Baseball Lifer

Wow. I did not expect this, but what a fucking game!!!

I had been dreading this series for awhile, as the Giants had a record of 9-14 against teams over .500 coming into last night; and this series came as the Giants treaded water against the Reds, Marlins and Rockies. With the Dodgers coming in, I expected the Giants to get swept. I was expecting the worst, but this team once again showed that they know how to turn it on when it counts, as they beat their hated rivals in front of a loud and amped-up near-sellout crow on a rare warm Friday night in the City by a final of 7-2.

GAMEBALL:

Giants

The whole team gets the Gameball. That’s how proud I am of them.

I have sensed a weird mixture of pressing too hard, and a lack of urgency from the Giants since the end of April—with the exception of when the team was healthy for a week and a half in May. However, when push has really come to shove, they have shown why they won 107 games last season. They showed it when they came back to beat the Mets on May 24, and they showed it again last night.

The Dodgers took a 1-0 lead in the top of the second inning, but the Giants immediately responded with a pair of runs to take the lead in the bottom of the second. Chris Taylor homered in the top of the fifth, but after the Giants opened their lead with a three-run bottom of the fifth, they kept the Bums at bay the rest of the night. They played a smooth and clean game, as mostly everybody did their jobs, and they showed what they are capable of when everything clicks. If they can play like this as a depleted team, just see what they can do when they’re fully healthy.

TIP OF THE CAP:

Longo: Opened the scoring and tied the game with a bullet down the leftfield line, as he continues to stay hot. He had to leave the game due to hamstring tightness, but thankfully, he appears to be alright.

Craw: Hey, we’re waiting for ya to get hot, pal. Let’s hope last night was the start!

Joc: Joc shined against his old team last night. He singled to start the rally in the second, and he knocked in a pair to extend the lead with a much-needed base-hit, a bullet off the glove of Freddie Freeman at first, with two outs in the fifth.

Darin Ruf: Ruf clubbed two home runs, and knocked in a run with a base-hit in the fifth.

Jakob Junis: Junis made another big start, as he held the Bums to two runs over five-plus innings. Unfortunately, he strained his hamstring in the sixth, so let’s hope he only has to miss one start, because he has been great, and actually very valuable for the Giants.

Jake McGee: McGee really is starting to look like his old self again. He walked Chris Taylor to start the seventh, but then retired the next three—though he technically didn’t retire Gavin Lux, who reached on a fielder’s choice.

Dominic Leone: A real forgotten valuable piece to the Giants Bullpen, Leone pitched a quick 1-2-3 eighth.

Camilo Doval: Not a save situation, but Doval really pitched his best inning of the year in a 1-2-3 ninth, as he showed why he is our closer, PERIOD, and why he better be heading to LA for the All-Star Game in July. He also got his ERA down to 2.92.

Phillies: Just mad respect for the Phillies for what they have done over the last week, as they have gotten back up to .500, following their eighth-straight win. And to think that I just completely ripped them a week and a half ago.

Walker Buehler: Unfortunately, Buehler had to leave the game after four with elbow discomfort, which is never good. Buehler has quickly become one of the best pitchers in Baseball, so let’s hope that this is nothing too serious, and that he’s back on the mound as soon as possible.

Heliot Ramos: A little update from the farm, as I’ve covered a couple of River Cats games this week (Tuesday, and last night), and will cover the game on Sunday as well.

Ramos has really struggled since being sent back down to Sacramento in April, but he was on last night. A line-drive out to third, and then in his next at-bat, in the bottom of the seventh, he hit a bomb to left to tie the game for the River Cats.

JOKER:

Trolley Dodgers

When the second-best team in Baseball—as the Dodgers were coming into last night—has half of their regulars hitting .251 or lower, and their cleanup guy hitting .159, something is very wrong with the game. There’s a simple reason the 106-win Dodgers didn’t win the World Series last season, and why they won’t this season, either: They try and hit almost every pitch they see 900 feet. Even though that’s what most teams unfortunately do today—though it’s finally starting to slowly going back in the right direction—you’re not going to win the whole thing in a normal postseason playing that kind of ball, no matter what era you’re in.

SMACK OF THE STICK:

Cody Bellinger: For fuck sakes, dude, learn how to take a normal swing!!! 0-for-4 with a pair of strikeouts for Bellinger, and that’s really the norm for the most overrated player in Baseball.

Mookie Betts: He’s not overrated, but an 0-for-4 night for him as well.

Yaz: What’s happened these last couple of games? 0-for-4 with a Hat Trick? C’mon!!!

River Cats: They’ve been kind enough to let me into the press box this season, but with their 13-4 shellacking at the hands of the Reno Aces, they’ve lost 11-straight. C’mon, let’s go!!!

FINAL THOUGHTS:

This was one of the biggest wins of the season, and very well could be a major turning point. We very well could easily lose these next two, but we showed last night what we’re capable of when everyone comes together and wants it, which they did last night. We’re going to get Belt and LaMonte back, and when they’re in the lineup every day with Joc, Gonzalez and Wilmer, look the fuck out.

As for the defense, yeah it’s been terrible this season, but it was terrible in 2020, as it was in Spring Training last year. When everyone comes back and the team gets on a roll, the defense will follow.

Stephen