LOS ANGELES–False hope.
It’s harsh, brutal and antagonizing in every way, and it’s something the San Francisco Giants have come to be known for this season.
On Friday evening at Dodger Stadium, the Giants’ played their foes from Southern California evenly for much of the night, and yet, when the final out was recorded, San Francisco found itself on the wrong side of an equation that hasn’t added up in their favor much this season.
The Giants began the year with visions of another deep playoff run, and many undoubtedly circled a late July set in Los Angeles as a season-defining series. Immediately following an all-too-convenient 10-game homestand, this was the series in which San Francisco could begin to make its push, and assert itself atop the National League West.
In the spring, that was the theory. That was the hope. And it’s all been false.
When the Giants and Dodgers squared off on Friday night, Los Angeles held a 31.5-game edge in the division, the largest gap between the two sides since 1985, and the greatest difference this early in a season since 1902. But while hope for a winning season had long been abandoned, the Giants have had no trouble playing for pride of late. That wasn’t a problem on Friday, either.
Even though San Francisco started southpaw Matt Moore, who entered with a MLB-worst 5.82 earned run average, against Dodgers’ lefty Alex Wood, who came into the game sporting an 11-1 record and a practically non-existent 2.17 ERA, the Giants gave the 51,426 fans in attendance their money’s worth. Unfortunately for San Francisco, the Dodgers made it look like every ticket purchased was a bargain.
Against a potent Los Angeles lineup, Moore threw 6.1 innings of three-hit ball, flummoxing Dodgers’ hitters until ultimately, he flummoxed himself.
After an improbable three-run rally against the impenetrable Wood gave San Francisco a 4-2 lead –and a sense of security– in the seventh, Moore walked to the mound only to issue a free pass to the leadoff batter.
“You don’t deserve anything when you do that after something like that,” Moore said. “Their leadoff hitter like that can take the base, that’s piss-poor. You’ve got to make him earn his way on there.”
Yes, catcher Austin Barnes walked on four pitches, but then, right fielder Kike Hernandez struck out. There was hope that Moore would pitch his way around such a crucial mistake. Again, that hope was false.
Center fielder Joc Pederson doubled, and Austin Barnes found himself on third. Moore came out, and Giants’ manager Bruce Bochy called George Kontos in.
Against pinch hitter Yasiel Puig, Kontos surrendered an RBI groundout, but the Giants’ lead was still intact. There was hope. And then there was Corey Seager.
After a Chris Taylor double off of Kontos tied the game, Bochy brought in lefty Josh Osich to face Seager, who slammed what wound up being a game-winning two-run home run deep into the night.
“That’s why they’re where they’re at,” Bochy said of the Dodgers. “They have good pitching and very good hitting, and they hit the long ball. They do a lot of things. I thought we played well. That’s the tough part, we put together a nice inning there in the seventh and we couldn’t hold it.”
Friday night’s game was a microcosm of the Giants’ season, and in every possible way. The Giants began the game, and the year, with hope, when in reality, their flaws would be too much to overcome.
In the context of the year, everything that could possibly go wrong has gone wrong. In the context of the game, the Giants were playing the Dodgers, and as nearly every team has learned this season, any late game lead or any shred of hope, just isn’t worth bringing to Dodger Stadium. Not this year.