16

GIANTS       95-51                      Win 9, lose one, and lose ground.

LA                 94-53   1.5   GB     Now on their way to Cincinnati.

Yesterday

Giants lost to San Diego, 9-6.

LA defeated Arizona, 5-3, their sixth straight win.

Today

Giants finish up with San Diego. Daytime start at Oracle Park, 12:45 PDT, 3:45 EDT. Kevin Gausman goes for his 15th win against Pierce Johnson, who has a 2.98 ERA in 56 games, all but one of those in relief.

LA is idle. They open a weekend series at Cincinnati on Friday night. The Reds have fallen behind the Cardinals and the Padres in the second wild-card race.

Last Night's Game

Well, all good things must come to an end, and it's the same with the nine-game streak. What really bites is that those nine straight wins bought the Giants only two and a half games, because LA has won six straight and 8 of 10 at the same time. After two successful starts, the Dominic Leone "opener" gambit blew up big-time last night. Leone retired but one batter while giving up two hits. Out he went,  in came Jarlin Garcia, and good old Adam Frazier, who's been doing this to the Giants all year with Pittsburgh, did it again with his new club, driving in both runners with a double. Garcia and Zack Littell combined to allow three more in the second, though to be fair the trouble started with a most uncharacteristic error by Brandon Crawford. It was 5-0 before the Giants got their first hit, but to their credit they battled back as they always do, starting with Even Longoria's answer-back RBI double in the second. The pitching settled down, rather uneasily, with Kervin Castro, Jay Jackson, and Jose Quintana scoreless through six. It was 5-3 and reachable by then thanks to homers from Thairo Estrada and Kris Bryant. But Quintana stayed in an inning too long, surrendering two in the top of the seventh, and after Steven Duggar and Brandon Belt homered in the bottom, the Padres made sure with two more off Jose Alvarez in the ninth. Ultimately, four solo homers were no match for 16 hits, including 7 for extra bases.    

 

17

 

GIANTS       95-50                      DeSclafani wins 12th, team 9th straight.

LA                 93-53   2.5   GB     Urias might win 20 games this year.

Yesterday

Giants defeated San Diego, 6-1.

LA defeated Arizona, 8-4. 

    

Today

Giants host San Diego again; 6:45 local, 9:45 EDT. Dominic Leone, the Designated Opener, will open for the second time in three days. Joe Musgrove (10-9, 2.93) starts for the Padres. If they're ever gonna play spoiler, he's the guy they want on the mound-- although the Giants did beat him twice in one week back in May. But he's a good one.

LA hosts Arizona, with Julio (17-3) Urias going against Merrill Kelly. 

Last Night's Game

Anthony DeSclafani went deep into the game at a time the team needed it most, and the persevering right-hander earned his 12th win, allowing three hits, one walk, one run, and striking out three over six and two-thirds. It was 3-1 with one on and two out when Gabe Kapler pulled "Des" for Tony Watson against the hard-hitting Jurickson Profar. Watson, who has been lights-out lately, got the third out, and the Giants made it easier on Tyler Rogers and Camilo Doval by scoring three more in the late innings. Buster Posey had opened the scoring with his 18th homer in the first inning, and two throwing errors by the Padres led to two Giants runs.  

Notes

We see former Giant Adam Duvall, with the Atlanta Braves, is leading the league with 101 RBI. He's second in the NL with 35 homers, and despite a .285 OBP, Duvall has resurrected a career that appeared all but over in 2018. Atlanta has been a definite tonic for the slugger. The Giants, you may recall, gave him up six years ago to get Mike Leake for two months... Speaking of former Giants, Joe Panik has started 22 games as a utility man for Miami this year. He may wish he were still in Toronto, where he was a year ago, the way the Blue Jays are playing of late... The Giants treated "old buddy" Mark Melancon, he of the Break-That-Bank contract back in 2017, rather rudely last night, scoring two runs off him in the eighth on only one hit... Back in Atlanta, Pablo Sandoval has 86 AB in 69 games. Don't know if he'll be on the postseason roster... Christian Arroyo, whom we once hailed as the Giants' Next Star in the Making, has gotten into 53 games with Boston, though he's currently on the IL, which is the real story of his career so far... Derek Holland, who pitched so well for the Giants in 2018, is carrying a 5.61 ERA for Detroit... And lefthander Ty Blach, now 30, is trying to work his way back into the major leagues while toiling in the Baltimore system.

18

 

GIANTS       94-50                      First to clinch a postseason spot! 

LA                 92-53     2.5   GB    Kershaw's back. Ay, caramba!

San Diego    74-69   19.5  GB     Loss drops them behind Reds.

Yesterday

Giants pounded San Diego, 9-1, and clinched the postseason berth in grand style.

LA defeated Arizona, 5-1, as Clayton Kershaw returned to action.

  

Today

Giants host San Diego again; 6:45 at Oracle Park. Anthony DeSclafani tries again to recapture his earlier-season mojo. Our old friend Jake Arrieta, whom the Giants faced the last time they made the postseason, starts for the Padres. He's 5-12 with a 7.04 ERA and 0-1 since coming over from the Cubs.

LA has Arizona again at Chavez Ravine, with Tony Gonsolin facing Luke Weaver.

Last Night's Game

The Giants drained the suspense early. Tommy LaStella led off with a home run, Darin Ruf walked with one out, LaMonte Wade tripled to right, scoring Ruf, Brandon Crawford walked, and Evan Longoria belted a three-run homer. That's five runs right there, and it was enough. The team that used to leave men on base and in scoring position was a model of efficiency, converting eight hits and four walks into nine runs. And only six pitchers were needed for this bullpen game. Dominic Leone, who seems to be Gabe Kapler's favorite opener, went two, Jarlin Garcia, Zack Littell, and Jose Alvarez worked rhe middle, and the youngsters-- Camilo Doval and Kervin Castro-- finished up. We don't want to say the Padres looked dispirited out there, but this one was never really contested. It had the look and feel of what it became-- a mere buildup to the on-field celebration that erupted once the final out was recorded. The Giants insist to a man that this isn't and hasn't been the goal; winning the division is the goal, and remains a daunting prospect. But this sure enough is a most satisfying in-your-face "block party" for a team that no one outside their own clubhouse believed in back in March. For one night, the Giants and fans have reason to celebrate. Now it's back to work.

And So...

Much has already been made about September 13 being the earliest day any Giants team, in San Francisco or in New York, has secured a spot in the postseason.  Historically, it's especially unusual for the San Francisco Giants. The pennants of 1962 and 1971 were won on the last day, by one thin game, and 1997's little miracle on the final weekend. 1987 and 1989 were a bit more inevitable than that, decided in the final week. It wasn't until 2000 that the Giants "ran away with it," going wire-to-wire and winning the West by 11, and 2003 holds the biggest margin, 15 games. (Fat lot of good those first-place walkovers did the team in the playoffs!) 2010 was just two games and while 2012 was eight, the last two wild-card finishes were  both nail-biters. 

And with 18 games to go there is no indication at all that this division race will be anything but another stress-fest to the very end. Clayton Kershaw went four innings yesterday after two months recovering from injury, slowly returning to form just in time for the stretch run and the playoffs-- and nobody's fool enough to think the Dodgers will be intimidated if they end up having to play a win-and-you're-in extra game. Not with Walker Buehler, Max Scherzer, and Julio Urias joining Kershaw in a rotation that seems almost comically unfair to the rest of baseball. But that's the challenge the San Francisco Giants face as they take their well-earned playoff berth, set it on a shelf, and go about the business of holding this lead with eighteen games yet to play. 

19

 

GIANTS       93-50                       Can clinch postseason tonight. 

LA                 91-53     2.5   GB    Arizona comes to town.

San Diego    74-68   18.5  GB     Will they toughen up against Jints?

Yesterday

Giants defeated Chicago, 6-5, to sweep the series, sweep the road trip, and win their seventh straight game.

LA swept San Diego with a 8-0 pasting.

Today

Giants host San Diego; 6:45 at the O, 9:45 here. Gabe Kapler will pick someone, or several someones, to oppose Yu Darvish, who's been excellent in both his starts against the Giants this year.

LA hosts the cellar-dwelling Diamondbacks. Clayton Kershaw returns to action after a two-month layoff.  Zac Gallen starts for 'Zona. 

Yesterday's Game

Well, you knew there was going to be one tough game in this series, and the Cubs, despite all the agony-inducing trades, are still a tough ballclub. The Giants got off first, as has been their practice, taking a 3-0 lead for Logan Webb into the fourth. Wilmer Flores and Austin Slater, both fresh off the IL, helped lead the way. But Webb yielded a triple to Rafael Ortega and a homer to Ian Happ, and it was a one-run game. Flores got both runs back right away with a two-run homer in the fifth, and Webb took a 6-3 lead into the seventh having thrown only 73 pitches. But he's never pitched this late into a season before, and after a six-pitch leadoff walk and two first-pitch base hits, it was a one-run game again and Webb yielded to Tyler Rogers. He gave up two more hits, loading the bases, but got out of it with the lead. Tony Watson, perfect of late, was so in the eighth, and Jake McGee survived a one-out double in the ninth for his 31st save.

The Giants' next win, whether it comes tonight or not, will clinch Our Boys' first postseason berth since 2016, and will also ensure the wild-card playoff, if it comes to that, will be played at Oracle Park. Not bad at all for a bunch that was widely expected to finish fourth.

20

 

GIANTS       92-50                       5-0 road trip so far. 

LA                 90-53     2.5   GB    Buehler wins 14th. 

San Diego    74-67    17.5  GB     You gonna play ball, or you gonna... ?

Yesterday

Giants routed Chicago, 15-4, their sixth straight win.

LA defeated San Diego again, 5-4.

Today

Giants finish up with Chicago, another daytime start. 1:20 at Wrigley, 2:20 here. Logan Webb against lefthander Justin Steele.

LA tries to sweep San Diego at home. Blake Snell goes for the Padres. He's good. Max Scherzer starts for the Dodgers. He's, uh, really good.

Yesterday's Game

"Get a good pitch to hit." Ted Williams' sage advice works really, really well when it's done right, and the Giants have a lot of guys who follow it. Tommy LaStella and Brandon Belt are two such disciples. They batted 1-2 in the lineup yesterday and were a combined 5-for-10 with five runs scored, eight RBI, and a three-run homer apiece. Belt continued his tear with a second-inning blast, his 23rd, and LaStella, who'd singled in two runs ahead of him, launched a cannon shot off the Wrigley Field scoreboard in the fifth that officially put the game into rout status. Evan Longoria added three RBI and Mike Yastrzemski two. As further testament to the wait-it-out, foul-it-off school of hitting, the team drew 11 walks to go with 12 hits and managed to strand eight while scoring 15. Kevin Gausman was beneficiary of all this largesse as he won his 14th with a middlin' effort. He located well and kept the pitch count modest, but the Cubs tagged him for eight hits and three runs over six. Well, it is Wrigley Field. At the Friendly Confines and at Coors Field before that, the Giants have scored a total of 50 runs in these five road games. 

21

 

GIANTS       91-50                       Crawford makes a play for the ages. 

LA                 89-53     2.5   GB    Urias with the shutout.

San Diego    74-66    16.5  GB     Couldn't they win just one?

Yesterday

Giants defeated Chicago, 6-1. 

LA defeated San Diego, 3-0.

Today

Giants at Chicago; 1:20 local time, 2:20 EDT. Kevin Gausman against Zach Davies, whom the Giants beat up pretty good back in June.

LA hosts San Diego again; 6:10 PDT at Dodger Stadium. Walker Buehler looks to get back on track. 

Yesterday's Game

The Giants finally got a bullpen game right. Eight pitchers combined to allow two hits, four walks and only one run, on a solo homer off Jarlin Garcia in the fourth. And for a time, it looked as though that might be enough for Kyle Hendricks. He shut out the Giants on two hits through five, but in the sixth, Brandon Belt, who'd already walked twice, led off with a double. One batter later LaMonte Wade dropped a little blooper into left, enough to score Belt and tie it, though Wade was thrown by a mile trying to advance to second. And, as has happened so many times this year, once Hendricks was out of the game the Giants pounced. Facing reliever Trevor Megill, Brandon Crawford led off the seventh with a single. Evan Longoria then absolutely crushed a mighty drive all the way up to the top rail of the bleachers, just short of Waveland Avenue. Mike Yastrzremski singled, Steven Duggar walked, and that was it for Megill. Michael Rucker came in and got the double-play ball he needed from Tommy LaStella, but with two out and Yaz on third, Belt then took Rucker the other way for another two-run shot and that made it 5-1.

The play for the ages came just moments later, in the bottom of the seventh. Tyler Rogers gave up a leadoff walk. Patrick Wisdom then hit a shot up the middle. Crawford stretched out, barely gloved it, then immediately issued a perfect blind backhand flip to LaStella at second, who made the pivot and the throw to first for a double play. Voluble Jon Miller, describing the action, was struck momentarily speechless-- if you haven't seen the replay, drop what you're doing and check it out now. This ranks with Derek Jeter's blind toss to the plate in the 2001 AL division series. Sure, Crawford makes great plays all the time-- recall Hosmer's grounder in Game 7 of the 2014 World Series-- but this one is truly exceptional, a supreme exhibition of athleticism as well as "baseball intelligence", from a player having an MVP-worthy season.   

Well, the game didn't end there, though it might as well have. Rogers got out of the seventh, Tony Watson pitched a perfect eighth, and Jay Jackson got the final outs on a much more routine double-play ball, the Giants' third of the game. Thanks to Thursday's day of rest, Kevin Gausman will start today on his regular schedule, and Gabe Kapler doesn't need to roll the dice on a second bullpen game.  But for a change, this one was a real winner. 

Notes

Matt Duffy's now with the Cubs. He pinch-hit for Hendricks leading off the sixth and took a called third strike from Camilo Doval. Duffman is 30 now; he's appeared in 78 games for the Cubs. He took last year off-- missing a World Series appearance-- and played only 46 games for Tampa in 2019 after his fine 2018 season. We always wish him well... Megill, whom the Giants cuffed around severely in the seventh, is the brother of Tylor Megill, a starter for the Mets, whom the Giants also lit up a month ago... Belt was on base four times yesterday and scored twice.  

On this 20th anniversary of the September 11 attack on America by the Global Jihad, we honor those lost, and those who gave the "last full measure of devotion," those brave heroes of Flight 93. If you haven't been to the memorial at Shanksville, Pa., we urge you to put that on your short list if at all possible. It's time well spent, and moments you will never forget. 

God bless America.

Wrigley World

 

GIANTS       90-50                       Bryant returns to Wrigley Field. 

LA                 88-53     2.5   GB    Cardinals did their part.

San Diego    74-65    15.5  GB     Weekend series at Dodger Stadium.

Yesterday

Giants were idle.

LA lost at St Louis, 2-1, and dropped a half-game back in the race. 

Today

Giants at Chicago; 1:20 PM local time, 2:20 EDT. A bullpen game for the Giants. Lance Hendricks, who's won 14 games despite a mediocre ERA, starts for the Cubs. He got a win over Johnny Cueto at Oracle Park three months ago.

LA hosts San Diego in the first of a three-game set at Chavez Ravine. A fine time for the Padres to step up. They lead the wild-card race by one game.

Notes

Cincinnati (1 game back), St Louis (3), Philadelphia (3 1/2) and the Mets (5) are in the second wild-card hunt with San Diego. The Mets and Phillies are also very much alive in the NL East race, trailing Atlanta by a similar margin.

The real action is over in the American League, where five teams-- Boston, the Yankees, Toronto, Houston, and Seattle-- are battling it out for two wild-card spots. The Yankees, who were so hot a couple of weeks ago, are now free-falling, losing six in a row and 8 of 10. The Red Sox, who looked so bad a couple of weeks ago, have now moved up into prime position. And Toronto is coming up fast on the outside, winning eight straight and 9 of 10. They're a half-game behind New York and one behind Boston. Oakland and Seattle, in the AL West, are still within sight of division leader Houston, and are two games behind Boston for the wild-card. But watch out for Toronto. Their projected record is seven games better than their actual record, and if any team looks likely to stay hot down the stretch, it's Those Darn Canadians.