New York Yankees-San Francisco Giants Series Preview

Two of baseball’s most stories club will reignite a long rivalry this weekend, as the New York Yankees and San Francisco Giants begin a three game series on Friday in the Bronx.

The last series between these two clubs was all the way back in September of 2013. The Yankees took two of three at home behind back-to-back strong pitching performances by CC Sabathia and Ivan Nova.

The third game of that matchup was 41-year-old Andy Pettitte’s second to last start with the Yankees. He went seven innings, struck out six batters, and allowed just two earned. He might still be the Yankees third best starter if he came back right now.

Amazingly, despite the long history between the Giants and Yankees, this will be only the fourth series they have played since the 1962 World Series. The Giants came to New York for three games in 2002, and the Yankees made their only trip to San Francisco in the modern era in 2007.

This current crop of Giants is well on their way to an inevitable even-year World Series title. Coming into Thursday night, they are 57-38 and sitting comfortably in first place in the NL West with a 4.5 game lead over the Los Angeles Dodgers.

San Francisco has been considerably short-handed in recent weeks, with a third of their regular lineup on the disabled list. Outfielder Hunter Pence (Hamstring) and third baseman Matt Duffy (Achilles) are expected to miss this series, but second baseman Joe Panik has finished a rehab assignment and seems to be in line to return for the Friday opener after missing several weeks with a concussion.

Scheduled Matchups

Friday at 7:05 pm ET- Masahiro Tanaka vs. Madison Bumgarner
Saturday at 4:05 pm ET- Ivan Nova vs. Jeff Samardzija
Sunday at 1:05 pm ET- Nathan Eovaldi vs. Johnny Cueto

Next: Projecting the 2017 New York Yankees Lineup

San Francisco’s “Go-To” Starting Lineup (Courtesy of Roster Resource)

1. Denard Span– CF (92 wRC+) That three year deal does not look great at the moment.
2. Angel Pagan-LF (109 wRC+) Nice little bounce-back from last year’s disaster
3. Brandon Belt– 1B (142 wRC+) A rock in the middle of the lineup. Was rewarded with six year $79 million extension in April.
4. Buster Posey– C (126 wRC+) The west coast Derek Jeter? Rings, class, and consistent excellence.
5. Brandon Crawford– SS (112 wRC+) Most valuable Giant this year at 4.2 fWAR.
6. Conor Gillaspie– 3B (88 wRC+) Just keeping Duffy’s seat warm.
7. Gregor Blanco– RF (88 wRC+) Has been sneaky-good for the Giants the last four years. Not this season.
8. Ramiro Pena– 2B (143 wRC+ in limited action) Former Yankee has somehow put together decent seven year MLB career.