Giants vs. Indians, Series Preview: Giants Host First Place Indians For First Time Since 2005

With Interleague play still in full swing, Commissioner Bud Seilg and his cronies have certainly picked some interesting matchups, even if they were unaware of doing so. The upstart Cleveland Indians will bring their first place standing in the AL Central to AT&T Park Friday night against the San Francisco Giants, a team they haven't faced since 2008, and not in the Bay since 2005. 

Cleveland has leveled off a bit since they got out of the gates like a NASCAR, going 7-8 in their last 15 games. Maybe the most surprising team in MLB so far in 2011, skipper Manny Acta has his club reinvigorated and are in a great spot to take the AL Central thus far, even though it'll likely be a dogfight. Their last visit to AT&T in 2005 merited a sweep for the Indians, something every GIants fan wants no part of this time around. The Giants are 7-13 against AL Central teams at AT&T Park, but are hoping for a little payback from Cleveland's last visit. 

But if the Giants are going to take down the Tribe, their are going to need to get their bats going in crunch time. Giants hitters went 4-46 (.087 BA) with runners in scoring position over their last six games, and current sport the second lowest RISP batting average in the majors at .221 (133-603). It's not the the team isn't hitting, it's just that they can't seem to get a hit when it really counts, especially the longball. Giants players have only 13 homers at AT&T this season, the lowest mark for any home team in the bigs. I think it's time to bump that total up a bit, don't you?

Should be a great series between last year's champs and this year's surprise contender. 

For more on the Giants, head over to McCovey Chronicles.