Fittingly, Gausman caps Giants’ great half
The All-Star pitcher allows Nationals a run in 6 innings
SAN FRANCISCO >> Playoff tickets aren’t punched in July and World Series trophies aren’t hoisted until the fall, but with the first half in the books, the Giants and their fans can start thinking about October baseball.
A playoff berth that once seemed like a far-fetched dream for a club playing in a stacked National League West is now well within reach as Gabe Kapler’s club reached the All-Star break with a 3-1 win over the Washington Nationals
to notch their major league-best 57th win and 30th at Oracle Park.
After dropping the first two games of a six-game homestand, the Giants reeled off four consecutive wins and added to their lead over the Dodgers and Padres with dominant pitching performances and clutch contributions from several hitters.
The Giants credit much of their success leading into the All-Star break to Kevin Gausman, who departed after another brilliant start on Sunday to participate in All-Star Game festivities in Denver. The Colorado native has been one of the best pitchers in baseball this year and improved to 9-3 with help from catcher Curt Casali, who blasted a three-run home run in the second inning against Nationals right-hander Erick Fedde.
“We’ve worked really hard to get to this point and definitely proving some people wrong is some nice icing on the cake,” Casali said. “But we’re just trying to keep it rolling.”
Gausman tossed six innings of onerun ball against a Nationals team that knocked him out after four innings in their matchup in June. The righthander held Washington to four hits,
including three that didn’t leave the infield, and struck out nine by mixing a mid-tohigh 90s fastball with his devastating splitter.
Gausman’s splitter has been one of the best pitches in baseball this season and it remained that way on Sunday as the Nationals whiffed at 10 of the 19 splitters at which they swung.
“It’s been a lot of fun,” Gausman said of his 2021 season. “I feel like I’ve said it every five days, but it’s a lot of fun to come to the ballpark and I think Farhan (Zaidi) said it a couple of days ago, the clubhouse atmosphere here is great.”
The only run Gausman allowed came in the seventh as he issued back-to-back walks and gave up a bloop single before Kapler pulled him in favor of right-hander Dominic Leone. Leone limited the damage, but the Nationals scored on a groundout before stranding a pair of runners. Leone induced a shallow flyout and struck out Victor Robles to end the inning.
“If you said we’d give up one run and get out of it, if that was the option, I’d take it every day and twice on Sunday,” Casali said. “(Leone) has developed into a really nice role in our bullpen. He’s kind of a
stopper in that situation.”
Gausman began the day with a 1.74 ERA that ranked second in the majors behind Mets ace Jacob deGrom’s historic 1.08 mark. Gausman ended the first half with a 1.65 ERA that’s the lowest by a Giants pitcher through his first 18 starts since Hal Schumacher had a 1.39 ERA in 1933.
“When we took Gaus out of the game, I mentioned to him I thought it was one of the better first halves I’ve been around,” Kapler said. “This is as a player and as a manager, from any angle in baseball, it was that good.”
It was fitting for a club that finished the first half atop the NL West that Casali, the team’s backup catcher, crushed the early three-run home run to give Gausman a lead. One of the Giants’ greatest
strengths through the first half of the season has been their incredible depth, and Casali’s production in place of injured starter Buster Posey has been critical of late.
Casali has hit four home runs and is batting over .400 with an OPS above 1.200 since returning from the injured list on June 12.
“I’m just happy to contribute,” Casali said. “It means the world to me and I’m just thrilled to be a part of a great team.”
The Giants missed opportunities to capitalize on a few other scoring chances against the Nationals as they left eight runners on base Sunday, but with Gausman on the mound and the back end of their bullpen fresh, three runs were all San Francisco needed to cap a three-game sweep.