Sep 25, 2020
The 2020 San Francisco Giants have had games where their pitchers let them down, their defense made mind-blowing errors and their offense never came to life.
The Giants didn't have a horrible performance on Thursday at Oracle Park, but it's possible no loss will hurt the club as much as their 11-inning, 5-4 defeat to the Colorado Rockies will.
With a chance to gain a firm grip on the top wild card spot in the National League ahead of a pivotal four-game series against the San Diego Padres, the Giants blew an early 3-0 lead and missed golden opportunities to put the game away in the bottom of the 10th.
A Wilmer Flores flyball died at the warning track, a five-man infield employed by the Rockies actually worked and Evan Longoria watched a 104.0 mile per hour liner into the hole between third and short end up in the wrong glove at the wrong time.
The Giants were nearly two games over .500 for the first time this season, but instead finished Thursday at 28-28 and hoping that the Milwaukee Brewers and Philadelphia Phillies would play some of their worst baseball of the year over the weekend.
Manager Gabe Kapler's club is 1-5 against the Padres and 6-16 against winning clubs in 2020, but for the Giants to make the postseason, the team will likely have to win three of four against a San Diego team that has two of its top starters scheduled to pitch in Friday's doubleheader.
Can the Giants rebound from their worst loss of the season? Can a team that's been defined by its resilience prove that no gut punch is potent enough to knock it out? What will the wild card race look like after a doubleheader that has massive playoff implications?
The Giants will know the answers to all of those questions soon enough.