Giants’ weekend series against Padres is big
It’s been nearly four years since the San Francisco Giants’ postseason hopes still felt legitimate in the month of September.
After losing 98 games in 2017 and fading down the stretch in each of the past two seasons, the 2020 Giants have won 15 of their past 20 and enter the last two-plus weeks of the schedule with a chance to secure a playoff spot.
The Giants haven’t played pressure-packed, must-win games in September since they locked up a wild-card berth with four straight victories to close out the 2016 season, but the franchise is finally playing meaningful series again.
In an abbreviated 60-game season, it’s little surprise there’s a logjam near the back of the National League playoff standings with teams from every division jockeying to join an expanded postseason field that includes eight clubs from each league. What is a surprise is that the 23-21 Giants, picked by many to finish last in the division, have the sixth-best winning percentage in the NL and currently hold the seventh seed in the playoff field.
Of their final 16 regularseason games this year, seven come against the team with the second-best record in the NL, the San Diego Padres. The Giants’ ability to secure an unlikely playoff berth now hinges on how they perform against the Padres, and it starts with a four-game series at Petco Park this weekend.
“It’s going to be a big series for us,” rookie catcher Joey Bart said. “We’re pumped up about it, so hopefully we can carry some of the things we’ve been doing lately into San Diego and win some games.”
The Giants also play two more against the Mariners, three against the A’s and four against a pesky Rockies club still hoping to overtake manager Gabe Kapler’s club in the standings, but San Francisco has put itself in a good position. After falling to 8-16 through their first 24 games, the Giants have completely turned things around and only the Padres have played better baseball over the last three weeks of the season.
• Veteran switch-hitter Justin Smoak hit .186 with a .642 OPS in 113 at-bats for the Milwaukee Brewers this season, but when he became a free agent on Sunday, the San Francisco Giants viewed him as a potential upgrade over Pablo Sandoval.
After signing Smoak to a minor league deal Wednesday, the Giants placed Sandoval on unconditional release waivers and added Smoak to the major league roster. The club also made another roster move Thursday, bringing lefthanded pitcher Drew Smyly (left index finger strain) back from the injured list and optioning Rico García to the Sacramento alternate site.