Now that the Major League Baseball season is nearly a quarter of the way through, teams like the San Francisco Giants’ outlook is becoming clearer.
Over the first half of the season, the Giants were one of baseball’s biggest stories, rising to become one of the best teams in the National League despite virtually no expectations.
Though San Francisco hasn’t completely disappeared from the face of the earth in the second half, they have begun to cool down a little as reality sets in.
They have lost six of their last eleven games as they head into the series finale against the Minnesota Twins, and the numbers show why.
What Has Gone Wrong For the Giants Lately?
On the season as a whole, San Francisco’s offense is well above average, ranking near the top ten in team runs scored and hits.
Looking at the last two weeks, the Giants rank 20th in runs scored and even lower in hits.
An offense that had been doing an excellent job of backing up a thin pitching staff has begun to cool off, and while much of this is due to the nature of the game and the marathon of a season, it is a storm that will be difficult to weather.
The unfortunate reality for San Francisco is that their pitching is not — or has not been — strong enough to carry the offense; it must be vice versa.
This is not surprising given the narrative surrounding the pitching staff entering the season, but it is being reinforced a month and a half later.
If the Giants are to make the kind of run they showed in the first month of the season, the lineup will need to improve its overall performance.
Willy Adames, a high-priced offseason addition, and defensive standout catcher Patrick Bailey are two players who immediately stand out as underperforming.
Both are key players for the team, but they haven’t been hitting well.
San Francisco requires their best players to be at their peak performance, which they are not currently achieving.
If the recent sputter over the last few weeks is going to be just a blip on the radar for a playoff contender, it’s time for the bats to step up in a big way in the coming series.
