After taking seven out of 10 games against three very good Diamondbacks, Cardinals, and Brewers teams, the Braves will now see the schedule ease up a bit as they go to San Francisco for a four-game set against the Giants.
Even with Wes Parsons allowing a HR on the first pitch of Sunday’s 10th inning, ultimately leading to a loss, the Braves still managed to navigate their recent scheduling minefield with aplomb. Though the series finale against the Brewers left a bad taste in everybody’s mouth, the Braves should still feel good about how the last few series played out. They sit in second place in the NL East with a 25-22 record; they are currently 2 ½ games off the pace set by Philadelphia.
The Giants are 20-25, sitting 9 ½ games back in the NL West and tied for last place. Their offense has struggled mightily, only averaging 3.89 runs per game and posting a team-wide .662 OPS, the fourth worst in baseball. Things will not get any easier for them, as they will run into the Braves’ resident Canadian buzzsaw, Mike Soroka.
Soroka will try to continue his improbable run for the Braves, having not allowed more than one earned run during any of his six starts in 2019. This will be Soroka’s second career start against San Francisco, the team that is responsible for the worst start of his young career. Last year on May 6, the Giants touched Soroka for four earned runs over four innings. His mound opponent on that fateful day? The same pitcher who will take the ball for the Giants tonight - Andrew Suarez.
The southpaw Suarez will be making his season debut for the Giants. In six starts at AAA this season, he is 2-3 with a 6.33 ERA | 4.88 FIP; however, the move out of the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League into the pitcher-friendly confines of Oracle Park could be a boon for Suarez’s peripherals. He split his two games against the Braves last year, winning against Soroka in Atlanta last May but dropping one at home last September.
The Braves will likely be joined this evening by Anthony Swarzak, whom was acquired earlier in the day from the Seattle Mariners.
Game Info
Game Date/Time: Monday, May 20, 9:45 p.m. ET
Location: Oracle Park, San Francisco, California
TV: Fox Sports Southeast
Streaming: MLB.tv
Radio: 680 AM / 93.7 FM The Fan, Rock 100.5, Braves Radio Network