Drew Gilbert is holding onto the top spot in the San Francisco Giants’ order Thursday morning, and this time it looks less like a test run and more like a real opportunity.
The Giants are sticking with Gilbert as their leadoff man for the series finale against the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park, with first pitch set for 12:35 p.m. ET. San Francisco will send Blade Tidwell to the mound opposite Pittsburgh’s Lake Bachar.
Gilbert led off Wednesday and made the most of it, reaching base twice in the Giants’ 5-4 win. He finished with a hit and a walk as San Francisco erased a 3-0 deficit with four runs in the fifth inning.
As he has been recently, Devers was a hero. He smacked a three-run homer.
That performance is part of why Gilbert keeps showing up at the top of the lineup. Manager Tony Vitello first began trying him there in August, and the logic has been pretty straightforward: Gilbert was doing damage against right-handed pitching, so why not give him more chances in those matchups? Bachar gives him another one.
The Giants are also moving Gilbert from center field to right field, while Jung Hoo Lee is out of the starting lineup. There’s no sign Lee’s absence is tied to injury, so this appears to be a lineup call or simply a day off.
A few more dominoes fall behind Gilbert. Jonah Cox moves into the cleanup spot and takes over in center field.
Turner Hill stays in left field, but drops one slot from fourth to fifth. Devers shifts from first base to designated hitter, opening first base for Bryce Eldridge.
Andrew Knizner will handle catching duties and hit sixth.
Tidwell enters with a 0-1 record and a 4.54 ERA after striking out 31. Bachar is 1-3 with a 3.70 ERA and 77 strikeouts.
San Francisco is trying to finish off a series win after dropping the opener in a wild 13-12 game Tuesday, then bouncing back Wednesday. Pittsburgh, meanwhile, comes in at 68-72 and is still hanging around the Wild Card picture, sitting 5.5 games behind the Arizona Diamondbacks for the final spot. The Giants, for now, are playing for pride and knowledge about future rosters.
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