LOS ANGELES — For the next four weeks, the Giants better get used to living out of their suitcases.
Beginning on Monday, 20 of San Francisco’s next 26 games will be on the road, the team’s most brutal stretch of the season from a travel perspective.
“I think the options to move guys around a little bit and rest guys is going to multiply,” manager Tony Vitello said. “I think that can counteract that a little bit.”
Following Sunday’s 12-inning walk-off win over Pittsburg, the Giants kick off a three-city, 10-game trip. They’ll start with four games against the Los Angeles Dodgers, followed by three apiece against the Athletics in Sacramento and Arizona Diamondbacks.
They’ll return home for six games before leaving the Bay Area again for three against the Colorado Rockies, four against the Milwaukee Brewers and three against the Chicago Cubs. The cherry on top is that their last game against the Cubs is a night game instead of the afternoon getaway game, meaning they’ll have a quick turnaround before playing the Washington Nationals the following day.
It was far from ideal, then, for the Giants to begin this trip following their longest game of the year, a 12-inning mental marathon in which Vitello used six of his eight relievers.
Keaton Winn, Sam Hentges and Dylan Smith threw 25 combined pitches, so they should be available for Monday, but Ryan Borucki and Joel Peguero are likely unavailable. Borucki, in particular, threw 24 pitches against his former team after throwing on Saturday.
There’s also rookie catcher Jesús Rodríguez, who caught all 12 innings on Sunday before delivering the walk-off single. It’s possible that fellow rookie Daniel Susac, who’s been rehabbing from right elbow ulnar neuritis, joins the party in Los Angeles, officially kicking off the Susac-Rodríguez era following the team’s stunning trade of Patrick Bailey.
Along with Susac, outfielder Harrison Bader (left hamstring strain) appears to be nearing the end of his rehab assignment. Over six games with Triple-A Sacramento, Bader is posting a .947 OPS with two home runs.
San Francisco will have to navigate some of this stretch without ace Logan Webb, who landed on the 15-day injured list on Saturday (retroactive to May 6). Webb, who hasn’t been on the injured list since 2021, is optimistic that he’ll miss the minimum amount of time, which could mean missing just two starts.
In the meantime, rookie right-hander Trevor McDonald will start in Webb’s place on Monday at Dodger Stadium, where he threw six innings of one-run ball last September with the Giants clinging to their thin postseason hopes.
McDonald impressed in a spot start last Monday, allowing one run over seven innings with eight strikeouts before being optioned back to Sacramento. With the Giants’ bullpen suddenly looking very shaky, McDonald could use this latest opportunity to gain some staying power in the majors.
“I didn’t know what to think, really,” McDonald said when asked if he thought he’d be back in the majors so soon. “I knew it was just a spot start, so whatever happens, happens was kind of my mindset. I didn’t think it would be this soon. … But I’m excited about it.”
The Giants and Dodgers will meet in Los Angeles following some drama during their last meeting in San Francisco.
After a clip of Dalton Rushing went viral when many speculated he made disparaging comments about Jung Hoo Lee, Webb responded by plunking Rushing in the ribs with a four-seam fastball. The Dodgers, justifiably, alleged the beanball was intentional. Webb couldn’t outright say he did it on purpose, lest he risk getting punished, but the intent was obvious.
Petty beef aside, the Dodgers will reintroduce one of their many stars to the lineup on Monday as Mookie Betts is set to return after missing time due to an oblique injury. As far as the pitching, Los Angeles will line up Roki Sasaki, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Shohei Ohtani and Emmet Sheehan.
Ohtani, the pitcher, has looked like an early Cy Young candidate, posting a 0.97 ERA over his first six starts. Ohtani, the hitter, is mired in one of his worst slumps in recent memory, entering this series hitting .129/.250/.161 in May with no homers. To manage his unparalleled workload, the two-way sensation hasn’t hit in his last two pitching starts.