By Morris Phillips
SAN FRANCISCO–Twenty-five guys headed to work at AT&T Park Wednesday morning in very unique circumstances. Those 25 Giants–had they the courage to look at a newspaper–would have surely noticed that they trailed the NL West-leading Dodgers by 40 games, a first for the rivalry that’s been waged on both coasts for over 125 years, and a first for the Giants in relation to any opponent in the divisional era (since 1969).
And the appropriate response to such a humbling juxtaposition, and the response put forth by the last-place Giants on the diamond on Wednesday afternoon?
Just win. Just win one game.
“For us to come in here and kind of ruin someone’s day in three days, it’s something for us moving forward that we can build on as a club,” winning pitcher Matt Moore said, invoking some extended meaning of the familiar idiom, “misery loves company.”
The 4-2 Giants’ win certainly brought misery to the Brewers, who have steadily been losing ground to the Cubs in the NL Central in recent weeks, even after winning six of seven right before visiting San Francisco and dropping two of three to the Giants.
With runs at a premium in the heavy air and overcast conditions, the Giants found a way to scratch out some runs–with four being the optimal number. The Brewers did not, held in check by Moore, who allowed an RBI double to Travis Shaw in the first inning, but nothing else through six plus innings of work.
Moore was nearly skipped in the rotation two weeks ago, the typical managerial response for a guy who’s carried the highest ERA in the league through a majority of his starts. But Moore lobbied, Bruce Bochy relented, and the pitcher has responded with three starts (two wins) far superior to the previous 14 (1-8, 6.22 ERA).
“I was expecting big results out of myself,” Moore said. “I put the work in for that. It didn’t quite turn out (but) I think I’m better off for it. I learned a lot.”
With Moore dueling Milwaukee starter Matt Garza, the Giants needed Jarrett Parker’s half swing, excuse-me double that scored Gorkys Hernandez and Denard Span in the seventh. That made it 3-1, and the San Francisco bullpen responded from there.
Hunter Strickland and Mark Melancon pitched scoreless frames in the seventh and eighth, and Sam Dyson picked up his 12th save despite allowing Stephen Vogt’s pinch-hit home run in the ninth.
In seven games on the home stand, the Giants scored 35 runs, an average of five per game. That’s significant improvement for a club that’s scored fewer than four runs in 68 games (only 11 wins). When the Giants score at least four, they’re nearly Dodger-like, winning 41 of 60.
Also, the club’s shown marked improvement driving in runs in clutch situations, and 2016’s breakout, offensive force, Brandon Crawford has begin to hit at a .300 plus clip.
“It just so happens we had a lot of guys who had injuries or had off years,” Bochy said. “But I don’t want to talk about next year. I want to talk about how we finish up.”
The Giants open a three-game set against the Diamondbacks in Phoenix on Friday. Ty Blach gets the assignment in the opener in a matchup with 14-game winner Zach Greinke.
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