8/26 Gamethread: Giants vs. Cubs

Side view of Justin Verlander throwing a pitch.

Well, it’s time for a new series, and for the first time in a very long while, it actually feels like the San Francisco Giants are playing some good baseball. Fresh off a road series victory against the best team in baseball, the Giants got a much-needed off-day on Monday, and now return home to face … well, the second-best team in the National League, the Chicago Cubs. What fun!

A little bit of roster news for the Giants: they’ve welcomed back Keaton Winn, who returns from AAA Sacramento. Unfortunately,

Winn is back because closer Randy Rodríguez has been placed on the 15-Day IL with a right elbow sprain. Fingers crossed.

Taking the mound for San Francisco is veteran right-hander Justin Verlander, who makes his 23rd start of the year. The three-time Cy Young winner is just 1-10 on the season, but has a 4.64 ERA, a 3.88 FIP, and 99 strikeouts against 37 walks in 110.2 innings. He’s been pitching pretty well lately, with the exception of his last start, when he gave up seven runs in 4.1 innings against the San Diego Padres.

He’s up against lefty Matthew Boyd, who made his first All-Star team this year, in his 11th MLB season. Boyd has made 25 starts in a career year, going 12-6 with a 2.61 ERA, a 3.29 FIP, and 129 strikeouts against 33 walks in 148 innings. He hasn’t been at his sharpest lately, though, and allowed four runs in 5.1 innings against the Milwaukee Brewers his last time out.

Enjoy the game! Go Giants!