SAN FRANCISCO — Cole WaitesPerhaps he was the only one to have seen the Giantsclubhouse had a night to recall.
He made his second appearance in a major-league bullpen. He recorded his first major-league strikeout — against former MVP Mookie Betts, no less. Then before Waites hit the showers, he learned that he’d receive a championship ring. Waites was High-A Eugene’s closer, and he started the season with a hard-throwing win at Vancouver.
“Unbelievable,” Waites said. “That team had an amazing season.”
It was more like there were two teams. Several of the players who performed best in the first half for Eugene — Waites, budding ace Kyle Harrison, right-hander Landen Roupp, reliever Nick Avila, third baseman Casey Schmitt, second baseman Carter Aldrete — had been promoted to Double-A Richmond. They were almost as impressive and interesting as the players who took their place from Low-A San Jose.
Nearly every Giants prospect made it through Eugene this season. Many were young for the level they reached. Power-hitting shortstop Marco Luciano turned 21 a week ago. Luis Matos in center field is even younger. Grant McCray, outfielder in the Giants system who may have had the greatest breakout, ended his season with a memorable at-bat. With a three run home run in the top ninth, McCray erased a deficit of two runs. Jimmy Glowenke scored the tiebreaking two-run homer on the 10th. Matos captured the whooping and hollering and beer-shotgunning locker room celebration on Instagram Live, and by the way, isn’t it convenient that the legal drinking age in Canada is 19?
The @EugeneEmeraldsYou can win back-toback championships
It’s another 💍 for the @SFGiants‘ High-A club. pic.twitter.com/1YkWI7zqqR
— Minor League Baseball (@MiLB) September 17, 2022
The Giants’ Orange team also won a championship in the Arizona Complex League. San Jose fell in the first round Cal League playoffs. However, it had a strong season. On Tuesday, Richmond will begin its Eastern League playoff quest. This group included Matos and Carson Whisenhunt left-handers, who could become the first major league draft class members in 2022. The Giants will send the Arizona Fall League. There was plenty for the organization to celebrate in the minor-league system even though some of the Giants’ highest-profile prospects were frustrated because of injury or performance. You can also count this: Waites was the first player to be drafted by Farhan Zaidi/Michael Holmes to the major leagues.
And now, here in the seventh paragraph, we must write a transition that you don’t want to read. Because the present condition of the Giants’ major-league roster is far less buoyant, especially when the DodgersThey are a very strong, but very cruel measuring stick.
Two hits were scored by the Giants Friday night against the Dodgers in a 5-0 loss at McCovey Cove. First, an infield dribbler. Luis GonzalezIn the sixth inning. David VillarThe other was given a try as a cleanup hitter. The stands were infiltrated with blue and white as always. Logan Webb’s 90 pitches only purchased him four innings against a relentless lineup. His exchange rate was better last October. Webb had to throw 92 pitches in order to complete 7 1/3 shutout innings against the Dodgers during an NLDS Game 1 win.
The Giants or anyone else will not push the Dodgers over the edge in this regular season. They have already drank all of their beer since winning the NL West. They shouldn’t have a lot at stake over these final three weeks, other than maintaining their 9 1/2-game lead over the New York MetsHome-field advantage in the NL playoffs, with a 5 1/2-game lead over the Houston Astros for home field in the event that there’s a World Series rematch. They might be motivated to win eight of their final 19 games to break the franchise record of 106 victories in a season — a number that, as unbelievable as it seems in retrospect, wasn’t enough to hold off the Giants as NL West champions a year ago.
But they play with the same intensity. They stole four bases Friday night. Joey GalloA diving catch in the left-field corner earned him an extra base hit. Cody Bellinger took away another with a highlight catch at the wall that you won’t see on the highlight reels because he made it look too easy. Although the Dodgers won the game in the eighth, they scored the fifth and final run when Bellinger stole second base. Freddie FreemanFreeman was the one who brought him home. Freeman tried to sprint for a hustle double, because why not, and would’ve been safe if he hadn’t popped off second base for an instant in the act of sliding. When the call didn’t go the Dodgers’ way, they challenged it. Because there’s no reason to.
This is not what the Giants imagined back in April, when the season was still young. Gabe Kapler, the Giants’ manager, stated that they would continue to take more bases and mine advantage and play hard to victory no matter the scoreboard. A few opponents weren’t happy about that. Didn’t turn into much of an ongoing issue, did it?
The Giants trail the Dodgers by 30 1/2 games. They have a run differential of +1 compared to their archrivals’ +323. There are many ways the gap between these two franchises could grow before it narrows. At the risk of making you turn whatever device you’re holding into an airborne projectile, just imagine if the Dodgers outbid everyone to sign Carlos RodónThis winter.
If anyone in the Giants clubhouse can straddle the line between the present and future in this rivalry, it’s Webb. Webb won the playoffs against the Dodgers last year. In Webb’s three starts against the Dodgers this season, the Giants have a record of 1-3. In Webb’s three second-half appearances against the Dodgers, they’ve scored 12 runs in 17 innings. Webb expressed frustration with the strike zone Friday night. Webb surrendered four hits and struck out with two strikes.
“I feel like they had my number the last three times, to be honest,” Webb said. “I felt like my stuff was pretty decent today. I was missing, and they were taking it. They were taking advantage when I had left something out. A lineup of nine All-Stars is going to do that.”
Webb spoke the last part of his story with a weeping tone. And yet…
“I wish I could face them again,” he said. “I like competing against the best. I feel I’ve done well against them before so it’s not like I can’t ever do it again.”
Webb won’t see the Dodgers again until next season, but he has goals in mind for the three starts that remain. He hopes to collect the 18 innings he’d need for his first 200-inning season — a benchmark that only a dozen or so major-league pitchers are likely to reach. He said that his velocity has improved over the past two starts, and that his mechanics are feeling better than ever this year. He added durability to the list of attributes that made his staff ace last year. His year is also full of great things.
And one day soon, he’ll probably face the Dodgers with young players like Luciano, Schmitt and Matos behind him. A few big-ticket free agents wouldn’t hurt, either. Giants chairman Greg Johnson said he would authorize “whatever it takes” this winter to bolster the Giants into a contender next season, which they could achieve even if the Dodgers go all Secretariat on the division again next year. With the reintroduction of a balanced schedule, they’ll play the Dodgers a dozen times instead of 19, too.
The Giants as an organisation can be celebrated for their success and even win a couple of championships if they are considered in its entirety. Even if you only focus on the major-league roster, the Giants’ 5-1 record against the opposition is worth a look. Braves Phillies in September and make out the hazy outlines of a contending team with plenty of useful or salvageable parts.
But when the Dodgers are in town, there isn’t a flattering angle to pose for the picture. You’ll just have to hope for better light.
(Photo: Kelley L Cox / USA Today)
