Giants’ postseason hopes come down to the final day
They have a chance at final NL playoff spot as the season ends
SAN FRANCISCO >> With the San Francisco Giants attempting to secure their first postseason berth in four years, the organization followed the script former general manager Bobby Evans wrote when he signed a pair of veteran starting pitchers to contracts worth a combined $220 million in December of 2015.
Evans envisioned Johnny Cueto and Jeff Samardzija would help keep the Giants’ championship
window open, but a 2020 club that will be fighting for a postseason berth down to the final day of the regular season turned to the righthanders out of desperation.
Samardzija hadn’t pitched in seven weeks when he returned
from the injured list to face the Padres in Game 2 of a Friday doubleheader, but with a depleted bullpen and no other starters to call upon, president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi and manager
Gabe Kapler determined Samardzija gave the team the best opportunity to win.
In the hours after Samardzija threw three forgettable innings in a crushing 6-5 loss to the Padres, the Giants informed him he would be cut.
Shoulder issues wiped out most of the 2018 and 2020 seasons for Samardzija, who didn’t get to finish the final days of a fiveyear, $90 million contract he signed after posting a 4.96 ERA and giving up an American League-worst 29 home runs in 2015.
Understanding his Friday start might be his last in a Giants uniform, Samardzija said he reflected upon his time in San Francisco and expressed gratitude for the opportunity, even if it didn’t go as planned.
“It’s like you’re always going to be there, always going to have that opportunity,” Samardzija said. “But we all know time goes by real fast. Looking at the stadium, it’s tough. I’ve had a lot of fun here. I very much enjoyed my time here. I was taking it all in.”
A victory by the 29-30 Milwaukee Brewers on Saturday ensured the Giants would have to wait until today to have a chance to clinch a National League wild-card berth, but Kapler’s club’s chances of playing into October once again hinged on the performance of an inconsistent veteran who was once expected to anchor their postseason rotation.
Cueto still has one season remaining on a six-year, $130 million contract he signed fewer than two weeks after Samardzija joined the Giants’ staff, but he’s no longer the All-Star or ace he looked like at the beginning of his tenure.
When this edition of the paper went to press, Cueto was still on the mound against San Diego, but he was already assured of finishing the year with the highest ERA of his 13-season career.
Cueto lost significant portions of two seasons due to an elbow injury that required Tommy John surgery, missed starts due to blister issues and has attributed poor performances in recent weeks to hip pain.
The idea the Giants are still talking about the possibility of playing postseason baseball in the final weekend of the regular season would have seemed far-fetched at the beginning of the year, but it’s made more impressive by the fact the club hasn’t been able to rely on its two highest-paid pitchers.
YAZ WINS WILLIE MAC >> When Zaidi and Kapler expressed their goals for the 2020 season, one of the greatest hopes the duo had was for an inexperienced outfielder to prove he could be a reliable, everyday major league player.
Mike Yastrzemski didn’t take long to ex
ceed those expectations. The Giants’ 2020 Willie Mac Award winner became the face of the club as the second-year outfielder willed the team into contention for a postseason berth.
In the middle of Yastrzemski’s breakout season, fellow outfielder Hunter Pence told him, “You’re one of the best players I’ve ever seen.” On Saturday, Pence announced his retirement from baseball and Yastrzemski earned a coveted award Pence took home in 2013.
It seemed the Willie Mac Award — which is presented annually to the Giants’ most inspirational player — was destined to end up in Yastrzemski’s hands after he built upon a phenomenal rookie season in 2019 to become an early National League MVP candidate.
“It’s been incredible,” Yastrzemski said. “There was a time two years ago where I had a talk with my wife and was almost ready to hang it up. Farhan gave me a chance to come over here and I’m so thankful to him for giving me an opportunity to be a part of this organization and this team. It changed my life.” COONROD HITS INJURED LIST >> Giants righthander Sam Coonrod’s velocity was down and his control was off in a miserable Friday night outing against the San Diego Padres. The Giants now think they know why. The club placed Coonrod on the 10-day injured list with a right shoulder strain Saturday after he blew seventh-inning leads on Thursday against the Rockies and Friday against the Padres. Both bad outings came in what will likely go down as the worst losses of the Giants’ season as the club had opportunities to create separation from the Phillies and Brewers in the National League wild card standings.
“It just became an issue after he came out of the game last night,” Kapler said. “He came in and reported some shoulder soreness and we have the obligation to take care of Sam.”