by DrLefty
When the Giants had their (historically bad) 0-6 last homestand and their front office pivoted at the last minute from modest buyers to sellers on Black Thursday (also known as the July 31 trade deadline), they were six games out of the third wild card spot. Now, after winning 5 of 7 since the trade deadline while teams ahead of them (cough cough Mets) have faltered, they’re just four games back and only a half game behind the team directly in front of them, the Reds. Maybe more importantly, they finally started hitting: They scored 38 runs on their six-game road trip and another five last night in the first win at home since July 11(!).* So–43 runs in seven games. That’ll work as a business model.
*I was a little surprised they could find Tony Bennett to sing the song!
Anyway, the Giants suddenly don’t look so dead and buried in the postseason chase, especially when you see that the Mets have lost 9 of their last 10 games. It’s reminiscent of a reported conversation from around late June of 2010, when former college teammates Pat Burrell and Aubrey Huff reminded each other that if they could just pick up “a game a week,” there was still plenty of time to salvage the season.
The “game a week” line reminded us of the 1986 ad campaign for Blue Diamond almonds, where a bunch of almond growers urged us to buy and eat almonds regularly, with “a can a week–that’s all we ask” as the tag line.
Blue Diamond Almonds 80s Commercial (1986)
We all remember what happened in 2010. The Giants did get hot in July, but they stumbled in August and were 6.5 games behind the Padres in the final week of that month. They then went 20-10 beginning September 1 while “thankfully the Padres choked” (immortal line from Ashkon’s anthem about the 2010 Giants), and the Giants won the division on the final day of the season by beating the Padres at AT&T Park (cue Tim Lincecum). And, of course, the most epic comeback of all time belonged to the 1951 New York Giants, who were 13.5 games behind the Brooklyn Dodgers on August 11 (during a 154-game season with no wild card) and stormed back to force a playoff series.
So…pick up a game a week? They’ve already picked up two, and since the Giants are playing the Nats while the other teams ahead of them have much tougher matchups…who knows where we’ll be by tomorrow afternoon?
What’s Going Better?
I mentioned the 43 runs in seven games, so that’s the obvious answer, but to be more specific, let’s highlight a couple of contributions:
- Rafael Devers*: When Devers hit that three-run bomb in Pittsburgh, I said, “Yeah. That’s it. That’s what we’ve been waiting for.” It was off Frankie Montas, a pitcher Devers has previously had ownage on, so it was even better to see Devers go into Bonds territory in the first inning of last night’s game (and fitting given that the 18th anniversary of Barry’s record-breaking homer was on Thursday). *By the way, he prefers the nickname “Rafi,” spelled like this (one “f” and an “i”), according to people who cover the team. Over the past week, Devers has had five hits (5 for 17), six walks, only three strikeouts, and the aforementioned two bombs (six RBIs).
- Patrick Bailey: Bailey’s quietly been coming around at the plate for a while now, and he’s hitting .290 with a .325 OPS over the last 30 days, raising his batting average to .217. That is quite a turnaround from where he was in the first three months of the season.
- Jung Hoo Lee: Lee is hitting .333 over the last 15 days (15 for 45 with 5 walks and only 3 strikeouts) for a .923 OPS. He also seems to be showing some good sense on the bases rather than listening to Matt Williams (who oddly was nowhere in sight when Lee scored from second on an infield squibber last night).
- Heliot Ramos: Yeah, I know–he’s not hitting for power these days. However, he has a .480 OBP over the past week and now has reached base safely in 21 straight games. You can’t score runs without guys getting on base at least sometimes, and Ramos is doing what a leadoff man needs to do–especially if Devers is finding himself again.
- Honorable mention: Jerar Encarnacion: His two monster homers in Pittsburgh helped them win that series, and I think seeing him get injured again was maybe the saddest I’ve felt all season, even more than when I heard they traded Yaz.
In addition to (much) better offense, the starting pitchers overall have been doing their jobs in these past seven games, and I’ll include Kai-Wei Teng’s five innings last night as a “starting pitcher” performance. The only bad outing at all in those seven games was Teng’s first start in New York last Saturday, and even that ended up on a high(er) note (he settled down after a rough first inning and actually left the game with a lead). Everyone else (Ray twice, Webb, Verlander, Whisenhunt) did a good job. The thinned-out bullpen was mostly responsible for the two losses, but we see that if you get a decent starting pitcher performance and some offense, it takes a lot of pressure off the relievers. Huh. (As an aside, new acquisition José Buttó is doing a fine job so far and taking a lot of the sting out of losing Tyler Rogers.)
A Quick Peek at the Minors
I was planning on focusing this whole column on how the minor league affiliates and players are doing (since I was assuming we’re losing interest in how the major league season is going)–but then the Giants actually played well enough this week to talk about them as “not dead yet.” So I’ll keep this more streamlined than I had originally thought.
The Affiliates (Note: All numbers were accurate as of Saturday, Aug. 9, going into that day’s play. I didn’t have time to go back and update everything!)
I think we’ve all been at least vaguely aware that the San Jose Giants have been terrorizing the California League all season, and that is still true. Overall, they are 70-36, won their division in the first half (so have already clinched their playoff spot), and lead their division by four games in the second half. Some of their best players graduated to Eugene a few weeks ago, but the Little Giants got their own reinforcements from the ACL Giants, who were 42-18, by far the best record in that league. The two DSL teams also currently lead their respective divisions.
At the higher levels, Eugene–having received reinforcements from San Jose–is 30-10 in the second half and has a nine-game lead in the standings, so barring an epic collapse in the next few weeks should also be in the Northwest League playoffs. AA Richmond had a very bad first half (last place), but in the second half, they’re 19-17 and only 1.5 games out of first in their division. Finally, the Sacramento River Cats are 22-15 in the second half and three games out in their division.
So to recap, that’s one team (ACL Giants) that’s already been in the playoffs, four other teams currently in first place, and the other two currently in second place but with winning records in the second half. That’s quite a turnaround from earlier this year. Having affiliate teams that win is good for an organization. It gives the minor leaguers a taste of playing games that matter and helps them care about their team winning and not just the advancement of their own careers.
Some Standout Players
For most of the year, it’s been “how did Bryce Eldridge do today?” and that was about it. But the Giants have some other players, mostly younger ones at lower levels, who are also worth paying attention to:
- Jhonny Level: Who? Well, that’s the Giants’ #4 prospect I’m referring to–soon to be #3 when Whisenhunt “graduates” off the prospect list. He’s an 18-year-old shortstop from Venezuela, signed in January 2024. After a successful DSL season last year (10 homers in 46 games, .910 OPS), he came stateside to play in the ACL, raked there, and is now on the San Jose Giants–and still raking. While he’s a bat-first prospect, it sounds like he might even stick at SS but could move to another position as needed. Did I mention he’s 18 and playing full-season ball?!
- Bo Davidson: We know a bit more about him because he made some cameos in spring training and MLB.com’s Maria Guardado wrote a great piece about him earlier this year quoting the scout who signed him comparing him to Barry Bonds. Davidson, an outfielder, is now in AA. Since his promotion (16 games), he’s not setting the world on fire, but he’s holding his own (.241 batting average). Shayna Rubin of the Chronicle had a piece about minor leaguers this week in which a rival scout was quoted as saying Davidson was the best prospect he’d seen this year, and the Giants had inquiries about him at the trade deadline. He could be the Giants’ right fielder of the future by 2026-27.
- OK, let’s talk about Bryce: At the trade deadline, when it seemed like the Giants were punting on the 2025 season and looking to the future, reporters asked Buster Posey if taking a look at Eldridge might be imminent, and he pooh-poohed that. A little over a week later, the tune has changed a bit. Eldridge has been making a statement with the River Cats (.385 with four homers in August), and Posey admitted on his KNBR show this week that the door remains open for Eldridge to make his debut this season. Randy Winn, also quoted in Rubin’s article, said that while his preference remains to keep Bryce where he is for now, Bryce may “unfortunately” be forcing the issue.
There are others–most notably a bunch of young international players/pitchers and the new guys obtained at the trade deadline–but this column is long enough and we’ll save it for another day.
Today’s Game:
Nationals at Giants, 1:05 p.m., Oracle Park
Mackenzie Gore (4-12, 4.29 ERA) vs. Justin Verlander (1-8, 4.29ERA)
(No, that’s not a typo. Gore and Verlander have exactly the same ERA!)
We’ll see if poor ol’ JV can get another win today. In the meantime, to quote Ashkon again, “But I had faith and I had hope…thankfully the ___ (fill in team name) choked…” Don’t stop believing! Maaaaybe better days are ahead! Lefty out.
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