Why the San Francisco Giants are on the verge of a historical collapse
It’s not supposed to be this hard for the Giants in an even-numbered year. However, San Francisco is holding on for its postseason life with 11 games remaining on its schedule.
Winners of the 2010, 2012 and 2014 World Series, the Giants are in danger of making some dubious history. Their 57 wins before the All-Star break were the most in the majors; their 23 wins since the All-Star break are tied for the fewest. No team ever has suffered through that best-to-worst pitfall, let alone a supposed World Series contender.
Even after Tuesday’s win over the NL West-leading Dodgers, the Giants face a five-game deficit in the division and can forget about that race. And even the wild card is in jeopardy now that the Cardinals have caught the Mets and the Giants to force a three-way tie for two postseason berths.
The Giants have only themselves to blame, but it’s hard to decide which aspect of their free-fall is uglier.
* Offensively, they are last in the majors with 3.42 runs per game in September.
* Their eight blown saves this month are an MLB-high, though this isn’t just a late-season issue.
The #SFGiants have the most losses in baseball when leading after 8 innings. #WhipAround pic.twitter.com/kBbZ2BmmDL
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) September 20, 2016
Adding injury to insult, San Francisco lost right-hander Johnny Cueto (groin) and shortstop Brandon Crawford (finger) to injuries on Tuesday, potentially making the final 11 games even more painful.
