*Photo from AP News*
They weren't supposed to be here. They weren't supposed to be good. Yet, despite the predictions and what everyone thought they were, here they are. Evan Longoria homered, Tommy La Stella homered, and the San Francisco Giants defeated the San Diego Padres 9-1 on Monday night.
With the convincing victory, the Giants became the first team in baseball to lock up a playoff spot, winning their 94th game of the season. It's their first playoff berth since the 2016 season, and it comes in a season where they were supposed to finish in the middle of the pack. It's the earliest the Giants have clinched a playoff spot in team history, and the first time they've been the first team into the playoffs since 1987.
Giants first baseman Brandon Belt expressed the desire for more after securing a berth, saying postgame that "We’re definitely happy that we’re going to the playoffs, there’s no doubt about that. But we want to win the division. This is the first step, but we didn’t come here just to make it in. We came here to win the whole thing, so that’s what we’re looking forward to."
La Stella got everything going for the Giants, with a solo home run in the first inning making it 1-0 Giants early. LaMonte Wade Jr also hit an RBI triple, and Longoria hit a 3 run home run, putting the finishing touches on a 5 run first inning. In the 3rd, Fernando Tatis Jr hit an RBI double, scoring Trent Grisham to get the Padres on the board, making it a 5-1 game a third of the way through.
In the 4th, the Giants got 3 runs to make it 8-1. First, it was Mike Yastrzemski who hit a solo home run to center field. Then, Belt "belted"(get it?) a two run home run to right field, which made the lead 7 runs. In the 8th, Longoria hit an RBI single, scoring Wade and making it 9-1 in favor of the Giants, putting the last bit of icing on the cake.
Zack Littell got the decisive win for the Giants, improving to 3-0 this season, with 1 2/3 shutout innings in relief. Dominic Leone was the opener, delivering two shutout innings to start the game. Jarlin Garcia, Jose Alvarez, Camilo Doval, and Kervin Castro also pitched.
Longoria said of clinching a playoff spot that "The belief was there, but sometimes you’ve got to go out and prove it. I think early in the season, there were some question marks, maybe from within the clubhouse and from the outside, especially. But as we went out and performed, there was no doubt that this group was talented and we had as good a chance as anybody."
Yu Darvish got hit very hard in a loss for the Padres, dropping to 8-10 this season. Darvish allowed 8 runs on 6 hits and 3 walks, striking out 3 hitters while lasting just 4 innings. Dinelson Lamet was responsible for the 9th run scored in the 8th inning. Tim Hill, Craig Stammen, and Shaun Anderson also pitched.
Darvish said of the loss that "The frustration level for myself is very high. I would assume a lot of the other players, along with the staff members and coaches, they’re carrying some frustration as well. But we have to turn the page. We still have to come in tomorrow, get our work in and play a game. We need to flip the page and move forward."
The Giants and Padres continue their series tonight, with Anthony DeSclafani getting the start for San Francisco, while Jake Arrieta comes off the IL to start for the Padres.
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