Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
The Giants were flying home riding high off a 19-4 destruction of the Reds, winning six of eight on an excellent roadtrip. They are not just in first place in the division, but hold the best record (28-16) in the majors as well.
Gabe Kapler, who has made a seven-week case for manager of the year, what is the level of jubilation around the club?
“It’s time to turn the page, get to work on the plane so that we can be prepared for tomorrow’s game,” the Giants manager said Thursday.
Oh.
The Giants are a process-driven team, an at-bat’s quality more the goal than at-bat’s outcome. They work and overwork pitchers, their 4.08 pitcher per plate appearances second best in the majors to the Yankees. They focus on the pitches they can hurt and ignore they ones they can merely massage. A veteran team that was supposed to be competing with the Diamondbacks for third in the division has made an early statement, and now they can make one that would have more than just Giants fans believing in Odd Year Magic.
The Giants’ plus-57 run differential is second best in the NL and supports the notion that their run is not a fluke. And yet, the NL club with the best differential is the Dodgers, at plus-62.
These are not quite the same Dodgers that won a World Series last year; for one, Alex Wood, Friday’s starter, is now a Giant. For two, there will be no Cody Bellinger (leg) or Corey Seager (hand) or Dustin May (Tommy John). Los Angeles’ stars have been hit harder than even the Giants have by injuries.
And yet, they are still the class of the league, as evidenced by the fact that they are throwing three aces at the Giants and Clayton Kershaw isn’t even among them. Wood will face off against Trevor Bauer, Giants ace TBA will see Walker Buehler on Saturday, and Anthony DeSclafani will try to take down Julio Urías on Sunday. It will be the first games of the year against the hated Dodgers, and the right-field viewing area still will be blocked off, perhaps allowing more balls to travel farther.
“It’s a tough rotation, we’re aware of that,” Kapler said from Cincinnati. “We’ll spend the flight game planning, having discussions about how to approach those pitchers, but also how to approach their lineup and understanding their bench.”
Their bench, at better health, projects to include Albert Pujols and his 668 career home runs. After getting waived by the Angels in the last year of his megadeal, he hit his first dinger with the Dodgers on Thursday. And against Wood, he’s likely to be the starting first baseman.
“Veteran right-handed hitter who is one of the greatest right-handed hitters of the last 50 years or so,” Kapler said upon the Dodgers surprisingly signing the future Hall of Famer.
Trying to stop Pujols & Co. will be Wood, the 30-year-old lefty who won a ring with the Dodgers last year — which won’t be picked up until next week in Los Angeles — and who has not allowed more than two runs in any of his six starts this year.
He does not do it as loudly as Bauer, his former brief Reds teammate, but he has been just as effective.
“I’m excited,” Wood said. “It’ll be a great test. They’re a great ballclub. They know me intimately, and I know them pretty intimately, too, as well so it’ll be a fun test for us.”
The Giants are a season-best and league-best 12 games over .500, and they have gotten there by winning six of seven against Cincinnati and six of nine over Colorado. If they want to prove they belong in the discussion for World Series contenders, winning a series against the defending champions would help.
