The San Francisco Giants and the New York Yankees meet Saturday in MLB action from Yankee Stadium. This will be the second installment in a three-game weekend series. New York took the first game in shutout fashion. Check back all season long for free MLB picks at Sports Chat Place.
San Francisco Giants
The Giants managed a .500 record last year, going 81-81 overall and eventually falling out of playoff contention. San Francisco started out the 2023 campaign with a 5-0 loss to the Yankees on Thursday. Starter Logan Webb posted 6.0 innings with four earned and 12 strikeouts.
As starter for the Saturday matchup, the Giants will send out Alex Cobb. Last year Cobb went 7-8 overall with a 3.73 ERA in 28 starts. He managed 151 strikeouts in 149.2 innings. Over his career, Cobb is 70-68 with a 3.85 ERA in 202 total starts.
New York Yankees
Over on the New York side, they had a 99-63 run last year for an AL East championship but lost to the Astros in the ALCS. On Thursday, the Yankees got two RBI from both Aaron Judge and Gleyber Torres in the win. Starter Gerrit Cole put up 6.0 clean inning with 11 Ks and three hits.
Clarke Schmidt will take the mound for the Saturday start on the Yankees’ side. Last season Schmidt went 5-5 with a 3.12 ERA in 29 games (three starts). He had 57.2 innings total with 56 strikeouts. In his career, Schmidt has 34 games (five starts) and a 3.71 ERA.
The Giants are 4-1 in their last five versus the AL East and 12-5 in their last 17 overall. San Francisco is 9-4 in their last 13 road games.
Meanwhile, the Yankees are 12-2 in their last 14 interleague games and 4-1 in their last five versus the NL West. New York is 57-24 in their last 81 at home.
ANDREW’S FREE PICK
I might take a stab on the Giants here. San Francisco didn’t play especially well in the Thursday opener, notching just four team hits (two from Thairo Estrada). That was against Cole however, so this time the Giants should have some more opportunities. The good news is that the pitching staff racked up 16 strikeouts in just eight innings. So long as Cobb comes into this one on point, I think San Francisco will be in the game late. It’ll be interesting to see what Cobb can do in his first 2023 start on the other side as well.