Giants flip to Ross Stripling in bid to comb Phillies
May 17 – After losing three straight games to the Arizona Diamondbacks, the San Francisco Giants are now close to a three-game winning streak against the Philadelphia Phillies.
The teams will play the series finale in San Francisco on Wednesday afternoon.
After winning the opener of the series 6-3 on Monday, the Giants conceded three hits and an RBI from Michael Conforto in Tuesday’s 4-3 win. Conforto has a 5-7 record in his two wins against the Phillies and an 11-25 (.440) record with four home runs and eight RBIs in his last seven games.
LaMonte Wade Jr. also had two hits and an RBI for San Francisco on Tuesday, and Blake Sabol contributed two hits.
“Durable. We always recover strongly,” Wade said in a post-game interview on NBC Sports Bay Area. “Positive mood. Don’t climb too high. Don’t climb too deep. We’re just coming out of here and trying to play a clean game and clean baseball and do it one day at a time.”
Four Giants relievers — Taylor Rogers, John Brebbia, Tyler Rogers, and Camilo Doval — combined allowed just one run in 5 2/3 effective innings.
Doval has made saves in back-to-back games against the Phillies.
The Giants will hand the ball to Ross Stripling (0-2, 7.14 ERA) on Wednesday.
In Stripling’s last start, Friday against the Diamondbacks, he only lasted 3 1/3 innings and gave up five hits and four runs.
“The biggest challenge for Strip right now is leadership,” said Giants manager Gabe Kapler. “Balls are in the middle of the plate. … Strip is as hard as it gets. He’s a really, really tough guy and he’s going to get through this.”
Stripling is 2-0 with a 4.81 ERA in 10 career games (seven starts) against the Phillies.
The Phillies will be looking to avoid a fourth straight loss in the wake of a five-game winning streak.
Kyle Schwarber hit a solo home run in the ninth inning Tuesday, and JT Realmuto added two hits and two stolen bases. Kody Clemens also had two hits. Realmuto have scored 11 of 27 (.407) in their last eight games, taking their average to .299.
However, the Phillies went 1-11 with runners in goal, leaving them 1-33 in those situations in their last three games, all losses.
The Phillies left 12 runners on base Tuesday.
“We’re talking about it. We’re not insisting,” said Phillies manager Rob Thomson. “It can make it worse. The tide will turn. That always happens.”
The Phillies accumulated 10 hits and six walks but struggled with another frustrating loss.
“We talked to the guys about it,” Thomson said of the scuffle with runners in goal position. “Don’t try to do too much. Move the border. We are going through one of those times right now.”
Philadelphia hitter Bryce Harper finished the game 4-1 with a walk and two strikeouts. He called his strikeout early in the ninth inning “embarrassing.”
“You have to stay true to yourself and do your job,” Harper said of himself and his teammates.
Taijuan Walker (3-2, 5.75 ERA) is scheduled to start for the Phillies.
Walker, who signed a four-year, $72 million contract during the offseason, allowed seven hits and three runs in more than six innings in his last start on Friday against the Colorado Rockies.
In seven career starts against the Giants, Walker is 3-3 with a 3.70 ERA.
–Field level media
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