Can the Giants make adjustments to right the ship?
Jorge L. Ortiz
SAN FRANCISCO – The San Francisco Giants were in desperate need of a spark, anything that could snap them out of a two-month-long malaise.
One-run deficits had become nearly insurmountable, and what was once the best team in baseball was quickly fading in the NL West race.
The return of fiery leadoff man Angel Pagan had failed to ignite them. Playing in front of their daily sellout crowds wasn't inspiring them.
So the Giants resorted to an unlikely source – a new rule that forbids catchers from blocking the plate without the ball – to catch the break they hope helps turn around their season.
Wednesday's 7-1 victory over the Chicago White Sox, only the second win for San Francisco in its last eight home games, was facilitated by a seventh-inning out call at the plate being overturned after manager Bruce Bochy successfully contested catcher Tyler Flowers' positioning.
Instead of trailing 1-0 with two outs, the Giants had tied the game and then erupted in what became a seven-run inning, their largest in two years, as they halted a five-game losing streak.
In the grander scheme, that victory may not end up amounting to much. The Giants still trail the Los Angeles Dodgers by 5 ½ games going into Friday night's opener of a three-game set against the Philadelphia Phillies, although they're neck-and-neck with the Pittsburgh Pirates and St. Louis Cardinals in the wild-card race.
San Francisco still has no idea when first baseman Brandon Belt (concussion) or second baseman Marco Scutaro (back injury) will return to the lineup – they're currently being replaced by rookies – and it won't get Matt Cain back from his elbow surgery until next year.
But for a team attempting to reverse course as it enters the final quarter of the season, the game-changing application of the new rule – one Bochy lobbied for in the offseason – could not have come at a better time.
"I certainly think you can catch a break and you can change the season, change the attitude of guys you play with,'' starting pitcher Jake Peavy said after his first win in a Giants uniform ended a personal 12-game losing streak. "Hopefully (that) will be a spark and get us going in the right direction.''
San Francisco, which held a 9 ½-game lead in early June, will need more than a fortuitous turn of events here and there to make a run at the Dodgers, who have won seven of their last 10.
The Giants, losers of 14 of their last 21 games at AT&T Park, are the only NL contender with a sub-.500 record at home, and what was once a potent offense has gotten cooler than their city's fog-shrouded summer nights. They have homered only twice in their last nine games and have hit eight in 20 games.
"We've run through a really tough string of great pitching, and you're not going to score a lot of runs, but you still need a timely hit,'' Bochy said. "If you look at this offense earlier in the season, we hit more doubles. Sure, we had more home runs, but we had even more doubles. It seems like we're missing that gapper, that one hit to get us on the board, to get us going.''
On Wednesday that hit, a two-run single that put San Francisco ahead to stay, was delivered by Pagan, whose extended absence was a major reason for the club's slide. The Giants ruled the West with a major league-best 43-26 record when Pagan went down with back inflammation on June 15. When he returned on Aug. 7, they were 62-52, having gone 19-26 in his absence.
The Giants didn't suddenly take off upon the center fielder's return, initially losing five in a row and totaling just nine runs despite Pagan hitting safely in each game, but there's no denying his impact, both physically and emotionally.
Last season, San Francisco was in first place at 27-22 on May 25 when Pagan sustained a hamstring injury that knocked him out for three months. By the time he was back on August 30, the Giants were 15 games under .500 and well on their way to their first losing season since 2008.
Pagan is emphatic in his belief this year's club has begun the process of bouncing back.
"All teams go through the dog days,'' Pagan said. "We went through them, but I feel like they have come to an end and we're going to finish the season well, and hopefully we'll get to the playoffs with that final push.''
Jorge L. Ortiz
SAN FRANCISCO – The San Francisco Giants were in desperate need of a spark, anything that could snap them out of a two-month-long malaise.
One-run deficits had become nearly insurmountable, and what was once the best team in baseball was quickly fading in the NL West race.
The return of fiery leadoff man Angel Pagan had failed to ignite them. Playing in front of their daily sellout crowds wasn't inspiring them.
So the Giants resorted to an unlikely source – a new rule that forbids catchers from blocking the plate without the ball – to catch the break they hope helps turn around their season.
Wednesday's 7-1 victory over the Chicago White Sox, only the second win for San Francisco in its last eight home games, was facilitated by a seventh-inning out call at the plate being overturned after manager Bruce Bochy successfully contested catcher Tyler Flowers' positioning.
Instead of trailing 1-0 with two outs, the Giants had tied the game and then erupted in what became a seven-run inning, their largest in two years, as they halted a five-game losing streak.
In the grander scheme, that victory may not end up amounting to much. The Giants still trail the Los Angeles Dodgers by 5 ½ games going into Friday night's opener of a three-game set against the Philadelphia Phillies, although they're neck-and-neck with the Pittsburgh Pirates and St. Louis Cardinals in the wild-card race.
San Francisco still has no idea when first baseman Brandon Belt (concussion) or second baseman Marco Scutaro (back injury) will return to the lineup – they're currently being replaced by rookies – and it won't get Matt Cain back from his elbow surgery until next year.
But for a team attempting to reverse course as it enters the final quarter of the season, the game-changing application of the new rule – one Bochy lobbied for in the offseason – could not have come at a better time.
"I certainly think you can catch a break and you can change the season, change the attitude of guys you play with,'' starting pitcher Jake Peavy said after his first win in a Giants uniform ended a personal 12-game losing streak. "Hopefully (that) will be a spark and get us going in the right direction.''
San Francisco, which held a 9 ½-game lead in early June, will need more than a fortuitous turn of events here and there to make a run at the Dodgers, who have won seven of their last 10.
The Giants, losers of 14 of their last 21 games at AT&T Park, are the only NL contender with a sub-.500 record at home, and what was once a potent offense has gotten cooler than their city's fog-shrouded summer nights. They have homered only twice in their last nine games and have hit eight in 20 games.
"We've run through a really tough string of great pitching, and you're not going to score a lot of runs, but you still need a timely hit,'' Bochy said. "If you look at this offense earlier in the season, we hit more doubles. Sure, we had more home runs, but we had even more doubles. It seems like we're missing that gapper, that one hit to get us on the board, to get us going.''
On Wednesday that hit, a two-run single that put San Francisco ahead to stay, was delivered by Pagan, whose extended absence was a major reason for the club's slide. The Giants ruled the West with a major league-best 43-26 record when Pagan went down with back inflammation on June 15. When he returned on Aug. 7, they were 62-52, having gone 19-26 in his absence.
The Giants didn't suddenly take off upon the center fielder's return, initially losing five in a row and totaling just nine runs despite Pagan hitting safely in each game, but there's no denying his impact, both physically and emotionally.
Last season, San Francisco was in first place at 27-22 on May 25 when Pagan sustained a hamstring injury that knocked him out for three months. By the time he was back on August 30, the Giants were 15 games under .500 and well on their way to their first losing season since 2008.
Pagan is emphatic in his belief this year's club has begun the process of bouncing back.
"All teams go through the dog days,'' Pagan said. "We went through them, but I feel like they have come to an end and we're going to finish the season well, and hopefully we'll get to the playoffs with that final push.''
