The final home series

Get to the ballpark if you can.

On Sunday, the San Francisco Giants will play the Arizona Diamondbacks and, when the game concludes, we’ll have to wait until April 7, when the highly-anticipated 2014 World Series rematch takes place, to see beautiful Oracle Park again.

Or whatever it will be named by then. My money’s on Tesla Park.

Yes, it’s the final home series of the year, and the Giants will use it to try and keep up the momentum they’ve found over the last two weeks. With a sweep of the D-Backs, the Giants would assure that they’ll finish the season at least .500.

But that doesn’t feel as important as the fact that the final games are really underway now. Soon we’ll be without Giants baseball. Regardless of your thoughts on this season, that will bring you sadness.

So enjoy these games.

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Series details

Who: San Francisco Giants vs. Arizona Diamondbacks
Where: Oracle Park, San Francisco, California
When: Friday (7:15 p.m. PT), Saturday (1:05 p.m. PT), and Sunday (1:05 p.m. PT)
National broadcasts: None

Projected matchups
Friday: Alex Cobb vs. Merrill Kelly
Saturday: Jakob Junis vs. Drey Jameson
Sunday: Logan Webb vs. Zach Davies

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Where they stand

Giants

Record: 78-78, 3rd in the NL West
Run differential: +16, 8th in the NL
Postseason standing: Technically still in this thing!
Momentum: 4-game winning streak, 9-1 in their last 10 games

D-Backs

Record: 72-84, 4th in the NL West
Run differential: -33, 9th in the NL
Postseason standing: Missing the playoffs for the 5th straight year, and for the 10th time in the last 11 seasons
Momentum: 1-game winning streak, 4-6 in their last 10 games

Season series: D-Backs lead 9-7

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Three Giants to watch

Photo by Brandon Vallance/Getty Images

Logan Webb: Sunday is the final time that we’ll get to see Logan Webb pitch until March. The young ace backed up his breakout 2021 by having a 2.90 ERA and a 3.04 FIP this season, cementing his spot as one of the top pitchers in baseball. He’s so much fun to watch, and even though we’ll probably only get to see five innings of him in this one, as the Giants continue to limit his pitches, I can’t wait to watch him one more time.

Shelby Miller and Scott Alexander: The two journeymen pitchers have looked like revelations in their brief San Francisco stints. Miller has struck out 12 of the 18 batters he’s faced, while Alexander has allowed just 11 baserunners in 15 innings. Another good series or two and both could become leading nominees for 2023 bullpen spots.

David Villar: Villar has seven home runs in 165 plate appearances since making his debut in July, but he’s still looking for his first one in San Francisco (he’s hit homers in every NL West ballpark except Oracle). These three games represent his final chance at a home homer, but more importantly, they give him another opportunity to prove that he should be on the Opening Day roster next season. He’ll want to make a good impression, not just in the batter’s box, but also with his glove.

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Three D-Backs to watch

Photo by Zac BonDurant/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Drey Jameson: Jameson has made three starts this year — the first three games of his MLB career. And he’s been electric in them. He struck out five in seven scoreless innings against the San Diego Padres. Then he struck out seven in six innings of two-run ball against the Los Angeles Dodgers. And in his last start, he struck out five in 5.1 innings, without allowing a run. His opponent? The Giants. It looks like the Giants will be seeing a whole bunch of Jameson over the next 5-10 years, so figuring out how to not let him develop into the next great Giant killer would be a good goal this weekend.

Merrill Kelly: Like Jameson, Kelly’s last start came against the Giants. And like Jameson, Kelly was excellent, handing the Giants their only loss of the last 10 games. He’s been brilliant against the Giants all year, in fact. Here’s his line through five starts against San Francisco: 35.1 innings, 18 hits, 8 walks, 6 runs, 30 strikeouts. Not bad for the mayor of Schitt’s Creek.

Corbin Carroll: Giants fans have kept an eye on Carroll since 2019, when he was projected to San Francisco in a few mock drafts. The Giants did not select him and, six picks later, the Diamondbacks did. Carroll quickly became one of the top prospects in baseball, and made his MLB debut in late August, just a week after his 22nd birthday. Drafting is an inexact science, so I wouldn’t beat the Giants up too much, but it’s hard not to notice that Carroll is playing very well in the Majors, while the Giants pick in that draft, Hunter Bishop, is still in High-A … and more than two years older. Carroll is hitting .247/.312/.447 with strong defense, and has all the makings of someone who will torment the Giants for many years to come. And you know how much I love guys like that!

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Earlier in the week, 91% of You People predicted the Giants to beat the Colorado Rockies, and 31% predicted a sweep. Pat yourselves on the back, and do it again!