The San Francisco Giants are getting set for game one of three against the Detroit Tigers. The Giants are coming off of two straight losses at the hands of the Chicago Cubs, while the Tigers are coming off a win over the Mets after dropping the first two-of-three.
Madison Bumgarner is taking the mound tonight for the defending world champions, and he's riding a bit of momentum. His last outing was an eleven strikeout effort over seven shutout innings against the Indians, coming directly after an outing in which he'd given up eight runs against the Minnestoa Twins in the very first inning. Bumgarner is sporting a rather poor 4-9 record with a 3.84 earned run average in sixteen starts. Bumgarner has never faced the Tigers in his career.
Brad Penny is going to be the counter to Bumgarner, and is 5-6 with a 4.66 ERA in sixteen starts of his own. He's 1-3 with a paltry 5.45 ERA in his last seven starts. His last outing was a no-decision against the Diamondbacks, giving up two runs in 6 2/3 innings, a game the Tigers would eventually win 8-3. Penny holds a 6-3 record over the Giants in nineteen starts, and a solid 3.05 ERA in the series.
The Giants will be looking to Pablo Sandoval for hitting support. Sandoval looked to come up big in the clutch in the finale against the Cubs, with a home run in extra innings, but Chicago tied it in the bottom half of the inning and Sandoval was robbed of late-game heroics. Still, he's on a 12-game hitting streak right now and should be a big factor for the Giants.