OAKLAND, Calif. | Ty Blach will start Thursday’s season opener against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Giants manager Bruce Bochy said.
The left-hander — a graduate of Aurora’s Regis Jesuit High School — will pitch in place of staff ace Madison Bumgarner, who had surgery March 24 to have three pins inserted into the broken pinkie on his left hand.
The 27-year-old Blach — who started five games and finished 1-1 with a 3.63 ERA in Spring Training — will oppose Los Angeles Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw and has faced him two times previously, going 1-1. The game is scheduled for 5:08 MT Thursday from Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.
With a late-season audition in the 2016 season and all of last season with the Giants, Blach has a career record of 9-12 with a 4.43 ERA in 180 2/3 innings.
After he graduated from Regis Jesuit, Blach pitched at Creighton, where he posted a 2.76 ERA in three seasons. San Francisco selected him in the fifth round (No. 178 overall) in the 2012 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft.
— Sentinel Sports Editor Courtney Oakes contributed to this report