Giants move closer to NL West title in one-of-a-kind night at Oracle Park



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SAN FRANCISCO – There have been hundreds of Orange Fridays at Oracle Park over the past two decades, but the Friday night experience was unique.

The Giants came to the stadium knowing they needed a win and a loss for the Dodgers to clinch the NL West title, and for a while it was looking good. They took care of the business, leaping out first in the first inning and heading for a 3-0 win over the Padres. At Dodger Stadium, the division’s second-place team fell behind 5-1 and saw Clayton Kershaw fall with a potentially serious elbow injury, but they reversed Trea Turner’s grand slam and beat the Brewers to keep pace.

There were “Beat LA” chants from the Oracle Park seats when things were going well, and audible moans from the fans as Turner’s ball cleared the wall. Thousands of people stayed to watch the Giants put the Dodgers-Brewers game on the scoreboard after their game was over, but when the Dodgers started to walk away there were only a few hundred fans left scattered around. the seats.

It was a fascinating night, but not in the house canoe. The Giants kept moving forward. They followed what was going on at Dodger Stadium but didn’t really pay too much A lot of attention. Sure, it can be boring that they are still playing for the division after winning 106 games, but it’s not as boring as being second with 104 wins.

“They’re probably more frustrated with us because we’re ahead and we keep winning,” said Anthony DeSclafani, who pitched five white innings. “We just have to mind our own business and we can control our destiny. Just try to keep winning, that’s all.”

The Giants will send Kevin Gausman to the mound on Saturday in search of the decisive victory. If they can pull it off, they can rest some veterans on Sunday and start lining up their rotation for the NLDS, but no one wanted to think about it after the 3-0 win, their seventh in a row.

Manager Gabe Kapler said he’s on top of what’s going on in Los Angeles, but hasn’t wasted a lot of energy thinking about permutations.

“It’s cool and fun, but again, it’s a soft focus on what’s going on in Los Angeles with the Brewers and Dodgers and a sharp focus on the work we need to do,” he said. he declares.

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The Giants have already accomplished more than any team in franchise history. They tied a franchise record with 106 wins, and subsequently retired to the clubhouse, watching Kenley Jansen shut down the Brewers while they ate their dinner and received treatment. If there was any disappointment that there wasn’t a clinch Friday night, it just didn’t show.

“Tomorrow will be treated like any other day,” said LaMonte Wade Jr. “We’re going to go out and put our routines and get our pre-meetings and we’ll go out and play to win the game. Nothing changes. We’re going to focus. on what we have to do … head down, staying focused and living in the moment. “

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