Category: MLB

By Morris Phillips

SAN FRANCISCO–Consider the amazing NL West race featuring the Dodgers and Giants a stare down. After 159 games–and thus far in the season’s final week–neither team has flinched.

But the Dodgers–likely watching the conclusion of the Arizona-San Francisco game on television in their clubhouse–suffered a collective twitch.

After the Dodgers blew past the Padres in Los Angeles 8-3, the Giants followed with the “Late Night” Lamonte show at Oracle Park in their 5-4 win over the Diamondbacks. With three games to play, the Giants (105-54) maintained a two game lead over their rival in a race that has baseball history written all over it, and will command the baseball world’s attention in the final weekend.

“I would just say that this is two teams playing really good baseball in a pennant race,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “Like I’ve said many times over, we can be in tune with what’s going on outside of our games which is part of the fun. But most importantly we just have to play good baseball. However, we get there–if we do that–bring it on.”

Madison Bumgarner, the MVP of the 2014 World Series for the Giants and Arizona’s starting pitcher on Thursday night, weighed in on the divisional battle that–at least for one night–included him in the drama. After five inning stint in which he departed with the game tied, 4-4, he certainly had a barrel full of perspective on his former team.

“I know people have counted them out all year and a lot of people can’t understand it and make sense out of it, but I’ve been on that side when people are saying the same thing,” Bumgarner said. “I know how dangerous the Giants are just in general when they get in the postseason. I’ve obviously seen that a time or two, so there’s something about that uniform.”

Bumgarner–pitching for the first time in San Francisco wearing another uniform other than the Giants’–received a pair of well-deserved and loud ovations from the crowd of 27,503. In a twist that only baseball can provide, the second of those ovations came in the top of the first inning, not the bottom with him on the mound. At that point, Bum was the ninth batter of the inning with the D’Backs already leading 3-0. Despite the gravity of the game at that juncture, the lefty’s welcome was genuine. Genuine enough that he paused before stepping into the box and briefly waved his batting helmet.

“It was really cool,” he said. “This place, I’ve said it a bunch, it means a lot to me and my family. I don’t take that for granted by no means. I enjoyed that and I’m very thankful for that.”

The Giants were forced to go full improvisation in the inning as starting pitcher Scott Kazmir was injured on a ground ball that demanded he cover first base. So after recording just one out and throwing 12 pitches, Kazmir departed and Kervin Castro was summoned from the bullpen. The two pitchers allowed five hits in the first, and three runs, all charged to Kazmir.

But the Giants battled back, scoring single runs in the first, third and fourth to gain a 3-3 tie. In the fourth, Brandon Crawford homered off his old teammate, his career-best 24th and the only home run of the ballgame.

In the fifth with Arizona again leading 4-3, Buster Posey got his shot against his old battery mate. Posey’s RBI double scored Austin Slater from first base. The Giants’ catcher also delivered an RBI sacrifice fly in third.

Johnny Cueto, activated from the injured list, was the third of seven Giants’ pitchers to enter the ball game. Cueto pitched the third and fourth innings, along with recording the first out of the fifth. The veteran who has suffered elbow injuries, threw 48 pitches and seemed adaptable to his likely postseason role: pitching out of the bullpen.

It was Cueto’s first ever appearance as a reliever after 329 starts, and 135 wins.

“I’ll be myself,” he said, speaking through an interpreter. “Of course, I’ll be a little bit more aggressive because I know it’s going to be maybe one inning or two.”

The game remained tied until the ninth where Wilmer Flores doubled with one out. Reliever Joe Mantiply then intentionally walked Donovan Solano. Curt Casali in a pinch-hitting role was next and he drew a walk to load the bases. That brought a second pinch-hitter to the plate, “Late Night” LaMonte Wade Jr.

Wade, who had 13 hits and 12 RBI in ninth innings alone this season, delivered again. On a two-strike pitch, he stroked a hard-hit groundball that got between first baseman Paven Smith and second baseman Ketel Marte for a game-ending base hit.

Ironically, the prolific Wade had not delivered a game-ending hit at home. Twenty-seven Giants ran toward the slugger after touched first base to introduce him to the world of walk offs.

On Friday, the Giants’ open the final series of the season against the visiting Padres, who return to San Francisco after being swept by the Dodgers, and losing 39 of their last 58 games. The Giants will need to win twice in the series to clinch the division. That is, if they don’t get any help from the Dodgers, who will host the Brewers this weekend.

The Dodgers (103-56) have won 44 of their last 60 games since July 23.

NOTES: Before the game, Cueto and Darin Ruf were reinstated from the 10-day IL. Ruf started in left field, and went 2 for 4 with an RBI. Tony Watson was placed on the injured list with a shoulder strain, and Jose Quintana was designated for assignment.

Arizona Diamondback pitcher Madison Bumgarner doffs his cap during his last trip in San Francisco against his former team the San Francisco Giants on Aug 10, 2021. Bumgarner will be making his first start at Oracle Park for this season against his former team Thu Sep 30, 2021. (file photo by Bay Area News Group)

On the Giants podcast with Michael:

#1 Starting with Tuesday night’s game against the Arizona Diamondback the Giants have held up just well defeating Arizona in game one of this three game series 6-4 after losing their captain Brandon Belt to a fractured thumb for the rest of the season. They were focused in the win.

#2 In the clubhouse Michael what’s it been like for the players when they lose a player of the magnitude of a Belt who had just been on a hit parade before the injury in Colorado.

#3 Michael, talk about the platooning of first base with LaMonte Wade Jr playing the position on Tuesday and Wilmer Flores at first on Wednesday do you see manager Gabe Kapler rotating the position for the rest of week.

#4 Talk about that outstanding pitching match between the Diamondbacks starter Merrill Kelly and Giant starter Alex Wood on Wednesday night you would have never known that the D Backs were a last place team and Wood as always was at the top of his pitching performance.

#5 Diamondbacks and Giants go at it once again tonight at Oracle for a 6:45 PM PDT first pitch. Madison Bumgarner (7-10 ERA 4.58) going for the Diamondbacks he’ll be opposed by the Giants Scott Kazmir (0-1 ERA 4.09) at Oracle Park tonight.

Join Michael for the Giants podcasts each Thursday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

By Morris Phillips

SAN FRANCISCO–Didn’t think the record-breaking, home run-hitting Giants had this in their arsenal?

Well, you would be half right, and not the half you believed in.

The Giants nudged themselves past the Diamondbacks, 1-0 on Wednesday night at Oracle Park to reduce their magic number to win the NL West to three. And they did it as small–offensively–as possible, winning on Kris Bryant’s sacrifice fly in the seventh inning that scored Steven Duggar.

The Giants (104-54) have hit a franchise-record 237 home runs and posted a bunch of shutouts, not surprising balance for a team threatening to join the 1975 Reds and 1986 Mets as the winningest single season teams in National League history since divisional play began in 1969. But winning 1-0?

Well, a quick look back reveals they won 1-0 on April 18 at Miami when Alex Dickerson singled home a run in the third inning that stood up. And they bested the Nationals on June 11 when Buster Posey homered in the fourth inning, after Max Scherzer–know that name?–departed with a groin issue after throwing just 12 pitches. But winning 1-0 on a sacrifice fly is smaller brand of offense that, well, the Giants hadn’t accomplished this year.

“We pitched really well and the bullpen’s been nails all year,” starting pitcher Alex Wood said. “I can’t wait for October.”

A couple of things turned this one into a nail biter. D’Backs starter Merrill Kelly played Houdini, walking four and allowing three hits in five innings of work while not allowing a run. Three Arizona relievers followed and were equally as stingy, but Noel Ramirez allowed a single to Tommy La Stella, Steven Duggar then pinch ran for La Stella and stole second. Lamonte Wade Jr. grounded out, moving Duggar to third, where he stood when Bryant delivered the game-deciding sacrifice fly.

A manufactured run if ever there was one, but the Giants will take it.

The Giants were denied a far more comfortable margin of victory in the eighth when Duggar was robbed by Gary Varsho’s catch at the top of the left centerfield wall with two runners on.

Wood was stellar through six innings, allowing three hits and striking out six. Wood had the look of a competitor attempting to insure that he will prominently featured in the Giants’ postseason rotation by issuing no walks then retiring for the evening after throwing an economical 74 pitches. Three relievers (Dominic Leone, Jarlin Garcia and emerging high leverage guy, Camilo Doval) finished the D’Backs, combining to allow one hit with none of three throwing more than 11 pitches in their inning each.

The Giants achieved an incredible first with the win, becoming the first San Francisco Giants’ team to win as many as 104 games in a season. What’s next? The NY Giants of 1905 won 105, the NY Giants of 1904 won 106, and the Mets and Reds–the most inconic NL teams of this era–both won 108.

“It’s a huge accomplishment,” manager Gabe Kapler said. “This team has done so many good things. To say that this club has won more games than any other San Francisco Giants team is quite fulfilling.”

At press time, the Dodgers were locked into an incredible, back-and-forth affair with the Padres, with the score 9-9 in the bottom of the eighth inning. The Dodgers led 5-1 after two, then trailed 9-5 in the bottom of the seventh, only to score five times in the eighth to regain the lead. If the Dodgers lose, the Giants magic number would be reduced to two.

On Thursday, the Diamondbacks–now an incredible 54 games out of first place in the NL West–will bring Madison Bumgarner to the mound in his first pitching assignment in San Francisco since he left the Giants after the 2019 season. The Giants have not announced a pitcher, but Scott Kazmir’s name was being bandied on Twitter as if he would get the call on Thursday, but no announcement has been made.

Arizona Diamondbacks catcher Daulton Varsho legs out a throw to San Francisco Giants first baseman LaMonte Wade Jr on Tue Sep 28, 2021 at Oracle Park in San Francisco (AP News photo)

By Jeremy Kahn

SAN FRANCISCO-Wilmer Flores came off the bench to hit for LaMonte Wade, Jr., and he eventually came up with the hit of the night.

Flores hit a flare over the head of Ketel Marte into right field to score Evan Longoria in the bottom of the sixth inning to start the rally that ended up helping the San Francisco Giants to a 6-4 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks before a crowd of 28,122 at Oracle Park.

With the victory, the Giants lowered their magic number to win the National League West down to four and maintained their two-game lead over the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL West, who defeated the San Diego Padres 2-1 at Dodger Stadium.

Longoria, who scored the game-winning run reached on a fielding error by Josh Rojas to lead off the inning for the Giants, then Alex Dickerson came off the bench and was hit by a pitch, then Tommy La Stella singled and then Flores flare into right field scored Longoria.

The Giants were not done, as Buster Posey walked to score Dickerson, then Brandon Crawford hit a broken bat single to score Donovan Solano from third base after he came on to run for La Stella and then Posey scored the final run of the inning, when he scored on a wild pitch by Joe Mantiply.

Logan Webb went the first five innings for the Giants, as he allowed one (unearned) run on four hits, walking two and striking out six.

Despite not faring in the decision, the Giants are now 17-2 in the last 19 starts for Webb going back to May 11.

The Giants scored their first run of the game, when Posey scored with the bases loaded and two outs in the bottom of the first inning, as Mike Yastrzemski walked to score Posey.

Diamondbacks starter Luke Weaver struck out the first two batters in the bottom of the first inning, but then Posey doubled, and Crawford and Bryant walked prior to Yastrzemski walking and picking up his 68th run batted in of the season.

Josh Rojas tied up the game in the top of the third inning, when he hit a sacrifice fly that scored Jake McCarthy, who walked to lead off the inning and went to third, when Wade, Jr., was unable to hold on to the pickoff throw from Webb and McCarthy went all the way to third.

McCarthy scored the Diamondbacks second run, as he hit an opposite field solo home run in the top of the seventh inning. It was the third home run of the season for McCarthy.

David Peralta attempted to tie up the game, as he hit a fly ball to the deepest part of the ballpark and was forced to settle for a sacrifice fly that scored Daulton Varsho with the Diamondbacks second run of the inning. Kole Calhoun cut the Giants lead in half, as he singled in Rojas.

Camilo Doval came on in the top of the ninth inning, and despite allowing a double to Geraldo Perdomo that brought the tying run to the plate, Doval was to get Carson Kelly to fly out to Duggar in centerfield and then got Rojas to strike out swinging on a slider to end the game and give Doval his first major league save.

NOTES: Brandon Belt was placed on the 10-day injured list (retroactive to September 27) with a left thumb fracture, and to replace Belt on the roster, Thairo Estrada was recalled from Sacramento.

The 103 wins by the Giants ties the 1962 and 1993 Giants for the most wins since the team moved to California in 1958. Only the 1904 team that won 106 games, the 1905 Giants, who won 105 and they tie the 1912 New York Giants with 103 wins.

With the 103rd win of the season, the Giants became the third team in MLB history to post that wins in a season after finishing under .500 the season before. They join the 1993 Giants and the 1946 Boston Red Sox, who won 104 games on the season before losing in the World Series to the St. Louis Cardinals.

This was the 15th win for the Giants over the Diamondbacks in 17 games this season, and they are the second team that the Giants have defeated at least 15 times this season, as they went 15-4 against the Colorado Rockies. The most wins that the Giants have over an opponent in a single season is the 1961 Chicago Cubs, whom they went 17-5 against that season.

UP NEXT: Alex Wood goes for his 11th win of the season on Wednesday night, as he takes the mound for the Giants, while Merrill Kelly will take the mound for the Diamondbacks in search of his eighth win of the season.