Baseball Lifer

Take a deep motherfucking breath, Giants fans; the good, the bad and the ugly all played out, and the Giants held on to beat their hated rivals, 3-2, to take the series.

The Giants took a 2-0 lead in the second inning, and the Dodgers—despite getting a base-runner in every single inning—seemed like they were never going to come through. However, things got scary late, when the Dodgers finally broke though in the eighth, but nevertheless, the Giants did hold on to win it.

GAMEBALL:

Camilo

The man who saved the game. Camilo Doval came into the game in the top of the eighth, the Giants up 2-1, and runners at second and the third for the Dodgers with one out. Jarlin Garcia, whom Doval replaced, had pulled off a houdini act an inning prior, escaping a bases-loaded, no-out jam. Now, the Giants flame-throwing closer had to do the same in the eighth.

Things didn’t start off well, as Doval walked Chris Taylor to load the bases. He struck out Gavin Lux for the second out, but he then fell behind 3-0 to Mookie Betts. It was not go, and surely, Betts had to be sitting on a slider down the pipe, which is what he got, but he either was looking for something else, or most likely, he was given the take sign. It was a huge break for the Giants, as Doval struck out Betts two sliders later to end the inning.

I suspect Doval was uncomfortable pitching in the eighth inning, but even when he was cornered, he found away to get out of it and save the game. Just make him the permanent closer, Gabe!!!

TIP OF THE CAP:

Thairo: Thairo had himself a big game yesterday, starting the scoring in the bottom of the second with a line drive home run off Clayton Kershaw, who was only the greatest pitcher of the 2010’s, no big deal. He started the 4-3 double play that got Jarlin Garcia out of the seventh; and he made a great sliding play at second to end the game, as slid to his left, and got a throw off from his ass from the lip of the outfield grass.

Luis Gonzalez: Gonzalez clubbed a hanging slider from Kershaw into the gap in right-center to knock in Crawford later int he inning.

Austin Wynns: Got a good first look at him yesterday, and I really liked what I saw. First of all, he has an upright and dominating batting stance at the plate, which can imposing, and can intimidate a pitcher. He also collected a pair of hits. Not bad!

Sammy Long: Went three innings as the starter in this bullpen game. He did his job.

Tyler Rogers: Rogers ran into a bit of trouble, but it’s not surprising considering he went two innings.

Jarlin Garcia: He got out of the first jam, coming in with the bases load and nobody out in the seventh. He struck out Freddie Freeman, and then got Trea Turner to bounce into the inning-ending 4-3 double play.

Curt Casali: Went 0-for-4 with a Hat Trick, but you can’t give him a Smack of the Stick. He played with a bad hamstring, and braved in there to help the bullpen.

Giants, Dodgers and Umpires: For coming together to celebrate the LGBTQ Community. A truly great celebration put on by two historic and classy teams and franchises, as well as the umpires. All three teams wore pride-themed hats yesterday, and this very well may have been a first in not just Professional Baseball, but in Professional Sports. It’s something that’s going to give hope and take steps to make life a lot easier for a lot of people.

Dale Scott: A friend of my show, the Insomniac Lunatic Fringe, Dale was at the center of the celebration yesterday. Three years before he retired, Dale became the first openly-gay active major league umpire, and since he has retired, he has become a great ambassador for Baseball and the LGBTQ Community.

Phight’ns: Make that nine in a row for the Phillies, who have climbed all the way. back to over .500. Truly remarkable what they are doing right now.

Heliot Ramos: After his bomb in Sacramento Friday night, Ramos was called up; got to make the start; and hit third. He went 0-for-2, but he made great contact both times against still one of the greatest pitchers in the game.

JOKER:

Kap

Gabe, I greatly respect you, but what gives?!!! I get it; it was a bullpen game, but using your setup man in the fourth and fifth innings??? Going to Zack Littell with a 2-0 lead in the seventh??? For fuck sakes, Kap, just give your bullpen guys consistent roles, and the problems they’ve been having will go away. JUST FUCKING DO IT, GABE!!!!!

SMACK OF THE STICK:

Zack Littell: I know Gabe should not have had him in there, but yikes.

Carlos Torres: Love these guys, but Carlos Torres, a damn good umpire, fucked up in the eighth. When Torres ruled that Crawford swung on the wild pitch that gave the Giants a crucial insurance run, he didn’t see that the ball hit Crawford’s foot, which meant it should have been a dead ball.

Jose Alvarez: Made things way too interesting in the ninth. At least he closed it out.

Brewers: What the hell has been going on in Milwaukee? They’ve not dropped eight-straight to fall out of first in the NL Central.

FLIP OF THE FINGER:

FOX: So as the Giants, Dodgers and the Umpires celebrated LGBTQ Pride yesterday, and as Amy Schneider, a trans woman, threw out the first pitch, FOX showed Kurt Busch throwing out the first pitch prior to Thursday’s game, as they tried to make it appear as if Busch had thrown out the first pitch just moments prior.

We all know why FOX did it. They’re a vile transphobic organization, but this is not “political.” This is a big deal to members of the LGBTQ Community, especially children and adolescents, who are trying to figure out who they are, and need to know that they will be accepted for who they are. So FOX can go to fucking hell.

FINAL THOUGHTS:

As you can see, this series has woken up the Sleeping Giants. As I mentioned just yesterday, I’ve sensed a weird combination of a lack of urgency, and pressing too hard. This weekend, they have shown why they won 107 games last year. They have been focused, determined and on a mission all weekend, and the clubhouse was buzzing after yesterday’s win. As I keep saying, once the Giants get healthy, they’re going on a run.

Stephen