The San Francisco Giants are in an interesting spot. Their hot week which included a series victory over the Minnesota Twins and a four-game sweep of the Milwaukee Brewers brought them to a winning record for the first time in weeks. But then they dropped the next series to the Pittsburg Pirates.
The San Francisco Giants are playing .500 ball over their last 220 games.
— Grant Brisbee (@GrantBrisbee) June 4, 2023
Recent Events Put Giants in an Interesting Spot
Raw Scoring vs. Situational Scoring
What might do most to make the Giants vs. Pirates series result stink is the fact that the Giants actually outscored the Pirates by four runs over the three games. This kind of thing is totally expected to happen in baseball. But their 14-4 blowout win in game one certainly made us expect a series win.
The Giants went on to drop their series against the Baltimore Orioles. In game one, for example, Logan Webb pitched seven innings, allowing three runs. But, with limited offensive production, it wasn’t enough. When he went into the seventh inning, it defied all doubt that Giants fans expected another masterpiece. Webb has won it by pitching deep into games multiple times this year. There was every reason to expect that he would do it again. But he dished up the home run to Gunnar Henderson just at the wrong moment. And the Giants were unable to make a late-inning comeback.
It would be an inappropriate extreme to discount these misfortunes as bad luck. But the fact that they still had one blowout win this week, put together with the fact that the Giants are not far removed from their hot streak, should give us hope that they will improve.
Can the Giants Get Hot Again?
With all the disappointment, it remains that the Giants’ recent productivity can’t be discounted. They will have to get back on track, but they’ve proven to be resilient so far this year. They are in an interesting spot, and the tables are bound to turn one way or another at this pivotal moment.
The Giants’ 2023 season has been characterized by a seesaw of good and bad performance. One way or another, the Giants will have to end on a good note or a bad one. If they fail to make the playoffs, GM Farhan Zaidi’s job will likely not be in jeopardy as it ought. So the Giants will probably have to find a way into the playoffs at some point with the talent that they have.
It’s an interesting spot; we need to wait and see what happens.
Main photo credits:
Neville E. Guard-USA TODAY Sports
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