Photo credit: artesianews.com

By Jeremy Harness

Twenty-two years ago, the Giants and the then-Florida Marlins went toe-to-toe in the National League Division Series, a series that saw the Marlins move on and eventually win the World Series.

Fast forward to 2019, and now the two teams are battling it out as two of the worst teams in baseball.

The Marlins technically have the inferior record at 19-34, but based on how the two teams have played the past two days, that is hard to believe. Miami downed the 21-33 Giants by a score of 4-2 Wednesday night at Marlins Park, less than 24 hours after the Marlins bombed them, 11-2.

The Giants may have three World Series banners floating around Oracle Park, but they sure have been hanging a lot of L’s these days.

Wednesday was the seventh straight loss for the Giants, and despite winning three World Series in five years, they stand a chance of finishing the decade with a losing record. Depending on who you talk to, that fact is either very funny or tragic indeed.

After Miami took the early lead with a run in the third, Brandon Belt’s solo home run tied the game in the fourth. The Marlins then scored three unanswered runs over the next four innings, and the Giants could not recover.

Madison Bumgarner had a solid outing, going six innings and gave up only a pair of runs on six hits, walking one and striking out four. However, his record fell to 3-5, as he was the victim of the Giants’ miserable offense, which is statistically one of the worst in the majors.

To pour a little more salt into the wound, former Giants closer Sergio Romo, who had a big hand in the World Series run and put the finishing touches on the 2012 Fall Classic, nailed down the save for the Marlins, although he did surrender a run on two hits in the process.

Despite all of this, there is some good news, in that you don’t have to look very far to find a good baseball team, and the tickets are more than half the price. The A’s have recently gone on a 10-game winning streak and are heading toward the top of the American League standings.

To add to the good cheer, the Golden State Warriors are heading to their fifth consecutive NBA Finals, a series that starts Thursday night in Toronto against the Raptors.