The Giants halted a five-game losing streak with their late-game comeback over the Mets on Wednesday afternoon, but they still carry a 12-23 record into a seven-game homestand that begins Thursday night against the Cincinnati Reds and will continue into next week with three games against the Dodgers.
Both opponents will be familiar faces for San Francisco, as the Giants played the Dodgers and Reds at the beginning of May and went 2-4 in those games thanks to a sweep at the hands of Cincinnati. The Giants gave up 13 runs or more three times in six games against the Dodgers and Reds, and failed to score more than five runs in any game.
Skipper Bruce Bochy will hope that the upcoming addition of reinforcements like Brandon Crawford and Denard Span, as well as encouraging recent performances from Christian Arroyo and Buster Posey, can get his squad back on track and out of the NL West cellar. Crawford is expected back from injury early in the homestand, while Span is currently rehabbing in San Jose.
Posey has homered in three consecutive games and boasts a .367 batting average, including a .394 mark in May. Arroyo, on the other hand, provided the heroics in Wednesday’s win with a go-ahead three-run double in the ninth inning and a single earlier in the game.
Both Arroyo and Posey had success earlier this month against Reds’ pitcher Bronson Arroyo, who will take the mound Thursday night. In a 13-3 loss to Cincinnati on May 5, Posey knocked three hits and Arroyo hit a home run off the 40-year-old starter. Thursday’s pitching matchup will feature a rematch of that day, when the elder Arroyo (3-2, 6.53 ERA) took on Giants’ youngster Ty Blach (0-2, 5.66 ERA) and Blach allowed 10 runs.
Blach will make two starts during the homestand at AT&T, where he has found success early on in the season. In a pair of home starts, Blach has allowed just seven hits and two earned runs in 12 innings pitched.
Cincinnati comes into town after splitting a pair of games with the Yankees. The Reds have won six of their last seven and sit just one game out of first place in the NL Central. Former Giant Adam Duvall has 9 home runs this season and went 4-10 with a homer in the series against San Francisco last week.
When the Dodgers visit AT&T for a three-game set on Monday, they will be fresh off a weekend battle for first place with the upstart Colorado Rockies. Los Angeles recently lost outfielder Andrew Toles to a season-ending injury, but rookie Cody Bellinger has provided plenty of production lately with six home runs and 17 RBI in just 14 games with the team. The Giants have a 4-3 record against their longtime rivals this season, including a series win in Los Angeles to open the month of May.
If the Giants hope to climb their way back into contention, it will almost certainly have to begin by winning these upcoming series at home. After the seven games against Cincinnati and Los Angeles, the Giants will head out on the road again to take on the first-place Cardinals and defending champion Cubs. It may be early to say, but this homestand seems like a do-or-die moment for the 2017 MLB season in San Francisco.