5 takeaways from the SF Giants series against the St. Louis Cardinals

The SF Giants have had a rocky stretch as of late, not helped by the multiple injuries and covid breakout within the team, but after five losses, they were able to bounce back and take a split in a very entertaining home series against the St. Louis Cardinals.

5 takeaways from the SF Giants series against the St. Louis Cardinals

Following this series, the Giants record has fallen to 16-12, which sees them sit in fourth place in the NL West, but with a series coming up against the surprising Colorado Rockies, this next week of baseball could be very fun (or heartbreaking) for Giants fans.

But that's in the future. Right now we are going to look back at the weekend series that was and present five takeaways from the Giants 2-2 series split over the always tough to beat St. Louis Cardinals.

1. The SF Giants warmly welcome back Late Night LaMonte

One of the heroes that no one saw coming in 2021 was LaMonte Wade, who managed to put together a stellar season, highlighted by his incredibly clutch play which earned him the nickname 'Late Night LaMonte' among Giants fans.

Due to an injury, the fan favourite Wade started the season on the injured list, but after a few games down in AAA-Sacramento, he has made his way back to the bay, and in his first series, he once again proved how clutch he was with a game tying 2-run homer (even though this came in the afternoon, rather than late night).

After such a great 2021 campaign, everyone involved with the Giants expect him to be great again, and will likely see an expanded role in 2022, but for now, we are all happy to see him back and producing in a Giants uniform.

5 takeaways from the SF Giants series against the St. Louis Cardinals

2. Contributions from Yaz and Darin Ruf are sorely needed, and need to continue

In 2021, the Giants became a team known for getting contributions out of anywhere, and while that's continued with the likes of Luis Gonzalez in 2022, they need more from their big names, and this series might have gone a long way to getting some of their big bats rolling.

Darin Ruf's struggles were hurting the team particularly hard, given the absences of Brandon Belt and Evan Longoria, but with several clutch AB's over the last few days, including a 2-run single and a 2-run homer at different points, he may be getting back on track.

Mike Yastrzemski was also struggling to find his footing before his covid absence, leaving many to believe his prime in 2019/20 was behind him, but with a few key AB's over the last few days since his return, he has shown that his bat will be important for this Giants team going foward.

3. The SF Giants are still a long way from being healthy

The Giants have been struggling along, playing a plethora of different lineups this year, and even with the long awaited return of Wade Jr. and Yaz, this team still has a long way to go to be at full strength, which they will need to contend all year long.

Evan Longoria, Tommy LaStella, Carlos Martinez, Brandon Belt and others are yet to get back into the lineup (or stay in the lineup) or rotation, and with some replacement players struggling, they need to sort this out as soon as they possibly can.

Longoria and LaStella both figure to be on the horizon, and while replicating the record breaking 107 wins from 2021 was always a long shot for this squad, the playoffs will be even more of a struggle if this team can't start putting together a consistent lineup and a consistent rotation.

5 takeaways from the SF Giants series against the St. Louis Cardinals

4. At times, the SF Giants offense looks as good, if not better than their pitching

The Giants offense has been erratic to start the 2022 campaign, much of it due to the aforementioned injury situation with this lineup, but when they are hot, as witnessed a few times in this Cardinals series, they can score runs with the best teams in all of baseball.

Wilmer Flores, Mike Yastrzemski and Darin Ruf all hit huge bombs during this weekend series, and with a few regulars returning to the lineup, the Giants can hit one through nine in this lineup, and if they can get both units rolling at once, the best of the best in the National League should be wary of this squad.

The strikeouts from Joey Bart and lack of power is still concerning, but these things should settle in as the season rolls on, but right now, the Giants are capable of looking untouchable, and while they haven't got to that point consistently yet, they still have the potential to go on a major run at anytime.

5. The SF Giants organization runs deep

Due to the injuries and struggles we've talked about so far, the Giants have had to dip their hand in the minor league system more than they would have liked, but it's given us all a glimpse into how promising the Giants future could potentially be.

Luis Gonzalez has been a revelation for this team, and with many young pitchers, such as Sean Hjelle who stepped up and made his major league debut over the weekend have stepped into their roles, even if for a brief moment, showing how deep this organization goes.

There's still plenty of young talent like Heliot Ramos, Luis Matos, Hunter Bishop and many, many more waiting in the wings, and when the Giants do move on from some of their veterans, this season will teach us that Giants fans shouldn't worry, as more and more talent is on the way.