© Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports
LOS ANGELES — If the San Francisco Giants hope to start the season 3-0 on Saturday evening, they’ll need Derek Holland to keep the ball rolling in his debut with the Orange and Black. He’s set to go against Dodgers starter Kenta Maeda, who presents a valuable opportunity for a pair of struggling Giants batters to speed up their slow starts to the season.
Although last year didn’t go exactly as Holland wanted it to, a strong start was hidden behind his tough season. Before finishing last year 7-14 with a career-high 6.20 ERA, Holland went 4-4 with a 2.37 ERA in his first 10 starts. His ERA didn’t rise above 3.00 until his 11th start and he averaged roughly six innings per outing.
With Madison Bumgarner and Jeff Samardzija on the sidelines, now is the time for Holland to be on the top of his game for the Giants. If Holland can replicate 2017’s early-year success this season, it’ll be much easier for the Giants to get by without their injured starting pitchers.
Holland’s lack of experience against the Dodgers could prove to work in his favor.
His only start against Los Angeles came in 2009, where he allowed four runs over five innings. Interestingly, he’s only faced three active Dodgers — Justin Turner, Matt Kemp, and Chris Taylor. That trio is 1-for-9 against Holland with Tuner, who is on the disabled list with a broken wrist, boasting the only hit.
Of course, the Dodgers will do their research on Holland before Saturday night. Yet, their unfamiliarity with Holland could help him successfully maneuver through at least the first round of the batting order.
On the flip side, the Giants have seen their fair share of Maeda since he debuted with the Dodgers in 2016.
In five career starts against the Giants, Maede is 3-1 with 24 strikeouts. Although the Giants were only able to amass a .257 batting average against Maeda, their ability to score off the right-hander is seen in his lifetime 5.56 ERA.
With strong numbers against Maeda, Joe Panik could once again be the hero on Saturday night, as he was in the first two games of the season. In 11 plate appearances, he’s 4-for-9 against Maeda with a home run and two walks.
This might also be the game where Brandon Belt and Andrew McCutchen work out of their slow starts.
Belt is 1-for-7 with four strikeouts to start the year, his only hit coming off Clayton Kershaw on Opening Day. As for McCutchen, he’s 1-for-8 with his only hit also coming against Kershaw.
Nonetheless, Belt is 3-for-9 lifetime against Maeda with a pair of doubles while McCutchen is 2-for-7 with two home runs. A change of pace after facing Kershaw and Alex Wood back-to-back could do both some good.
Saturday might also be the night where the Giants see Sam Dyson, Pierce Johnson, or Reyes Moronta make their 2018 debuts.
Over the last two games, the Giants have used Tony Watson and Hunter Strickland in consecutive games, along with Josh Osich on Opening Day. Each put up scoreless innings in their appearances; including Watson, who’s retired seven of the five batters he’s faced by a strikeout, but Bruce Bochy said on Friday night that it’ll be tough to throw them out there three days in a row.
Keaton Moore is a KNBR.com contributor, follow Keaton on Twitter at @KeatonAMoore