End of the (Ir)Regular Season

                  W-L  GB

Milwaukee 29-31 Backed in to postseason.

GIANTS         29-31 … Friday night made the difference.

Philadelphia 28-32 1 Maybe it wasn't about Kapler.

Yesterday

Giants lost to San Diego, 5-4.

Milwaukee lost at St Louis, 5-2, but qualified for the last wild-card playoff berth with the Giants' loss.

Philadelphia lost at Tampa Bay.

Today

Everyone has the day off. The eight wild-card playoff series begin tomorrow. 

Yesterday's Game

The story of the season: the Giants had their chances, took advantage of many of them, got into the opponent's bullpen and made it close, but gave away as many runs as they gained. And so they finish two runs to the good but two losses to the bad, while Milwaukee, with the same record, goes on to the playoffs 17 runs to the bad. Them's the breaks.  

Drew Smyly pitched well over five, striking out ten while allowing two runs on three hits and a walk.  Mauricio Dubon's homer in the second got the Giants on the board, and it was a 2-1 pitchers' duel after six, Tyler Rogers having picked up Smyly. Then in the seventh Jarlin Garcia was tagged for two hits and two runs after Evan Longoria fumbled a leadoff ground ball. Logan Webb came in with two out, walked Alex Nola, and gave up a RBI double to Wil Myers. It was 5-1 and the Giants had done nothing against a parade of Padre relievers since "opener" Adrian Morejon gave up Dubon's shot. But Longoria singled to open the bottom of the seventh and Brandon Crawford belted a two-run homer. Joey Bart and Mike Yastrzemski drew walks, and Donovan Solano batted for Alex Dickerson against lefty Tim Hill. For the second time this weekend, Hill struck him out in a climactic at-bat and the rally yielded no more. Wilmer Flores led off the eighth with a homer to make it a one-run game, but that was all. Three Giants struck out against Trevor Rosenthal to end it in the ninth. 

The Playoff Picture

Minnesota won the AL Central yesterday and Cleveland beat out the Chicago White Sox for second place. St Louis nosed out Cincinnati for second place in the NL Central on the tiebreaker. The Cardinals are the only team in the majors that did not complete 60 games; they played 58. 

The AL series kick off on Tuesday at the top seeds' home fields. Tampa Bay (1) hosts Toronto (8), Oakland (2) hosts Chicago (7), Minnesota (3) hosts Houston (6), and Cleveland (4) hosts New York (5).

The NL on Wednesday has LA (1) hosting Milwaukee (8), Atlanta (2) hosting Cincinnati (7), Chicago (3) hosting Miami (6), and San Diego (4) hosting St Louis (5).  

For the first time since 2008, and only the second time in 114 years, war-torn Chicago has a shot at reprising the World Series of 1906. If it comes to pass, it will be played in Texas.

For what it's worth, the hottest teams going in are Cleveland, the Dodgers, and the Rays; the coldest is the White Sox, who lost 8 of their last ten. 

LA has the best ERA of any team in the game, but the next 5 on the list are all AL teams. The top three in runs scored are the Dodgers, Braves, and Padres, with the Yankees leading the AL. (Parenthetical note: the Giants have scored more runs than 10 of the 16 teams in the playoffs.)

Sunday, September 27, 2020

                  W-L  GB

Milwaukee 29-30 Won the game they had to win 

GIANTS         29-30 Need a win here and a loss there

Philadelphia 28-31 1 Need a 3-way tie

Yesterday

Giants lost to San Diego, 6-2.

Milwaukee defeated St Louis, 3-0.

Philadelphia lost at Tampa Bay, 4-3. 

 

Today

Giants' last stand is at home against San Diego, with Drew Smyly against-- somebody.

Milwaukee is at St Louis; they clinch the last NL postseason berth if they win.

Philadelphia is at Tampa Bay and in dire straits.

All these games begin at the same time: noon for the Giants, 2 PM in St Louis, 3 PM in Tampa.

Last Night's Game

Yes, San Diego is a better team than the Giants, but must they prove it so emphatically? The Padres broke out for three against Johnny Cueto in the fourth, while Zach Davies, Craig Stammen, and Garrett Richards held the Giants scoreless on five hits through seven. Then in the eighth San Diego brought in lefthander Tim Hill, ostensibly to face Mike Yastrzemski and Brandon Belt, and at first Hill couldn't find the strike zone or get a lefty out. Austin Slater walked, Yaz singled, and Darin Ruf walked to load the bases with nobody out. With visions of a big inning dancing in our heads, Hill recovered to strike out Donovan Solano on a 3-2 pitch in the at-bat of the game. He then got Belt to hit a comebacker that forced Ruf at second with Slater scoring. Wilmer "Mr Clutch" Flores followed with a RBI single, but the Giants needed a homer at that point, and Evan Longoria fanned to end it. And the homers the Giants needed came in the ninth-- the top of the ninth. Tommy Pham and Mitch Moreland both went deep off Tony Watson, making his second straight disastrous relief  appearance, to break it open again. Cueto, about whom we were so worried, put up his best start in three weeks; he was dominant except for that one bad inning, which went: Fernando Tatis homer, Manny Machado,  Eric Hosmer, and Moreland singles, Austin Nola sac fly.  3-0 isn't that bad, but the Giants ended up 1-for-6 with runners in scoring position, and Shaun Anderson's fine relief appearance in the ninth came three batters too late. 

This Is It

Giants win, Brewers lose, or we all go home.  

Saturday, September 26, 2020

                  W-L     GB

Cincinnati 30-28     Reds clinch lead WC spot

GIANTS         29-29     Two outs away…

Philadelphia 28-30 1     Marlins clinch second place

Milwaukee 28-30 1     Two more at St Louis

New York 26-31 2 1/2    Next loss will do it

Yesterday

Giants split a doubleheader with San Diego, and they should have swept it. 

Cincinnati defeated Minnesota and clinched (at least) the seventh seed.

Philadelphia lost at Tampa. Milwaukee split a doubleheader at St Louis.

New York was rained out at Washington; they have a doubleheader today.

Colorado lost at Arizona and were eliminated from postseason contention.

Today

Giants face San Diego at Oracle Park; 6:15 PM PDT. The Giants have not yet announced a starter, but it almost has to be Johnny Cueto. Zach Davies starts for the Padres.

Philadelphia is at Tampa. Milwaukee is at St Louis. New York plays two at Washington.

Last Night's Games

Things were lookin' mighty good as Sam Coonrod took the mound in the bottom of the seventh of the second game. Despite playing as the "road" team in their own park, the Giants had a 5-3 lead courtesy of Wilmer Flores' three-run blast in the sixth. They'd already won the first truncated game, taking an early lead and then agonizing as Tony Watson held on to survive a three-run seventh for a 5-4 win. Now, Tommy Pham led off by beating out a slow roller to short. Coonrod fanned Jason Castro for the first out, but with a game-ending double play in order, Greg Garcia worked a walk on a full count after some very questionable "ball" calls from our old friend Edwin Moscoso. More strike-zone maneuvering ensued as Trent Grisham also worked it full, then Grisham sailed one to deep right that cleared the brick wall, ended the game, and cost the Giants a truly golden opportunity to take a two-game lead in the wild-card race. 

The Giants managed only one hit off starter Dinelson Lamet, but still scored two runs, one an outright gift in the fourth thanks to two San Diego throwing errors and a walk to Brandon Belt, who had scored their first run in the second on a leadoff double, sac fly, and infield grounder.  This drew the Giants within one after Jeff Samardzija, making his first start since August 7, gave up three runs in the first three innings. In the sixth, two were out when Donovan Solano singled just past Manny Machado's reach. Austin Slater batted for Belt against our old friend Drew Pomeranz and drew a walk, setting the stage for Flores, who launched one over the fence in left and should have been the hero of the game. 

Bullpen blowups in the last at-bat have been a recurring nightmare for the Giants all season. Just glancing at the game log, we count six such collapses going into this weekend, though only one in the last month. Last night's opener, which the Giants had to win, was almost another. Mike Yastrzemski returned to the lineup with a double and a two-run homer, while Flores and Brandon Crawford added solo shots off Chris Paddack, who was gone by the fourth. Meanwhile, Tyler Anderson did all that was asked of him and more: he was sharp through six, allowing only one run. Leading 5-1, he gave up a leadoff double to start the final inning, and Tony Watson came in to finish it up. It was almost his undoing. A walk and a RBI single made it 5-2 with runners at the corners with nobody out, then Watson committed a horrendous throwing error on a Machado grounder and another run scored. Watson composed himself, perhaps taking a look at the spacious outfield behind him, and forced three successive fly balls. The first brought in another run, but the next two ended a game that never should have been close.     

What's Happening 

The only postseason spots left up for grabs anywhere are second place in the NL Central, and the Giants' goal-- the eighth and last NL seed. A sweep last night would have clinched a theoretical tie for that spot, though remaining subject to tie-breakers. They're still a game ahead of the Phillies and Brewers, thankfully, and will remain so if those teams keep losing. Both St Louis and Cincinnati are ahead to stay, and while the Cardinals are not "in" yet, they will be if they win another game. There is also opportunity for a six-way tie at .500, with three teams in and three teams out. New York's minuscule chances rest on a three-game sweep at Washington while the Giants, Phillies, and Brewers all lose two. That would leave the Mets and Giants at 29-31 and New York would have the tiebreaker in such case. Any Mets loss or any win by any of the teams ahead of them eliminates them. 

The six-way tie? Giants split with San Diego, Philadelphia takes two from Tampa, Milwaukee takes two from St Louis, Cincinnati loses two at Minnesota, and Miami loses two to the Yankees. The Giants, Phillies, Reds, Brewers, and Marlins would be 30-30; the Cardinals 29-29. Miami would still be the #2 team in the East. The Cardinals and Reds would both be in with identical division records-- the tiebreaker for the #2 team in the Central is beyond our capability to figure. And Philadelphia would be the #8 seed with a divisional record one game better than the Brewers and two better than the Giants.   

Okay. Despite all this, despite last night, the Giants can clinch the final wild-card spot with a win today and another loss for both Philly and Milwaukee.   Let's stay positive.

Notes

If the Giants do get in, they will play the Dodgers at LA for three games, and it will be a first. San Francisco has never faced a division opponent in the postseason since it became possible in 1995... Minnesota backed in to the AL Central pennant yesterday as the White Sox lost their sixth straight game, a 10-0 whitewash by the crosstown Cubs... Congratulations to former Giants player and scouting director David Bell, who has managed the Cincinnati Reds to their first postseason since 2013... And speaking of former Giants, the legendary (can we call him that now?)  Dusty Baker has set an all-time postseason record for managers. His Houston Astros clinched the last AL postseason spot yesterday (they're at 29-29, same as the Giants) and Dusty thus becomes the first manager in major-league baseball history to lead five different teams to the postseason! He did it with the Giants in 1997, 2000, and 2002; with the Cubs in 2003; with the Reds in 2010, 2012, and 2013; and with the Nationals in 2016 and 2017. Congratulations to the man who will one day join Bruce Bochy among the greatest managers of the game, in the Hall of Fame. 

Friday, September 25, 2020

                W-L     GB
Cincinnati 29-28     Can they handle Twins?
GIANTS         28-28     Must split with Padres
Philadelphia 28-29 1/2     Marlins at Yankee Stadium
Milwaukee 27-29 1     Cardinals smell 2nd place
New York 26-31 2 1/2    Won first of four in DC
Colorado        25-31 3     Mathematically alive

Yesterday

Giants lost to Colorado, 5-4, in 11 innings.

Milwaukee lost at St Louis, New York defeated the Nationals in Washington.

Cincinnati and Philadelphia were idle.

Today

Giants welcome the second-place San Diego Padres for a twi-night "switch" doubleheader beginning at 4:10 PM PDT. No starters have been announced yet by Gabe Kapler; San Diego will counter with two righthanders, Dinelson Lamet and Chris Paddack. Both have pitched well against the Giants this year. 

Cincinnati opens at Minnesota, and Philadelphia at Tampa Bay. Both the Rays and Twins are first-place teams. Tampa has clinched the AL East, Minnesota's in a dogfight in the Central.

Milwaukee has a doubleheader at St Louis, though the Brewers get to be the "home" team in the nightcap. 

New York is at Washington and Colorado at Arizona.

Last Night's Game

The Giants sure had their chances. They scored two in the first and lost another when Wilmer Flores was thrown out at the plate trying to score from third on Evan Longoria's grounder with one out. They loaded the bases with nobody out in the second and scored only one run-- on a wild pitch. Then there was a  five-inning snooze as the Rockies, who should have been down 5-0 or so, came back to make it a one-run game in the fourth on a two-out single after successfully challenging an "out" call at first base three batters earlier. In the seventh, Sam Coonrod gave up two more, blowing the save. Down 4-3 and needing some heroics, the Giants got 'em from Brandon Belt, who tied it with an opposite-field home run in the eighth, and from Jarlin Garcia, Tyler Rogers, and Caleb Baragar, who kept it scoreless through ten. Then in the bottom of the tenth, Alex Dickerson took his perch on second, and alertly took third on Flores' fly ball to left. Colorado walked the bases loaded to set up the force with one out. Longoria forced Dickerson at home, Mauricio Dubon popped up, and a sense of impending doom settled in. A grounder to the right side advanced the Rockies' "funny runner" to third, a sacrifice fly brought him in, and in the bottom of the 11th, with our own "funny runner" on third, our favorite young Giant, Austin Slater, grounded into a game-ending double play after Colorado had walked Darin Ruf to set it up.  

This was the game that had to be won, the last game of the season against an inferior (by record) opponent. A win here would have made a 1-3 weekend against San Diego at least discussable. Now the Giants must take at least two of these final four. Absent that, they will need two of their immediate competitors-- Cincinnati, Philadelphia, Milwaukee-- to collapse. Yes, all three are on the road against better teams, but all three are just as motivated as the Giants and their opponents to win their games and make the postseason. In effect, for all these teams, the playoffs start now.  

Who will start for the Giants tonight? Tyler Anderson is the only member of the rotation with four days' rest; he's likely to start the first game, but who starts the nightcap? Johnny Cueto needs all the rest he can get right now. Trevor Cahill pitched in each of the last two games. There's always the possibility of an "opener," but the bullpen as a whole has been worked hard this week. So, looking at the 25-man roster, Shaun Anderson appears a real possibility from this perspective. That would leave Cueto and Smyly for the weekend games.  The Padres have already clinched the postseason and the fourth seed, which is as high as they can go, but there's no indication at all that they will "coast" through this series. The Giants are going to have to win it. 

Will Mike Yastrzemski be available? Can Cueto pitch like Cueto? Can Kapler once again get the most out of this dynamic, multi-faceted lineup that's been such a wonderful surprise all season? Can this Giants team-- disrespected since last November, quietly and carefully assembled specifically to take advantage of a short season-- bring the payoff? Who remembers 1997, when another Giants team came out of nowhere to win the franchise's unlikeliest pennant? Just reaching the postseason was all they could manage that year, but somehow it was enough. That's what this year feels like. But for it to be like that, the Giants must win.

Starting today!

Thursday, September 24, 2020

                  W-L     GB

GIANTS         28-27     Today's game is H-U-G-E

Cincinnati 29-28     Took 2 of 3 from Brewers

Milwaukee 27-28 1      One game behind Cardinals

Philadelphia 28-29 1      Half game behind Miami

New York 25-31 3 1/2    Losing record guaranteed

Colorado        24-31 4          Elimination day today?

Yesterday

Giants defeated Colorado, 7-2.

Cincinnati defeated Milwaukee to win the three-game series. Philadelphia crushed Washington to earn a split of their four-game set. New York lost to Tampa; as it stands now they're done. 

Today

Giants host Colorado in the conclusion of this four-game series. Afternoon start; 12:45 PDT. Kevin Gausman starts the biggest game of the year, with Chi Chi Gonzalez opposing. The Giants hit Gonzalez hard in their previous meeting six weeks ago. 

Cincinnati has they day off. They will finish the season at Minnesota against the Twins, who just took over the AL Central lead from Chicago.

Philadelphia is also idle; they're on their way to Tampa, where the Rays just clinched the AL East division.

Milwaukee begins a five-game set tonight at St Louis. 

Last Night's Game

Gabe Kapler has caught some deserved criticism for his handling of the pitching staff this year, so it's only right to congratulate him for an especially intelligent use of the "opener" maneuver last night. Like a lot of teams, Colorado has taken to stocking the top of the order with their best hitters, and in the Rockies' case, two of those are Rafael Tapia and Charlie Blackmon, who swing left. Rather then have young Logan Webb face those guys to start the game, Kapler tapped lefty Caleb Baragar, who retired the side in the first without incident. After Blackmon doubled leading off the second, in came Webb-- and the rookie pitched into the seventh, allowing two runs on seven hits. By then his teammates had given him a 5-2 lead, enough for his third win. Mauricio Dubon's three-run homer in the fifth capped a four-run rally, and Tyler Rogers, Tony Watson, and Sam Selman kept the lid on over the final two-plus. Evan Longoria broke a 1-for-21 slump with a homer in the fourth, Alex Dickerson was 3-for-5 with two runs scored, and it was Brandon Belt's turn to be on base five times with three hits and two walks.  

The Latest

Atlanta clinched the NL East yesterday, aided by the Marlins' and Phillies' continuing stumbles... Miami has lost four in a row and now they get the Braves over a four-game weekend... If everything goes as scheduled, the Cardinals will finish with 58 games played while everyone else will get in the full 60, but it's unlikely to hurt them if they stay above .500... The AL postseason is getting set. Oakland and Tampa are division winners, Toronto will be an at-large wild-card, the Yankees will be the AL East runner-up, and in the Central Minnesota, Chicago, and Cleveland are all in, but nobody knows in which order. In the West, the Angels have a microscopic chance to catch Houston for second place...The Giants actually have the fifth-best record in the NL, essentially tied with St Louis, but the playoff scheme ensures either Philly or Miami will get in, with no such assurance for Our Boys... Yes, we know, the way to counter that is to "just win, baby." 

Wednesday, September 23, 2020

                  W-L   GB

Cincinnati 28-28     Still 8 runs to the bad

Milwaukee 27-27     Hold the tiebreaker edge

GIANTS         27-27 ...     Win when the others lose

Philadelphia 27-29 1     Nats put a hurtin' on 'em

New York 25-30 2 1/2    Can't afford one more loss

Colorado        24-30 3     You can do the math

                

Yesterday

Giants defeated Colorado, 5-2.

Cincinnati lost to Milwaukee and Philadelphia was swept in a doubleheader at Washington.

New York defeated Tampa to stay alive.

Today

Giants host Colorado, third game of the series. 6:45 PDT at the O. Righthander Ryan Castellani starts for the Rockies; the Giants have not announced a starter. It's Logan Webb's turn in the rotation, but don't be surprised to see Trevor Cahill, who threw 19 pitches in two-thirds of an inning last night, take the mound.

Milwaukee and Cincinnati finish up their three-game set at the GABP, while Philadelphia concludes the series at Washington. New York is home against Tampa Bay, who will clinch the division with a win if the Yankees also lose. 

Last Night's Game

The Giants' truly uncanny pinch-hitting heroics came through again. With the score tied 2-2 in the seventh, Alex Dickerson batted for Daniel Robertson against righthander Jairo Diaz and belted his tenth homer to lead it off. Joey Bart followed with his second double of the game, and with one out Austin Slater, who was on base five times (two hits including a leadoff home run, three walks, two runs scored, and a stolen base), singled, Bart taking third. Brandon Belt pinch-hit for Wilmer Flores and ripped a 2-0 pitch past former Giant Kevin Pillar in center for a double to bring both runners around, and that was the ballgame. Tyler Rogers, who had blown starter Drew Smyly's fragile 2-1 lead in the top of the frame, got the win. Tony Watson and Sam Coonrod finished up, Coonrod earning his third save.

Weekday Update 

LA clinched the NL West (and the top seed) last night, and the Chicago Cubs and Cleveland Indians clinched playoff spots... Philadelphia has lost four straight, but Miami has lost three in a row so that second-place NL East race is still hotly contested... St Louis continues to hold a one-game lead over the Reds and Brewers in the Central... Is Austin Slater a terrific ballplayer or what? .324/.442/1.033, albeit in 26 games, 13 walks in 71 AB, 8-for-9 stealing. Looking at Belt, Dickerson, and Flores too, there is no doubt the DH has been a huge boost to the Giants' offense. We expect there will be a strong push to adopt the universal DH after this season, and we think it will succeed, and we're not upset about it, as we would have been a decade ago. (Then again, Madison Bumgarner no longer plays for the Giants!)

Tuesday, September 22, 2020

                W-L     GB

Cincinnati 28-27     Hottest team in the race

Philadelphia 27-27     Miami still within reach

GIANTS         26-27 1/2     Can't afford another one

Milwaukee 26-27 1/2     In same boat as Giants

Colorado        24-29 2 1/2    Still in it if they can win

New York 24-30 3     May drop out if lose again

Yesterday

Giants lost to Colorado, 7-2.

Cincinnati defeated Milwaukee; they've won 8 of 10 and gained four games on the Giants and Phillies.

Philadelphia lost at Washington and New York lost at home to Tampa.

Today

Giants host the Rockies again at 6:45 PDT. Drew Smyly and Kyle Freeland in a battle of lefthanders. The Giants did well against Freeland in his two previous starts, though they lost both games late.

Milwaukee is at Cincinnati, Philadelphia has a doubleheader at Washington, and New York hosts Tampa Bay.

Last Night's Game

Johnny Cueto picked the worst possible time for his worst start of the year. He was roughed up for seven runs, all earned, in four-plus innings: 8 hits and 3 walks against 13 outs. Former Giant Kevin Pillar earned some payback by scoring the game's first run and launching a homer off Cueto in the third; he finished 2-for 5. The top three of the Giants' lineup was 6-for-12 with both RBIs but that was it; a particularly unhappy moment came when Gabe Kapler pinch-hit for Joey Bart in the eighth. Alex Dickerson, whose wife just had their first child, returned to the lineup with a 3-for-4 night including a double and a homer.  

Notes

Colorado is now 5-2 against the Giants on the season. If that isn't evened up by Thursday night, this may have been all in vain... Cueto has made three starts since his fine effort against Arizona on August 30, and the last two have been especially bad. Eight days of rest this time didn't appear to do him any good... Cincinnati trails St Louis by one percentage point for second place in the Central... Philly has been one game behind second-place Miami in the East for what seems like forever; both have lost their last two. Playing the last-place Nationals while the Marlins have the division-leading Braves should be a golden opportunity for the Phillies, but the Giants can tell them all about that kind of opportunity... Oakland became the first team to clinch a division title last night, and they did it by beating the Dodgers in LA.