Lauer, Bumgarner get rematch as Giants host Padres

The San Francisco Giants get a shot at revenge against one of the three teams that have contributed to their slow start when they open a three-game home series against the San Diego Padres on Monday night.

The pitching matchup is a rematch of Opening Day, when Padres left-hander Eric Lauer (1-1, 3.27) outpitched Giants lefty Madison Bumgarner (0-2, 1.38) in a 2-0 home win.

The Giants went on to lose three of four in the series, then two of three apiece to the Los Angeles Dodgers and Tampa Bay Rays.

Bumgarner, who also lost in the Dodgers series despite not allowing an earned run, has pitched 13 innings this season, during which time the Giants have scored two runs. They came on Bumgarner's own two-run home run.

The homer was the 18th of Bumgarner's career, the most of any active pitcher, but couldn't erase the bad taste of an earlier five-run third inning for the Dodgers that featured a grand slam by Cody Bellinger.

Bumgarner contributed to the uprising with a throwing error and a walk to opposing pitcher Hyun-Jin Ryu, against whom he would hit the homer.

"It was good to kind of put something back there," Bumgarner told reporters afterward of the homer. "It was such a big blow there in the third, though. That's tough for any team to come back from. But we almost did. It was nice to chip in and help get some of those back."

Bumgarner has gone 11-10 with a 3.29 ERA in 33 games, including 32 starts, in his career against the Padres.

Lauer, meanwhile, has never lost to the Giants in four career meetings, going 1-0. His first three starts, all as a rookie last season, resulted in no-decisions.

He's logged a fine 2.86 ERA in the four head-to-heads despite getting roughed up a bit by Buster Posey (4-for-10 with two doubles), Evan Longoria (4-for-8) and, to a lesser extent, Bumgarner, who went 1-for-2 against him on Opening Day.

Bumgarner gets another shot at the Padres' Wil Myers, who took the San Francisco ace deep for a solo homer on Opening Day.

The hit only served to improve Myers' career average against Bumgarner to .175 (7-for-40 with two homers), but he's done a lot more damage against other Giants pitchers at the newly named Oracle Park.

Myers has seven home runs in stadium history, which is tied for the sixth-most among all active Giants opponents.

Myers hit five of the homers during the 2017 season, a year in which he admitted he took a different approach to the spacious ballpark.

"I kind of dreaded coming here," he told reporters of his earlier visits to San Francisco. "It's a pitchers' ballpark, and they have great pitchers. But one thing I did (in 2017) was just really get excited to play here. That's the mindset that you've got to have."

The Giants used an 11-8 win in the season series, including a 6-4 advantage at home, to finish seven games ahead of the Padres last year in their duel for last place in the National League West.

--Field Level Media