A pair of geographical rivals open up a short interleague set on the diamond in the Golden State. The San Francisco Giants are on the road as they play the first game of a two-game series with the Oakland A’s Saturday night. San Francisco fell 5-3 on the road to the Dodgers Thursday to end up swept in a four-game series in the City of Angels. Oakland won the rubber game of their series with the Angels on the road, picking up an 8-7 victory Thursday afternoon in their most recent game. The teams split the first two games of the season series when they met in San Francisco April 26-27.
San Francisco dropped to 3-12 since the All-Star break as they were knocked off for the second straight night by the Dodgers. The Giants entered Friday third in the NL West, 21.5 games behind the Dodgers for the division lead. They were 6.5 games behind the Phillies, Cardinals and Brewers, who were tied for the final wild card spot in the National League playoff picture. On Thursday, San Francisco finished with five hits with no player having more than one. J.D. Davis hit his fifth homer of the season in the contest but it wasn’t enough for the Giants. Jakob Junis (4-3) took the loss as he allowed three runs on five hits with two walks and five strikeouts over 3.2 innings of work.
Carlos Rodon is on the hill for the Giants as he makes his 22nd start of the season in this contest. He enters this game 9-6 with a 3.00 ERA, a 1.073 WHIP, 39 walks and 158 strikeouts over 123 innings on the season. Rodon picked up the win in his last start, which came Sunday at home against the Cubs. He threw seven scoreless innings, allowing two hits with no walks and 10 strikeouts in a 4-0 Giants triumph. In his last three starts, Rodon is 1-1 with a 5.00 ERA, a 0.83 WHIP, four walks and 27 strikeouts over 18 innings of action. Rodon makes his sixth career start against the A’s in this contest. He comes in 3-1 with a 3.45 ERA, a 1.213 WHIP, 12 walks and 33 strikeouts over 31.1 innings of work against them. Rodon is 1-1 with a 4.67 ERA, a 1.50 WHIP, 10 walks and 21 strikeouts over 17.1 innings of work in three career starts at the RingCentral Coliseum.