Surging San Francisco Giants Win for 15th Time in 18 Games

The San Francisco Giants were 73-89 in 2018, and they were not considered a favorite by most to be a playoff contender. The Giants started off by playing to those low expectations, but in the last month or so, they’ve taken a complete about face. On July 21st, the Giants beat the New York Mets 3-2 in 12 innings in San Francisco, taking three of four from the Mets in a weekend series. In the bigger picture, the Giants won for the 15th time in 18 games, and reached the .500 mark at 50-50 on the season.

There’s no way the Giants will catch the 67-35 Los Angeles Dodgers for the lead in the National League West– L.A. has a 16 game lead in the division– but the Giants were just 2 ½ games behind for the second Wild Card playoff berth, and only three back of the first Wild Card. As recently as June 29th, the Giants were 12 games under .500 at 39-47, and no one was thinking playoffs. It’s still an uphill battle, as eight teams are within 5 1/2 games of the top Wild Card berth, but the Giants do have a lot of games left against fellow Wild Card contenders Philadelphia, St. Louis, Washington, and Arizona.

San Francisco’s current status as a playoff contender also will make some interesting decisions for the club in terms of the approaching trade deadline. Once thought to be sellers, with Madison Bumgarner’s name coming up in trade talks, the Giants may be inclined to keep the veteran ace.

Highlights from the July 21st win over the Mets: