San Francisco Giants Month in Review - August

With the dog days of August officially in the books and September baseball in full swing, things are getting down to the nitty-gritty with MLB down to its last full calendar month in the 2015 season. And for the San Francisco Giants, August supplied us with plenty of highs and lows. Unfortunately, the highs would be far outnumbered by the lows as a number of key players were forced to hit the disabled-list and a couple of pivotal series' with playoff implications were lost. Injuries to shortstop Brandon Crawford who's been in and out of the lineup battling oblique & calf injuries, second baseman Joe Panik (back) and right fielder Hunter Pence (oblique) would leave the Giants without three of their most productive hitters, meanwhile, a 4-game sweep at the hands of the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field (the first since 1977) would bury the G-Men in the race for the NL Wild Card, some 7 games back.

Making matters worse, with only one start under his belt in a Giants uniform, the newly acquired Mike Leake would also miss time on the DL due to a hamstring strain, furthering the team's pitching woes in August. World Series MVP Madison Bumgarner would continue to dazzle both on the mound and at the plate as he became the first Giants southpaw ever with at least 200 strikeouts in multiple seasons as well as becoming the first Major League pitcher to club 5 home runs in a single season since the Cubbies Carlos Zambrano did it in 2006, but even MadBum's heroics wouldn't be enough to put the Giants in the drivers seat. However, Bumgarner did manage to land himself another NL Player of the Week honor for his stellar performance as he threw back-to-back complete games during the second week of August against the Houston Astros and Washington Nationals respectively, while joining Hall of Fame pitcher Juan Marichal as the only Giants hurlers to throw a shutout, strikeout at least 10 and hit a homer in the same game.

In need of some depth in the outfield, the Giants went out and acquired veteran slugger Marlon Byrd from the Cincinnati Reds. Having bounced around the league as a journeyman who's played for nine different ball clubs, Byrd wasted little time to make his presence felt as he made a great first impression on his new teammates by homering in his first Giants at-bat, a 2-run shot that would ultimately be the difference in a 6-4 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates. Byrd would also help the Giants post a new franchise record by belting the team's 8th Grand Slam of the season in a 5-4 victory vs the Cardinals. Coincidentally, it was also the eighth Grand Slam of Byrd's career. Unfortunately, it would be one of the lone bright spots in an otherwise brutal road trip against NL Central division powers which have been a thorn in the side of the Giants this season. With a very tough schedule in the month of August, Bruce Bochy's ball club finished the month at a 13-16 clip, posting an 8-4 record at Home and a dismal 5-12 mark away from AT&T Park. Then came a 3-game sweep at the hands of the archrival Dodgers to open the month of September, digging the Giants a 6.5 game hole in the division.

With the Giants in desperate need of an immediate spark, the team will need contributions from just about everyone from top to bottom, including outfielder Alejandro De Aza whom general manager Brian Sabean acquired in a trade with the Boston Red Sox. With the nagging oblique injury bothering right fielder Hunter Pence much longer than anticipated and threatening any chance of a return this season, Sabean was forced to work his magic while hoping to find someone to fill the void. One player who will not be returning this season is pitcher Tim Lincecum who was ruled out for the season after undergoing arthroscopic surgery on Thursday to shave down some of the bone on his left hip, an issue that has bothered the 2-time Cy Young Award winner who last pitched on June 27. With Lincecum needing to rehab and his contract expiring at the end of the season, it's a possibility that we've seen the last of Timmy in a Giants uniform.

On a positive note, the Giants have a much favorable schedule ahead of them in the month of September. In the seven upcoming series (@ Rockies, @ D-Backs, vs Padres, vs Reds, vs D-Backs, @ Padres, @ Athletics, vs Dodgers), only one will be against a team with a winning record when they host the visiting Dodgers in a pivotal 4-game series that could very well determine the fate of both ball clubs. That's if the Giants can take advantage of their weak schedule and catch fire down the stretch, something they'll have to do if they plan to put an end to the curse of the odd numbered year. 


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