SAN FRANCISCO — The San Francisco Giants will attempt to complete their winningest homestand since their 2012 championship season when they go for a series sweep against the Colorado Rockies on Thursday afternoon.
Right-handers Chris Stratton (8-5
Anthony Miller Bears Jersey , 4.14 ERA) of the Giants and Jon Gray (7-7, 5.52) of the Rockies are scheduled to duel in a rematch of a May 19 meeting in San Francisco won by the Giants 9-4.
With hard-fought 3-2 and 1-0 victories in the first two games of the series, the Giants improved to 7-2 on their homestand, with one game remaining.
They haven’t had an eight-win homestand since September 2012.
Giants manager Bruce Bochy credited his pitchers, who have held the opposition to three or fewer runs in 10 of their last 13 games, including six of nine on the homestand.
“There’s a large sense of confidence here at home,” he said. “What’s impressive is the pitching here. It’s keeping us in the game.”
Stratton has given up three or fewer earned runs in seven straight starts. That streak includes the May 19 game against the Rockies, when one of the four runs he allowed was unearned.
The 27-year-old has faced the Rockies three times in his career, twice as a starter, and has gone 1-0 with a 4.50 ERA.
The guy who has given him the most trouble has been Charlie Blackmon, who has four hits
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Blackmon had one of the Rockies’ two hits in Wednesday’s loss.
Colorado finds itself in an offensive slump entering the series finale. The Rockies have lost four in a row, having totaled nine runs in those games.
This comes on the heels of having exploded for 37 runs in their previous four games, all wins.
Gray has faced the Giants twice this season, and hasn’t seen the fifth inning either time.
After giving up five runs and nine hits in 3 2/3 innings in the May 19 loss, he was roughed up at home for four runs and six hits in 3 1/3 innings in a 7-4 defeat. He did not get a decision in the latter.
Gray has started five games in his career against the Giants, going 0-2 with a 5.24 ERA. Both losses came in San Francisco.
Gray has struggled this season with Giants shortstop Brandon Crawford, the hero of Wednesday’s win with the third walk-off home run of his career. Crawford has a double and two singles in four at-bats against Gray this season.
Andrew McCutchen also has scorched the 26-year-old in the past, going 7-for-12 with two doubles.
The Giants reached the midpoint of their season with a 42-39 record Wednesday night. That’s a 12-game improvement over last season, when they were already 22 1/2 games out of first place in the National League West.
The Rockies will play their 81st game Thursday. They had 47 wins at the midpoint of the 2017 season, nine more than they have this year.
鈥?Mike Tomlin is ready to talk about the New England Patriots.The fact the Pittsburgh Steelers coach can include cornerback Joe Haden in the discussion is a bonus.Haden will attempt to practice for the AFC North champions this week
Michael Gallup Cowboys Jersey , barely a month removed from a fractured left leg that appeared to put his season in jeopardy.While Tomlin will wait to make a decision on whether Haden will be available on Sunday when the Steelers (11-2) host the Patriots (10-3), the fact it’s even up for debate is promising.The Steelers signed Haden on the eve of the regular season precisely for this situation. Tom Brady dominated Pittsburgh’s secondary in the AFC championship game 11 months ago, picking apart the Steelers’ zone defense while throwing for 384 yards and three touchdowns in a 36-17 romp that wasn’t even that close.Tomlin and defensive coordinator Keith Butler made playing more man-to-man coverage a point of emphasis during the offseason and the Steelers had the second-ranked pass defense in the NFL before Haden left during the first half of a victory over the Colts on Nov. 11.The results during Haden’s absence have been uneven at best, though it hasn’t stopped Pittsburgh from taking an eight-game winning streak into perhaps the most highly anticipated game of the regular season.The Steelers clinched their third division title in four years last Sunday night with a 39-38 victory over Baltimore, meaning Haden will be heading to the playoffs for the first time in his career.“It was probably one of the most rewarding images I saw in the locker room Sunday night after the game: Joe Haden in his AFC North champion hat and T-shirt,” Tomlin said.“He was excited about it and rightfully so. Hopefully we’ll get him back into the land of competing so he can be back in the fold with us, but only if he’s ready.”A little bit of Haden could go a long way against Brady, who is 7-2 against the Steelers with 24 touchdowns and only three interceptions.Getting pressure on him would help, and if Pittsburgh wants to blitz it needs to go man-to-man effectively.The Steelers are second in the NFL with 41 sacks and their 13 picks are tied for seventh.“I feel like we’re in a better position to (play man-to-man), and we have practiced it more, globally speaking
LeSean McCoy Jersey Youth , over the course of a 12-month calendar,” Tomlin said Tuesday. “We’ll see what it looks like.”While Haden could return, the Steelers are still adjusting to life without linebacker Ryan Shazier. The 25-year-old Shazier injured his spine in the first quarter of a 23-20 victory over Cincinnati on Dec. 4 and remains in the hospital recovering from spine stabilization surgery.The team has been tight-lipped about Shazier’s long-term prognosis, but placing him on injured reserve means he won’t be back at any point this season, if he returns at all.Still, Shazier remains very much a part of the team. Several players visited him in the hospital shortly after Chris Boswell’s winning field goal against the Ravens.Tomlin has stopped by too, with Shazier frequently steering the conversation toward the team’s status and not his own.“I go see him, he wants to talk about the game plan, how the guys are doing, what’s transpiring in practice settings and so forth,” Tomlin said.The reality of how difficult it will be to move forward without Shazier came into stark focus against Baltimore. The Ravens rolled up 413 yards as Tomlin shuttled between Arthur Moats and Sean Spence at Shazier’s inside linebacker spot
Joe Montana Jersey Limited , with uneven results at best.“Shay’s a special guy with a lot of talents, not only physically but mentally and from a leadership standpoint,” Tomlin said. “It’s not a realistic discussion to talk about one guy replacing him.”Either way, the Steelers must move on.Tomlin understands the hype surrounding the meeting between two teams that have represented the AFC in the Super Bowl 10 times in the past 16 years. Rather than run from it, he’s running towards it.“I love it,” Tomlin said. “It’s good to be in big games than be in ones nobody’s watching. We better be appreciative of this spot and not resist it in any way. This is what we’ve been fighting for since March. Why would you fight that? It’s an awesome thing.”.
