursday.
The Giants have not swept the Dodgers since May 2013 and for a while it did not look like they would do it this season after the rough start to the year. However, the team got offense moving and Joe Panik hit a sacrifice fly in the ninth inning on Wednesday to get a 3-2 win. On Tuesday, the Giants exploded for six runs, clearly brushing off the early season struggles. They only have 46 runs which ranks them at the bottom right now, but the team has some momentum they can capitalize on.
San Francisco will give the ball to Ryan Vogelsong who is currently carrying a heavy 10.45 ERA after struggling in place of the injured Jake Peavy. The pitcher gave up two three-run homers against the Diamondbacks while surrendering seven runs and walking four in just over four innings of play. He needs a nice bounce back game if he is going to maintain the starting job and be successful t it. Against the Dodgers he has gone 4-3 with a 3.35 ERA in 14 starts.
The Dodgers will start Mike Bolsinger for his debut with the team. Bolsinger was acquired in a trade from Arizona after he went 1-6 with a 5.47 ERA in his rookie season. He looked strong in Triple-A, allowing three hits and striking out 17 over 11 innings of play. Brandon Belt is 2 for 3 against the pitcher while being 4 for 10 in his last three games after dealing with a groin injury at the start of the year. After getting rest, Adrian Gonzalez will also be back on the field as he is batting .523 with five home runs and 14 RBIs in his first 11 games.
