[ad_1]
Brandon Crawford loaded an easy hopper, lined it up cleanly, and first threw out Ha-Seong Kim to register the final of the San Francisco Giants’ 3-0 win over the San Diego Padres.
It was their 106th win of the season, their franchise record, their 18th shutout of the year, and yet, by the time the 27th out was recorded, the Giants had still not won National League West.
The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Milwaukee Brewers 6-5 in 7th when the game ended in San Francisco. There were runners on the base. Maybe a. If the Dodgers ended up losing their game, the Giants would win the division.
Oracle media techs projected the Los Angeles game on the big screen, but San Francisco players and coaching staff didn’t stay to watch. They had exchanged their flashes and got out of the canoe to the clubhouse – their job was done. This game was won and there was no point in worrying about what they couldn’t control.
Now, I had put some money into the LA game to take place in the clubhouse as the team ate their bowls of Boudin’s post-game clam hot bread (I guess), but the message Kapler and his team sent when they stoically left the field was clear: the Dodgers can do whatever they want. They can come back twenty-five points in the bottom of the ninth and win tonight and start over on Saturday and start over on Sunday – none of that matters if the Giants keep winning.
The Dodgers are 48-21 (.696) since the All-Star break, their second-half best since 1953.
They have won 0 games against the Giants in that span (49-22 since the break). pic.twitter.com/YWINB3Wl4d
– ESPN statistics and information (@ESPNStatsInfo) October 2, 2021
A single win in San Francisco, or a loss for Dodger, in the last two games will win National League West for the Giants.
It is a pleasant position. It’s comfortable and familiar … but maybe too familiar?
The 2020 season ended with a home series against the Padres in which the Giants only needed to win one more game to secure a spot in the extended playoffs.
Trent Grisham’s home run in San Francisco on sums up how this weekend went.
Friendly reminder: The 2021 San Francisco Giants are much better than the 2020 San Francisco Giants. The San Diego Padres, after August 2021, play much worse than the 2020 San Diego Padres.
That doesn’t mean the division is in the sack. It just means … well, I don’t really know, except that I’m feeling a lot better this year than last year, especially after the Giants performance on Friday night.
It wasn’t an emphatic offensive showcase, but their victory still felt like a statement. It was a confident mix of power, ball play and no-nonsense throwing.
In short: good baseball.
Anthony DeSclafani continued to pitch the ball well, putting together five innings of shutout baseball. His ERA in his last seven starts is 2.83.
The relieving box held the shutout, spreading five hits in the last four innings without hitting a base. Rookie Camilo Doval made another save, hitting both Jake Marisnick and Wil Myers with his diving slider before throwing Kim short.
The Giants’ offense started with a Darin Ruf homerun in the first.
Mike Yastrzemski followed with a simple left check-swing to score Brandon Crawford, making it 2-0.
They scored another run in the sixth with a brace from Donovan Solano, who climbed to third on a Tommy La Stella ground-out and scored on a sacrificial volley from LaMonte Wade Jr.
They were the kind of situational hitters from La Stella and Wade that the Giants had struggled with all year. Or, wrestling isn’t the right word – they just didn’t want to change their approach to the plate in these types of scenarios.
But in the atmosphere adjacent to Friday night’s playoffs, the Giants again showed they can work in insurance racing if they need to in a close game.
It will be a good practice for the playoffs.
And … the Dodgers game final has just landed in Max Muncy’s gauntlet.
The Dodgers win, the Giants win. What’s new?
[ad_2]
Source link