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NLDS Preview: Giants vs. Dodgers should become a classic
Sports Seriously: MLB averted disaster by the Dodgers by winning the NL Wild Card in dramatic fashion. Now they’re playing against the Giants in what’s supposed to be one of the best NLDS series we’ve ever seen.
UNITED STATES TODAY
SAN FRANCISCO – They kept jumping up and down on Friday night, stamping their feet, shouting, “Beat LA! Beat LA, Beat LA! ”Until their lungs burned, snapping center-field video board photos for posterity.
It took 131 years, but the San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers finally played a playoff game against each other, and the sold-out crowd of 41,934 seized the opportunity, refusing to let go. socket.
The scoreboard will show the Giants won the game, 4-0, but anyone in the house will tell you it looked more like Game 7 of the World Series than the first National League Division Series game between those. two historic rivals.
It was party time with the big names of the San Francisco 49ers, Jerry Rice and Steve Young in the house. King Barry Bonds and former NBA great player Chris Mullin were also in attendance. Everyone wanted to witness the story, and the Giants made sure to carve out a niche for themselves.
“This series is going to be a madhouse in both places,” said Giants third baseman Evan Longoria.
If the Giants had their opponents, they would have preferred to face the Dodgers a round later in the NL Championship Series, wondering how much that made sense for two teams that combined for 213 wins to go head-to-head from the start.
“We knew we were going to have to go through them and that they were going to have to go through us to get to the World Series,” said Longoria. “So better get it out early.” “
The Giants took on the same mantra overnight.
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It took them just four batters in the game to take a 2-point homerun lead from Giants icon Buster Posey, their only player to appear in their three World Series championships, hitting the field 3- 0 for an opposite field. homer on the right field wall.
That was all they needed with starter Logan Webb on the mound, who completely stifled the Dodgers’ offense in his first playoff game. Webb allowed just five hits and struck out 10 batters in 7 inning, allowing just two fly balls out of the infield.
And he still hasn’t lost a game in his last 21 straight starts, a franchise record.
He became only the third Giants pitcher to throw at least 7 ⅔ shutout with at least 10 strikeouts in a playoff game since the franchise moved to San Francisco, joining Tim Lincecum and Madison Bumgarner.
“Honestly, it’s crazy to me that this is the first time we’ve ever faced each other in the playoffs,” said Webb. “So being a part of that is pretty cool for me. “
Webb, who grew up in nearby Rocklin, Calif., Was just 13 when Posey helped the Giants win their first World Series title in 2010 since moving to San Francisco, and was honored to share the spotlight with Posey.
He is a man who is a living and breathing legend in San Francisco, embodying the Giants’ resilience and work ethic at the age of 34, winning three World Series rings, catching three goals without a hitting and a perfect match, and now behind the plate for the Giants’ historic victory over their hated rivals.
He missed all of last season, deciding to stay home with his wife and newborn twins during the pandemic, knowing that it was more important to be home with his family.
He came back rejuvenated and after hitting a career low of 0.257 with a .688 OPS in 2019, he produced one of the greatest seasons of his career, with .304 with 18 home runs and a .889 OPS. It was the highest OPS by a full-time receiver this season.
Simply put, the Giants won’t play the Dodgers tonight without him, or two-time World Series champion Brandon Crawford, who scored in the eighth inning.
“Extremely talented and outsized athletes, I’m not surprised and Buster falls into this category,” Kapler said. “World Series trophies, MVP, Rookie of the Year, leadership characteristics, intensity, all the intangibles, so no surprise, especially given the hard work he put into achieving this goal. “
Now the Giants are two wins away from sending the Dodgers home for the winter, ending their dream of becoming the first National League team to repeat as World Series champions since the Cincinnati Reds. from 1975-76.
And, oh, does that ever feel sweet, especially for Crawford, a kid who grew up in the Bay Area and never left.
“I was taught at a young age,” Crawford said, “not to like them. “
He may have respected and even admired them from afar, but now, for the first time, he’s part of a Giants team that beat them in a playoff game.
He was serenaded off the field with that familiar song, Beat LA! Beat LA! Beat LA!
It has never sounded so good.
Follow Nightengale on Twitter: @Bnightengale
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