Rip-off artist John Fisher doesn’t want his host city’s name to be used, so we will put it in the title! He is just one member of that money grubbing crowd known collectively as MLB owners, but arguably the worst of a rum lot. The Giants will not have to play in their own AAA park this year, as the 2025 A’s series is in SF:
• Orange Friday, 7:15, LHP JP Sears (4-2, 2.80) vs. Logan Webb (4-3, 2.60)
• Saturday, 6:05, RHP Luis Severino (1-4, 4.70) vs. Landen Roupp (2-4, 4.95)
• Sunday, 1:05, LHP Jeffry Springs (5-3, 4.27) vs. Justin Verlander (0-3, 4.31)
The Athletics just finished a 1-2 series against the dodgers on Thursday evening. They were pasted in Thursday’s game, 19-2, but starter Bido and reliever Jason Alexander wore 15 of those runs, using only one other reliever and a position player.
Here is 4th year manager Mark Kotsay’s team:
🐘 1B Nick Kurtz (6), 2B Luis Urias (10, SS Jacob Wilson (26), 3B Miguel Andujar (19)
🐘 RF Lawrence Butler (16), CF JJ Bleday (18), LF Tyler Soderstrom (29)
🐘 C Shea Langeliers (23), DH Brent Rooker (22)
🐘 rotation Luis Severin, Jeffrey Springs, Gunnar Hoglund (1-1, 3.78), Osvaldo Bido (2-4, 5.82), JP Sears
🐘 closer Mason Miller, set ups Grant Holman and Tyler Ferguson.
Having experimented in recent years with ex-Giants like Ross Stripling, Alex Wood, and JD Davis, the Athletics have chosen to go with no former Giants on their active roster.
The A’s have a 22-22 record, placing them in 4th place in the AL West, but only two games out of first. Recent first round picks like Tyler Soderstrom (10 HR) and Jacob Wilson (0.313 BA) are producing, and Gunnar Hoglund is gaining his footing in his first big league season. They shouldn’t be taken lightly! That 0.500 record consists of going 8-13 in their minor league home stadium, but 14-9 on the road.
The Giants are not playing baseball as solidly as back in April. The pitching lets a few too many runs across early, or the hitters are enfeebled by changeups. They fell one run short in two of the games against the Diamondbacks, and also trailed in the middle game until discovering they could hit home runs. We already celebrated Christian Koss’ grand slam in the off-day post. Let’s recognize Jung Hoo Lee for hitting two of the four Giants’ homers in the series.
Lee’s homers were the fun kind, with one on and with two on! JHL, as he is known, brings strong energy to the game, by running good routes, taking extra bases, putting the bat onto the baseball, and drawing chants from the stands in just about every city the Giants visit. There are 8 batters who have taken 100+ ABs for the team this year. Two of them, Matt Chapman (155 AB) and Willy Adames (171), have both struck out 51 times. Lee is by far the best of these 8, whiffing only 22 times. On a percentage basis, Lee has struck out in only 13% of his 168 AB, compared to Chapman’s K rate of 33%. His 29 RBI trail only Flores’ 33, his 11 doubles are tied with Ramos for the team lead, and his two triples top Tyler Fitzgerald, Monty Wade, and Patrick Bailey who each have one. JHL’s batting average going into the A’s series is 0.286, behind only Ramos’ 0.288. So, it is about time to shower Jung Hoo Lee with the Picture of the Post honor. Fortunately, the Photography Department was at the game Wednesday, and so able to capture the swing producing Lee’s two run homer, cutting the deficit to just two runs.
