Locked On Giants – Daily Podcast On The San Francisco Giants

On today's Locked On Giants podcast, host Ben Kaspick talks about the San Francisco Giants' come-from-behind win against the Seattle Mariners on Tuesday night. Logan Webb started for the Giants, and he very clearly did not have his best stuff. He struggled as he gave up five runs in the first few innings, but the Giants chipped and clawed their way back into the game with multiple two-out rallies. Brandon Belt had two clutch singles that drove in runs, and Alex Dickerson, Mauricion Dubón and Darin Ruf hit huge home runs. The comeback win was just one of many the Giants have had this year. It's come to define their season.

After the game, Webb and Dickerson praised Giants manager Gabe Kapler for giving them positive reinforcement at exactly the right moments. They also praised his game management, as his moves for pinch hitting for Dickerson with Ruf and using Alexander Basabe as a defensive replacement all paid off in big ways. The Giants' bullpen also played a big role in the win, holding the Mariners scoreless across four innings of work.

The Giants (22-21) improved to one game over .500 for the first time since Aug. 1 when they were 5-4. They currently hold the No. 8 seed in the NL wild card race, with a 1.5 game lead over the Colorado Rockies for the NL's final playoff spot.

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On today's Locked On Giants podcast, host Ben Kaspick talks about the San Francisco Giants' 4-2 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Monday night. Kevin Gausman was on the mound for the Giants, and he continued to do what he's done all season, and that's rack up strikeouts. On the other side, Zac Gallen was on the mound for the D-backs, and he brought with him his record streak of consecutive games to start a career allowing three runs or fewer. Gallen was cruising through the first five innings, but the Giants got to him in a big way in the sixth. The Giants loaded the bases with nobody out, and Mike Yastrzemski hit a single that tied the game. Next up was Darin Ruf, who entered the game after Alex Dickerson fouled a ball off his knee and had to leave the game. Run delivered a clutch, two-run single that gave the Giants a 3-1 lead. After a Donovan Solano single forced Gallen out of the game, Brandon Belt drew a bases-loaded walk that became the fourth earned run against Gallen, the first time he's ever allowed four runs in a major league game.

The Giants held on to win 4-2, bringing them back to .500 for the first time since they were 5-5. They also remained in playoff position, currently the No. 7 seed, and a half game ahead of the ninth-seeded Rockies. The Giants' remaining schedule is a mixed bag. They have four games against the Mariners (including a two-game home series that begins tonight) and four against the Rockies, but seven against the Padres and three against the A's. It figures to be a tough race to the finish, but the Giants are in pretty good position to nab one of the eight postseason spots up for grabs in the National League. FanGraphs lists the Giants' postseason chances at about 58%.

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On today's Locked On Giants podcast, host Ben Kaspick talks about the San Francisco Giants winning two of three over the weekend against the Arizona Diamondbacks, with one game remaining in the series on Monday evening. The Giants lost a heart breaker on Friday, after failing to score despite having the bases loaded and no outs in the 8th inning when trailing by just one run. Mauricio Dubón tagged up from second base on a shallow fly ball by Alex Dickerson, and Steven Duggar on third base bluffed the tag. Dubón didn't notice in time that Duggar wasn't going, and Dubón was doubled off. The Giants' odds of winning was up to 71% when they had the bases loaded and no outs, and those odds fell to 30% after the double play. The Giants did not score again and lost the game by one run.

On Saturday, the Giants took care of their former ace Madison Bumgarner. Evan Longoria and Darin Ruf hit back-to-back homers in the second inning, and the Giants added two more runs against the D-backs bullpen in the late innings on back-to-back triples by Joey Bart and Dubón. Those were the first triples in each player's major league career.

On Sunday, the starting pitcher Johnny Cueto and the Giants gave up two runs in the top of the first, but answered back with a solo home run by Chadwick Tromp in the third, and escaped bases loaded, two out, full count situations in both the fifth and sixth, the latter being inherited and handled by Caleb Baragar. Ruf made a nice catch to save the day, and WIlmer Flores and Alex Dickerson also made really nice defensive plays that were important in the game. Donovan Solano hit a huge go-ahead home run in the sixth inning, and Brandon Belt continued his torrid stretch by hitting a pinch hit homer in the late innings. The Giants bullpen pitched a shutout, as Baragar, Jarlin Garcia, Tony Watson, and Tyler Rogers closed out the win. The Giants are now just one game under .500 and currently hold the No. 8 postseason seed in the National League.

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On today's Locked On Giants podcast, host Ben Kaspick answers listeners' questions about the San Francisco Giants. Among the questions asked and answered are: Are there any pitchers in Sacramento now that have a chance to help the Giants in the bullpen? Looking to the offseason, do you see Farhan signing a player to a multi-year contract or should we expect more of the same quiet, under-the-radar pickups? And at what point will the Giants next make a big splash in free agency? What, if any, free agents should the Giants be looking into during the winter meetings? Which world series team was your favorite and why? Could you break down the Giants' offensive production so far and what you expect of guys rest of season?. Especially Longoria, Belt, Solano, Crawford, Dickerson. All of that and more on today's Locked On Giants.

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On today's Locked On Giants podcast, host Ben Kaspick talks about the San Francisco Giants' disappointing loss to the Colorado Rockies on Wednesday afternoon in Denver. Despite the loss, the Giants remain in the thick of a tight wild card race in the National League. The Giants held onto the eighth and final postseason spot entering the game, a half game up on the Rockies, but with the loss the two teams swapped places in the standings. Now the Giants are on the outside looking in, but they're just half a game out of a playoff spot with 22 games remaining. The Rockies' next series is against the Dodgers in Los Angeles. The Dodgers, of course, have the best record in baseball. The team that currently holds the No. 7 seed in the wild card race is the Miami Marlins, and the Giants are just one game behind them in the standings. The Marlins' next series is against the Tampa Bay Rays in Tampa, and the Rays have the second-best record in baseball.

Therefore, the Giants have a good opportunity this weekend when they play the struggling Arizona Diamondbacks to vault themselves forward in the standings. They'll face a familiar face on Saturday, when Madison Bumgarner will oppose his former team for the first time. The Giants have hit lefties well all season long, and Bumgarner is just another lefty at this point. Bumgarner had an awful start to the season with his new team, and was placed on the injured list with a back issue after a handful of starts. The Giants expect Austin Slater to come off the injured list this weekend, and he's a key cog in their lineup against lefties.

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On today's Locked On Giants podcast, host Ben Kaspick talks about the San Francisco Giants' historic 23-5 win over the Colorado Rockies on Tuesday. Alex Dickerson homered three times—and very nearly hit a fourth—as the Giants pounded the Rockies and scored in every inning but the 9th. The 23 runs and 27 hits tied a San Francisco Giants record. The Giants got production up and down the lineup. They had three players with six runs batted in, which is the first time that's ever happened since RBI became an official stat in 1920.

After the game, Brandon Crawford, who had hree hits including a three-run homer, credited the new hitting coaches for the team's offensive success this year. The new staff was much maligned by fans and even some members on the media coming into the year, but they've clearly had a big impact on a team that's now leading the majors in hits and is third in runs scored.

The Giants are now in playoff position, half a game ahead of the Rockies for the eighth and final postseason spot. With a win today, the Giants can gain some separation and would be at least a game ahead of the Milwaukee Brewers.

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On today's Locked On Giants podcast, host Ben Kaspick answers wide-ranging questions from listeners about the San Francisco Giants. Does the team's inactivity at yesterday's trade deadline suggest an ownership mandate not to take on salary? What would that mean for next year? Who are the players on the current 28-man roster that won't be on the team at the start of the 2021 season? With Joey Rickard out for the year and Austin Slater due back soon, do the Giants call up Heliot Ramos or Jaylin Davis? Which Giants player needs to get hot for the team to make the playoffs? What happens to Buster Posey's contract given that he opted out of the season? All of that and more on today's Locked On Giants.

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On today's Locked On Giants podcast, host Ben Kaspick talks about the Giants not making any major moves at the 2020 MLB Trade Deadline. After the Giants made five trades on deadline day last year, fans may have expected another flurry of activity for the retooling Giants. But there was no such flurry this year, as the Giants' only trade involved the recently DFA'd left-handed pitcher Anthony Banda, who will report to Sacramento. The Giants' inactivity made a lot of sense, however, for many reasons. First of all, this is an extremely weird season caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. The Giants figured to be involved in the rental market, potentially trading away short-term assets and seeking to also acquire short-term assets. But the rental market seemed particularly slow this year, with several players who seemed like candidates to be traded staying put. This was likely because teams were simply not willing to give up much of consequence for a player who would only be with them for one month (there's usually two months left after the deadline). Playoff teams also have to make it through a new best-of-three postseason round before advancing to a best-of-five, and there's always the threat that the virus could shut down the season. What's more, some may view this season's champion as illegitimate because of the shortened season.

So, at the end of the day, the Giants, who are close to playoff position thanks to the expanded postseason, did not have any reason to "sell" short-term assets like Kevin Gausman and Tony Watson, unless they received substantial offers that likely just did not exist. Likewise, the Giants figured to be active in the short-term buying market (e.g., for players like Jackie Bradley Jr.), but they probably weren't willing to give up much of consequence for 24 games of a simply decent player. All that led to a deadline that had some excitement but was much slower than usual. Ultimately, this was to be expected and that's exactly how it played out. Now the Giants, who won two of three against the D-backs over the weekend, will continue the season with their roster intact, chasing an unlikely spot in the playoffs. Per FanGraphs, their odds of making the postseason stand at 39%.

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On today's Locked On Giants podcast, host Ben Kaspick talks about the San Francisco Giants' double-header losses to the Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday. The Giants' seven-game winning streak was snapped in Game 1, and then they lost in Game 2 as well. Clayton Kershaw was dominant after his defense bailed him out in the first inning, and Logan Webb had a lot of bad luck in his outing, with several soft-hit balls finding holes. In Game 2, the Giants caught a break with Walker Buehler being placed on the injured list, but the Giants couldn't get anything going against the Dodgers' bullpen. Kevin Gausman made the start for San Francisco, and he pitched pretty well but had no run support.

Gausman has emerged as perhaps the Giants' most likely trade candidate. His contract expires after the season, and his strikeout and walk numbers are those of a dominant pitcher. Any contending team should be eyeing Gausman as a pitcher of interest for their team down the stretch and into the postseason. After the game, when reporters asked Gausman about the possibility of being traded, he said that he didn't want to leave this team, but he understands it's part of the business. He said that even if he was traded, it would have no bearing on where he signs after the year, and that he would like to come back to the Giants because he "really like[s] this team."

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On today's Locked On Giants podcast, host Ben Kaspick talks about last night's postponement of the Giants-Dodgers game. The teams decided not to play in protest of the shooting of Jacob Blake. Mookie Betts apparently was a big reason that the Dodgers decided not to play. Betts told his teammates that he wasn't going to play no matter what, and other Dodgers leaders like Clayton Kershaw said Betts' powerful message resonated with the team and they decided that the best way they could stand with their respected teammate was to decide not to play as well. It's less clear how Giants players felt about postponing the game, but manager Gabe Kapler and president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi were crystal clear that they stood by the decision to postpone the game in protest of police brutality and systemic racism.

The Giants will play a double header today, with each game being only seven innings. It will be the first time the Giants experience the new seven-inning double header rule, which is in place this season in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. On today's show, Ben also takes some more questions from listeners left over from last week's mailbag. He discusses a hypothetical trade involving the Giants and Indians. He talks about whether the Giants should target relief pitching at the upcoming trading deadline. And he talks about all the new rule changes this year and which, if any, are likely to stick.

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