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San Francisco Giants Morning Minute: Giants “Heads Up” Their Way to Win

By Sean Bialaszek

Sep 3, 2016; Chicago, IL, USA; San Francisco Giants left fielder Angel Pagan (left) and center fielder Denard Span (center) and right fielder Hunter Pence (right) celebrate the final out of the ninth inning against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. San Francisco won 3-2. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 3, 2016; Chicago, IL, USA; San Francisco Giants left fielder Angel Pagan (left) and center fielder Denard Span (center) and right fielder Hunter Pence (right) celebrate the final out of the ninth inning against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. San Francisco won 3-2. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports /
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On this edition of the San Francisco Giants Morning Minute, we discuss the Giants playing smart baseball on their way to a big win.

Good morning, San Francisco Giants’ fans, and welcome to another edition of the Giants Morning Minute. On Saturday, the Giants knocked off the Chicago Cubs, taking a 3-2 decision. Madison Bumgarner (14-8) earned the win, while Jake Arrieta (16-6) was stuck with the loss. Santiago Casilla finished it off for his 30th save.

The Los Angeles Dodgers also won, beating the San Diego Padres 5-1 to keep their division lead at two games. The St. Louis Cardinals lost to the Cincinnati Reds 9-1, so they fall to 2.5 games back of the Giants for the first wildcard spot.

Here’s what went on Saturday.

1 – Smart Baseball on Display

The Giants don’t exactly have the offensive firepower to out-slug the Cubs, and their “hit-or-miss” pitching isn’t exactly on par with the Cubs either. But on Saturday, they proved they can beat them another way: by outsmarting them.

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These two teams have been incredibly well-matched this season. After the Cubs blew the Giants out 8-1 in their first matchup of the year, the Giants took the next two games by a combined three runs. That trend reversed in this series, with the Cubs taking the first two games each by a run. Saturday’s game was another barn-burner, with the Giants using experience and instincts to steal their way to a win.

In the sixth inning, Brandon Crawford decided a 2-1 lead wasn’t good enough for his team and he took it upon himself to extend that. Crawford was off and running on a full-count pitch to Joe Panik. Even though Panik swung through the pitch, Crawford stole second easily with no one breaking to cover the bag.

Three pitches later, Crawford picked pitcher Jake Arrieta’s pocket. With the shift deployed because of Brandon Belt‘s presence at the plate, there were no Cubs covering third base. He slid in easily as all Arrieta could do was step off the rubber and watch. That put the pressure on Arrieta and his catcher, Wilson Contreras. The very next pitch was a slider in the dirt that Contreras couldn’t get in front of, and Crawford was in without a play.

That run proved to be the difference in the game, but it didn’t look like that would be the case in the ninth. With no one out and Anthony Rizzo on first in the final frame, Dexter Fowler laid down a sacrifice bunt. It was a great bunt, right down the third base line, and Eduardo Nunez came in, fielded the ball, and got the out at first.

With Crawford breaking to cover second and Panik moving over to first to take the throw, third base was left unoccupied. Rizzo saw the empty base, but not until after Buster Posey had already made the same read and broke to cover the bag as well. Rizzo made a big turn around second and noticed Posey too late. When he tried to get back to second base, all Panik had to do was turn and throw to his shortstop covering, who made the easy tag to erase the potential tying run.

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It’s easy to lose focus at that point. But after being in the crouch for over eight innings, Posey was as sharp as ever. If not for that heads up play to go and cover the open bag, Rizzo may have stood ninety feet from home as the tying run with only one out. Instead, when Casilla ran a fastball in on Kris Bryant‘s hands and shattered his bat on a lazy line drive, the Giants clinched their first win at Wrigley Field this season.

This had the feel of one of those “Even Year BS” games. The Giants really had no business winning this game while only coming up with four hits. But they did the little things, like taking advantage of a defensive breakdown, that help them overcome a more talented team. Those are the wins they need coming down the stretch.

Next: Giants Morning Minute: Another In The Loss Column

And that will do it for this edition of the Giants Morning Minute. Up next, the Giants and Cubs finish off their four-game set with the third straight day game. Johnny Cueto will take the mound for the Giants, looking to lead his team to a split. John Lackey goes for the Cubs, trying to secure not only a win in this series, but in the season series as well.

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