There's been talk about how the Giants should arrange their rotation for the final six games of the regular season. Andrew Baggarly proposed three possibilities...
The first is to keep the rotation as it is. It would go like this...
Sanchez, Bumgarner, Lincecum vs. ARI; Zito, Cain, Sanchez vs. SD.
The second possibility is to move Lincecum back one day (switch him with Zito), so that Lincecum will pitch in a critical game against San Diego as opposed to Zito....
Sanchez, Bumgarner, Zito vs. ARI; Lincecum, Cain, Sanchez vs. SD.
The third proposed scenario is to move Lincecum up one day, so that he can pitch on regular rest, and be available in the event of a one-game playoff (game 163, if the Giants are tied for first place).
Sanchez, Lincecum, Bumgarner vs. ARI; Zito, Cain, Sanchez vs. SD.
To be honest, I think the first and third options are both pretty reasonable. If Zito's going to pitch, I don't mind him pitching against San Diego. He has a bad history against Arizona, and if there is any team he'll do well against, it's a weak-hitting team whose best hitter is left-handed. The 'pen could be relied on in that game to take over early if needed. Lincecum could pitch in game 163, either on full rest, or three-days rest. And if there's anyone I trust to take on San Diego in the final game of the season, it's the guy who has such great history against them, Jonathan Sanchez -- he has a 2.59 ERA in five starts against them this year. Also, Bumgarner will get good rest before the playoffs in these scenarios, which is key for such a young arm.
Sanchez, Bumgarner and Lincecum can all handle Arizona, and, while not as crucial as the San Diego series, these games could extend the Giants' lead over the Padres. If the Giants sweep Arizona -- which is very possible -- and the Padres win two of their next three games against Chicago, the Giants' lead over the Padres will be two coming into the Padres series. This means that they would only have to win one game against the Padres in order to win the National League West. So, although it depends on the Cubs' performance, I would hate to see the Giants lose a chance to gain ground on San Diego because Zito lost to Arizona.
The problem with pitching Lincecum against San Diego is that it leaves the Giants with two options for the possible game 163: Bumgarner on regular rest, and Zito on three-days rest. I don't think either of those options are ideal, so it only makes sense to throw Lincecum against Arizona.
The matchups for the Giants-Padres series will likely be the following (if they don't shuffle the rotation):
Clayton Richard v. Barry Zito
Tim Stauffer v. Matt Cain
Mat Latos v. Jonathan Sanchez
