Post-season

This was on the MLB homepage:

 

ESPN has the schedule:

 

Check the link for the rest of the games.

--M.C.

It's Over

SD 5  SF 4

The Giants were done after that bone-crushing loss in the final inning on Friday night. Yesterday they showed some spunk but not enough to challenge for a win, and today they fought back gamely but could not conjure up the victory they needed. They had some fine individual efforts over the last two days, but they did not have the team-wide x-factor they needed to finish strong, especially against a much more talented club. I had one goal for this team: improve. But, I had a yardstick: play .500 ball. They didn't measure up, but they certainly improved. I think FZ, Kap, and the players deserve a lot of credit for exceeding expectations and playing meaningful games until the bitter end.

And it was a bitter end. On Wednesday the Giants found themselves in an unexpected place: in charge of their post-season destiny. I didn't write much about the team's post-season chances because even at their highest point I considered them slim, and I viewed a seeding in the tournament as a bonus, not a goal. Alas, they really were close--they really did have a strong chance. In fact, all the other teams helped them out today--a win would have assured them a playoff spot! But that loss on Thursday set them back. Despite a great effort in the double-header on Friday they came out with another brutal defeat, a real shoulda-coulda-woulda kinda game. As I said at the top, I think that finished them.

The Giants had to play 26 games against three of the best teams in baseball this year, the A's, the Dodgers, and the Padres. They were 7-19 against them, a .269 percentage! They were 22-12 (.647) against the rest of their opponents and finish 29-31 or a .483 mark. That's better than 2019 (.475), 2018 (.451), and 2017 (.395) Those were full 162-game campaigns so I know it's not an entirely fair comparison, but I'm looking for improvement.

If you want to be a good team, you have to play better against other good teams, and that's an obvious goal for next year. But we'll talk about next season later. This season was weird, of course, but I'm really happy we got to have a season at all. Sports without fans in the stands is bizarre, but I'll enjoy the post-season even if I won't follow it too closely. I'll certainly watch the World Series.

I suspect lots of things will be different about baseball going forward. I suspect we'll have lots to talk about in the coming months. As always,

GO GIANTS!

--M.C.

One More Chance

SD 6  SF 2

The Giants have one more game to play, one last chance to finish the season with 30 wins and a .500 record. After last night's brutal loss the team was perhaps a bit down and didn't play with the spark they needed. The lineup could not get anything going early on and when they finally did rally in the 8th they could not get the big hit. The Padres win for the seventh time in nine games against the Giants this season.

The team is clearly gassed. San Diego is flying high and rolling into the post-season as one of the top-seeded clubs. It is not a good matchup. That being said, Drew Smyly gets a chance tomorrow afternoon at 12:05 Pacific and the boys just might have one last fight in them. I'd like to see a nice nine-run outburst, wouldn't you?

GO GIANTS!

--M.C.

p.s. Mike Yastrzemski gets the Willie Mac Award and I think it was an easy pick and certainly well-deserved.

Split

SF 5  SD 4

SD 6  SF 5

The Giants got a great start from Tyler Anderson in the first game and took a 5-1 lead into the final frame (the 7th!). The Padres rallied for three runs, aided by some poor umpiring, but Tony Watson hung on and saved a big win. Watson was charged with an error when he hit Manny Machado with a throw. Machado was not in the running lane and should have been out, but the umps missed it. In the end it didn't matter and the Giants were able to get it done. But plays like that should be reviewable, or at the very least the home plate umpire should be forced to get a second opinion--there's no excuse for that. They paint the lines on the damn field for a reason! The lineup did its damage in the 4th with homers from Mike Yastrzemski and Wilmer Flores.

In the second game the Giants were down 3-2 in the 6th but rallied behind a massive three-run homer from Wilmer Flores off Drew Pomeranz to take a 5-3 lead. Those were the only runs Pomeranz has allowed this season. Unfortunately the Padres once again rallied in bottom of the 7th for three runs, and this time it was enough to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. Sam Coonrod was the victim, giving up a three-run homer to Trent Grisham, adding another brutal loss to the season's tally. The Giants managed a split but it sure felt like they should have pulled off the sweep. Two things of note: the Padres were the home team in Game 2 as it was a make-up game from the postponement in San Diego, and Jeff Samardzija started for the Giants, likely his last appearance in orange-and-black.

29-29 with two games to play, Saturday at 6:15 p.m. and Sunday at 12:05 p.m. (PDT).

GO GIANTS!

--M.C.

The one that got away

COL 5  SF 4 (11)

Feels like the Giants have suffered more than a few brutal losses in this strange, truncated season, and today was certainly one of those. You can't mess with the baseball gods. If you get chances and continue to blow them they will make you pay. The Giants had the matchup they wanted with Kevin Gausman against Chi Chi Gonzalez. They jumped on him for two runs in the 1st but it felt like it could have been four, and they added another in the 2nd that felt like it could have been three. Missed opportunities! The lineup should have chased Gonzalez but he hung around and kept the Giants to three runs in 5-1/3 IP. Meanwhile the Rockies kept harassing Gausman with long counts and plenty of singles and he finally departed after six with a 3-2 lead. The bullpen couldn't hold it and it was 4-3 Colorado in the 8th but Brandon Belt tied it with a homer. Finally, in the 10th, the Giants held the line and did not allow the magic runner to score, but could not get it done in the bottom half despite a splendid opportunity. In the 11th the Rockies scored and held the line against the Giants and that was that.

It was a big chance for the home squad but a determined opponent and the wrath of the baseball gods did them in. Doubleheader with the Padres tomorrow, first game at 4:10, the second at 7:10 p.m. Pacific.

GO GIANTS!

--M.C.

Another clutch win

SF 7  COL 2

The Giants employed the opener tonight, using Caleb Baragar in the 1st inning, and he went 1-2-3, but gave up a double to start the 2nd. Then they used Logan Webb. He produced a serviceable 5-1/3, facing danger in every frame, but got the team into the 7th allowing only two runs. Power from an unlikely source--a three-run blast from Mauricio Dubon--had given the Giants the lead in 5th and they never looked back. They tacked on two more in the 8th and rode the 'pen to another big win. Tyler Rogers picked up the last two outs after Webb, Tony Watson handled the 8th, and Sam Selman finished it.

Brandon Belt's three hits brought his career total to 999 and his RBI in the 8th made it 1,000 for his career. Alex Dickerson also had three hits--he's slugging .606! Evan Longoria added a solo shot and walked twice, and added some sterling fielding at the hot corner. Steven Duggar rather than Jaylin Davis got the call-up and responded with an RBI hit in the 8th, driving in Joey Bart who had tripled. Duggar had a walk earlier and also caught the final out. I think his defense is part of the promotion, and Kap said his lefty bat was a factor.

The Giants have had a rough time with the Rockies this season, and the win tonight brings their record to four wins against five losses, so a win tomorrow can even up the series. Both Baggs and AmyG just tweeted that Kevin Gausman will start tomorrow afternoon, 12:45 Pacific.

GO GIANTS!

--M.C.

Clutch win

SF 5  COL 2

Giants get back to .500 with some good pitching and timely hitting, a tried-and-true formula. This year's variation on that formula involves getting better matchups and we saw that tonight. Righty Austin Slater led off against southpaw Kyle Freeland and hit a homer, and struggling righty Joey Bart got an RBI double in the 5th off the same lefty. With the game at 2-2 in the 7th, lefty pinch-hitter Alex Dickerson launched a homer off righty reliever Jairo Diaz and lefty pinch-hitter Brandon Belt added a booming two-run double in the same frame and that set up the win. Tony Watson and Sam Coonrod got the last six outs. Drew Smyly started and was effective for 5-1/3, with Trevor Cahill, Jarlin Garcia, and Tyler Rogers bridging the gap. The Giants are 27-27 with six games remaining. They are averaging about five runs on both sides of the ball, scoring 272 and allowing 269 in the 54 games. They are 17-10 at home and of course they are 10-17 away.

A couple of nine-run games would be nice, don't you think? No starter announced for tonight's 6:45 contest but maybe Logan Webb could go on four days rest (he pitched Friday). Trevor Cahill faced only three batters last night so you'd think he could deliver some "bulk innings" in relief. We'll see.

GO GIANTS!

--M.C. 

 

p.s. FNG OF Luis Basabe had to leave the game in the 3rd when he tweaked his hamstring. FNG IF Daniel Robertson had to play in left field, and he got his first ever OF assist when he threw out Garrett Hampson in the 7th trying to stretch a single into a double. I like both of these players and hope they are part of the mix next spring.