12 days of SF Giants - games 7 to 12 part 1

LOCKOUT BLUES have you down? Let's take a look in the rearview mirror and discuss an SF Giants season to truly remember. 107 wins - franchise-best - and so many memories over the course of six months. In the next week, I'll offer you my Top 12 Games of the 2021 SF Giants Season. Today we look at numbers 7-12.

12 days of SF Giants - games 7 to 12 part 1

# 12 - September 30th - A Thursday night at the ballpark and a matchup between Buster Posey and Madison Bumgarner! The Giants - fighting to maintain their slim lead over the Dodgers - fall behind 3-0 in the first to the D-Backs and then begin to battle back. Buster hits a come-backer in his first AB, a big Sac Fly in his second AB and a double down the line to tie the score in a game the G-men eventually won. The hits were great, but the moment that I will forever cherish is the simple gesture between the two men when Bum had his first at-bat. Understated and full of class - sounds right for these two incredible ballplayers and men. A little knock on the shoulder from Bum to Buster - and a knock on the leg from Buster to Bum. Subtle - classy - say no more.

# 11 - August 6th - Giants at Milwaukee - G-men are down to their final out - something we said so many times this year - and this time it's Tommy La Stella's chance to be the hero. With two outs in the ninth and Kris Bryant on first base, La Stella pulled a ball high and deep down the line. IT should have been the last out of the game and a tough loss for the G-men, what would have been their 2nd tough loss in a row. Instead - Garcia got spun like a top, the ball dropped and sheer insanity followed. The Giants scored three in the 10th only to give up two home runs and three in the bottom of the 10th. They followed with four runs in the 11th and won 9-6.

# 10 - It's May 28th - We're battling the Dodgers and we reach the bottom of the 9th in a tie game. Up comes 41-year-old Albert Pujols in a 5-5 game. He crushed one high and deep to left field - all who are watching assume we've lost in walk-off fashion to the dreaded Dodgers - but Mike Tauchman had other ideas. He reached over the wall with perfect timing and snagged what would have been the walk-off winner. The G-men followed with a LaMonte Wade Jr. RBI and a two-run bomb by Longoria and won 8-5.

# 9 - September 17th - score tied at 5-5 with the Braves - Giants are out of position players with the bases loaded and 1 out - and here comes Kevin Gausman to the plate. You read that right! He works a 3-2 count and then hits a high fly ball to right field and Crawford tags and beats the Joc Peterson throw home. "Oh man, that was the coolest thing I've ever done in my entire career." Kevin Gausman said during his postgame interview. It sure was, Kevin!

# 8 - July 28th - a 1-1 tie vs the Dodgers in yet another amazing battle between these two storied franchises. With two on and no one out, Darin Ruf hits a come backer that gets to Muncy who is surprised by the savvy base running of Mike Yastrzemski. Yaz forces Muncy to chase him towards first base and Muncy decides to get Ruf at first on a force out - which he does. Cody Bellinger then pump fakes the runner at 2nd and must think he can nail Posey who has extended past the base at third. Instead - Cody throws the ball to third base - except he throws it easily 20 feet over Justin Turner's head into the 10th row behind third base - to the delight of the Giants-packed stadium. 2-1 win! Thanks Cody!

# 7 - June 16th - The top of the second inning and we're trailing 7-0 against the D-backs. As an east coaster, it's one of those nights you know you should turn the radio off and get some sleep. But you decide to keep the game on and enjoy the smooth sounds of Jon Miller - and boy are you glad you did. The Giants chip away and are trailing 8-5 with two outs and the bases loaded in the bottom of the eighth inning. Yaz had been struggling and is hitting .225 on the year when he steps to the plate. First pitch of the at-bat ends up in McCovey Cove as Yaz crushes a grand slam and the Giants win 9-8. What a win!

Next week we will look at the top six games of the year! Feel free to comment and offer suggestions - I know I have my top six in mind - but I'm happy to adjust!