LOS ANGELES -- Striving to enter the thick of the National League West race, the Giants opted to skip using a No. 5 starter and will send their hottest pitchers against the Reds this weekend at Great American Ball Park.
Dereck Rodriguez, Madison Bumgarner and Andrew Suarez will start for the Giants from Friday through Sunday, respectively. Thursday's off-day enabled the Giants to use their top starters without costing them rest. San Francisco entered Wednesday trailing first-place Arizona by five games in the NL West.
Bochy mentioned "keeping these guys in order" as a reason for skipping the fifth starter, who would have been either Ty Blach or Casey Kelly. Bochy's typical approach is to use the fifth starter as much as possible so that when an off-day materializes on the schedule, every starter can benefit from an additional day of rest. Even when the rotation featured All-Stars such as Timothy Lincecum, Player Page for Matt Cain and Ryan Vogelsong, Bochy kept the front five intact much more often than not.
However, seizing the moment was essential for the Giants as they'll need a fifth starter on Tuesday vs. the Mets.
Rodriguez has recorded eight consecutive quality starts. Bumgarner has compiled a 1.73 ERA over his last four starts. And Suarez pitched six scoreless innings in Tuesday's win over the Dodgers to end a five-game stretch in which he went 1-3 with a 7.43 ERA.
Worth noting
• Shortstop Brandon Crawford rejoined the starting lineup on Wednesday after missing Tuesday's game for precautionary purposes. Crawford endured a rough collision Monday with left fielder Gorkys Hernandez as they pursued Clayton Kershaw's pop fly. Crawford speculated that he could have played Tuesday, but wholeheartedly endorsed the Giants' careful approach.
"Just in case something happened yesterday, getting hit in the head again somehow, or making a diving play and jarring my head again," Crawford said.
• Bochy announced that right-hander Jeff Samardzija will pitch one more simulated game Friday in Cincinnati. He'll progress to a Minor League rehab assignment if that outing goes well.