Fast Approaching

 

Here's the deal. This weekend, right before the All-Star Break, the Dodgers and Giants are playing a series in SF. Two division rivals, relatively evenly matched, Devers against some old teammates, yada yada. What makes this a big series is that the Giants are currently 5 games out of first, and have used series' against the Phillies, A's and D-Backs [as well as the Dodgers' skid following series' with the Astros and Brewers] to get closer to lapping their ultimate rival. If this series goes to plan for the Giants, they could be set up to come back from break with leverage in this division.

A lot of the momentum has come to this team with help from returning standout Matt Chapman, who was on the IL for about a month. Chapman has been the solidified star figure for this team, continuing to be one of the best defensive third basemen in the league, and being a solid offensive producer still. Chapman, like usual, isn't hitting for average, but he definitely is hitting, with 12 homers and 30 RBIs in 72 games. The fact that only Heliot Ramos has surpassed that mark on this team is kinda telling. Chapman is still elite, a great player with the kind of team-rallying consistency that the Giants have desperately needed. Yaz is great but he'll miss time frequently. Ramos has been phenomenal but even he's not perfect. And Devers...is struggling about as much as he did in Boston. Having Chapman back has reenergized this team, and makes me confident that they'll stand a chance against LA.

It's also clear the Giants have some spark because of some of the cool developments this team has seen recently. You probably heard about Patrick Bailey's inside-the-park walk-off home run that ended a game against my hometown team recently. You might have also heard that Dominic Smith, who would have been the Yankees' Opening Day DH had Ben Rice not found his swing in camp, has been a pretty decent bench power bat for the Giants. Or maybe you looked at both Logan Webb and Robbie Ray's ERAs and seen that they're one point off. 2.63 and 2.62. That's how wired in they both are. I think Verlander's still a bit shaky but Webb, Ray, Roupp and Birdsong have been excellent and are part of why this team has been creeping up.

What I'm saying is that the Giants have a chance to crash the Dodgers' party. They've held a pretty compact rotation all year and aren't surviving off minor league fumes. They're hitting, and their power production is great. And now they've got the momentum. So who knows what'll happen this series.

Coming Tonight: He's been in the league around ten seasons and he's still a very reliable starting arm.