104

SF 1  AZ 0

The 2021 San Francisco Giants won their 104th game and that's the most ever by a San Francisco Giants team. It was also the team's 17th shutout and their 20th win in the month of September. Alex Wood got the start and he dominated for six frames, allowing only three hits with six strikeouts and no walks. Superb relief from Dominic Leone and Jarlin Garcia in the 7th and 8th set things up for young Camilo Doval in the 9th. He answered with a ten-pitch, two-whiff save. It was an awesome team pitching performance. What's even better is that the slugging Giants created a run in the 7th with a single by a pinch-hitter (Tommy La Stella), a steal by a pinch-runner (Steven Duggar), a sacrifice bunt (LaMonte Wade, Jr.), and a sacrifice fly (Kris Bryant). Little ball! It just goes to show that a good team has a lot of arrows in the quiver. A good team can win in lots of ways.

The Giants are a good team. Their magic number is now three regardless of what happens in LA. The Padres are leading as I type this, but I'm not counting on them. The Giants understand what they have to do to win the West and I am confident they will get it done.

Scott Kazmir gets the start tomorrow night (6:45 PT). Madison Bumgarner takes the hill for Arizona. That's going to be weird!

GO GIANTS!

--M.C.

Four for four

SF 6  AZ 4

The Giants win their fourth straight and knock their magic number down to four. The Diamondbacks made Logan Webb work and he was lifted after five innings and 98 pitches. The Giants cracked open the tense 1-1 affair in the bottom of the 6th with four runs. It was a goofy sequence of station-to-station stuff and I kept waiting for the big blast that never came. Tony Watson gave up a homer in the 7th to make it 5-2 but the Giants were gifted a run in the bottom half to get the lead back to four. Tyler Rogers got hit hard in the 8th and gave up two to make the 9th inning more excruciating than it needed to be, but the 6-4 lead was enough. Camilo Doval gave up a one-out double but was otherwise superb and closed out the 9th for his first save and the team's 103rd victory.

The Dodgers won so the lead is still two. The Giants need four more wins to clinch the West. Alex Wood goes tomorrow night. I note that Madison Bumgarner is slated for Thursday night--the Giants have not yet listed a starter. Both games are at 6:45 Pacific.

GO GIANTS!

--M.C.

Sweep!

SF 6  COL 2

The Giants complete the sweep against the Rockies with a dramatic win in Denver. They take the season series 15-4 with their 53rd road win. Kevin Gausman was back to form with a stirring 11-strikeout, no-walk performance. His only blemish was a C.J. Cron solo shot. Clinging to a 2-1 lead in the 7th, Jose Alvarez and Zack Littel gave up the tying run on a Coorsian sequence involving an error by Wilmer Flores and a balk, but that was all. Camilo Doval struck out the side in the 8th to set up the comeback in the 9th. Steven Duggar led off with a walk, Flores walked, and Tommy La Stella singled in the go-ahead run. Brandon Crawford came up with two outs and cleared the bases with a home run and everyone breathed easier. Kervin Castro got the last three outs. He was on deck for the 9th regardless, fortunately he had a much less stressful outing. BCraw's had a lot of big hits but that one was pretty damn big.

The Giants sweep consecutive series at Coors Field. No Giants team has ever done that. No other team this season has swept a series from the Rockies at home. The entire pitching staff was superb, allowing only one homer and a total of six runs in the three games.The bad news is that Brandon Belt was hit by a pitch on his hand and might have a thumb injury.

With the two-game lead the team's magic number is five. If the Giants go 5-1 in their final six games they'll clinch the West regardless of what the Dodgers do. The last two series (Arizona and San Diego) will be played in San Francisco.

It's an off-day tomorrow. Logan Webb starts Tuesday night (6:45 PT).

GO GIANTS!

--M.C.

Belt Belts Two

SF 7  COL 2

The Giants had a good night. They won in Colorado behind two homers by Brandon Belt and a superb effort by the bullpen. The Dodgers lost in Arizona and the lead in the NL West is back to two full games. Jose Alvarez, Zack Littel, Jarlin Garcia, Tyler Rogers, Tony Watson, and Dominic Leone combined for five shutout frames in relief of Anthony DeSclafani. The Giants fell behind in the 1st but three in the 5th and three more in the 8th got the job done. Belt's second homer was the big blow, turning a 2-1 deficit into a 4-2 lead and the Giants never looked back. Leone loaded the bases in the 9th but got the final three outs on a grounder, a whiff, and a grounder.

Zac Gallen of the Diamondbacks, bless his soul, pitched a superb game to shut down the Dodgers. The Arizona lineup jumped on Clayton Kershaw and chased him in the 5th, they won by the same 7-2 margin. The Giants have a two game lead with seven games to play. I really want to see the Giants win the NL West outright. I am rooting for that. I am trying not to think about anything else. Win the West!!

Kevin Gausman starts tomorrow at 12:10 Pacific. Monday is an off-day.

GO GIANTS!!

--M.C.

100

SF 7  COL 2

The Giants win their 100th game of the season. 100! The Giants have been in San Francisco since 1958. That's 64 seasons. If you exclude shortened seasons--1981, 1994, 1995, 2020--it comes to 60. The Giants won 103 games in 1962, 103 games in 1993, and 100 games in 2003. That's four times in sixty seasons. This only happens once in fifteen years. Or, it happens once every decade or two.

What's crazy, of course, is that this historic, incredible season might not be good enough. The 100-win Giants have the just-barely-behind Dodgers nipping at their heels. Hell, it's not nipping. It's a pack of full-throated, banshee-wailing werewolves in pursuit! The NL West race will come down to the last man standing.

The Giants hit four homers tonight but my shout-out goes to 22-year old Kervin Castro who delivered two scoreless innings--the 5th and 6th--with two strikeouts in relief of Alex Wood. Check out Castro's minor league line: 58 G, 133-2/3 IP, 100 H, 52 R, 48 BB, 148 SO. This guy has only faced 548 batters before being called up! He pitched in the Dominican Summer League in 2016 and 2018, then at Salem-Keizer in 2019, nothing of course in 2020, and then 44 IP at Sacramento before the promotion. Wow!

Anthony DeSclafani gets the start tomorrow, it's listed as a 5:10 (PT) start time. There are eight games left to play.

GO GIANTS!

--M.C.

Nine

SD 7  SF 6 (10)

The Giants wasted a big chance in the top of the 10th and it burned them in the bottom half as the Padres pushed across the winner. An uncharacteristically wild Logan Webb put the team in a 4-0 1st inning hole but they battled back with homers to take a 5-4 lead in the 6th. Back-to-back homers by the Padres re-took the lead but the Giants rallied in the 7th to tie. Alas, they couldn't get it going after that and the home squad prevailed. The Dodgers rallied in Colorado and gained a game, they are one back with nine left to play.

It's off to Denver for three starting tomorrow evening at 5:10 Pacific. Alex Wood gets the start.

GO GIANTS!

--M.C.

Ten

SF 8  SD 6

The Giants hang on to win and get a big lift with the Dodgers losing in Denver. They lead the NL West by two games with ten left to play. Scott Kazmir gave the Giants four scoreless frames to open things but ran into trouble in the 5th. No problem: enter Camilo Doval. With a run in (on a Buster Posey catcher's interference!) and the bases loaded he whiffed Manny Machado on three vicious sliders. The Padres slugger looked helpless against the rookie. Doval then got a routine double play grounder from Tommy Pham to end the threat. He's looking better with every outing. Speaking of Buster, he had a four-hit night and nearly got a fifth. The Giants watched their big 8-1 lead get threatened in the 7th and Kap even went to Dominic Leone to cool things off, and Tyler Rogers gave up two in the 9th, but they prevailed.

The Giants reach 99 wins and their magic number to clinch the division drops to nine. Logan Webb starts this afternoon at 1:10 Pacific.

GO GIANTS!

--M.C.

Eleven

SF 6  SD 5

The Giants prevailed in a see-saw battle and held on to their one-game advantage in the West. The Dodgers won in extras in Colorado. The Padres inch closer to elimination as they are now five back of the surging Cardinals. The NL's early-season darlings are in a desperate fight for the final post-season spot and we all know that cornered critters are the most dangerous. Manny Machado smacked two homers and almost had a third as the linuep battered Kevin Gausman with nine hits and four runs in four frames. The Giants kept their cool despite down 4-1 and with two in the 5th and two more in the 6th looked poised for a comeback win. A homer by Austin Nola (Padres hit four, Tommy Pham also dinged Gausman) tied the game but a 9th-inning rally off Mark Melancon turned the tide. Tyler Rogers struck out Fernando Tatis, Jr. and induced a double play grounder from Machado to save it.

"Late Night" LaMonte once again delivered the big hit. Singles by Brandon Belt and Buster Posey set it up and Wade, Jr. smoked a liner on a 2-2 count to drive in the go-ahead run. He really has a knack for big moments! Padres ace Joe Musgrove went 5-2/3 and allowed eight hits and five runs including a leadoff homer from Tommy La Stella. Every starting player in the Giants lineup had a hit and Wilmer Flores had a huge pinch-hit (for Gausman) in the 5th.

Scott Kazmir will get the start tonight at 7:10 PT. Eleven games left.

GO GIANTS!

--M.C.

One dozen

The 97-53 Giants have twelve games left to play. There are three in San Diego starting tomorrow: Tuesday and Wednesday nights (7:10 starts) and Thursday afternoon (12:45). They go to Colorado after that for three: Friday (5:30), Saturday (5:10), and Sunday (12:10). Monday the 27th is an off-day. They come home for the final six: three against the Diamondbacks (Tue-Thu) and three against the Padres (Fri-Sun). All times Pacific.

The 96-54 Dodgers are one game back. They have the same setup: six on the road, an off-day on the 27th, and six at home. They go to Colorado and Arizona and then see the Padres and the Brewers to finish it.

The NL West will get decided on the final weekend: October 1st, 2nd, and 3rd. If there is a Game 163 it will be in San Francisco on Monday, October 4th. Can you imagine if it came to that? There are not enough drugs in the world to cope with such a thing!

This incredible season is in its final go-round. This magical team has given us thrills all summer long. They are 13-5 (.722!) so far in September. Can you believe it has come down to this? Can you handle this absolutely epic pennant chase? I don't know if I can, I'm about to pass out just thinking about it!

We were fortunate on our road trip to follow the Giants closely and watch a lot of games.There were some wild games, man. It's just going to get wilder.

GO GIANTS!

--M.C.

Clinch-fest

The Giants punch a post-season ticket with an emphatic win in their 144th game. That's the end of the 8th seasonal inning. There are a mere 18 games left. Here's how they've played so far:

1st inning: 11-7

2nd inning: 11-7

3rd inning: 12-6

4th inning: 12-6

5th inning:  12-6

6th inning: 10-8

7th inning: 14-4

8th inning: 12-6

That's 94-50 for a .653 winning percentage, best in MLB. They are 10-2 in September and 37-18 since the Break. The numbers speak for themselves. Looking at it month-by-month they went 16-10 in April, 18-10 in May, 16-9 in June, 15-10 in July, and 19-9 in August. The 2012 World Series champions won 94 games, by the way.

This remarkable team still has a major task ahead of them--fending off the LA Dodgers and seizing the NL West crown. They'll have to keep playing great baseball, but I'm betting they will. After all they've played great baseball for 8/9 of the season!

I appreciate everyone chiming in on the comments. Keep it up! I'm not sure when I'll get the chance to post again.

GO GIANTS!!

--M.C.

Open Thread, 9/10/21

I won't be posting for several days. Obviously each game increases in importance as we follow the Giants for these final weeks of the season. I thought we could have an open comment thread following this post and people could chime in on what's happening. I'm not sure when I'll have the opportunity to do my next post but I will be following things.

The Giants play three in Chicago this weekend and then come home for four against San Diego, followed by three against Atlanta. Monday the 20th is an off-day. Today's game is at 11:20 PT.

Be sure to add your two cents!!

GO GIANTS!!

--M.C.

Four-run 9th lifts Giants

SF 7  COL 4

The Rockies had not been swept in a series at home this season and it looked like they would keep that streak intact. Anthony DeSclafani cruised through the first four but a leadoff double in the 5th started a rally. A passed ball by Curt Casali and a single by Gray opened the scoring and chased DeSclafani and brought in Jarlin Garcia. Two singles later a blown double play chance brought in another run, and a liner LaMonte Wade gloved but couldn't hold made it 3-0 Colorado. Starter Jon Gray mowed down Giants hitters until 6th when Brandon Belt and Wade singled to open the frame. A three-run homer from Brandon Crawford tied the score and chased Gray. But a homer by catcher Elias Diaz off Zack Littel in the bottom of the 6th made it 4-3 and it stayed that way until the 9th.

Buster Posey, pinch-hitting, walked to open things. A single from Thairo Estrada and an infield hit from Belt loaded the bases. A Wade single drove in two and a two-out double from Evan Longoria added two more. Jake McGee had an effortless 10-pitch save and the Giants had another huge win. This team continues to be a marvel.

The Giants are the first team to 90 wins and they are 40 games over .500, 90-50 (.643), and have only 22 games left to play. They went 10-6 during the 16-game stretch of no off-days. That stretch opened with a sweep of the Mets in New York and ended with a sweep of the Rockies in Denver. Plus it included a brutal four-game losing streak and an epic series win against the Dodgers! They've earned their day off tomorrow.

It's looking like a bullpen game to open the series Friday in Chicago against the Cubs. Kevin Gausman is scheduled for Saturday. I don't think they'll move up Logan Webb, they'll use him to open the home series against the Padres Monday night. Perhaps Jose Quintana or Scott Kazmir will get a shot in the finale on Sunday. All the games in Wrigley are at 11:20 Pacific.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

Webb and Duggar clobber Rox

SF 12  COL 3

Yesterday the Giants opened the game with back-to-back homers. Today they got back-to-back-to-back doubles from Tommy La Stella, Brandon Belt, and Buster Posey, and a single from Brandon Crawford to hand a 3-0 lead to Logan Webb. He was up to the task, throwing three scoreless before allowing a run in the 4th. He was done after two more in the 7th. Like Kevin Gausman yesterday he got 21 outs and allowed a total of three runs which is impressive at Coors Field. Like Gausman he had an RBI hit as well! The Giants are 14-1 in Webb's last 15 starts. I've said it before and I'll say it again: in a season of great things Logan Webb's emergence as a stud starter may be the best thing.

Speaking of emergence, 22-year old rookie Kervin Castro made his debut and threw two scoreless innings to finish the game. He threw 27 pitches to eight batters giving up two hits and striking out one, getting the other five outs on three grounders and two fly balls. Welcome to the big time, Kervin!

Steven Duggar was a huge contributor earlier this year and then got squeezed on a roster crunch and was sent down during a slump. He's done his duty down at AAA in Sacramento and earned a call-up. Since then he has kicked ass. Tonight he had three hits--two triples and a double--driving in three runs. Welcome back, Dugg-Man!

Anthony DeSclafani tomorrow afternoon at 12:10 PT.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

Big sticks back Gausman

SF 10  COL 5

The Colorado Rockies are 45-25 at home this season. Their 18-50 road record has them on the brink of elimination, but the fact is they have been playing well in Denver. So it's a good thing Kevin Gausman was on his game this afternoon, and it's a good thing the lineup was primed to hit. Gausman went seven and whiffed nine, giving up five hits and a walk. Two of the hits were solo shots and that bumped the score to 10-3 when he left the game. That's right, 10 runs on 15 hits--two doubles, a triple, and four homers. Thairo Estrada went all superhero-mode and jacked two of the bombs, one in the 4th and one in the 5th to chase Rockies starter Kyle Freeland. Leadoff hitter Darin Ruf opened the game with a homer and Buster Posey followed him. Ruf also had the triple and Buster one of the doubles. Mauricio Dubon joined the fun with three hits (one of the doubles), a walk, and two RBI. Steven Duggar had two hits, too. In the 4th Gausman pulled off the butcher-boy, faking a bunt and pulling the bat back for an RBI single. It was a good day for the orange-and black.

Caleb Baragar had an ugly 8th, giving up two runs. He had to be rescued by John Brebbia. Dominic Leone threw five pitches to get his three outs in the 9th.

Logan Webb goes tomorrow at 5:40 PT.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

Back on Top

SF 6  LA 4

The Giants finally solved Walker Buehler, banging out six runs off him in the first three innings, and held on to win the finale in a tense and exciting ballgame in San Francisco. The Giants went with an opener and bullpen game for the second day in a row and this time it paid off. Dominic Leone had a crucially important shutdown 1st inning and Brandon Belt smoked a homer in the bottom half to set the tone. They kept the pressure on against the normally un-hittable Dodgers ace and broke through with a huge two-run triple from just-called up Steven Duggar. The 'pen attack actually faltered in the 2nd, with lefty Jose Alvarez giving up a run on a walk and two hits, but Zack Littell got a strike out and two pop-ups to end the threat. In the 3rd Jay Jackson put two on with two out but Jose Quintana got the next six outs despite some shaky stuff and a goofy strike zone. Just-called up Camilo Doval had to rescue him in the 5th but walked in a run before getting the whiff. He took care of the 6th, Tony Watson the 7th, and Tyler Rogers the 8th. Jake McGee took a 6-2 lead to the 9th and gave up a two-run homer to Albert Pujols but got the final three outs eventually and the Giants had a massive, massive victory.

Brandon Crawford had two hits including a double, he continues to be amazing, and both Mike Yastrzemski and Curt Casali did the same. Darin Ruf had an excellent two-strike stroke for an RBI single in the 2nd after Duggar's triple, that made it 4-1, two in the next inning made it 6-1 and Buehler was done after three. They should have added on in the 6th, loading the bases with one out, but didn't. And Kris Bryant's throwing error in the 9th put a man on for Pujols, it should have been an out. McGee got a break on a called third strike to Mookie Betts, but the umpire was inconsistent all day and burned both teams. The closer gave up three runs in two appearances and yet the Giants won both games!

The Giants are 87-50. They are one game up on the 86-51 Dodgers. The Rays also have an 86-51 record, they lead the AL East by 7-1/2 over the Yankees. There are 25 games left to play. The next three are in Colorado, but three actual starting pitchers are lined up: Kevin Gausman on Monday (1:10), Logan Webb on Tuesday (5:40), and Anthony DeSclafani Wednesday (12:10, all times Pacific).

Hang on. If you think it's been a thrilling ride so far, just wait.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

All knotted up

LA 6  SF 1

The Giants fell behind right away and never got it going against Julio Urias and the result was a lopsided loss. The bullpen opener (Jay Jackson) and tail-ender (Sam Long) both got clobbered, but otherwise the rest of the relief corps pitched well. It's too bad the Giants ran out of pitching this weekend, it would have been better to have Alex Wood or Johnny Cueto (or both) available, but you play with the guys you've got. I'm not sure what the sequence will be this afternoon (game time 4:08 PT, ESPN) but they'll have to execute better right out of the gate. It's going to be tough against Walker Buehler who is right up there with Corbin Burnes as a CYA candidate. The Giants will be seeing Buehler for the fifth time this season so maybe they can find an opening. The lineup has struggled to score runs despite creating lots of chances and today they'll need to deliver some big-stick action.

The two best teams will be fighting for first place--you can't ask for more than that.

GO GIANTS!

BEAT LA!!

--M.C.

Round One: Giants

SF 3  LA 2  (11)

I have no words for the range of emotions this game put me through. I suppose there are a few: enthusiasm, excitement, anguish, despair, torture, frustration, anticipation, euphoria, etc. I don't want to bother with a game recap. There's too much to talk about and I'm a mess. The Giants won in extras on a poor throw from Trea Turner that allowed one of the slowest men in baseball (Buster Posey) to beat out an infield hit for the game-winning RBI. The Giants had so many chances in the game to push across runs (they were 3-for-20 with RISP at one point!) and they kept failing. I suppose the Dodgers have great pitching. They do, actually. They have the best pitching staff in MLB. But somehow the Giants hung on and hung on and kept hanging on and hanging around and they finally pulled out a win.

Special shout out to Anthony DeSclafani for taming his bête noire, the LA Dodgers, and throwing an absolutely brilliant start (6 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 3 W, 5 K) when the team was desperate for some quality innings. That was an awesome performance. Jake McGee couldn't hold a 1-0 lead in the 9th, and I was fit to be tied, but the team showed their vaunted "resilience" and battled back. The Dodgers used 11 pitchers and their entire bench. The Giants did their usual crazy thing, pinch-hitting for LaMonte Wade, Jr. in the 3rd inning (the THIRD inning!!) with Austin Slater to get the righty matchup (against lefty Alex Vesia) and sure enough Slater poked a two-strike RBI single. In the olden days we would have said "Dusty's a genius" or "Bochy's a genius" with such a move but with Kapler we just shake our heads and go "hey man, if it works don't fuck with it" and move on. This is a unique and fascinating team, I hope you are appreciating this marvelous season.

Darin Ruf hit leadoff and had two hits and two walks. He has played exceptional baseball this season and I hope they keep him around next year. Brandon Crawford, ageless wonder and team MVP, had three hits including one in the 10th to tie the game and keep the flame of hope burning.

6:05 is the listed start time for tomorrow night. Strap in and hang on baby, we got all the nail-biting, head-bashing, banshee-wailing action you can handle.

GO GIANTS!

BEAT LA!!

--M.C.

Whew!

SF 5  MIL 1

Thairo Estrada had his biggest moment as a Giants player with a huge three-run homer to cap a four-run 8th that set up this afternoon's win. Darin Ruf's clutch two-out RBI double just before had broken a tense 1-1 tie. Walks to Kris Bryant and Brandon Belt had set up the late rally. Bryant was thrown out trying to steal with a 3-1 count on Belt (I was furious!), but the call was overturned. He was clearly safe. The Giants needed some cathartic hits and both Ruf (who's been superb all season) and Estrada delivered.

Logan Webb led the way with another outstanding performance. He retired the first nine guys with ridiculous ease and allowed only four hits overall, one a two-out RBI single in the 4th. Webb had ten strikeouts and walked only one guy. In the 7th lumbering Daniel Vogelbach tried to stretch a hit to right field into a double but Austin Slater gunned him down to end the inning. Slater's leadoff homer in the 1st got the Giants on the board. Tyler Rogers was perfect in the 8th with three strikeouts, and Jake McGee finished the 9th. He gave up an apparent two-run homer to Willy Adames but upon review it was overturned. It was clearly foul. Adames then hit a hard grounder to Estrada at second base and he made a nice play to end the game.

Obviously today was a massive win. The Giants have not played well and they got smacked around by a tough, first-place team. Well, guess what? The Giants are a first-place team! They have to share it right now with that other team that's also 85-49, but those things can be taken care of this weekend. Tomorrow night's game is at 6:45 Pacific.

GO GIANTS!

BEAT LA!!

--M.C.

Bounced

MIL 5  SF 2

The Giants lost for the fourth straight game and got bounced out of the top spot in the NL West. The four-game skid is tied for the longest of the season. They also lost four in a row right at the end of June and the beginning of July. The Giants were in first place for 100 days, from the 31st of May to the 31st of August. Speaking of August they finish the month with a 19-9 record.

They have their best shot at a win this afternoon (12:45 PT) with Logan Webb taking the hill. He's been the best pitcher on the team since his two wins against the Dodgers at the end of July. In fact, I think his emergence as a legit starter has been the best story of the year, and this has been a year for lots of good stories. Speaking of the Dodgers, they come to town this weekend, so that's a chance to bounce them out and reclaim first place.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

 

p.s. Speaking of 100 days, here's some Sharon Jones for your listening pleasure.

Bummed

MIL 6  SF 2

The Giants got whupped by the Brewers again and have now lost three in a row. Milwaukee has a good team. The Dodgers won and are half a game back. Brandon Belt got his 20th homer--a nice milestone for him, and in only 279 plate appearances.

Kevin Gausman tonight at 6:45 PT.

Go Giants!

--M.C.