Here’s who the SF Giants have lined up to pitch their most important games
SAN FRANCISCO — With six innings of one-run ball against the Rockies in a 6-2 Giants win on Sunday, right-hander Kevin Gausman took a big step forward for a club that needs the veteran to be at his best in the playoffs.
The Giants own a 2.0-game lead in the National League West with six games left in the regular season and given his current schedule, Gausman can and should be available to start the first game the team plays in the postseason.
After posting a 1.73 ERA and earning his first career All-Star nod during the first half of the season, Gausman had struggled down the stretch before recording a season-high 25 swings and misses on 90 pitches against the Rockies on Sunday.
“For me, today was a big step forward,” Gausman said postgame. “I could tell from the get-go that I was back to my normal self and back to when I was going good. Then the confidence came back and I felt like I could throw any pitch whenever I needed it to.”
Giants manager Gabe Kapler hasn’t revealed any long-term plans for his rotation, but he did say Sunday that Logan Webb will start against Arizona on Tuesday with lefty Alex Wood following on Wednesday.
The Giants have multiple pitchers in consideration to start in Thursday’s series finale, which is when Diamondbacks left-hander Madison Bumgarner is expected to face San Francisco. If the Giants stay on turn, right-hander Anthony DeSclafani would remain lined up to pitch on Thursday, but it’s possible the club will bump DeSclafani’s start back and have lefty Scott Kazmir or right-hander Johnny Cueto start against Arizona.
Cueto has been on the injured list with an elbow strain throughout the month of September and made a rehab start on Thursday with Triple-A Sacramento. The veteran right-hander gave up four hits in a 40-pitch outing against the Salt Lake City Bees and the Giants have yet to determine whether he’ll rejoin the roster before the end of the regular season.
A decision to give DeSclafani additional rest would likely set him up to start on Saturday as the Giants will want Gausman to pitch Friday if it’s still possible San Francisco could play in the wild card game. If it appears the Giants will avoid the wild card game, DeSclafani could pitch Friday with Gausman following on Saturday.
The Giants’ magic number to clinch the division is five, so they are unlikely to be in position to clinch prior to Friday unless San Francisco sweeps Arizona and receives help from a Padres team that’s playing the second-place Dodgers at Dodger Stadium this week.
With Gausman likely to start Friday’s series opener against the Padres, he would then be on turn to potentially pitch the wild card game on Wednesday, October 6 or start Game 1 of the NLDS on Friday, October 8.
If the Giants lose their division lead and end the 162-game regular season tied with the Dodgers atop the National League West, Wood is the likeliest candidate to start a potential Game 163 that would determine the division champion on Monday, October 4 at Oracle Park.
The Giants’ ideal scenario would be to avoid a Game 163 against the Dodgers and also to avoid a wild card game that will force the second-place finisher in the NL West to face a St. Louis Cardinals team that won its 16th consecutive game on Sunday.
With Webb set to start Tuesday, he is also tentatively slated to return to the mound and pitch on the final day of the regular season against the Padres. If the Giants clinch the division prior to Sunday, it’s possible Webb could pitch a few innings to stay sharp or skip his last scheduled start so he can be well-rested for the postseason.
The Giants’ current set-up suggests Gausman would start the first game of the postseason with Webb following behind him, but the team has plenty to sort out before it can begin to think about lining pitchers up for a potential NLDS.