Life's Too Sports

The San Francisco Giants saw their season come to a premature conclusion on  Sunday , largely due to the subpar efforts of home plate umpire Rob Drake. According to Umpire Auditor, Drake made 27 incorrect calls during Sunday's game. Alongside the image posted above, Giants' insider Alex Pavlovic tweeted: "Rob Drake was awful all afternoon. Ended the game (and season) on this pitch. Bring on the robots." While it is easy to blame San Francisco's demise on a bad strike call rather than assessing their failures as a whole (the team wasted golden opportunities to clinch a postseason berth on  Thursday  and  Friday ), it isn't as though one poor call ended their season. All three of Austin Slater's strikeouts (including the one that eliminated San Francisco from postseason contention) came on pitches that Statcast registered as balls. In the seventh inning, Drake also rung up Mauricio Dubon on a pitch inside; in the eighth, he rung up Evan Longoria on a pitch b...

Following heartbreaking losses on Thursday and Friday , the San Francisco Giants (29-29) entered Saturday evening's matchup with their postseason fate still in their own hands. Unfortunately for the Giants, that is no longer the case. Despite a solid outing from Johnny Cueto, San Francisco's offense was unable to produce on Saturday. After the Giants finally tallied a pair of runs in the eighth inning, the Padres countered with three in the ninth en route to a lopsided 6-2 victory. Although San Francisco is technically tied with the Milwaukee Brewers for the National League's 8-seed (at 29-30), Milwaukee owns the tiebreaker heading into the final day of the regular season. In other words: for the Giants to qualify for the 2020 MLB Playoffs on Sunday, they must win  and the Brewers must lose. There is a small silver lining for San Francisco in considering the status of the St. Louis Cardinals (29-28). If the Cardinals lose to the Brewers tomorrow, their season i...

On Thursday, the San Francisco Giants suffered a heartbreaking loss against the Colorado Rockies. On Friday, the San Francisco Giants suffered a heartbreaking loss against the San Diego Padres. If that sounds like déjà vu, it should. Despite a shaky bullpen performance, the Giants seemed poised to turn their fortunes around after a 5-4 victory in Game 1 of Friday's double-header. However, any celebration was short-lived, as Trent Grisham launched a walk-off home run to propel the Padres to a 6-5 victory in Game 2. For San Francisco, the Game 2 defeat was particularly painful, as they took a major hit in the expanded Wild Card standings (pictured below) while allowing a visiting team to celebrate a walk-off victory on their home field. 2020 -- it's been an odd year. Furthermore, a proclivity for blowing leads isn't promising for these Giants (29-29) as they head into their two most crucial games of the season. The good news : the Giants still control their own d...

Thursday's extra-inning loss was nothing short of heartbreaking for the San Francisco Giants. Consecutive victories over the Rockies had catapulted this team back into the 7-seed before their 3-0 lead disappeared in the final game of the series. The Giants will certainly feel the effects of Thursday's defeat after stranding the winning and tying runs at third base (in the 10th and 11th innings, respectively). However, despite the obvious blow, San Francisco's playoff hopes remain alive . Courtesy of the Cardinals' victory over the Brewers on Thursday, the Giants enter Friday clinging to the 8-seed. Here's a look at the National League postseason picture. The Giants are slated to finish their season with a four-game set against the Padres (including a double-header on Friday). On paper, this matchup doesn't look great for two reasons . First,  San Francisco is 1-5 against San Diego this season, and the Padres have doubled the Giants' offensive ou...

Entering Wednesday's slate of games, the National League playoff picture looks like this. Though the Dodgers, Braves, Cubs, and Padres have had the privilege of celebrating postseason births, the 5-8 seeds remain hopelessly undecided. In the National League Central, the Cardinals, Reds, and Brewers are all looking to clinch the 5 or 6-seed and avoid Wild Card positioning. In the National League East, the Phillies have an uphill climb if they wish to surpass the Marlins to do the same. And then there's the San Francisco Giants. Projected to finish 24-36 during their 2020 campaign, the Giants have already exceeded expectations this season. However, entering this final homestand , San Francisco hoped to catch fire and steal one of the Wild Card playoff spots. Despite losing in embarrassing fashion on Monday, the Giants rebounded with an impressive win on Tuesday to work their way back into a tie with the Reds and Brewers. And now, only six games remain. Unfortunately for San Franc...

With eight games remaining in their 2020 campaign, the San Francisco Giants (26-26) currently hold 10th place in the National League postseason race. 2020 has proven to be a challenging year for everyone, and the Giants' regular season efforts are no exception. Despite starting the season with a record of 8-16, the team caught fire in late August  to propel themselves back into relevance. However, the Giants' final stretch will determine whether their resurgence is enough to play for baseball's ultimate prize. There will be eight National League postseason contenders this season.  Due to a divisional record tiebreaker, San Francisco will need a combination of losses from the Cardinals (26-24), Phillies (27-26), Reds (27-27), or Brewers (26-26) to snag the 7 or 8-seed. The Giants' final homestand begins tonight, with the Rockies flying in for a four-game set. San Francisco will then conclude its season with four against the Padres (including a Friday doubleheader to make...

The San Francisco Giants defeated the Seattle Mariners by the score of 10-1 on Wednesday night to extend their winning streak to five games. Following the Giants' come-from-behind victory on Tuesday, the team boasted its first winning record since August 2. And on Wednesday night, their offensive onslaught continued. Celebrating P!nk's birthday a day late, Mike Yastrzemski "got the party started" in the third inning, connecting on a three-run blast to spearhead San Francisco's potent attack. In the ensuing frames, the team did insurmountable damage, scoring thrice in both the fifth and sixth to erase any hope of a Seattle comeback. Joining Yastrzemski in tallying a multi-hit evening for the Giants were Wilmer Flores, Joey Bart, Mauricio Dubon, and Evan Longoria. Longoria's three RBIs were especially key in tonight's victory, coming on a pair of singles in back-to-back innings to increase San Francisco's lead to 6-0. They didn't look back. ...

The San Francisco Giants overcame a four-run deficit on Tuesday night to defeat the Seattle Mariners by the score of 6-5. Though the Mariners built an early 5-1 advantage (largely due to a bases-clearing double by J.P. Crawford), a resilient Giants squad refused to be outmatched. San Francisco's comeback began in the third inning, when outfielder Alex Dickerson blasted his eighth home run of the season over Levi's Landing. In the fourth, fellow outfielder Mauricio Dubon drove a two-run shot into the left-field bleachers, knotting the score at 5-5. And in the seventh, pinch-hitter Darin Ruf connected on the Giants' third home run of the evening, a tally that held up as the clinching run for San Francisco's surging offense . While first-pitch weather registered at 64 degrees in San Francisco, the climate remained anything but cool in Seattle's dugout. Undoubtedly frustrated by his team's collapse, Mariners' manager Scott Servais was ejected by home plate...

The San Francisco Giants enter Tuesday night's match-up against the Seattle Mariners with a record of 21-21. While a winning percentage of .500 may seem unimpressive, it's certainly notable for a team that's won 13 of its last 18 games to climb out of an 8-16 hole. Their recent hot streak reached its pinnacle in a historic victory over the Colorado Rockies last week. Due to this year's expanded postseason format (featuring 16 teams instead of 10), the resurgent Giants have a legitimate shot at qualifying for the 2020 MLB Playoffs. As of Tuesday morning, the National League playoff picture looks like this: 1. Dodgers (30-12) W-1 2. Braves (24-17) E-1 3. Cubs (24-18) C-1 4. Padres (26-17) W-2 5. Phillies (20-17) E-2 6. Cardinals (17-16) C-2 7. Giants (21-21) WC 8. Marlins (18-18) WC While the Giants would undoubtedly like to distance themselves from the rival Rockies (20-21) to solidify their Wild Card positioning, this team certainly has a chance to achieve...

Though every divisional clash feels critical during a shortened, 60-game MLB regular season, Saturday's match-up may have been fueled by extra adrenaline, as San Francisco Giants' legend Madison Bumgarner returned to pitch at Oracle Park -- as a member of the Arizona Diamondbacks. Bumgarner made his MLB debut for San Francisco in September 2009, and in the decade that followed, became one of the most beloved athletes in the history of Bay Area sports. His most notable effort came in Game 7 of the 2014 World Series, when he shocked the baseball world by pitching five scoreless innings in relief (only three days after his complete-game shutout in Game 5) to preserve a one-run lead and help the Giants clinch their third World Series trophy in five seasons. While Saturday's match-up certainly featured lower stakes, San Francisco (firmly entangled in a postseason race) desperately needed to best their former ace and post a victory for the first time since their  historic win  on...

Backed by a remarkable performance from outfielder Alex Dickerson, the San Francisco Giants marched into Coors Field on Tuesday evening and dismantled the Colorado Rockies by the score of 23-5. San Francisco entered play with a record of 17-19, trailing their divisional rivals in the standings by just 0.5 games. Although the Giants recently shook their offensive woes to claim a series victory in Arizona, nobody could have predicted tonight's onslaught. In this contest, Dickerson tallied six RBIs on three home runs (of the solo, two-run, and three-run varieties) to propel the Giants to victory. Adding a pair of doubles to his name, he became just the 15th player in MLB history to record five extra-base hits in a single game. San Francisco's offensive explosion was also fueled by six RBIs from Brandon Crawford (including a three-run homer and two-run double) and six RBIs from Donovan Solano (including a pair of two-run doubles). Dickerson, Crawford, and Solano became the firs...

After allowing a series-clinching opportunity to slip through their grasp on Wednesday evening, the San Francisco Giants went back to work on Thursday afternoon in pursuit of an overall record of 7-3. With Matt Cain and Jorge De La Rosa quickly locked in a pitcher’s duel, San Francisco’s chances at a series victory seemed rather substantial. In the first four innings, Colorado’s explosive offense managed only one hit, while the Giants struck first, taking the lead in the top of the fourth on a wild pitch which scored center-fielder Denard Span. In the bottom of the fifth inning, however, disaster would strike for a confident San Francisco squad. First, Gerardo Parra launched a solo-shot into right field to even the score at one apiece. Then, Colorado starter Jorge De La Rosa knocked one into right field, plating a pair and boosting the Rockies lead to 3-1. As though still unsatisfied, Colorado would proceed to load the bases (which resulted in Matt Cain’s remo...

With an impressive series-opening victory now behind them, the San Francisco Giants entered Coors Field on Wednesday evening in hopes of dropping the Colorado Rockies once more to clinch an early series-victory. Unfortunately for San Francisco, however, their starting pitcher Jake Peavy was unable to quite keep pace with Colorado's starter Jordan Lyles (who also struggled mightily throughout the contest). Inconveniently for the Giants, the Rockies struck rather early this evening, courtesy of a sacrifice fly from Trevor Story and an RBI ground-out from Nolan Arenado in the bottom of the first inning. In the top of the third, however, the Giants were quick to respond, as Denard Span ripped a two-out double into right-center field to plate Angel Pagan and Trevor Brown, evening the score at 2-2. The game would continue very much in this manner -- the Rockies would score, the Giants would answer, the Rockies would score again . . . In the bottom of the third inning, Colorado ...

Following an impressive series victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers, the San Francisco Giants flew eastward towards Denver, in preparation for their first series of the young season against another divisional opponent: the Colorado Rockies. The first game of this season series would feature a pair of right-handed starting pitchers, including nine-year-veteran Jeff Samardzija, and developing twenty six-year-old Tyler Chatwood. With the Giants sporting a division-leading record of 5-2, San Francisco’s odds of knocking off the subpar Colorado Rockies seemed to be high, regardless of the marvelous efforts of Colorado’s talented rookie shortstop, Trevor Story. In the bottom of the second inning, however, Colorado became the first team to strike, as Gerardo Parra would trot home on a Nick Hundley double-play ball to give the Rockies a 1-0 advantage. Nevertheless, San Francisco’s impressive early record of 5-0 in games in which their opponent had scored first, held true to for...

Following Saturday afternoon’s contest in which the Giants regrettably allowed a slim lead to slip from their grasp, San Francisco entered AT&T Park on Sunday clinging to the present opportunity of winning a rather intense series against the rival Los Angeles Dodgers. And with newly-acquired ace Johnny Cueto atop the hill, San Francisco’s chances of securing the series victory seemed quite likely. The top half of the first inning, however, brought unexpected catastrophe, and the Giants’ unlucky defensive unit quickly found themselves heading to the dugout to collect their bats, already facing an intimidating five-run deficit. With Cueto struggling mightily, San Francisco was going to have to do everything in its collective power to trim into a relatively large Los Angeles lead against their veteran starter, left-hander Scott Kazmir. And thankfully for San Francisco, Kazmir didn’t quite seem to be on top of his game on Sunday afternoon either . In the bottom half...

With Friday evening’s walk-off celebration now firmly in the rear-view mirror, the San Francisco Giants would turn their attention to Saturday afternoon’s game – a contest that was set to feature two of the greatest starting pitchers in modern-day Major League Baseball. For the Los Angeles Dodgers, three-time Cy Young Award winner Clayton Kershaw would toe the rubber – for the San Francisco Giants, it would be 2014 World Series MVP Madison Bumgarner. And after a slight rain delay pushed the game to 1:45 PM Pacific Standard Time, the two aces were more than ready to lead their troops into battle. In the first inning, the Dodgers mustered three base-runners (one on a double, one on a walk, and one on an error), whereas the Giants tallied two base-runners (one on a single and one on a walk). Although these base-runners created an interesting suggestion of instant action, neither team would be able to score. As the game progressed, however, this highly anticipated pitch...

Fresh off of a dazzling 12-6 victory on Thursday afternoon, the San Francisco Giants entered AT&T Park on Friday night with the sole desire of securing yet another victory and pulling ahead of the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League West Standings. Tonight’s game would feature twelve-year-veteran starting pitcher Matt Cain, and, making his MLB debut, rookie starting pitcher Ross Stripling. With Buster Posey receiving a well-deserved rest, San Francisco would turn to reserve catcher Trevor Brown this evening, in hopes that he would assist in production for a currently sizzling-hot offensive Giants’ squad. As the game progressed, however, neither the Dodgers nor the Giants seemed capable of producing the astounding offensive figures which had been present in yesterday’s contest. In the first four innings, Los Angeles merely connected for two hits and a four-pitch walk off of Giants’ starter Matt Cain. Meanwhile, the San Francisco offense was completely blan...

As the San Francisco Giants plane touched down in the Bay Area for the first time this regular season, the team was finally allowed to shift their focus from the Midwest to their home-opening opponent – the rival Los Angeles Dodgers. Entering this afternoon’s contest, the Dodgers boasted a 3-0 regular season record, and were yet to allow a single run on the young campaign. And backed by deceptive left-hander Alex Wood, today’s game seemed prime to continue this undesirable Los Angeles trend. Indeed, following a pair of unlucky breaks for San Francisco, Los Angeles managed to convert two early strikes in the second inning, immediately putting the Giants in a formidable situation. Nevertheless, the Dodgers did not seem content with this 2-0 advantage, as Adrian Gonzalez batted in Yasiel Puig in the third inning, and Scott Van Slyke knocked in Corey Seager in the fifth. When the bottom half of the fifth inning rolled around, the Giants seemed to be in serious jeopardy ...