San Francisco @ Arizona preview
Chase Field
Last Meeting ( Mar 21, 2010 ) San Francisco 4, Arizona 3
The San Francisco Giants are about to get a boost for their struggling offense.
Second baseman Freddy Sanchez will meet the team in Phoenix today and will be activated and in the starting lineup when the Giants open a two-game series against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Sanchez has been on the disabled list all season after offseason shoulder injury. The 2006 National League batting champion for the Pittsburgh Pirates should significantly enhance San Francisco’s hitting attack.
The Giants acquired him from the Pirates during the second half of last season but he injured his shoulder in August. He later returned before undergoing the offseason procedure.
San Francisco is currently without shortstop Edgar Renteria (groin) and left fielder Mark DeRosa (wrist) so the return of Sanchez couldn’t come at a better time. Sanchez has been on a minor-league rehab assignment over the past week.
Once Sanchez and Renteria are both back, Giants manager Bruce Bochy will have all kinds of options on which players to bat near the top of the order. Aaron Rowand has been batting leadoff, Andres Torres has been faring well in the No. 2 hole of late and Pablo Sandoval is the No. 3 hitter.
The return of both players also will put Juan Uribe back in the utility role despite the fact Uribe has a team-leading 24 RBIs.
Rowand (3-for-7) and Torres (2-for-5 with a hit by pitch) combined to reach base six times in Tuesday’s 12-inning victory against San Diego. Torres hit a game-tying, two-run homer in the eighth.
Ironically, Matt Downs, filling in at second base, had the tie-breaking, two-run double as one of his three hits on the night.
Arizona could be without first baseman Adam LaRoche, who was hit on the knee by a pitch from Florida’s Josh Johnson on Tuesday. LaRoche is third on the Diamondbacks with 24 RBIs.
Third baseman Mark Reynolds batted the flu earlier this week and hasn’t homered since May 8. Reynolds has 10 homers and a team-leading 30 RBIs.
Second baseman Kelly Johnson leads Arizona with 11 homers. Johnson has 36 hits and 23 of them have been for extra bases.
Ian Kennedy will be on the mound for the Diamondbacks. Kennedy (2-2) has allowed three runs or fewer in six of his eight starts.
Kennedy has struck out 40 hitters in 50 1/3 innings and has a 3.58 earned-run average.
San Francisco starter Todd Wellemeyer (2-3) hasn’t lost since April 21 despite a 5.25 ERA.
Wellemeyer allowed just two runs and five hits in 7 1/3 innings while beating Houston in his most recent outing.