SAN FRANCISCO — Throughout an up-and-down second half, the Giants always have viewed this final homestand as a huge potential boost for their MLB playoff chances. They knew that if they could just get within a game or two of a spot heading into the final week, they would have a decent chance to try and run the table and reach October.
They did not, however, enter this homestand within a game or two of the third wild-card spot. And they’re not going to run the table, either.
The final homestand of the year started with a 6-5 loss Monday to the St. Louis Cardinals, who pulled into a tie with the Giants in the overall NL standings. The Giants officially could be eliminated from postseason contention as soon as Tuesday.
On another warm night at Oracle Park, the teams took turns hitting rockets. There were 10 balls hit at least 106 mph, including five at 110-plus (three by Matt Chapman alone).
The scoring started early with a solo shot from Heliot Ramos, and the Giants went up 4-2 in the bottom of the fourth on singles by Ramos and Patrick Bailey.
But the Cardinals struck right back, scoring four runs in the top of the fifth and sending Justin Verlander back to the clubhouse.
The Giants got a run back on Rafael Devers’ solo blast to left in the bottom of the fifth, but shut it down from there.
Stuck on 265
Verlander’s attempt to continue climbing the all-time charts stood out as one of the storylines of the final homestand, but he had a rough night. The right-hander has been one of the game’s best pitchers over the last month, but he was charged with six runs — four of them earned — in 4 1/3 innings and didn’t take advantage of the early lead the Giants gave him.
Through 28 starts, Verlander still has just three wins. This will be the first season of his MLB career with double-digit starts and fewer than five wins. In fact, prior to this season he never had won fewer than 11 games in a season with at least 25 starts.
Verlander remains tied for 39th all-time with 265 wins, but he should get one more chance this weekend to pick up No. 266 and tie Bob Feller and Eppa Rixey for 37th.
Leading Off
Ramos got the season’s final homestand off to a great start, blasting a solo shot off Michael McGreevy while leading off the bottom of the first. It was Ramos’ fifth leadoff homer of the year, which put him in pretty good company. The only other right-handed batter to hit at least five leadoff homers for the Giants is Bobby Bonds, who did it three times. Barry’s dad had an incredible 11 leadoff homers in 1973 alone.
Ramos, who later added a two-run single, has five games left to reach 20 homers for a second straight season. The Giants already have three players — Chapman, Devers and Willy Adames — who have reached that mark.
Good With The Glove
The best defensive center fielders often are the ones who never leave their feet, and generally, that has been Drew Gilbert. The rookie gets good jumps and has done an impressive job of running balls down as a Giant, but he had to lay out to rob Thomas Saggese of extra bases in the seventh.
Gilbert went 95 feet to make the catch, and it ended up being a big play. The next batter hit a ball into the gap, but the Cardinals wouldn’t score in the inning.
Gilbert’s role heading into next year is still unclear, but he definitely appears to be the roster’s best defensive outfielder. If he hits enough to become an everyday player, the Giants might have to have an interesting conversation about whether to play Gilbert in center and move Jung Hoo Lee to a corner.
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