The Giants kept their season alive on Monday with their incredible 6-5 win in Game 3 of the NLDS, and will give the ball to another lefty in Game 4, when Matt Moore tries to tie the series in his first ever start against the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday.
Moore (4.08 ERA) faces off against Chicago veteran John Lackey (3.35) who is having an excellent season at the age of 37. Moore will be making just his third career playoff start while Lackey has over 127 innings of postseason experience under his belt. Moore has struggled in limited playoff action posting a 4.41 ERA in 16 and 1/3 innings, while Lackey has an excellent track record in October, posting a 3.11 ERA in 20 career starts.
Last season it was Lackey who was pitching against the Cubs, beating Lester in Game 1 of the NLDS against the St. Louis Cardinals. Lackey faced the Giants once in 2016, tossing five innings of one hit ball. Historically, Lackey has fared quite well against this Giants lineup, with San Francisco holding modest splits of .200/.333/.325 in 40 at-bats. Lackey has been dominant against righties as of late, limiting them to a .201 batting average in 2016. Buster Posey and Hunter Pence are a career 1-for-7 against Lackey.
Moore, 27, was inconsistent throughout 2016, but like much of the San Francisco pitching staff, finished strong, allowing just two runs in his final 15 and 2/3 innings. Moore has never faced the Cubs in his career, and has only pitched against one current Chicago player, with Dexter Fowler singling in his only at-bat, something that should give the young left-hander an advantage.
Keeping the ball in the zone is typically the difference for Moore, who has seen his walk rate balloon to 4.2 per nine innings since joining the Giants. That’s not a good sign against a team with the second highest on-base percentage in baseball. If Moore can keep the ball in the zone, however, he’s as good as anybody, and he will have to do that on Tuesday to earn the Giants a trip to Game 5 in Chicago on Thursday.