© Ron Chenoy | 2021 Sep 8
On Aug. 24, Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts died at 80. The “Spider-Man: No Way From Home” trailer dropped. President Joe Biden called on Americans to get vaccinated against COVID-19, with the FDA officially approving vaccines the day prior. And the Giants beat the Mets 8-0, launching their longest stretch of the season without an off-day.
Sixteen days after the Mets game, a span that included a turn of the calendar, blew through Labor Day and featured a game every day in four cities, the Giants are a different team getting the same results.
Between the Mets drubbing and Wednesday, the Giants made 42 transactions — including claiming former All-Star José Quintana and bringing Evan Longoria back from the IL — to deal with injuries and a COVID-19 outbreak. They lost then regained first place in the division, beat Dodgers’ Cy Young Award contender Walker Buehler with a bullpen game, and found a new way to celebrate a walk-off win. Their series-winning streak got snapped, but the Giants maintained the best record in baseball throughout.
Wednesday, the Giants (90-50) capped the laborious stretch with a 7-4 win in Coors Field to become the first club to 90 wins. They came back from 3-0, then again down 4-3 in the top of the ninth inning with clutch hits from LaMonte Wade Jr. and Longoria. SF went 10-6 without an off-day, and for the first time in 2021, the Giants are 40 games over .500.
Against Rockies closer Carlos Estévez, Buster Posey drew a four-pitch walk to leadoff the ninth inning as a pinch hitter. Mauricio Dubón ran for him, and Thairo Estrada — pinch-hitting for La Stella — pulled a single past third baseman Ryan McMahon. Brandon Belt added an infield single to shallow right field to load the bases with no outs.
Then Wade Jr. smacked his 17th go-ahead RBI of the season by sending a 1-2 fastball into right-center. Wade Jr. has emerged as one of SF’s most clutch hitters this season; he’s gone 9-for-15 with a home run, a triple and nine RBI in the ninth inning.
Longoria cracked another 2-RBI double into left-center to turn a 5-4 lead into a 7-4 advantage and make Jake McGee’s job easier.
The late-game heroics may make it easy to overlook, but San Francisco’s defense was as sharp as it’s been during the 16-game stretch. In the bottom of the third inning, Curt Casali threw Garrett Hampson out trying to steal second. Then Tommy La Stella was positioned perfectly to snag a Charlie Blackmon flare to end the inning. Mike Yastrzemski ranged into foul territory earlier in the game to make a catch by the right field wall, and in the fourth, Brandon Belt ranged over the railing to snag another foul ball.
Especially in Coors Field, not giving the Rockies extra outs is key.
This team is ridiculous pic.twitter.com/mmXLSrXjHD
— KNBR (@KNBR) September 8, 2021
And SF needed the defense to be sound. While the first two games in the series felt like batting practice, runs were scarce Wednesday. Jon Gray and Anthony DeSclafani held each opposing offense scoreless through four innings.
But in the bottom of the fifth, Jon Gray helped himself by smacking an RBI single past a diving Kris Bryant, scoring Elias Diaz from third. Diaz had led off the inning with a double down the left field line, then advanced to third on a passed ball — one of few defensive miscues.
DeSclafani unraveled further after Gray’s hit. He allowed consecutive singles to Raimel Tapia and Brendan Rodgers to load the bases with one out. Jarlin García relieved him at 79 pitches and rolled a double play ball, but Charlie Blackmon legged it out to score Gray and give Colorado a 2-0 edge. García did his job, but Blackmon was just a step too quick.
Trevor Story then ripped a double to deep left off LaMonte Wade Jr.’s outstretched glove to add another run. All three fifth-inning runs were charged to DeSclafani, as García stranded the bases loaded by fanning Ryan McMahon on three pitches. All nine Rockies got stepped in the batter’s box in the fifth.
Just as the Rockies got to DeSclafani in the top of the fifth, the Giants knocked Jon Gray out in the bottom half. SF answered with three consecutive hits, including Brandon Crawford’s 20th home run which drove in Brandon Belt and Wade Jr.. Crawford’s blast was his first home run since Aug. 11 — 24 games ago.
But Colorado quickly retook the lead when catcher Elías Díaz crushed Zack Littell’s elevated fastball for a leadoff solo shot in the bottom of the sixth.
SF had a chance to come back in the top of the eighth, but couldn’t capitalize. The top of the ninth, trailing 4-3 against Estévez, was the Giants’ last chance. Wade Jr. came through again.
With 22 games remaining, the Giants have reached 90 victories for the first time since 2012. They’re on pace for 104 wins, which would be the most in franchise history since moving to the Bay.
And with their 10th sweep of 2021, the Giants have now made it past arguably the toughest stretch of the regular season, finishing on a high point.