Giants complete stunning sweep in Denver
San Francisco takes over third place in NL West
DENVER – When the San Francisco Giants return home to Oracle Park on Thursday, ace Madison Bumgarner will take the mound for what could be one of his last two starts before he’s dealt to a contending club.
It could also be another normal outing for a pitcher who suddenly finds himself playing for the hottest team in baseball.
For months, the Giants appeared destined to control the July 31 trade deadline by sending out their most valuable assets in return for the top prospects belonging to contending clubs.
With the team enjoying its best stretch of baseball in more than three years, the Giants’ front office could be having second thoughts as the players now control their own destiny through their performance over the next two weeks.
After completing a four-game sweep of the Rockies with an 11-8 win on Wednesday at Coors Field, the Giants (47-49) have won a season-high five in a row and 12 of their last 14 games to take over sole possession of third place in the National League West.
“It’s a lot of fun when everybody wrote you off before the season started,” catcher Stephen Vogt said. “Even still, it’s how long is this going to last? I can say that the attitude in this room is let’s win today. We feel good about the way we’re playing.”
On the shoulders of a balanced offense attack, the Giants wrapped up their first four-game sweep at Coors Field since September 15-18, 2011 and their first
sweep of any kind in Denver since 2012.
“From the very beginning, no one picked us to do anything,” said reliever Derek Holland, who threw 1 2/3 scoreless innings out of the bullpen on Wednesday. “For what we’re doing, the noise we’e making, I think that’s huge for us.”
How stunning was the team’s 6-1 road trip that included four games in three days in Colorado?
In the 22 games the Giants played at Coors Field prior to this week’s series, the club appeared allergic to the hitter-friendly confines as they posted a 3-19 record.
A three-run eighth inning rally helped the Giants score in the double digits for the sixth time in their last 14 games. In the club’s previous 151 games, San Francisco had scored 10 or more runs just five times.
“It’s just a different vibe,” manager Bruce Bochy said. “They know they can come right back. The confidence has grown. They’ve done it.”