This week, the San Francisco Giants completed a three-game sweep of the Colorado Rockies in Denver. Their comeback ability was something that stood out. At a time when they are battling for survival in the Wild Card race, they needed it more than ever.
The Giants’ Comeback Ability
The Coors Field Effect
While true, the offense-generative theory of Coors Field is probably overrated, at least in the sense that it’s used to excuse pitchers for poor performances that go far beyond any plausible mathematical explanation in the park factor. Not that all pitchers are affected equally; but it’s still reasonable to expect teams to play real baseball.
Still, it is a real factor that must be considered for every team. The Giants have shown a tendency to have an uneven distribution of intensity throughout the 2023 season. On certain days, they have the ability to get hot and score a ton of runs. But the only disappointing side is that runs scored can’t be spread out over multiple games. And for every game, there are only two possible outcomes: one win or one loss.
Power is also a significant tool for the Giants. Their home-run ability has been one of their most encouraging qualities this season. Prior to their series against Colorado, many were no doubt wondering how all these things would play out at Coors Field. Would it enhance the Giants offensively in every way, thus giving them the series victory? And there likely wouldn’t have been as much reason to expect that it would do the same for the last-place Rockies.
The Giants’ Comeback Ability Got Them Out of a Pickle Twice
While they got things going early in Tuesday night’s game, things didn’t go as smoothly on Wednesday. The Giants found themselves facing a 4-0 deficit going into the seventh inning. But they had the comeback ability. In the seventh, they rallied for three. In the eighth, they got two: one on an RBI single from Austin Slater, and the other on a bunt from Patrick Bailey that somehow brought a runner home. The Giants showed themselves able to rally and hit situationally. And on Thursday, they came back again, after getting into a 3-1 hole.
Concluding Thoughts
The Giants have the raw talent. They just have to consistently find ways to win. And while the series against the Chicago Cubs didn’t go well, they will hopefully get back to their performance of a few days ago.
Main photo credits:
Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports
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