Game Preview: San Francisco Giants vs. Atlanta Braves (Game 2)
By Editorial Staff
Friday, August 6 – 7:35 (Peachtree TV)
San Francisco Giants (62-47) vs. Atlanta Braves (62-46)
Barry Zito
(3.38 ERA, 4.70 xFIP, 3.38 BB/9, 6.52 K/9, 7.3 SwStr%)
(Career vs. ATL: 4 GS, 3-1, 2.42 ERA, 14 BB, 18 K)
vs.
Tommy Hanson
(3.83 ERA, 3.94 xFIP, 2.69 BB/9, 9 K/9, 9.9 SwStr%)
(Career vs. SF: 1 GS, 1-0, 3.86 ERA, 3 BB, 11 K)
Braves vs. Zito:
| PA | AB | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Troy Glaus | 53 | 41 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 10 | 12 | 10 | .244 | .415 | .512 | .927 |
| Omar Infante | 15 | 15 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | .200 | .200 | .200 | .400 |
| Alex Gonzalez | 12 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | .273 | .333 | .545 | .879 |
| Eric Hinske | 9 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | .125 | .222 | .125 | .347 |
| Chipper Jones | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .000 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| Nate McLouth | 6 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .167 | .000 | .167 |
| Martin Prado | 6 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | .250 | .500 | .250 | .750 |
| Melky Cabrera | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .000 | .250 | .000 | .250 |
| David Ross | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | .250 | .400 | .250 | .650 |
| Rick Ankiel | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .000 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| Matt Diaz | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .333 | .333 | .333 | .667 |
| Brian McCann | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .000 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| Diory Hernandez | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| Kenshin Kawakami | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | |||
| Total | 128 | 107 | 20 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 13 | 19 | 26 | .187 | .315 | .318 | .633 |
Giants vs. Hanson:
| PA | AB | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aaron Rowand | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .000 | .250 | .000 | .250 |
| Pablo Sandoval | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .000 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| Aubrey Huff | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1.000 | 1.000 | 1.000 | 2.000 |
| Edgar Renteria | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .333 | .333 | .333 | .667 |
| Nate Schierholtz | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .000 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| Juan Uribe | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .333 | .333 | 1.000 | 1.333 |
| Jonathan Sanchez | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .000 | .500 | .000 | .500 |
| Total | 22 | 17 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 10 | .176 | .318 | .294 | .612 |
What to Look For:
Whether the Braves can take advantage of the matchup. Both are pitching well right now but Hanson’s is in line with his ERA, while Zito is pitching way over his head and is due for a knockdown. The same can be said for their career numbers. Hanson has one solid start against the Giants while Zito has pitched well against the Braves but has walked quite a few. The Braves used the long ball to win last night, but they can’t rely on that against Zito. Here’s to hoping they don’t try.
My Take on the Opposition:
Friday night’s game features another solid matchup in Barry Zito vs. Tommy Hanson. Zito has been getting praise for reviving his career and returning to his Oakland ways, when in fact he’s pitching about as bad as he usually does. He has an xFIP of 4.70 and a BABIP of .271 shows that 3.38 ERA isn’t indicative of how he has pitched. He is walking fewer at 3.38 BB/9 but strikeouts remain low at 6.52 K/9 and his whiff rate remains the same, which isn’t good. He has been worth 2.2 wins to the Giants, which is the same as last year. Zito gave up just one run on three hits in seven innings against the Dodgers in his last start. He has had success against the Braves in four starts, giving up seven runs in 26 innings.