Giants’ sweep of Rockies rekindles confidence that playoffs are within reach Originally appeared in NBC Bay Area Sports
SAN FRANCISCO – The Giants entered the weekend wondering whatThe near future looked like thisWith San Francisco six games under .500, the team had some discussions about being potential sellers with the 2024 MLB Trade Deadline going up.
How quickly things change!
Following a four-game sweep In the case of the Colorado Rockies, conversations in the Giants’ locker room seem to be more focused on the challenges they face on a day-to-day basis rather than complaining about what happened in the past or the obstacles they may face in the near future.
And yes, the talks still include the possibilities of reaching The 2024 MLB playoffs.
“I know everybody in this room, being in this room, we believe in each other and we believe that our best baseball is yet to come,” Matt Chapman said after becoming the first Giants infielder to have 15 homers and 12 steals in the same season since Jeff Kent in 2000. “Our pitching is getting healthier … and obviously offensively it looks like we’re starting to put some good at-bats together.
“We are having a lot of good things. We all believe in each other and we hope to continue fighting for that playoff spot.”
While no one believes sweeping the Rockies was a great accomplishment (Colorado (38-69) has the worst record in the National League and second-worst in the majors), it was the perfect remedy for the Giants, who went 2-5 on their first road trip after the All-Star break.
Combined with everything else the Orange and Black have had to deal with this season, many fans had already begun to look forward to the 2025 MLB season.
Some people may still feel that way, but inside the Giants’ locker room, the focus is on the here and now.
“I think we’re playing cleaner baseball all around,” manager Bob Melvin said. “If we’re going to keep going, we’ve got to get to .500. But it was good to be able to string together some wins. When we walked on the field today we felt like we were going to win the game. And it’s important to have a streak like that. That’s the kind of feeling you have to have if you want to have a streak.”
At 53-55, the Giants are closer to .500 than they’ve been since beating Toronto on July 9 to get to 45-47. And while they’re still 3 ½ games behind the New York Mets for the third and final wild-card spot in the National League, they could easily make up some of that ground in the coming weeks.
San Francisco will host the suddenly resurgent Oakland Athletics in the latest version of the Bay Bridge Series at Oracle Park before heading out for seven winnable games against the Cincinnati Reds and Washington Nationals, two teams that have also struggled to get to .500.
After that, the Giants return home to play the Detroit Tigers and Atlanta Braves before another two-game series against the Athletics, this time in Oakland.
“I think it’s a credit to not only the guys in the locker room, but the coaches as well,” Chapman said. “BoMel and all the coaches have done a great job of dealing with injuries and everything we’ve faced this year. It’s been a collective effort. It just goes to show that there’s fight in this year, and it doesn’t matter if it’s some of the young guys coming up, everyone has contributed. Whoever’s here and wearing this uniform, we believe in them.
“We definitely needed it. It’s not easy to sweep someone in four games, so finding a way to do it is good.”
Maintaining a positive attitude throughout the season has certainly not been easy, but it has been one of the key factors in San Francisco staying afloat and trying to get things back on track.
“We knew we had to play well to stay in this race,” Melvin said. “We just tried to focus on each game and not worry about what happened in the past or what will happen in the future.”
