First and Last

This was a game that reminds us cynics of why we were baseball fans.  It reminds us that baseball is, perhaps, the most human of sports.  The Giants scored in the 1st inning, a Belt sacrifice that scored Steve Duggar.  He hit it to triples alley, deep towards the 421 sign, but it was an out.  It would be a shame not to see that next year, even if it does give Belt a few more home runs.  Hyun-Jin Ryu, on the mound for LA, quickly found his groove and the Giants were pretty much shut down for the rest of his 8 innings.

Madison Bumgarner pitched the best he has this year.  That was the opinion of one authority, Buster Posey on the post-game show, and confirmed by the radio and tv announcers.  His fastball had the best velocity of the year, and he used it the most he has this year.  His slider had some snap, too.  Madison struck out 8 in 6 IP, threw 114 pitches and walked 2.  He gave up 4 hits and 1 run.  That run came in the 6th, Kike Hernandez doubled, then Bum got the next two batters out, then Bellinger hit what might have been the 3rd out, an infield dribble.  It would have probably required either a slower runner or a faster pitcher, Madbum didn't cover 1st, and it probably wouldn't have mattered.  Meanwhile, Kike Hernandez scored from 2nd on what was a ballsy running play.  But it tied the game.

Madbum batted in the bottom of the 6th, which gives you an idea of what the Giants offense is like, but did not pitch the 7th.  That meant that Reyes Moronta, Tony Watson, and Will Smith had to hold LA to 0 runs, and that is not easy.   Reyes put 2 runners on (1 hit and 1 error on Brandon Crawford), Watson had a 1-2-3, and Will Smith then put another 2 doggers on before getting out of the inning unscathed.

Then came the 9th.  A groundout by the Panda hitting in the pitcher's spot.  Then Duggar, the only guy on the Giants who could be called a speedster, got his 3rd hit of the night off of Julio Urias.  Parra singled him to 2nd before Brandon Belt struck out.  LA brought in Pedro Baez to face Buster Posey and Buster, on a 3 - 1 count, lined to left.  It had to have been Buster, and anyone but Duggar would have had to stop at 3rd or been thrown out, the line drive just wasn't deep enough.  The Giants scored on a Buster Posey walk-off single, beating LA by a score of 2 - 1.  Oh yeah, Bochy got tossed somewhere mid-game.

So here we are.  We beat LA 2 of the 3 games on what was looking like a real dumpster fire of a homestand.  We got some measure of redemption on what is sure to be a season to try men's and women's souls.  Why can't we summon that intensity against anyone else?  The doggers score tons of runs and we held them to 1.  And scored twice.

Tyler Beede is slated to start in Cincinnati Friday.