Drew Gilbert collects four hits, homers in loss

Gilbert’s homer to one of the deepest parts of Oracle Park checked in 407 feet. He’s hit a solid .243/.324/.392 in 329 plate appearances, but it sure would be nice if he offered any baserunning value at all; he’s 1-for-5 stealing bases this year.

Bericoto gets his opportunity atop San Francisco’s lineup to face lefty Patrick Sandoval after Drew Gilbert spent a couple days in that spot earlier this week. The hard-hitting 24-year-old has homered four times in 31 games during his rookie campaign, but lacks the on-base skillset of a traditional top-of-the-order table-setter. Still, he figures to get some chances against left-handed starters down the home stretch.

Gilbert took the leadoff spot against the Rockies and drew a walk to start the game before taking Michael Lorenzen deep for a solo homer in the third inning. He then drove in two more runs with a base hit in the fourth before scoring for a second time. Gilbert later singled in the sixth to collect his third hit and reach base for a fourth time. The 25-year-old outfielder is hitting .243/.330/.376 with six homers, 34 runs scored, and 28 RBI across 293 plate appearances.

Gilbert has done fine work against righties, hitting .265/.357/.409 in 250 plate appearances, so he probably makes as much sense as anyone else on the Giants roster as the leadoff man against them. Jung Hoo Lee, who had been filling that spot recently, is batting cleanup today.

Gilbert has become the regular starter in center field against righties and came into the day hitting .250/.362/.250 in 16 games since the All-Star break. He does have eight runs in those games, but he’s not producing in enough categories to carry much fantasy value apart from his on-base percentage.

Lee has been in a bit of a funk at the plate, going just 7-for-44 with one extra-base hit over his last 12 games, so the Giants will give him a night off to clear his head. Drew Gilbert will start in his place in center field and will bat eighth for the Giants against Ryan Feltner and the Rockies.

Bericoto has a three-game hitting streak, where he has gone 5-for-12 with three RBI and a steal. He has also hit 14-for-37 (.378) with three home runs, six runs scored, and eight RBI in 10 games since becoming a regular starter with Matt Chapman (abs) on the injured list. It would seem like the Giants could find another hitter to give an off day to, but they will start Drew Gilbert in center field with Bericoto on the bench.

Chapman has been able to tolerate the strain, but he aggravated the injury in the sixth inning against the D-backs and was forced to depart. If he needs to go on the IL, the Giants will likely stick Casey Schmitt at third base and give more outfield time to Victor Bericoto and Drew Gilbert.

Arraez was hurt when he fouled a ball off his foot on Tuesday. His return means Casey Schmitt is shifting back to the outfield. That’d seem like bad news for Victor Bericoto, but since he homered the last two days, the Giants are sacrificing some defense by sitting Drew Gilbert and playing Jung Joo Lee in center tonight.

The Giants didn’t enjoy another offensive outburst today, but that might not have mattered to Gilbert much anyway. He started when the team scored 19 runs against the Rockies on Sunday, 12 runs against the Brewers on Thursday and 18 runs against the Cubs on Friday, but he went a combined 4-for-13 with one extra-base hit and one RBI in those games. He’s hitting .200/.238/.300 in 20 at-bats over the last seven days. The other eight Giants with at least 15 at-bats during that span have OPSs ranging from .821 (Casey Schmidt) to 1.298 (Willy Adames).