Three takeaways from the SF Giants series win over the San Diego Padres
The SF Giants continued their winning ways to start this past week when they took down another division rival in the San Diego Padres, taking three-of-four at home before yet another tough divisional series against the Arizona Diamondbacks begins on Friday.
Three takeaways from the SF Giants series win over the San Diego Padres
The team will come into that series full of confidence after three tight, hard-fought victories, and with so much momentum behind them, this could be the series in which the Giants establish themselves as a major force in the NL.
Before we get to that however, let's take a look back on the four days that was and give our top three takeaways from the Giants series win over the division rival Padres.
1. The torture is back for SF Giants fans
Years ago when the SF Giants finally ended over 50 years of a Championship drought in 2010, the signature of this team was the 'torture' that SF Giants fans had to endure, and in this four-game series, it was well and truly on display once more.
In the first two games of the series, the Giants trailed late, but due to fantastic at bats from the likes of Luis Matos, Patrick Bailey and most importantly Mike Yastrzemski, and with two straight walk-off, come-from-behind wins, the Giants fans are getting used to nail-biting finishes.
Sure, this team aren't always in close games, but lately, there's been plenty of them, and if the Giants are to make the playoffs once more, it will closely resemble the 2010 torture that defined a fantastic San Francisco team.
2. The SF Giants team are capable of winning in so many ways
During this series, the Giants got it done in different ways, as they showed they're capable of coming from behind in high-scoring affairs, as well as winning a close pitching duel, and while they were dominated in the final game of the series, they've shown the dynamic, versatile way that they can win big games.
With a deep lineup that's still struggling with injuries, a potent starting rotation and one of the best bullpens in all of baseball, there are few teams more capable of winning in different ways than San Francisco, and that has been on display over the past week.
They'll need all of this skill and resilience as they have a very tough schedule upcoming, but if the Giants can get through this with success, there's no doubting that they will cement themselves as a force to be reckoned with in the National League in 2023.
At the end of the day, teams need an identity in terms of how they can win. The Giants have that. The lineup is good enough to carry the roster when needed and the pitching, for the most part, has been excellent lately. Those areas will be how they can win.
3. Young SF Giants names continue to step up
While plenty of things have gone right this season for the SF Giants, the rotation has suffered through plenty of injuries and struggles, with Sean Manea and Alex Wood struggling, and in their place, we've seen some young arms step up in a big way.
During this series, Keaton Winn and Sean Hjelle were just two great examples of this, as they both stepped up in big moments with long outings and while the Giants need to fix their rotation soon, they're confident knowing they can fall back on these young guys.
Perhaps it will be another young arm in Kyle Harrison to step up and make the jump to the MLB level to fix the rotations issues, but if not, the Giants can continue with this deep, talented bullpen that seemingly steps up every single night.