Basisphilosophie » San Francisco Giants rookie left-hander Andrew

Suarez will celebrate a homecoming on Wednesday night when he faces the Miami Marlins for the first time.

Suarez Khari Willis Jersey , who was a local star at Columbus High as well as the University of Miami, said he will try to approach the game as a business trip.

“I will probably cherish the moment while I’m warming up,” Suarez told the Sun-Sentinel. “But once I step on the mound, it’s game time.”

The 25-year-old is 2-4 with a 5.06 ERA in nine starts this season. His slider eats up lefty batters, holding them to a .208 batting average with one homer and a .562 OPS. Righty batters are hitting .303 with seven homers and an .870 OPS, however.

Suarez was the Giants’ second-round pick in 2015. He started this season as the Giants’ No. 10 prospect overall and No. 2 among lefties. Some scouts had projected him as a two-pitch reliever with his fastball-slider mix. But, largely due to injuries to Madison Bumgarner, Johnny Cueto and Jeff Samardzija, Suarez is getting his shot in the rotation.

So far, the Giants are 3-6 when Suarez starts, but they have won two in a row with him on the mound.

Suarez has two quality starts this year — both of them at home. In five road starts this year Josh Allen Jersey , Suarez is 1-2 with a 6.75 ERA.

The Marlins will counter Suarez with another rookie left-hander, Caleb Smith (5-6, 3.70 ERA), who made his major league debut last year on July 17 with the New York Yankees.

This will be the 16th major league start for Smith, 26, who leads National League rookies with 79 strikeouts. In his 13 starts this season, he is averaging 10.8 strikeouts per nine innings, which is improved from his 8.7 stat line of 2017. His walk rate of 4.1 is high but yet improved from his 4.8 figure of last year.

But perhaps the biggest improvement for Smith has been cutting his hits per nine innings from 10.1 to 6.6.

The Marlins are 6-7 when they hand the ball to Smith, who has four quality starts this season. In addition, the Marlins have won three of the past four Smith starts. Smith has pitched well at Marlins Park, going 2-2 with a 2.90 ERA in six starts. That compares well to his 3-4 http://www.thejaguarsfootballauthentic.com/jawaan-taylor-jersey-authentic , 4.41 mark on the road.

Over his past seven starts, Smith — who has never faced the Giants — is 4-3 with a 3.16 ERA.

Neither Suarez (92.1 mph) or Smith (92.7 mph) is overpowering in terms of their average velocity. But Suarez, with plus control and a plus slider, distinguished himself in the minors, going 10-10 with a 3.21 ERA last year between Double A and Triple A.

That success helped earn him a shot at the majors, and now he gets to pitch in front of his home crowd.

“Being able to pitch against the Marlins should be fun,” Suarez said. “I’ve been watching the Marlins since I was little.”

Suarez will be trying to stop the Giants’ two-game losing streak. Miami has won the first two games of this series, including Tuesday’s 3-1 victory in which four Marlins pitchers held the Giants to three hits.

Marlins shortstop JT Riddle had the go-ahead hit, a two-run double, and second baseman Starlin Castro went 2-for-4 with one RBI.

Giants shortstop Brandon Crawford, who entered this series red hot T.J. Hockenson Jersey , has gone 0-for-6 with two RBIs in the two games. He is still hitting an impressive .329.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Four Houston Astros starting pitchers have won at least eight games this season. They are Gerrit Cole, Charlie Morton, Justin Verlander and Lance McCullers.

The lone exception is left-hander Dallas Keuchel, the 2015 American League Cy Young Award winner. Keuchel, who pitches Saturday against the Kansas City Royals, is 3-8 with a 3.71 ERA in 14 starts this season.

Keuchel has allowed 90 hits, including a dozen home runs, and walked 32 while striking out 81 in 82 1/3 innings. He has a 3-1 career record against the Royals in six starts. He had a no-decision against them last year, allowing two hits and one run in seven innings.

If Keuchel is the weak link in the Astros’ rotation, that is a fearsome five.

“The Gerrit Cole addition was great and Verlander was a great addition to them last year Jahlani Tavai Jersey ,” Royals manager Ned Yost said. “The thing that is so important is they make these deals in hopes they can get them over the hump with a World Series, and it did.

“They’ve got a fantastic rotation. They’ve got a fantastic group of young talented, athletic players. They’re a good team. They’re a tough match.”

The Astros (46-25) reminded the Royals just how good they are with a 7-3 victory on Friday night in the opener of a three-game series at Kauffman Stadium. Evan Gattis, who drove in five Houston runs on Tuesday and Wednesday in Oakland, hit a sixth-inning grand slam.

The Royals (22-47) took a hit besides in the loss column when starting right fielder Jorge Soler left with a fractured first left metatarsal in the sixth inning. He stumbled out of the blocks while grounding out. It is the same foot Soler fouled a ball off last Friday in Oakland and then did not play again until Tuesday.

Yost said he did not know if the injuries are related. He said Soler would be out for an extended period. The Royals will make a roster move Saturday with Soler, who was on crutches in the clubhouse after the loss, headed for the disabled list.

Both clubs made roster moves Friday. Astros left-hander Reymin Guduan was placed on the paternity list. They recalled infielder Tyler White from Triple-A Fresno, where he was hitting .338 with a 1.023 OPS in 62 games.

The Royals purchased the contract of right-handed reliever Brandon Maurer from Triple-A Omaha. In his past seven outings, he ran off a scoreless streak of 12 2/3 innings while striking out 10 and holding opponents to a .163 batting average with one extra-base hit.

The Royals optioned rookie right-hander Jason Adam to Omaha. Adam had allowed six home runs, including a grand slam Wednesday, in 15 1/3 innings.

Left-hander Danny Duffy Will Harris Jersey , who is 3-6 with a 3.28 ERA in 14 starts, is the Royals’ probable starter Saturday. He is coming off his best start of the season, tossing seven scoreless innings last Saturday in Oakland, allowing three hits and striking out a career high 10.

Duffy is 2-2 with a 4.50 ERA in eight outings, four of them starts, against the Astros. He owns a 2.08 ERA in his last two starts against the Astros.

The Royals will attempt to snap a four-game losing streak. They have dropped 10 of their last 11 and are 10-24 at home. They’ve scored just 26 runs in 13 games in June, when they are hitting .183.

The Astros have the best road record (27-11) in the majors. They have won their last eight road games, three shy of the club record set last year. They have logged at least a dozen hits in five straight games, the second longest streak in franchise history and trailing only a seven-game streak set in 2007.