by DrLefty
No, there’s not just “one day more” in the Giants’ 2026 season, though we’re not far from that now. They have 13 games left. “One day more” refers, of course, to the Giants’ “magic” number that will get them to 63 wins and avoid a 100-loss season. They hit that magic number on Wednesday after a stirring comeback win that polished off a series sweep(!!!) of the Cardinals, and so far they’re 0 for 2 in attempts to win #63. But I feel pretty confident that they won’t go 0-15 to end the season, so I think they’ll get to 63, and then…?
Let’s look at what’s ahead and then we’ll do a quick review of how this past week has gone.
Remaining Schedule
Here is the schedule, for reference. After tonight’s game against the Padres, the Giants go on their final road trip for three games in St. Louis and then three in Dodger Stadium. They then come home to end the season with three games against the Twins and three against the Dodgers. Even if we say the Giants will go 0-6 against the Dodgers–and they might not; they’re currently 4-3 for the season series, and Shohei Ohtani just went on the IL–they should manage to win a game against the Cardinals, whom they just swept, or the Twins, who aren’t very good. Heck, they could even win tonight if “ace” Webb shows up.
So if you believe the Giants will avoid 100 losses, what’s your current guess about how many wins they will end up with? 63? 65? More? I said a couple of weeks ago that I was rooting against the 100-loss season, and now I’m also hoping they win at least 65 games, which would also beat their second-worst season (98 losses in 2017). Here’s my argument for those of you who are mad enough at the team to want this season to go down in historic shame and disgust:
- Losing more games, unlike in 2017, will get them exactly nowhere as to draft picks next year. Because of some (pretty dumb) anti-tanking rules, they cannot pick higher than tenth.
- It’s better to end the season on a high(ish) note, if possible. They are currently 5-6 for the month of September; a strong finish could give them a chance to actually have a winning month, something they haven’t come close to doing all season. (It’s unlikely. Did I mention six games against the Dodgers, who still have something to play for, namely avoiding the wild card round in the postseason?)
- As much as I’m mad and disappointed at Buster Posey for how miserably he and his team failed this season, I still love him because of the championship years–flags fly forever–and don’t want him associated with the worst/second-worst season in franchise history.
Anyway, those are my thoughts–but you know what two cents are worth, these days.
The Past Week
Against all odds, the Giants have become, relatively speaking, surprisingly more enjoyable to watch over the past several weeks. A big part of that is the ridiculous hot streak that Rafael Devers has been on–11 homers in his last 18 games, reigning NL Player of the Week. It’s especially impressive considering that teams must be highly motivated to pitch around him (look at any recent box score and note the names and batting averages). Here’s an interesting stat I saw yesterday. In their first 240 games as a Giant, here are the leaders in home runs:
- Barry Bonds (61)
- Rafael Devers (57)
- Willie Mays (55)
Rafi actually has only played 238 games with the Giants, so he has two more to catch Barry, but you get the point. There has been so much noise about how bad the Giants have been since they traded for Devers in June 2025 (and how good the Red Sox have been), that it’s easy to miss that Devers, who hits lefty like Bonds did, is putting up historic numbers for any Giant and especially one who plays all of his home games at Oracle Park. It’s easy to dismiss Bonds’s production at Pac Bell/AT&T because…well, you know…but for all the shade people have thrown at Devers, they have drug testing now. Buster Posey has definitely gotten some things wrong since becoming President of Baseball Operations, but when he said, after the Devers trade, that Rafi is “a dude,” he got it exactly right. (Also, in case anyone thinks I’m disrespecting Willie, it’s fair to note that his first 240 games with the New York Giants began with him as a 20-year-old rookie. Bonds and Devers were already multiple-time All-Stars by the time they got to the Giants.)
It’s also worth noting that Bryce Eldridge continues to have an outstanding rookie season, especially when you remember that he’s only 21 years old. There are age-based charts that place him on the list with all-time Giants greats such as Mel Ott, Orlando Cepeda, McCovey, and Mays (OK, and Jack Clark, who isn’t a Hall of Famer but did have a very nice career). I know we remember that Mason Miller struck him out looking with the bases loaded to end Friday night’s game. But that was one of his poorer at-bats in a long, long time, and we should bear in mind that Miller is a very, very, very good closer.
Beyond the two “dudes” (I’m already saying Bryce is one) batting second and third most days, we’re also seeing some gritty, fun at-bats from the collection of rookies and cast-offs playing for the Giants right now. For example, in yesterday’s game, the two rookie Drews (Cavanaugh and Gilbert) hit homers in the bottom of the eighth to bring the Giants within a run after they had fallen behind 7-3 (alas, the final score was 7-6, as Miller did his thing again). That was Cavanaugh’s first major league homer, so that’s kind of fun. Other rookies had milestones this week: Matt “Tugboat” Wilkinson earned his first major league win in relief, and Trent Harris got his first save (both in the same game). And, of course, the six-run eighth-inning rally that got them the series sweep against the Cardinals on Wednesday was one of the more memorable moments of the whole season–maybe not as dramatic as Eldridge’s “ultimate grand slam” to stun the Nationals back in June, but very fun in its own way.
Having spent the entire season trashing the Giants’ wretched bullpen, in the interests of fairness and balance, I should point out that the Giants won three straight one-run games against the Cardinals–the one saved by Harris, Tuesday night’s game saved by…checking notes…Joel Kuhnel (I remembered his last name but had to go look up his first name), and Monday night’s extra-innings win, which was facilitated by Jason Foley holding the Cardinals scoreless in the top of the 11th inning so that…checking notes…Shay Whitcomb (who also had the game-winning hit on Wednesday) could knock in Nate Furman.Â
Everything didn’t always go great, though. The two starters against the Padres so far (Anthony Molina and Cesar Perdomo) both got blown up pretty early by a hot, motivated Padres lineup, and despite attempted comebacks in both games (the Drews yesterday and a Devers grand slam on Friday off old pal Robbie Ray), the Padres’ far superior bullpen had no problem at the end locking down those wins.
Overall, it was a pretty good week with the first “official” three-game sweep of the season and some fun moments. The last two games have simply served to remind us of why the Padres are in the hunt for a playoff spot and the Giants…are not.
Quick Minor League Update
The San Jose Giants won two straight in their best two-of-three first-round series and begin the Cal League championship series tonight, also a best of three. They start on the road at Lake Elsinore (in Riverside County, in case you’re not aware), which is the Padres affiliate. Games 2-3 (if necessary for Game 3) will be in San Jose on Tuesday and Wednesday. The Little Giants cruised to the North Division championship by beating the Stockton Ports (A’s). The big moments included a two-inning scoreless outing in Game 2 by top pitching prospect Jackson Flora and a big series by 2026 draftee Drew Smith (2 homers and 5 RBIs in the two games).
It didn’t go as well for the Eugene Emeralds, who lost three straight to Vancouver in the single-round Northwest League championship series, including an embarrassing bullpen meltdown in Game 3 (they had a two-run lead with two outs in the ninth, gave up the tying runs, and lost in extras).
Next up (besides San Jose’s series) will be the Richmond Flying Squirrels, who begin their postseason on Tuesday night at Erie (Tigers). Like the Cal League, there are two best-of-three rounds. It’s already been announced that Henry Lalane (acquired from the Yankees in the trade for Heliot Ramos) has been promoted from Eugene to Richmond; we’ll see if any other Emeralds follow.
Tonight’s Game
Padres at Giants, 4:20 p.m. on NBCS/Peacock
Nick Pivetta (2-2, 3.43 ERA) vs. Logan Webb (8-8, 4.10 ERA)
The Mr and I are bewildered why our lousy team is on national TV so much (the Friday night game was on Apple), but oh, well. Also, every national broadcast of a home game means one fewer game called by Mike Krukow.
I’ll let the cast of Les Miserables take us out today. (If you’re not familiar with the show, “One Day More” is the song right before intermission. And, uh…it doesn’t work out very well in the second act for most of the people singing. But Marius and Cosette do get their happily-ever-after…sort of…) OK, enough! Lefty out.
;
