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Giants, Marlins starters out to prove 2021 wasn’t a fluke

Oct 1, 2021; San Francisco, California, USA; San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Anthony DeSclafani(26) delivers a pitch against the San Diego Padres during the second inning at Oracle Park. Mandatory Credit: D. Ross Cameron-USA TODAY Sports
D. Ross Cameron-USA TODAY Sports

It took San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Anthony DeSclafani well into his major league tenure to enjoy a career season.

Trevor Rogers, meanwhile, hopes his stellar rookie season for the Miami Marlins is a sign of good things to come.

Both DeSclafani and Rogers will look to build on their respective success from 2021, when they square off in Sunday’s decisive series finale at San Francisco.

San Francisco earned a wild 6-5, 10-inning victory in Friday’s season opener. Miami responded with a 2-1 win Saturday when the clubs combined for just 10 hits, with each striking out 14 times. Starters Pablo Lopez for Miami and Carlos Rodon, in his Giants’ debut, were both solid, and another pitcher’s duel could be in store for Sunday.

DeSclafani, 31, had just one winning season (2016) in his first six major league campaigns before winding up in San Francisco following one season in Miami and five with the Cincinnati Reds. That proved to be a good move for the veteran right-hander, who went a personal-best 13-7 with a 3.17 ERA while matching a career high with 31 starts.

He was one of four Giants’ pitchers to win at least 10 games last season, which is a reason DeSclafani’s success might have been lost in the mix with the rest of that talented rotation.

“I think it took all of us until after the season to kind of appreciate how good he was over a sustained period of time, and how dependable a major league starter he was for us,” manager Gabe Kapler told the Giants’ official website.

“It wasn’t that we weren’t appreciating it in the moment. Maybe the success that he had flew under the radar. … But, I think there’s a full appreciation for what he did for us now.”

DeSclafani, who broke into the majors with the Marlins in 2014, is 2-2 with a 2.73 ERA in five career starts against them. He allowed a solo homer to Jazz Chisholm Jr. in six innings while not factoring in the decision of a 4-1 loss at Miami last season.

Meanwhile, in his first full major league season, Rogers posted a 7-8 record, but with a sparkling 2.64 ERA and 157 strikeouts in 25 starts to finish second in the 2021 NL Rookie of the Year race. The left-hander isn’t trying to make too much of his season debut, though there naturally are some pretty high expectations following the success he had a year ago, which included an All-Star selection.

“Just go with my game plan. Attack with my strengths and we’ll see what happens from there,” Rogers told Bally Sports Florida. “Ready to get going.”

This will be the first time Rogers faces the Giants, who lost for just the third time in the past 11 home meetings with the Marlins on Saturday. San Francisco’s Thairo Estrada is off to a solid start by going 2-for-6 with a homer through two games.

Miami’s Jacob Stallings and Jesus Aguilar are a combined 3-for-17 on the young season, but, together, have gone 11-for-23 with a homer apiece versus DeSclafani.

–Field Level Media

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