San Francisco Giants Morning Minute: The Wildcard Edition
It wasn’t a dream, the San Francisco Giants are a postseason team after clinching the second wildcard spot with a win in game number 162.
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The San Francisco Giants were on the verge of a historic collapse. They were in danger of having the biggest drop-off in winning percentage from half one to half two in baseball history. It was tough to watch as time and time again, the lineup failed to come up with that one big hit. Or the bullpen couldn’t hold another lead. Or the opposition dropped a perfectly-placed bloop hit to break the Giants’ back.
The Giants were in dire straits. There was a clear and present danger that the postseason would be played while the Giants watched from their couches.
But suddenly, things clicked. On the final homestand of the season, things finally clicked. The starting pitching was excellent. The lineup came up with those big hits to grab leads, and later extend them. The bullpen locked things down. Out of nowhere, the Giants looked like a competent baseball team again.
It was just in the knick of time.
But still, on the final day of the season, the Giants were without a clinched postseason spot. They turned to Matt Moore, the lefty that has barely been with the team for two months. He made his biggest start as a Giant in game number 162, with one clear, simple goal: win and you’re in. Win, and it doesn’t matter what the St. Louis Cardinals do. Win, and there is no flight to St. Louis for a game 163. Win, and you’re in.
Moore took the ball and dealt. He followed the lead set by Madison Bumgarner and Ty Blach in the past two days, and he shut down the Dodgers. When the Giants needed their 87th win of the season, Moore delivered.
It was a bit shaky at the start for the 27-year-old southpaw. He dealt with a tight strike zone, and issued a pair of walks over the first two innings. Moore worked around it, getting a groundball double play to end the first and a strikeout to end the second. The Giants gave him a nice cushion to work with while he got himself out of his own trouble.
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Facing Kenta Maeda, the Giants opened the scoring almost immediately. Denard Span led off with a single, and Brandon Belt took him to third base with a double. From there, Buster Posey shot a base hit in to right field to drive them both home and give the Giants the early lead.
In the second inning, the big blow came from Span’s bat. With two outs and two on, Span smacked a Maeda delivery into right field, where it caromed off the wall and away from right fielder Yasiel Puig. That allowed two to score, with Span sliding in safely to third with his fifth triple of the year. Posey delivered again, bringing Span home with his second single.
With the 5-0 edge, Moore took over from there. His biggest blemish came in the fourth inning, when he allowed three singles to score the only Dodgers’ run of the game, and nearly watched as it became well more than that. With two outs, Joc Pederson lofted a ball to deep center field, but Span tracked it down as he approached the wall. That was as close as the Dodgers would get to scoring another run.
Moore retired the next 12 batters after Pederson’s scare before giving way to Sergio Romo in the ninth inning. Moore worked eight spectacular innings, allowing just three hits and two walks while striking out six.
That type of performance is why the Giants went out and traded for Moore in a last-second deadline deal. This dominating win is exactly why they parted with the extremely popular Matt Duffy and 18-year-old prospect Lucius Fox in said deal. Moore looked worth the pain of losing such a likable young man like Duffy. If the Giants can get past Wednesday’s game, he might have another shot to prove his worth.
Next: Giants Morning Minute: Huge Win for Orange and Blach
The Giants outscored the Rockies and Dodgers 38-11 on the homestand to get momentum at just the right time. All it takes is for a team to get hot at the right time. Maybe, just maybe, the Giants have finally gotten hot.