Are you SF Giants fans feeling a touch nostalgic about 2010’s “torture” yet?
That was when the Giants were “all pitch and no hit,” and we wondered how they’d eke out a score on anything but a bases-loaded double-play.
Now the Giants spot teams like the Rockies two-runs early, as the starters try to keep the pitch count to under 70 in the first three innings. Meanwhile, Giants’ batters figure out how to work themselves into a rally frenzy to win it all in the end.
It’s very much like Sea Biscuit, the legendary champion race horse who would spot his challengers 10 lengths or more, only to turn it on late to win by a nose.
So which do you prefer? Slow drip or late rush? To paraphrase the Bard, would torture by any other name smell as sweet?
Depends on how you want the excessive drama in your life.
The two victories over the Rockies this weekend sure fit the come-from-behind nature of the 2013 Giants.
From Giants stats machine: Over half of the Giants’ 27 wins this season have been come-from-behind victories…their 14 such wins are tied for the fourth-most in the bigs…SF also has 10 wins in their last at-bat, tied with the D-backs for the most in the Majors.
As for one-run squeakers? Saturday’s was the 11th this season, tied with the D-backs, Reds and Indians for the most in the Majors.
Saturday also provided this obscure first, according the folks at Elias: The 10th inning victory was the first in 4,408 games in San Francisco in which they won after overcoming a deficit of four or more runs and in extra innings.
Glad that’s settled.
Personally, when it comes to victories, I’ll take mine in nine.
Cain’s work on Sunday, and Pagan’s ITP HR on Saturday are games worth savoring and replaying when all seems lost.
Some fans and the media seem disappointed when the Giants don’t win every game. But the Rockies series offers us some real perspective.
For the players, these kind of games should now be forever installed in their baseball DNA. Never say die? Don’t give up? You know it’s not empty rhetoric after this Rockies series.
And how do Giants’ pitchers survive 65 pitches to get just six outs in two innings? Well, after this weekend, Matt Cain knows how it’s done.
Remember these two weekend games for future reference.
More immediately, they also help flush and forget series like that abominable road trip to Canada and Colorado last week, eh?
