San Francisco Giants Look To Find Winning Ways Again

The even year magic seems to be fading as the San Francisco Giants’ once comfortable lead in the NL West has dwindled since the start of the season’s second half.

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Before entering Monday’s contest against the Miami Marlins, the San Francisco Giants came out of the MLB All Star Break and posted a league worst 5-16 record. A 6.5 game lead over the Los Angeles Dodgers before the break now stands at just one game with two full months remaining in the regular season. Even with the recent pitching acquisitions before the trade deadline, the Giants have been inconsistent both on the mound and at the plate.

No doubt, the dice were rolled by Giants management in making a free agency splash this past offseason as another even year was upon the organization. The additions Johnny Cueto and Jeff Samardzija have complemented ace Madison Bumgarner in the rotation over the course of the first half of the season.

After all, the Giants’ blueprint for success in their three World Series wins over a five year span, has been solid starting pitching mixed with a reliable bullpen. Now, with a solid rotation in place, the hope is that the timely clutch hitting will occur and that the pitching will hold steady enough to produce another championship.

Related Story: Giants Morning Minute: Moore Solid In Debut

Now though, a sense of panic is being sensed with the sluggish start to the second half of the season. Bumgarner — who responded well to being roughed up by the Phillies in his previous outing — did not deserve to lose Sunday’s game against Washington.

Despite giving up a home run to Wilson Ramos in the seventh, he pitched a complete game with seven strikeouts. The rotation has been decent, but the relief pitching has been spotty in holding down the lead and closing out games.

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Manager Bruce Bochy seems to have lost his touch and needs to harness his brilliance again in making clutch decisions. In the Giants 5-4 extra innings loss to the Phillies, Bochy made the decision to leave Cueto in the game.

Sure, Cueto was dominating, but the first two runs he gave up should have signaled Bochy to make a call to the bullpen. Instead, he let Cueto pitch and the Phillies tied the game. Little decisions throughout the game, like making the right call to change pitchers have not been with Bochy and the pitching staff during the slow opening to the second half of the season.

In order to win, pride has to be swallowed to benefit the team.

Hunter Pence’s offensive production was sorely missed by the Giants and his return could not have come at a better times, since he has been the spark ever since coming to San Francisco.

Injuries kept Pence out of the lineup last season and forced him to miss time this season as well. San Francisco’s players and fans can only sit back and hope Pence can remain healthy the rest of the season as his presence seems to send positive vibes throughout the clubhouse that helps fuel this team.

But Pence cannot do it by himself To win, the Giants’ offense needs to start manufacturing hits in order to produce runs. When the runs come in, the pitching is then able to feed off the run support they get.

Catcher Buster Posey will look to improve his team leading .290 batting average during the team’s recent power outage. Posey will not be the only member being relied on though, as Brandon Crawford, Brandon Belt, and Denard Span will need to step up to help the orange and black get out of the second half slump.

Besides the occasional bad play by outfielder Angel Pagan, the Giants defense has been steady. Out of the 15 teams in the National League, the Giants are ranked fifth in field percentage.

Fan favorite Matt Duffy will be missed after being sent to Tampa Bay as part of the trade for pitcher Matt Moore. He was reliable at third base and could get the job done at the plate. However, with the emergence of a few prospects down in the Giants’ farm system, Duffy was expendable with the dire need to bolster the bullpen.

For the Giants to get out of their second half woes, looking at their success in the first half should be the inspiration. Bumgarner and Cueto have established themselves as the 1-2 punch in the rotation and now need run support to get back on track.

Samardzija may be struggling and giving up home runs, but his price tag in the off-season was worth the buy as he has shown how effective he can be when his command is dialed in.

Next: San Francisco Giants Morning Minute: Everything Finally Clicks Together

Make no mistake, the Giants are still postseason contenders despite what has transpired in the early going of the second half. The even year magic is in full effect and the clubhouse is aware of the nostalgia.

Trade deadline moves may have signaled panic, but the moves were made to solidify the chances of another World Series appearance. The Dodgers are lurking and the Giants will need to find their mojo again if they are to hold them off.