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Hicks and the SF Giants aim to win the series from the Houston Astros

Theo

Two teams concerned about bullpen wear hope to avoid another extra-inning affair when the Houston Astros get a rematch against the San Francisco Giants on Tuesday night.

Even after Houston starter Spencer Arrighetti and San Francisco starter Kyle Harrison pitched brilliantly in the sixth and seventh innings, respectively, Monday night, the teams had some anxious moments late in the 10-inning 4-3 victory. of the Giants.

One of the Astros’ best late-inning arms, Ryan Pressly, was unavailable for the series opener in San Francisco after pitching in back-to-back games against the Los Angeles Angels.

Giants vs. Astros Preview

After the right-hander had three straight days off, Astros manager Joe Espada sent Pressly out for the eighth inning in Anaheim, Calif., on Saturday in a classic work situation with the Astros holding a sizable lead.

The 25-pitch outing seemed harmless when Pressly pitched a scoreless inning, but then it was needed late in a close game Sunday. Pressly allowed two runs to squander a lead that time, providing a double whammy when the Astros lost the game and he became unavailable for Monday.

Espada needed Pressly on Monday in either the ninth inning of a tie game or the 10th in a shutdown situation after the Astros scored twice in the top of the inning. Instead, he wore out Josh Hader, who took the loss Sunday, in the ninth in an attempt to send the game into extra innings, which he did, before having to turn to Rafael Montero, who was bombed out for three quick points in the 10th. .

In Tuesday’s rematch, Hader may now be unavailable after pitching on Sunday and Monday. So Tuesday’s latest high-leverage results should fall into the lap of Pressly, who has allowed points in three of his last six outings, suffering two losses and missing a save chance during that stretch.

“We’re going to continue to rely on (Pressly),” Espada said. “He’s a big part of our bullpen and I believe in him. He’s had big wins for us in the past, and he will (again).

The task of relieving Houston’s bullpen falls to starter Ronel Blanco (5-2, 2.78 ERA), who began the season undefeated with a 1.99 ERA in his first nine starts. The right-hander has since lost two straight, allowing a total of eight runs in 10 1/3 innings against the Minnesota Twins and St. Louis Cardinals.

The 30-year-old has pitched just once in his three-year career against the Giants, throwing a shutout inning last May.

San Francisco’s Harrison got two more outs than Arrighetti on Monday, and Giants manager Bob Melvin thought that was the difference in the game after he, like Espada, wore out his closer in the ninth and had limited options afterward.

“It was an easy decision to send him back there for the seventh,” Melvin said of Harrison, who had pitched a shutout at that point. “(Yordan) Alvarez gets a double (actually a triple) and they end up getting a run there, but it turned out we needed it (Harrison’s extra partial inning).”

Giants right-hander Jordan Hicks (4-2, 2.82 ERA) should be well rested for his Tuesday start. He struggled with his control in his last outing before being removed after just 3 2/3 innings against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Wednesday.

Like Blanco, the 27-year-old Houston native pitched just once — in relief — against the Astros, tossing a scoreless inning and earning a save for the Cardinals last June.

–Field level media

Upcoming schedule for the San Francisco Giants

  • Monday June 10-Wednesday June 12 – against the Houston Astros
  • Friday June 14-Sunday June 16 – against the Los Angeles Angels
  • Monday June 17-Wednesday June 19 – @ChicagoCubs
  • Thursday June 20-Sunday June 23 – @ St. Louis Cardinals
  • Monday June 24-Thursday June 27 – against the Chicago Cubs

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