Three takeaways from the SF Giants series sweep over the Colorado Rockies
The SF Giants have been building plenty of momentum as of late, and on Thursday, they finished off a road sweep of their division rival Colorado Rockies, as they once again came up clutch to come away winners 10-4, 5-4 and 6-4.
Three takeaways from the SF Giants series sweep over the Colorado Rockies
Not only did the Giants show off their bats in this series, but their arms were great in a notoriously hitter friendly park, and after getting their season record back to 32-30, this squad is clearly making waves around the league, with this series sweep yet another example of their potential in 2023.
With a very winnable home series coming up against the Chicago Cubs, this is a team that could now get hot and go on a big run, but what did we learn from their recent trip to the Rockies, and how does it help them as they look to make ground in not only the NL Wild Card race, but in the very tough NL West?
3. When healthy, the SF Giants have a very deep lineup
At the start of the 2023 season, the Giants were struggling with injury issues, and with only a few players contributing up and down the lineup, the Giants struggled, but this past series was yet another example of how deep the Giants can bat when healthy.
In this series alone, the Giants saw major contributions from Casey Schmitt, J.D. Davis, Michael Conforto, Joc Pederson, Brandon Crawford, Thairo Estrada and seemingly everyone that stepped foot on the field, making this an opposing pitchers worst nightmare.
The team will still likely be looking to add another bat or two to this lineup at the 2023 MLB Trade Deadline, but if they can continue batting consistently up and down the lineup, this is a team that could no doubt compete against any and all playoff teams around the league.
2. The SF Giants bullpen has been fantastic
It's not uncommon that starting pitchers head to Colorado and have some of their worst outings of the year, given the elevation makes it one of the best hitters ballparks in baseball, and while the Giants starters fell victim to that over this series, the bullpen didn't share the same fate.
Beyond Sean Manea giving up 4 earned runs in game one, who has struggled in a big way this year, the Giants bullpen was nothing short of untouchable in this series, with a combined 0 runs given up in 13 innings, led by the dominant Camilo Doval and the Rogers brothers.
In the final two games of this series, the three most important relievers on the Giants roster threw a combined six innings, allowing 0 earned runs and giving up just 2 hits, and if that continues throughout the season, this is a team that's going to win plenty of games.
1. These SF Giants are clutch
While the first game of this series ended in a blow out, the final two were tightly contested affairs, with the Giants scoring five runs in the 7th and 8th innings in game two before rallying to score three in the 9th to win game three of the series, a true testament to how clutch this team can be.
They've shown it several times in recent weeks, but this series was a perfect example, and with the bullpen being dominant at the back end of games, it's showing just how this team is finally putting it all together with every unit.
Ultimately, it's going to take much more than a few comeback wins over the lowly Colorado Rockies to prove that these Giants can contend for a World Series crown in 2023, but if they can continue having great, patient at bats late in games, this is a team that could beat anyone in baseball right now.