SAN FRANCISCO -- As the Giants packed up at Oracle Park a week ago and prepared for a muggy trip through Pittsburgh and Atlanta, it dawned on a few team employees that when they returned, they would be the subject of a lot of attention for a strange reason.
A late-June game against the lowly Cincinnati Reds is not generally a notable event for a team with playoff aspirations, but Friday's game at Oracle Park will be the first against a Reds team that actually includes Tommy Pham, who was suspended for the previous series between the teams after slapping Joc Pederson over a fantasy football beef.
Pederson won't just dig in against Giants pitching for the first time since that slap, he'll do it as a visiting player and in front of what should be a pretty sizable crowd, as Friday night games during the summer still draw well.
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As the Giants faced the Braves this week and the Reds hosted the Dodgers, both players were asked what they expected. Neither went into much detail, with Pham joking to the Cincinnati Enquirer that he anticipates "clapping" from Giants fans, before saying he didn't want to discuss the matter further.
Pederson, speaking to reporters in Atlanta, where he received a standing ovation as a visitor, said he is hopeful that Giants fans are respectful.
"There's a respect level that needs to be held up, and when you see games in New York or wherever they were where they start throwing stuff on the field that is not OK and doesn't help any situation," he said, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. "It makes it so much worse. So just keep it respectful."
The Giants are hopeful that Pham's visit to Oracle Park this week is not a big deal, but as Cincinnati's starting left fielder, Pham will be jogging out to play a position that puts him closest to the left field bleachers, the rowdiest section in the ballpark. When he's at the plate, though, he likely doesn't have to worry.
San Francisco Giants
The Giants clubhouse was livid when Pham slapped one of their best players and leaders, and several players later wore T-shirts mocking Pham during batting practice, but nobody expects retaliation from the pitching staff. That's not Gabe Kapler's style and it's not something Giants pitchers have done in recent years.
Kapler, as he often does, tried to keep the attention on that day's opponent when asked several questions about Pham on Thursday in Atlanta. The Giants would go on to lose the game and finish with a disappointing 3-4 road trip.
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As much as others might be curious about a slap that led to some of the most viral moments in franchise history, Kapler surely remembers that weekend last month more for how poorly his team played. Facing a Reds team without Pham -- who has 10 homers, including one on Thursday -- the Giants dropped two of three.
In theory, this is a homestand that should start with a lot of interest because of Pham but also allow the Giants to make up some ground. After the Reds (23-46), the Giants host the Tigers (26-43) and White Sox (33-35). But Kapler isn't looking past anybody, or looking too closely at any one player.
"The Reds just beat us in a series. They're a capable team, talented up and down the lineup, with a decent starting rotation, a strong starting rotation," Kapler said on Thursday. "The Tigers, with all their young talent, I think on any given day they can give you a really difficult challenge. That's how we feel about all the teams in the Major Leagues. They're all capable of beating you on any given day.
"Look, we need to play good baseball. It doesn't matter if we're playing the Braves or the Reds or the Dodgers or the Padres. We have to play our brand of baseball if we're going to beat the best players in the world and that's what all of these teams are, they're collections of the best at their jobs on the planet."