The San Francisco Giants play host to the Boston Red Sox on Saturday night in the second game of this weekend's series from Oracle Park. It was a slow start for both teams in Friday's opener and the Giants will especially be looking to start faster at home. This is the first series between the two teams since 2019 and with both locked into tight battles in playoff positioning, this is one that will be filled with intrigue. With the late start, this is one fans will certainly want to tune in for.
The Red Sox were quiet during the first stretch of the season but have done well to work themselves back into the playoff hunt. They've gone 6-4 over their last ten games and while they still sit in fourth-place in the AL East standings, are well within the range of finding themselves in the Wild Card race, let alone the AL East race if they put together a solid run. Away from home hasn't been too bad to this team either, as they have a winning record in road games this season, even if just barely. All signs are trending toward this being a different team than the first half of the season and the Giants on Saturday night could find that out quickly.
According to MLB.com, James Paxton will get the ball for Boston, as the Red Sox get to lean on one of their best arms in game two. The lefty has been electric this season, racking up a 6-2 record and 3.46 ERA. Last time out saw him allow o nly two runs across six innings of work, even after getting shelled two starts ago. In his last nine starts, he's only allowed three runs or more twice, which is great news for Boston. There hasn't been a better pitcher the last month than Paxton in the AL East and Boston will need him to keep the momentum going.
Boston's offense has turned a corner of late too and while averaging 5.2 runs per game, they don't have to lean quite as much on the pitching. As opposed to past Boston teams, the power numbers haven't been what has been leading the way but a .263 average continues to be one of the best marks in the league. Staying healthy has been key as well, as their depth has been instrumental to their recent run at success. Rafael Devers (25 home runs, 76 RVI) continues to be the leader, though the emergence of Masataka Yoshida (.316 average, .378 OBP) has helped take the pressure off of some of the experienced hitters in the lineup. After a q uiet night in the opener though, it'll be interesting to see how they fare in game two of the weekend.