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.
10 comments:
Cardinals beat Dodgers 5-4. Giants lead back to two games.
It was interesting that a large strike zone given to Denver's pitchers yielded the. 17 K's against Giants batters. Quite a few of them on called strike threes. This win over the Rockies was more amazing as we ROCKY'D them in the ninth at their home park.
It's cool the Longoria made a big contribution to the win. It's been a while. We didn't miss him as much as I thought we would, because guys like Wade, Estrada and Ruf have been doing such a great job. This team has been a source of joy in a downer year.
I noticed on Wade's single in the 9th, that he choked up on the bat.
Can clearly see about 2-3 inches of black tape on the handle below his red glove.
I mention it because he made the all-to-rare adjustment to make contact in a situation that called for it.
Little things that add up to winning baseball.
Wade talked about that in the post-game interview.
I hope I can find that interview on line. It was quite noticeable during that AB that he was choking up, and I tried to remember if he had done that previously. Even a lot of his outs are loud. What I like best about Longoria's year is that he is taking the walk, and although sometimes his pitch selection is not the greatest, he has done much better this year. If for some reason the giants are able to re-sign Bryant, teaching him better pitch selection could get him back into being an MVP candidate. He is still always a threat at the plate, but he does have a tendency of getting himself out unnecessarily. The giants for the most part are still guessing their pitch with two strikes, and it at times seems maddening as they will take a strike right down the middle of the plate. Guessing one pitch and getting another. One might think that a major league hitter could still foul off a good pitch down the middle that they were not expecting, but I guess not. The giants have been playing this year, with essentially two different offenses, with many players mixed into each. Using a football metaphor, somedays they come at you with the pass offense, and sometimes the run offense, with a modicum of the other mixed in, and they can change up at any time. When Rincones was advanced to double A, he struggled for a week or two, but since then has easily been handling double A pitching. He looks like a professional hitter type in the giants future, (unless traded). Always good to have some guys that are medium prospects that seem to play better than what was originally expected.
My comment is a live link to the interview, just click on it.
Here's the actual link:
https://www.nbcsports.com/bayarea/video/lamonte-wade-jr-discusses-clutch-ninth-inning-hit-vs-rockies
You can cut-and-paste that into your browser. The NBC Sports Bay Area website has all the Giants interviews and highlights after every game.
Dodgers lose 2-1 in St Louis this afternoon.
They are 2-1/2 back.
Giants play 10 straight games starting tomorrow, their next off day is the 20th. Dodgers have an off-day on the 16th as well as the 20th, they play 9 games in the same stretch.
On Sept 21st (Tuesday) both teams will have 12 games left and the same off-day (Monday the 27th).
If we end up in a tie with the dodgers do we have a one game playoff, or do we get the title as we beat the dodgers this year 10-9. Last year we tied for a playoff spot but did not go anywhere because of the tie breaker situation.
If the Giants and Dodgers are tied after 162 games then there will be a Game 163 in San Francisco. It would count as a regular-season game. The winner would advance to the playoffs and the loser would go to the wild card game.
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