Anatomy of a strike

Giants 7, Angels 6 F/10

Grant McCray’s throw took a ton of skill and a little luck.

He readied himself to throw before the ball landed in his glove, shoulders turning toward his target. In one fluid motion the ball went from glove to hand to soaring through the air at 94 mph.

Oswald Peraza, sprinting from second to third with his life on the line, is fast. Fast enough, you would think, to travel 90 feet quicker than a baseball could cover 340 feet.

McCray’s throw was precise in its direction but too weak to reach Casey Schmitt’s glove on the fly. The Giants needed to get lucky, and they did.

The ball bounced off the infield dirt at the perfect height to land into Schmitt’s glove as it sat atop the sliding Peraza.

Ball in glove. Glove on neck. Inning over.

(And a few minutes later, game over.)

Up next: Robbie Ray (8-6, 3.33 ERA) makes his last (?) start in a Giants uniform before the trade deadline. Probably. He’ll face Ryan Johnson (2-4, 6.10 ERA) at 1:05 pm. The Tip Your Cap committee will yet again have representatives in attendance.

Podcast: Kerry and I get into why the Phillies and Red Sox revived their seasons but the Giants can’t. I make the case against a rebuild, and we launch This Week In 2021 to relive some happier times. Listen on Apple, Spotify, and everywhere else.