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Washington Nationals discover how tough the San Francisco Giants can be in October Washington Nationals discover how tough the San Francisco Giants can be in October
(35 minutes later)
For those who wondered why the name “San Francisco” across the chest of a jersey causes so much concern, tending toward consternation and then confusion in the month of October, the answer was on display on Friday afternoon in a 3-2 Game 1 win by the Giants over the Washington Nationals to start the National League Division Series. Losing to the San Francisco Giants in October is like being beaten to death with wet noodles. Or, more literally, being drowned in singles slapped to center field and sound execution of every basic, boring fundamental play in baseball. Against the Giants, you get to do most of the fun stuff, like hit a third-deck home run. They focus on what’s boring. If something flashy happens by accident, they’ll take that, too.
At this time of year, many ask, “How the heck are these guys beating us when they didn’t look so tough for the previous six months?” The Giants are always pleased to provide the answer, especially in even-numbered years like ’10 and ’12, when they ended up as unexpected, yet worthy, world champs. When the score is added up, you lose, 3-2, as the Washington Nationals did Friday in this opening game of the National League Division Series. For San Francisco, that makes 23 wins in their past 31 postseason games. And the Nats, like many of their previous foes, only seem to grasp a fraction of what’s happening to them.
You get to do the dramatic athletic deeds, like two long solo home runs in the seventh inning by the Nats, one of them a monstrous third-deck blast by Bryce Harper and the other a rocket shot off the back of the Nats’ bullpen by Asdrubal Cabrera. The Giants do all the mundane, meaningful stuff you miss. What was the margin of the Nats defeat? One unearned run came thanks to a misjudgment on a San Francisco sacrifice bunt attempt, plus a passed ball. Another run was scored by a Giant who wasn’t quite erased on a double-play ball. A third run was tallied by a batter who reached base on a wind-blown fly ball that outfielder Denard Span admits will “haunt” him.
“We’ll give [the Nats] a tough time, I promise. We always do this time of year,” said Giants special assistant Tony Siegle, who was the Nationals’ assistant general manager, in charge of holding everything together, in the team’s first years in Washington. “They’ll make all the plays, do it together and keep it close.” Like so many Giants victims, the Nats got to do the dramatic athletic deeds, like two long solo home runs in the seventh inning, one of them a monstrous third-deck blast by Bryce Harper and the other a rocket shot off the back of the Nats’ bullpen by Asdrubal Cabrera. Sometimes a Giant will it three homers in a World Series game. But mostly they’re dull. They never forget to take out the trash. With you in it.
He didn’t add, but could have: And we may end up one run ahead. “That’s a Giants post-season win,” said Nats reliever Jerry Blevins who observed them in their world-title runs in ’10 and ’12 when he pitched across the Bay for the Oakland A’s. How do you beat ‘em? “Ignore them,” said Blevins. “Focus on what you do well. And execute.” Because you know they will.
The Giants form humble, collective game plans, like slapping a half-dozen pesky modest-looking singles into shallow center field off Nats starter Stephen Strasburg on a day when he touched 99 mph and may have thrown consistently harder than he has since Tommy John surgery in ’10. The Giants form humble, collective game plans, like slapping a half-dozen pesky singles into center off Nats starter Stephen Strasburg on a day when he touched 99 miles-per-hour and may have thrown consistently harder than he has since Tommy John surgery in 2010.
Of all hitting methods, hitting back up the middle is the easiest for making contact by far. But it minimizes the chance of homers or even extra-base hits. It can increase the chance of grounding into double plays to middle infielders. But against a pitcher like Strasburg, who falls off the mound toward first base, the hole up the middle is even more inviting. And the Giants accepted that RSVP. Leadoff singles executed that way to start the third and fourth innings led to both runs off him. “It’s not like they were really hitting me hard,” said Strasburg, who allowed two runs, one earned, in five innings and took the loss. The Giants actually took what Strasburg didn’t know he was giving them and beat him by slapping fastballs back over him or right past him, in part because he falls off the mound toward first base. That leaves more open room in the middle. The Giants accepted the RSVP.
In all, the Giants got eight singles, none of which traveled more than 220 feet in the air, off Strasburg, but they turned them into two runs in five innings, one of them unearned. Not much damage? Enough to hang an “L” on Strasburg in his first postseason start and run his pitch count high enough that he only got 15 outs. Against elite stuff, hitting back through the box is the simplest way to make contact and avoid strikeouts. “It’s a good plan,” said Span. Of the 25 batters who faced Strasburg, only two struck out. In all, the Giants hit eight singles off him, none of which traveled more than 220 feet in the air. Enough for an “L.”
The Giants execute precisely, so that you barely notice, the simple fundamental plays. They choose the proper safe base to which to throw on a humble sacrifice bunt, or make sure to glove a basic high-away fastball instead of letting it bounce off a catcher’s mitt, in a split-second of carelessness, and roll to the backstop. In the third inning, the Nats committed both those silly little sins, literally handing the Giants a gift run. And it proved to be the margin of victory. The Giants execute so precisely that you barely notice. But they force their foes, under playoff pressure, to make all the right decisions. In the third inning, Adam LaRoche fielded a well-placed bunt by winning pitcher Jake Peavy and, instead of conceding its excellence and throwing Peavy out at first, LaRoche tried for the flashy play, throwing to second base to try for a force. The peg was late - by three feet. Later in the inning, catcher Wilson Ramos muffed a basic fastball, advancing both runners.
First, Adam LaRoche fielded a well-placed bunt by winning pitcher Jake Peavy and, instead of conceding its excellence and throwing Peavy out at first, LaRoche tried for the flash play, throwing to second base for a force. The peg was comically late — by three feet. One out thrown away. Later in the inning, catcher Wilson Ramos lost his concentration for a blink and muffed that simple fastball, advancing both runners. That led to the “unearned” designation of a run, which was the very definition of how San Francisco actually does earn victories — with proper sacrifices and your mistakes. “I was expecting a fastball inside,” said Ramos. When the pitch arrived outside,“I just missed the ball,” he said. That led to an “unearned” run. But it was the very definition of how the Giants earn wins.
The Giants’ third and ultimately decisive run began with a leadoff triple off the left field wall that probably should have been only a double if Harper, the man of the mighty homer, had hustled to the wall in case Denard Span went for, and missed, a leaping catch and couldn’t field the carom. Harper barely moved until he saw the ball rolling across the grass. Would the inning have played out differently with Joe Panik only at second instead of third? Maybe not. But you’d like to find out. The Giants’ third run began with a leadoff triple to left by Joe Panik that probably should have been only a double if Harper had hustled to the wall in case Span went for, and missed, a leaping catch. He didn’t. Again, a subtlety was decisive. “The wind was blowing across [right to left]. I was drifting, the ball kept drifting. I mistimed it,” said Span. “That’s a ball I’ve got to catch, especially in that situation.
The Giants also create a bullpen designed to have pitchers with specific strengths for late-inning matchups in tight games. Rookie Hunter Strickland, called up on Sept. 1, does one thing very well — throw hard. That works well against right-handed hitters, sometimes not so well against lefties who can lock in on that one pitch. “That’ll haunt me tonight. I won’t say I won’t sleep, but I’ll be thinking about it.”
Strickland entered in the sixth inning with the bases loaded and two outs to face right-handed Ian Desmond, who has one of the greatest records in baseball hitting with the sacks drunk. After one ball, Strickland roared fastballs at 98, 99 and finally 100. Desmond flailed and missed all three. Rally over. The Giants also create a bullpen designed to have pitchers with specific strengths for late-inning matchups in tight games. Rookie Hunter Strickland, called up on Sept. 1, does one thing very well — throw hard. That works well against right-handed hitters, sometimes not so well against lefties.
The next inning, Harper and Cabrera, both hitting lefty, took Strickland fastballs at 97 and 96 mph half-way to the moon. But nobody was on base. Giants Manager Bruce Bochy is among the best at finding the highest leverage situations — men all over the bases — for his best matchups, even if it means less pleasant matchups with the bases empty. With the bases loaded and two outs in the sixth, Strickland faced Ian Desmond, a .433 career hitter with the bases drunk. Three fastballs later — 98, 99, 100 — Desmond had fanned. “100’s 100,” he said.
In the eighth with two men on and one out , Desmond had another chance, this time against reliever Sergio Romo. Romo’s career ERA won’t dazzle you but his slider can turn a right-handed hitter who tends to chase them into mush. Desmond took one slider for a strike, then chased two and fanned again. The next inning, Harper and Cabrera, both hitting lefty, took Strickland fastballs at 97 and 96 mph halfway to the moon. But nobody was on base. Giants Manager Bruce Bochy is among the best at finding the highest leverage situations — men all over the bases — for his best matchups, even if it means less pleasant matchups with the bases empty.
The Nationals have tightened up their game this season, in part thinking ahead to October. They steal bases more efficiently and prevent steals far better. They bunt well. They kick fewer infield grounders and nobody lets so few balls get past their catchers. But the Giants may be just a bit crisper. In the eighth with two men on and one out, Desmond had another chance, this time against reliever Sergio Romo, whose career ERA won’t dazzle you but whose slider can turn a right-handed hitter who tends to chase them into mush. Desmond ended up as three-slider mush, fanning again.
This was a game in which the losing pitcher, Strasburg, threw a changeup at 91 mph while the winning pitcher, Peavy, maxed out with a fastball at 92. But Peavy nicked corners and left after 52 / 3 scoreless innings. That finished a bad day for Desmond whose feed to Cabrera wasn’t quite fast enough to get a double play on a Hunter Pence grounder in the fourth. Pence then stole second and scored. The Nats turn double plays decently, but not well and finish in the bottom half of baseball in double plays most years.
This was a game in which the losing pitcher, Strasburg, threw a change-up at 91 while the winning pitcher, Peavy, maxed out at 92. But Peavy nicked corners and left after 52 / 3 scoreless innings. “Stras was good. He gave us a chance. Jake was better. He was really good,” Manager Matt Williams said. “But we had chances. We take those opportunities every day of the week with guys out there, middle of our order up. Today it didn’t happen.
“We’ll try to give them a run tomorrow,” added Williams. That’s just a slip of the tongue, but a perfect accident. The Nats lost because they “gave” the Giants little pieces of all three of their runs.
“We have to treat Game 2 like an elimination game,” Span said, correctly. “You can’t go back to San Francisco down two games.”
On Thursday, Bochy said in a five-game series even Game 1 should be seen and played as if it were “an elimination game.”
The most vivid memory of this game will be, by far, the rare titanic top-deck homer by Harper.The most vivid memory of this game will be, by far, the rare titanic top-deck homer by Harper.
What will be remembered by the 44,035 fans who watched the Giants? A bunch of singles, mostly to centerfield. And not a mistake of any kind anywhere in sight. What will be remembered by the 44,035 fans who watched the Giants? A bunch of singles, mostly to center field. And not a mistake of any kind anywhere in sight.
Oh, yes, and a one-run victory. Oh, yes, and a one-run victory. That’s nine in a row in postseason for the Giants. Yes, it’s the record.
Find a way to counteract it. Soon. Ignore them. Focus on yourself. Execute. (Soon.)
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Box score: Giants 3, Nationals 2Box score: Giants 3, Nationals 2
Peavy, Giants silence Nats in Game 1Peavy, Giants silence Nats in Game 1
Boswell: Winning, the Giants wayBoswell: Winning, the Giants way
Wise: Harper provides a bright spotWise: Harper provides a bright spot
Strasburg solid in Game 1 defeatStrasburg solid in Game 1 defeat
Nats face a tough climb against GiantsNats face a tough climb against Giants
Bog: Best and worst from Game 1Bog: Best and worst from Game 1
Zimmermann the same after no-hitterZimmermann the same after no-hitter
Photos: Scenes from Game 2Photos: Scenes from Game 2
MLB playoff scores and scheduleMLB playoff scores and schedule