The Giants swoop into Atlanta today, to play a game scheduled for June 18th. Back in June, a game on the 16th was rained out, the Giants won a double header the next day, and then a tropical storm bore down on the southeast. The result is playing once more now, against former Giants Mike Yastrzemski, Mauricio Dubon, Dominic Smith, and Tyler Mahle. I’m a little jealous as they have three of my favorites. The pitching matchup is Anthony Molina (0-0, 5.40) versus RHP Bryce Elder (8-7, 3.95), with first pitch at 3:05. You might remember Molina came from the Braves in a deadline deal that sent Mahle to them. The 82-55 Braves top the NL East by a margin of 5 games over the Phillies.
There has been much speculation as to whether or not the Giants will win a series this year. A pedant would consult a math book for the definition, to learn a series is a sum of an infinite number of terms. That doesn’t really help much, but who doesn’t enjoy looking in a math book? A dictionary says “a number of things or events of the same class coming one after another in spatial or temporal succession” which certainly includes a baseball series. But 2 does not really feel like enough, that’s only a pair, so a series really needs to be 3 or more. So, the Giants did win that double header, back in June, and despite what some sports stats bureaus are saying, also need to win today to “win a series in 2026”.
In a similar vein, directly from the Department of Useless Information, Wikipedia says that a losing streak requires dropping 2 games, but a winning streak is 3 minimum. Go figure!
The Giants have been dropping like flies, especially on the pitching staff. The four game series with the Snakes included a double header on Saturday, during which Jeff Kent was feted for getting into the Hall. The Giants brought the Tugboat back as 27th guy to start the DH, and later kept him on the roster by placing Hentges on the IL. They also selected the contracts of relievers Braxton Roxby and Seth Lonsway, who both pitched credibly during the Arizona series. Seth Lonsway was optioned after the first game of the DH, but he did well enough so we expect him back as a September call up, tomorrow. Roxby also threw strikes, a good thing in a reliever.
And finally, they took the unusual step of promoting 6’6” starter Yunior Marte all the way from Richmond, who went 4⅔ innings in the nightcap of the DH. Marte was charged with an earned run, because the official scorer didn’t rule an error on a ball that clanked out of an OFers mitt. But Marte doesn’t care! He got to meet Juan Marichal who was in town for the Kent ceremony, and got some of Juan’s pitching advice:
“It was really awesome,” Marte said, with Erwin Higueros interpreting. “He just gave me a few tips — to enjoy the moment and try not to give up a lot of bases on balls.”
For a kid from the Dominican, that has to be a dream. Well, all the rest of us would be thrilled to pieces to meet the Dominican Dandy, who looked in good health. Marte’s line was 3 hits, 2 walks, 3 strikeouts, 76 pitches, which was exactly what the Giants needed. After the nightcap, in which Bryce Eldridge collected 4 hits and 4 RBI, Eldridge said this about Marte, “He’s just the nicest guy ever and he’s very deserving. His stuff looked gross.” The publicity gang did a great job of collecting our Picture of the Post.
Marte is actually the second Yunior Marte to pitch for the Giants. The first one uses an accent mark, Marté, and mopped up ten games back in 2022. The second one came in a deadline deal last year, Yastrzemski going to Kansas City in return for Marte. Early days, but yesterday it sure looked like a good return.
The Giants depart ATL to face the Pirates and Mets, as the season turns to its final month.
