Could 90 wins be an attainable goal? The San Francisco Giants power at the plate is truly showing itself. In the series finale against the Chicago White Sox, JD Davis hit their second grand slam of the season in only their sixth game. Blake Sabol also hit his first blast. At the end of 8 games, they posted a record of 3-5. However, I don’t believe this number comes close to doing justice in describing the actual result they can expect by the end of the year if they keep up this kind of pace.
It’s true that shutouts aren’t just based on messed up Pythagorean run distribution. The Giants were shut out twice by the New York Yankees. I don’t want to break my own rules of team evaluation. But eight games can be an incredibly small sample size when put in perspective with the entire 162-game season.
The Giants Power and Overall Hitting Ability Will be Huge
Their Pythagorean record would put them slightly above the .500 mark on the season. This is due to the fact that the majority of their runs scored were clustered in two games against the White Sox. It seems that on any given day, they either have it or they don’t. However, it may not always be this simple see-saw going forward. If the Giants can develop consistency, they may be on track to surprise everybody.
If this pace could be kept up consistently throughout the season, the Giants could potentially win at least 90 games. It does seem as though it would be asking a lot for them to keep their hitting going without any slumps. While it may not be realistic to expect that they won’t have any downs, their recent performance is certainly a good sign in terms of playoff ability. There’s a Wild Card spot to grab.
Issues With Key Starting Pitchers Might Not be So Devastating After All
Honestly, the Giants power and overall hitting ability seems highly likely to outweigh the fact that starting pitchers Logan Webb and Ross Stripling have some adjustments to make. If you were getting super discouraged about what we’ve seen from them, it’s probably time to take a breather. The Giants are a resilient team, and they survived even the latest Alex Wood start.
None of this means it would be okay if Webb, say, never got it together. But they have survived even though his first two starts have been bad. And I would remain optimistic about the rotation. Chances are it will have a collective rebound and be one of the best in the game. If the offense and pitching can work in conjunction, they will produce positive results.
So, Can the Giants Get to 90 Wins?
I don’t want to say more than the situational evidence warrants, but I strongly believe 90 wins is a highly realistic goal. Now, we can go even further in our speculations. 90 wins would be enough to get into the playoffs, but is there a chance of, say, 95? Even if it’s not very likely, is it possible? Well, nobody expected the Giants to win 107 games in 2021. But they did it. Now, they have a chance to do something special in 2023 even if it’s not quite as impressive. There’s always a chance.
In a normal division, 95 wins would be enough to take the title. Sometimes, 90 wins can do it. But the unfortunate reality is that the Giants have to deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Somehow, they’ve been king of the NL West for like forever. And, unless another team can take care of them, the Giants will have to face them in the postseason. It’s scary, but it’s gotta be done.
Main photo credit: Kamil Krzaczynski- USA Today Sports
Players mentioned:
J.D. Davis, Blake Sabol, Logan Webb, Ross Stripling, Alex Wood
