Crisis of confidence
🧹 Giants 4, Braves 3
It's amazing how fast you can flip from crisis to confident.
In the last week the Giants cut their opening day leadoff hitter, set franchise records for offensive futility, and blew a game on the last out.
In the last week the Giants won five straight one-run games, set franchise records for keeping the score close, and won a game on the last out.
It's been equal parts exciting and exhausting. The offense still looks broken, with three hits in Sunday's win and a league-worst .222 average over the last 30 days. The pitching still looks best in class, with a 2.32 bullpen ERA that leads baseball by more than half a run.
Add it all up and the Giants are a game behind the Dodgers, with their rivals finally on the schedule in the next week. Come then, the Giants will again be in crisis or feeling confident.
Why? They play the Rockies first.
Up next: The Giants are off Monday before beginning a three-game set at Coors Field. Maybe a little altitude can unlock the bats—specifically Willy Adames’s.
Before you go: Sunday marked the 23rd anniversary of Barry Bonds’s long home run at Yankee Stadium. I wrote an oral history of the moment for Sports Illustrated, which Kruk and Kuip read a quote from during Sunday’s broadcast. It’s my favorite story I ever worked on. Enjoy.
