SAN FRANCISCO — Two teams that looked a bit more like they hoped to look all season Thursday night will go head-to-head for the second straight game when the San Diego Padres take on the San Francisco Giants on Friday.
On the same night when the Padres were able to put Wil Myers and Eric Hosmer in the lineup together for just the ninth time this season Jason Spriggs Jersey , the Giants had their 1-2 pitching combination of Madison Bumgarner and Mark Melancon going strong in a 3-0 victory in the opener of a four-game series.
The Giants’ third straight victory was more than just a streak-extender, catcher Buster Posey insisted afterward.
“Bum is such a presence,” he said of the left-handed ace. “Even when he’s not pitching that night, he’s lurking. The other team knows he’s there. It’s a nice advantage for us to have.”
Bumgarner recorded his first win of the season Thursday in the same game in which Melancon notched his first save of the year.
The duo, who were viewed as a potential high-powered tag-team act when Melancon was signed as a free agent before the start of the 2017 season, worked the win/save thing for the first time as teammates.
Melancon was pressed into ninth-inning duties because of the broken finger sustained by closer Hunter Strickland earlier in the week.
If all goes well, the Giants might be afforded the luxury of moving Strickland back to a set-up role when he returns in August, presuming Melancon can continue to display the stuff that overpowered the top of the San Diego order on just 13 pitches to complete Thursday’s shutout.
Among the guys Melancon set down were Myers, who grounded out, and Hosmer, who struck out.
They combined to go 0-for-7 in their new setting — atop the San Diego order.
Myers, who suffered arm and oblique injuries in spring training and the first month of the season, was playing Thursday for the first time since April 28.
“They’re our guys,” Padres manager Andy Green assured. “Every single team has a couple guys you look to rely on offensively to anchor you. They’re our guys. They are the two guys that we expect to anchor us, and when you’re missing part of that anchor it can be tough.”
The anchor looked a bit rusty against Bumgarner, who worked eight three-hit innings, but they will get a shot at Giants right-hander Chris Stratton (8-4, 4.22 ERA) in the second game of the series.
With Myers out of the lineup, Stratton threw seven shutout innings, allowing just one hit, in a 7-0 win over the Padres in April. It improved his career numbers to 2-1 with a 3.21 ERA against them in three games, including two starts.
Stratton enters the game on a nice roll, having lost just once in his last seven starts dating back to May 9.
He will be opposed by Padres left-hander Clayton Richard (6-6, 4.31), who has won three in a row Corey Linsley Jersey , allowing just six earned runs in 20 innings.
But the 34-year-old has struggled in his career against the Giants, going 6-8 with a 4.58 ERA in 22 games, including 19 starts.
He has pitched 13 times (10 starts) in San Francisco, going 4-4 with a 5.75 ERA.
Among those who have teed off on Richard are Posey, who has gone 12-for-32 (.375) with two home runs, and Andrew McCutchen, who also has homered twice in just 12 at-bats.
The New York Yankees are in the midst of their longest losing streak of the season.
It’s only three losses in a row for the Yankees, but they enter the week with an injured starting catcher and a meeting with a surging opponent.
The Philadelphia Phillies have won four consecutive series and will host the Yankees for a three-game set at Citizens Bank Park. Vince Velasquez of the Phillies will face rookie right-hander Jonathan Loaisiga of the Yankees in the series opener on Monday night.
New York was swept in a three-game weekend series on the road by the Tampa Bay Rays. It’s the first time in 2018 the Yankees have lost three consecutive games — something the team had not done since Aug. 28-30, 2017.
“As far as the losses, I look at it as a bump in the road,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone told MLB.com after a 7-6 loss in the series finale. “Unfortunately, it’s bound to happen in a long season. You’ve just got to turn the page.”
The Yankees lost more than a game on Sunday. Catcher Gary Sanchez hurt his right groin/hip while running to first base in the 10th inning. Sanchez is scheduled to get an MRI on Monday, and Boone told reporters that it’s likely the 25-year-old will be placed on the disabled list.
Sanchez, in his third major league season, is hitting .190 with a .724 OPS and 14 homers through 63 games this season.
Despite being swept, the Yankees (50-25) are still tied with the Boston Red Sox for the American League East lead.
The Phillies (41-34) have won nine of their last 13 games and moved within 2 1/2 games of the Atlanta Braves for the top spot in the National League East.
Velasquez (5-7, 4.82 ERA) will try to make it five straight wins for the Phillies on Monday night. The right-hander has pitched into the seventh inning in three of his last four starts, including his last outing.
Velasquez struck out eight and allowed four runs against the St. Louis Cardinals last Tuesday. He allowed just four hits in the start, but two of them were homers.
Velasquez has faced the Yankees twice in his career, and both appearances came during the 2015 season when he was with the Houston Astros. He has a 3.24 ERA and 0.840 WHIP in those games.
Loaisiga (1-0, 3.12 ERA) will make just the third start of his major league career.
The 23-year-old from Nicaragua was sharp in his debut, throwing five scoreless innings against the Rays on June 15. Loaisiga had a tougher time in his second start. Facing the Seattle Mariners last Wednesday, he allowed three runs and six hits and used 84 pitches to get through 3 2/3 innings.
The Yankees and Phillies are meeting for the first time since the 2015 season. Philadelphia took two of three at Yankee Stadium from June 22 to June 24 three years ago.
