San Francisco Giants Can Spoil the Dodgers’ Season

With the San Francisco Giants out of the playoff race, they can really only hope to do one thing: derail the playoff hopes of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Can they do it?

The San Francisco Giants only have three more contests against the bums, and they occur during the last series of the year at AT&T Park.

A lot can happen between now and then. With the Dodgers currently 1.5 games back of the Colorado Rockies, who knows, maybe they’ll spit the bit this last month and not even be in contention for the division or a wild card spot (currently two games back).

But that’s unlikely.

The Dodgers are just too good to not be in the conversation. There’s a good chance that the final series against the Giants will have heavy implications on the outcome of the NL West and NL Wild Card race.

Let’s assume that the Dodgers aren’t eliminated and haven’t clinched by the last series. How sweet would it be if the Giants could play some of their best baseball and send LA home early?

My mouth is watering just thinking about it.

If I was managing the team, I’d have Madison Bumgarner and Dereck Rodriguez skip a start just so they’d be ready for two of those three games.

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In a dream scenario, game 162 pits Bumgarner against Clayton Kershaw. The Dodgers are a game back of the Rockies — it’s a must win. Both pitchers have perfect games going into the ninth. Bumgarner strikes out the side to secure his perfect game but the game isn’t over because it’s still 0-0.

Then, in the bottom of the ninth, Hunter Pence, who before the game tearfully informed the team that it would be his last, drives the first pitch of the inning (a fastball high and away) out to right field.

The ball is a no-doubter, but the wave of euphoria and hope and all that is good in the world being emitted from the sold-out crowd seemingly carries the ball over the arcade into McCovey Cove.

Kershaw’s perfect game is ruined, the Dodgers’ season is ruined, and Hunter Pence is carried around the field like a king as he bids adieu to the fans he’s endeared himself to over the past five and a half years . . .

Yeah, that would be nice. But just beating the Dodgers in any old way to ruin their playoff hopes would be nice too.