Pregame visit from Stow a big hit

“It lifts your spirits to talk to him with what he’s been through.”

SAN FRANCISCO — The Giants are 27-51 and their 24½-game deficit to the Los Angeles Dodgers represents the most they have ever trailed their archrivals in the history of the West Coast rivalry.

The Giants also have 85 more games to play this season, starting with Sunday’s series finale against the New York Mets.

A special guest before the game helped them lift their spirits.

Bryan Stow, the Giants fan who sustained brain injuries when he was badly beaten in the Dodger Stadium parking lot after a game in 2011, attended Sunday’s game and spent several minutes speaking with Giants manager Bruce Bochy in the dugout.

“He looks great, doesn’t he?” Bochy said. “I enjoyed talking to him here in the dugout. It lifts your spirits to talk to him with what he’s been through. He’s so upbeat and positive. It gives you a better, positive perspective with where you’re at.”

Bochy said that Stow was welcome to address the team, but so many of their players arrived after 2011 and aren’t familiar with him or his story. Many of the players who would be most inspired by his visit are no longer here.

Bochy joked that Stow needed to get a current jersey. He’s wearing Jeremy Affeldt’s No. 41.

“We need to get him a different one,” said Bochy, smiling.

Affeldt, of course, has been among the people most involved in raising funds for Stow’s care and also preached a memorable message of tolerance and understanding with the Dodgers’ Jamey Carroll in the days after the incident.