Giants’ magic number falls to 4 as win streak hits 6
CHICAGO >> Withanoffense that’s close to full strength and several veteran hitters putting the finishing touches on the best season of their professional careers, the Giants have one of the deepest lineups in the majors.
Gabe Kapler could choose a wide variety of hitters to bat leadoff against right-handed pitchers, but he’s stuck by veteran infielder Tommy La Stella.
La Stella’s stat line from the 2021 season suggests he should be hitting near the bottom of the Giants’ lineup, but prior to Saturday’s game, Kapler insisted the club believes he’ll soon hit his stride at the plate.
In the Giants’ 15-4 blowout win at Wrigley Field over the Cubs, La Stella took a big step forward as he led another wellrounded effort with an early two-run single and a towering three-run home run to finish with a careerhigh five RBIs and put an exclamation point on the team’s sixth straight win.
“To us in this clubhouse, it doesn’t come as a surprise that (La Stella) is kind of an optimal guy at the top to set the table and also to drive the baseball from time-to-time as well,” Kapler said.
After securing their seventh five-game win streak of the season on Friday, the Giants matched their season-high for consecutive victories set August 7-13
and will have a chance to close out a perfect 6-0 road trip behind their emerging ace, Logan Webb, on Sunday.
The win dropped the Giants’ magic number to clinch a playoff spot to four, meaning San Francisco will have a chance to lock up a postseason berth near the beginning of the club’s next homestand.
The Giants fell into an early 1-0 hole, but rallied for five runs in the second to knock out Cubs starter Zach Davies as La Stella delivered a go-ahead two-strike, two-out, tworun single with the bases loaded.
“Everybody always says the process, not the result, but like it or not, it is a game of results,” La Stella said of his recent struggles. “When they’re not there, it is frustrating. But the staff here and the hitting coaches are so consistent with the work we put in and trusting it’s going to show up.”
Brandon Belt followed
La Stella and yanked a long flyball on the wrong side of the right field foul pole, but straightened things out with his next swing by launching a 406-foot shot into the right center field for a three-run homer.
La Stella has played more than half of his career games for the Cubs and was part of Chicago’s 2016 World Series championship club, but his return to Wrigley Field clearly didn’t have the same type of fanfare as Giants teammate Kris Bryant.
There was no outward showing of appreciation for La Stella from Cubs fans, but back in the Giants’ clubhouse, his teammates made note of his efforts.
“When I saw we signed him last year, I was very happy just for the fact I don’t have to face him anymore,” starter Kevin Gausman said. “He’s a pest up there, he makes you work, always has quality ABs, sees a lot of pitchers and that’s what he does well.
That’s his bread and butter.”
La Stella’s three-hit performance keyed the Giants’ offense on Saturday while Gausman gave the club a chance to rest some of its top relievers by throwing six innings of three-run ball. Lefty Caleb Baragar earned the first three-plusinning save for the Giants since Chris Stratton picked up a four-inning save on July 25, 2017 against the Pirates.
Gausman’s final line would have looked better if not for Mike Yastrzemski’s misplay in center field, but he still racked up nine strikeouts and became the third major league pitcher alongside new Dodgers ace Max Scherzer and Phillies veteran Zack Wheeler to eclipse 200 strikeouts this season.
“I think it’s just a product of making good pitches and being on the same page with both of my catchers,” Gausman said of the achievement. “That’s the biggest thing, from day one of the start of the season, they’ve done a great job of keeping with the gameplan and blocking the ball really well. The way they’ve blocked my split this year, they’ve saved me a lot of runs.”