Can the Giants still make a World Series run? Recent history says yes
/(Photo by Denis Poroy)
By JJ Walton
We are nearing the end of baseball's regular season and the San Francisco Giants' fans are no strangers to the current tumultuous climate. The Giants have been inconsistent, and that's putting it lightly. Nearing the end of the season the thought and inner-chant of the word "torture" is ever present.
This method of finishing the season has been a tradition since the 2010 regular season. While the tension was there, September 2010 was magnificent for the Giants pitching staff. They went 18 of 26 games without allowing more than 3 runs per game and boasting a collective ERA of 1.78, the lowest since 1969.
The Giants entered the last 3 games needing just one win against their division nemesis, the Padres. After losing the first 2 games, they clinched their spot in the NLDS winning in game 162 of the 2010 season. Beyond that, the magic really started to kick in, and as we all know, had one of the most memorable and unpredictable World Series Championship victories in recent history.
It looks like we are going to need some of that magic again here in 2016. Our pitching, especially the bullpen, has been lack-luster. The stand-in closer, Sergio Casilla holds the record so far this season with 9 blown saves.
The Giants have notoriously utilized a strong starting rotation to get the job done. While that might not be what they currently have going into the wild card and subsequent World Series run, there is hope for San Francisco. Right fielder Hunter Pence has been on fire as of late. Shortstop Brandon Crawford also had an incredible August. Per usual, catcher, and former MVP, Buster Posey has the highest batting average on the team at just under .300. The Giants are going to lean on their streaky batting to get them through to the big show. The challenge at this point will be timing. Can they start the fire and get the bats going to compensate for an dicey bullpen? No one can say for sure. All we can count on at this point is that it will likely be torturous.
