It is difficult to imagine a more satisfying conclusion to a… Giants series of home games.
The batters hit a San Francisco-era franchise-record 10 doubles in Sunday’s 10-4 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers. right handed Spencer Bivensa 30-year-old rookie, amplified his tremendous story, delivered a desert spring of five innings in a timely start and sent A wave of energy across the oceanfront baseball stadium while striking out Shohei OhtaniThe Giants won a home series against their archrivals for the first time in more than two years.
For once, the infiltration of Dodgers fans into the stands was not much to cheer about. And oddly enough, those fans won’t be back until 2025.
The Dodgers will not visit San Francisco again this season. It is the first time in the history of the West Coast rivalry that the Giants will play their final home game against the Dodgers before July 1. Such is life under the balanced schedule in which the Giants play their NL West rivals 12 times instead of the previously prescribed 19 meetings. Major League Baseball adopted the reconfigured schedule last season, while expanding interleague play and ensuring all 30 teams will play each other every year.
Balancing the schedule had another important and desired impact: creating greater equity among contending teams in an expanded postseason field that includes a third wild card. It wasn’t fair to teams like the New York Mets and Cincinnati Reds compete with the Giants for the same playoff spot when they played very different schedules.
Another change made necessary by the expanded postseason was that the compressed playoff schedule left no time to break ties on the field. If two wild-card contenders finish with identical records, the season series will determine which of them advances.
So, as satisfying as it was for the Giants to win two of three games against their archrivals, for all practical purposes, it will be even more important for them to win series against the other eight NL teams that are all evenly matched at .500 and still harbor wild-card aspirations. The simplest analysis is that the Giants should win as many games as possible. Beyond that, it will be in their best interest to finish the season with as many playoff series as possible.
Here’s a look at where the Giants stand with a little more than half the season in the books:
So far, so good
The National League playoff picture makes Guernica look like an 8×10. Take out the Dodgers, Philadelphia Phillies and Milwaukee Brewersall of whom have created a bit of separation at the top of their divisions, and nine of the 11 remaining National League clubs have a realistic chance of securing a wildcard. Only the Miami Marlins and Colorado Rocky Mountains They are practically cooked.
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The good news for the Giants is that they have completed the season series with three of their fellow wild-card contenders and won all three. They will have potential tiebreakers against the Mets (4-2). Puppies (4-3) and Pirates (4-2)
Much to decide
The Giants are halfway through their season series with the Parents, Diamonds, Cardinals, Nationals and the Reds. Almost all of them are uncertain.
They are 4-3 against the Padres with six games remaining: three in San Diego from Sept. 6-8 and three in San Francisco from Sept. 13-15.
They are 3-4 against the Diamondbacks with six games remaining: three in San Francisco from Sept. 3-5 and three in Arizona from Sept. 23-25.
They are 2-1 against the Reds and have three games remaining in Cincinnati from Aug. 2-4.
They are 1-2 against the Nationals and have four games remaining in Washington from Aug. 5-8.
(Yes, that early August road trip to Cincinnati and Washington will be potentially critical.)
It’s probably not too early for Giants fans to turn on the Cardinals. That’s because the Giants have a 0-3 record against them after losing the game at Rickwood Field on June 20, followed by the two games in St. Louis. The Cardinals don’t visit San Francisco until the final weekend of the regular season, Sept. 27-29. It would be a daunting task if the Giants go into that series trailing by one game against the Cardinals for the final wild card, but they must essentially sweep them to avoid being outscored in the tiebreaker.
The Giants are confident their rotation will come together and play their best baseball in the second half. With a number of tiebreakers still to be decided, they better be.
Just win, baby
He Bravos They are the only NL wild-card contenders the Giants haven’t played so far this season. That will change this week when the Giants open a three-game series Tuesday at Truist Park.
As easy as it is to assume that the Braves will easily cruise into the top wild-card spot, this is not the same roster that opened the season. The reigning NL MVP Ronald Acuña Jr. is out for the year due to a torn knee ligament, the right-hander Spencer Strider He underwent Tommy John surgery and the Braves have not gotten the production they expected from him. Matt Olson and Austin Riley in the corners of the infield, so there are no guarantees the Braves will excel.
Even if the Giants are swept in Atlanta, they would still have a chance to win the season series, as the Braves will play four games in San Francisco from Aug. 12-15.
Of course, none of these tiebreakers will matter if the Giants can’t start racking up wins in the series regardless of the opponent. They haven’t had more than three .500 games in any calendar month this season. Any momentum they’ve managed to generate has been fleeting. It’s a miracle they’ve overcome their extreme rotation issues to stay within .500 range. But they’ll need their rotation Voltron to get back to the top of the game. Logan Webb, Robbie Ray, Blake Snelland Kyle Harrison to join in the second half.
At some point, the Giants must go from surviving to thriving. Even in a slow NL wild-card race, finishing with one of the three spots will require a final kick.
(Picture of Michael Conforto against the Padres earlier this season: Orlando Ramirez / USA Today)