It wasn't the start the Giants wanted, nor was it the start Madison Bumgarner was looking for. He gave up back-to-back home runs early and then had himself a monster game on the mound, but San Francisco couldn't get the bats going to support his early mistakes, and that's all she wrote. It cut the Giants lead in the NL West to just half a game, and the defending world champions absolutely need to get things going sooner rather than later against the tough Phillies. The team called the previous series against the Phillies and Brewers "playoff-like", and if that's what they're going for this time, they need to turn it around.
Tonight, Jonathan Sanchez re-enters the lineup after a stint on the disabled list. His last outing was on June 24th, where he lasted just 4.2 innings, giving up two hits and three runs with six strikeouts and six free bases. He got the no-decision though, as the Giants came back to beat the Indians 4-3.
He does have a bit of history against the Phillies, most notably last year during the Giants World Series run, when he took a loss and a no-decision, lasting only two innings in one game. He was thrown out when he snapped at Chase Utley, who was insulted about pitches on the inside. Sanchez has been adamant that he's not thinking about that this time around.
He'll hope to have run support from a Giants offense that torched the Diamondbacks just a few short days ago, but fell stagnant against the Phillies last night. Carlos Beltran and Pablo Sandoval need to get hitting again, because Sanchez is rarely completely dominant from start to finish. He might give up some runs and that's something the team will need to overcome.
Vance Worley will be taking the mound for the Phillies, and he'll look to tame the Giants bats (which is almost too funny to type). Worley has been great, winning five straight starts and sporting a 7-1 record with a 2.33 ERA on the year. His last outing was a no-decision though, in which he lasted six innings, giving up seven hits and four runs, without giving up any walks and fanning seven. He was pulled, and the team came back to win it. Will he get back to his winning ways? Well that's up to the Giants.