For a little over eight months now, the Vegas Golden Knights have taken us on an unforgettable journey and have assembled an inaugural season for the history books. The successful first season which has caught everyone off guard is one that not even general manager George McPhee who helped assemble this team through the Expansion Draft could've saw coming. The ride which began in winning fashion on the road in Dallas in Vegas' season-opener on October 6, following the mass shooting which took place just a stones throw away from the Knights' home arena on October 1, will now continue onto the Stanley Cup Final. But what has been looked upon as somewhat of a Cinderella story, expands much further than just the product on the ice. What began as a pipe dream for Vegas locals and team owner Bill Foley alike, to have an NHL franchise in the city of sin, quickly evolved into a dream come true and has since then trickled into becoming the greatest story in all of sports. Since being chosen over Quebec City to become the NHL's first expansion franchise since the year 2000 and the first major professional sports franchise in Las Vegas' history, the Golden Knights who finished the regular season with an overall record of 51-24-7 to claim the Pacific Division, quickly gained the attention of the hockey world and have refused to relinquish it.
For a city that has never experienced having a professional sports franchise in either of the big four North American sports leagues (NFL, NBA, MLB or NHL), fans of the Golden Knights haven't had to wait long at all to witness their team endure success. Whether it's been the surprising out-of-nowhere season by castoff William Karlsson who logged an expansion team-record 43 goals this year or the spectacular season by the 33-year old Marc-Andre Fleury who reestablished himself as one of the best goaltenders in all of hockey, it's hard to pinpoint the main source of Vegas' success. And while the puck has yet to drop for the Stanley Cup Final as their Eastern Conference opponent has yet to be determined out of either the Washington Capitals or the Tampa Bay Lightning, VGK whom have already exceeded all expectations and then some, continue to win over the hearts of the entire Vegas community, serving as the perfect antidote to at least help heal the collective wound left from the October 1 shooting. The team could've been swept from the playoffs by the division rival L.A. Kings in the first round and Vegas fans would've still been more than impressed with the outcome of the season. Instead, Vegas' improbable run has helped them become just the third franchise in NHL history to reach the Stanley Cup Final in their inaugural season, joining the 1918 Toronto Arenas who won it all and the 1968 St. Louis Blues who made it to the Final in each of their first three seasons, but failed to hoist Lord Stanley in all three attempts.
After making quick work of the Kings in a four-game sweep, followed by a round 2 triumph over the San Jose Sharks which took six games, Vegas needed only five games to dispose of the Winnipeg Jets, despite being overwhelmed on the road in the series-opener, only to win the next four and claim the Western Conference title. Vegas would get some much needed help from the most unlikeliest of heroes in the series-clinching win as Winnipeg native Ryan Reaves who was acquired from the Pittsburgh Penguins on February 23 via trade, couldn't have picked a better time to notch his first goal in a Knights uniform than his game-winning score which came at 13:21 of the second period to make it a 2-1 Vegas advantage. That score would stick as goalie Marc-Andre Fleury kept Winnipeg off the board the rest of the way, helping his team advance to the Final and improve to 10-0 in the Playoffs when leading after two periods. As for Fleury, it'll be his third consecutive trip to the Stanley Cup Final and fourth trip overall.
And now we play the waiting game to see who will be next on the menu as the Golden Knights enjoy the little time off before head coach Gerard Gallant has them prepare for the winner of the Eastern Conference which currently stands at 3 games to 2 in favor of Tampa. Regardless of who wins, Vegas has to like their chances considering they swept both teams during the regular season to go a perfect 4-0, including a signature win back in mid-January on the road in Tampa Bay against the league's best team. Though we're days away from seeing the Golden Knights in action again, you can already feel the buzz in the air and hear the chants of "Go Knights Go!" which will be in full effect come game Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final. And Champions or not, the unforgettable journey this team has taken us on is one the city and fans won't soon forget.
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The first calendar month of the 2018 baseball season if officially in the books and for the San Francisco Giants, it was a good one considering they would post their first plus .500 month since June 2016 with a 15-14 record. Despite opening the season without two of their five starting pitchers including ace Madison Bumgarner due to a fractured hand, as well as their expensive closer in Mark Melancon (elbow), the Giants would manage to stay afloat thanks to a resurgence from pitcher Johnny Cueto and a strong finish which included three consecutive series victories to close the book on April. And what better way to kickoff a season than with the game's greatest rivalry -- Giants and Dodgers.
While the Dodgers began the season at home with ace Clayton Kershaw on the mound, the reigning NL Champions entered the day tied with the Baltimore Orioles for the longest active winning streak on Opening Day with seven consecutive victories and seeking their eighth straight. However, Giants pitcher Ty Blach would have other plans as he out-dueled Kershaw for the second time in his career as San Francisco handed Los Angeles a 1-0 loss. Needing only one run of support, second baseman Joe Panik's solo home run off of Kershaw in the 5th inning would be the difference. Entering the game with a career record of 5-0 in seven Opening Day starts and an ERA of 0.99, the Giants would tag him for his first Opening Day defeat. With the win, the Giants who didn't spend a single day in first place in all of 2017, would sit tied for first place in the NL West for at least a day in 2018 and for the first time since August 20, 2016. Of Panik's 29 career home runs to begin the day, only two have come off of left-handed pitching, Kershaw becoming the third.
Oddly enough, Joe Panik and the Giants would repeat the process just a day later as Bruce Bochy's ball club once again handed the archrival Dodgers a 1-0 loss with Panik again supplying the lone run on a solo homer, this time in the 9th inning off of All-Star closer Kenley Jansen. Johnny Cueto would take a perfect game into the 7th inning before allowing a leadoff single, only to induce a double-play two pitches later as he logged 7 shutout frames while allowing just one base runner and facing the minimum in what would be the only Dodger hit of the ballgame. Panik's heroics would fuel only the fourth and fifth 1-0 road wins decided by solo shots by the Giants over the Dodgers. Hall of Famers Willie Mays in 1956 and Mel Ott in 1938 and 1935 supplied the others. With the win in Game 2, Joe Panik became the first player in MLB history to hit solo HR's in back-to-back 1-0 victories and doing so against arguably the two best pitchers at their respective positions to become only the second player in the MLB to homer off of both Kershaw and Jansen in the same season. San Francisco became only the second team in MLB history to win their first two games of the season by a score of 1-0, the 1943 Cincinnati Reds over the St. Louis Cardinals the other.
With the win in Game 2, skipper Bruce Bochy became the first visiting manager to win 100 career games at Dodger Stadium, while he witnessed his team log a pair of 1-0 wins in the first two games of the season. This after they failed to log a single 1-0 victory in all of 2017. But the positives in the opening series would stop there as the Dodgers pulled the good 'ol switcheroo in Games 3 and 4 by shutting out the Giants, 5-0 and 9-0, respectively. L.A. would allow the fewest runs through the first four games to start a season since 1914, yet only managed to split the four-game set as all four games would end in a shutout. The Giants would set a dubious feat by becoming the first team since the 1988 Baltimore Orioles to score two runs or fewer through the first four games of the season. Only the 1968 Dodgers (1) and 1937 Braves (1) scored fewer.
Getting the start in the Home Opener just like he did on Opening Day, Ty Blach wouldn't fair nearly as well in his first start at home as he did on the road as San Francisco hosted the visiting Seattle Mariners for the first of two games. After tossing five shutout frames in L.A., Blach was tagged for four runs in the first inning alone before suffering the loss as the Giants fell, 6-4. Panik would launch his third homer of the season in the fourth inning, snapping a streak of 21 consecutive scoreless innings by the Giants offense. It would mark only the second time in MLB history that the first three runs of the season were scored by one player. The Giants would get their revenge the following day as Johnny Cueto tossed another gem by allowing only 1 earned run in 6 innings and the Giants offense erupted for 10 runs, smacking a trio of home runs in the 5th inning, including back to back jacks by Pablo Sandoval and Brandon Crawford. It would mark the first time SF struck for three HR's in an inning since June 2, 2016 at Atlanta.
Meeting with the Dodgers again in what was supposed to be a 3-game series in San Francisco, turned into a short 2-game set due to the first rain delay at AT&T Park since 2006 and only the sixth in the stadium's history. Making up for the postponed Game 1, one of the newest member of the Giants would introduce himself to the rivalry in a huge way as newcomer Andrew McCutchen logged his first five-hit game since 2010 before connecting for his sixth, a 3-run walk-off home run in what would be one of the best at-bats by a Giant in recent years. Fouling off pitch after pitch in the 14th inning, McCutchen deposited the 12th pitch of the at-bat into the left field bleachers for his first career six-hit ballgame and the seventh walk-off home run of his career as the Giants won in extras, 7-5. And in case you're wondering, the only other player in MLB history since 1900 to record six-hits and a walk-off HR would be Jim Northrup of the Detroit Tigers who did so on August 28, 1969 vs the Oakland A's. Taking the Dodgers to extra innings the following day, the Giants would once again fail to log a series victory as L.A. escaped with the 2-1 victory.
While welcoming the red-hot Arizona Diamondbacks, the Giants would be forced to call up not one but two of their top pitching prospects as Cueto was placed on the 10-day disabled-list with a left ankle sprain suffered after pitching another 7 shutout innings. Tyler Beede, the Giants No. 4 propsect and 14th overall selection in the 2014 MLB Draft would make his Major League debut. Arizona would welcome the rookie pitcher by tagging him for two runs in the opening frame as walks proved to be an issue for the 24-year old. Though the two first inning runs would be all he'd allow, he would depart after only 4 innings of work. And while he wouldn't factor in the decision, the Giants would go on to win by a final of 4-3 thanks to another walk-off hit by McCutchen. Unfortunately, San Francisco would drop the series 2-games to 1 as pitcher Andrew Suarez made his MLB debut and was handed the loss. After retiring the first 10 batters he faced, Suarez ran into some trouble by surrendering the long ball as he was taken deep twice and eventually allowed four runs on 5 1/3 innings pitched.
The Giants wouldn't fair much better in their next two series' as San Francisco hit the road to face division rivals San Diego and then a trip to the desert to meet with the D-Backs. After a 7-0 victory over the Padres in which starter Chris Stratton threw 7 strong innings, the longest outing of his career, the Giants threw their second 1-hit shutout of the season, the only hit of the ballgame recorded by an opposing pitcher. The Friars would be sure avoid a repeat performance of Game 1 as they managed to take the next three games from the Giants who would then drop the series-opener against Arizona as San Francisco lost the fourth straight game. In a pitchers duel between Cueto and D-Backs hurler Patrick Corbin, both pitchers would be stingy in the hits column as Cueto allowed only two base runners in seven innings while striking out 11. But as good as he was, Corbin would do him one better as he took a no-hitter into the 8th inning before Brandon Belt's 2-out infield single prevented him from making history. It would be the Giants' only hit of the game as Corbin finished the complete-game shutout in Arizona's 1-0 victory. San Francisco would bounce back in Game 2 as Chris Stratton gave the Giants another solid performance, allowing only one run over 7 frames. Sadly, he would get a no-decision as closer Hunter Strickland blew the save in the 9th inning. The Giants would score two runs in the 10th on Brandon Belt's 100th career home run, a 2-run shot, before nearly blowing another lead as Corey Gearrin flirted with danger and gave up a run until finally sealing the 4-3 win. But Arizona would take the rubber-match in Game 3 with Zack Greinke on the mound, 3-1.
A trip to Anaheim to closeout the last of the Giants' 10-game road trip would appear to be the turning point as the G-Men finally claimed their first series victory of the young season. With a convincing 8-1 victory in Game 1 in what would be the 2018 debut of San Francisco starter Jeff Samardzija who had spent the first three weeks of the season on the disabled-list with a right pectoral strain, the Giants would set the tone in the series. After losing a close one in Game 2 by a final of 4-3 which saw the Giants strikeout 17 times, their highest total in a nine inning game since facing Sandy Koufax in August of 1959, SF would take the rubber-match, 4-2, behind another stellar outing by Cueto who logged another 6 scoreless innings. But the talk of the series would belong to Giants first baseman Brandon Belt who set an MLB record with a 21-pitch at-bat against Angles rookie Jaime Barria in the first inning. Belt worked the count full and fouled off 16-pitches with two strikes before flying out to right. The at-bat broke the previous record of 20-pitches held by Ricky Gutierrez of the Astros who had a 20-pitch battle with then-Indians pitcher Bartolo Colon, set on June 26, 1998. The record-setting at-bat by Belt lasted 12 minutes and 45 seconds long and though he would record an out, he would go on to collect two hits in the game including a home run in the 5th, his fourth in as many games to help him celebrate his birthday week. In an effort to chase Barria early, the lengthy at-bat would prove to be effective as Barria threw 49-pitches in the first inning alone, despite not allowing a run in the frame. He would be chased after allowing two runs and throwing 77-pitches in only 2+ innings.
As for his counterpart on the mound, Johnny Cueto would continue to dazzle, tossing another 6 shutout frames and allowing only two hits and two walks while striking out seven to become the first Giants pitcher to string together four consecutive starts while allowing a run or fewer to being a season since Noah Lowry in 2004. Giants great Juan Marichal did it twice in 1965 and again in 1966 with five. Keeping it rolling, Cueto's ERA of 0.35 (1 earned run in 26 innings pitched) would be the lowest by a Giants pitcher through their first four starts since 1968. As for Belt, the Giants first baseman became the first Giant to log four homers in four games since Hunter Pence in 2013. Belt would continue to swing a hot bat in their next series against the Nationals. Belt's hot swinging would be joined by outfielder Mac Williamson. After some minor tweaks to his batting approach, a newfound swing would help Williamson tear through the Minors and receive a promotion to the big club as Hunter Pence was placed on the disabled-list with a thumb injury. In his first game with the Giants after being called up from Sacramento, Williamson cranked a home run against the Angels. He would continue to reinvent himself the very next day in front of the home fans by launching a 464-foot home run to the opposite field against Washington. The 464-foot shot would be the longest homer to the opposite field this season and the fourth longest of any kind this season.
Still seeking their first series victory of the year with less than a week remaining in the month of April, the Giants would get their wish with a win in Game 2 against the Nats. After suffering from food poisoning while in Anaheim and losing 9 lbs. over three days, Ty Blach helped pitch the Giants to their first three-game winning-streak of the season as the Giants edged Washington, 4-3 to take the first two games of the three game set. Though Blach would not factor in the win as he fell victim to a 3-run homer that would tie the game in the 4th inning, Williamson's opposite-field HR would be the deciding blow. While Max Scherzer would keep the Giants at bey in Game 3, preventing the sweep in a 15-2 drubbing, the Giants would take a step in the right direction before another go around with the Dodgers.
After taking Game 1 on Friday night, the Giants would host a double-header on Saturday to makeup the game rained out on April 6. And while the Dodgers would tee off on Chris Stratton in the first of two Saturday games to the tune of a 15-6 final, the Giants would bounce back in Game 2 by winning 8-3. They would complete the three-game sweep with a 4-2 win on Sunday to make it three straight series victories in a row. Continuing to be a thorn in the side of the Dodgers, Ty Blach would pitch the Giants to victory as he improved his numbers against L.A. to 4-2 and an ERA of 2.03 in 10 career appearances. More importantly, the Giants' streak of three consecutive series wins would be their first since May of 2017. Hoping to continue the trend into the month of May, San Francisco finished April by defeating the San Diego Padres in walk-off fashion thanks to a 3-run 9th inning that was capped off by former Padre Nick Hundley who's 2-out knock drove in the tying and winning runs. It would be the third walk-off win of the season for the G-Men and the third of Hundley's Giants career, second against his former ball club. The walk-off victory would lift the Giants over the .500 mark, somewhere they hadn't been since the end of the 2016 regular season as they closed out the month of April on a winning note, by winning 8 of their last 10 games.
But just when the Giants began playing good baseball and things were looking up regarding pitcher Madison Bumgarner who's hand is healing well according to team doctors and is expected to begin throwing from a bullpen mound this weekend, the team announced that Johnny Cueto would be placed on the 10-day disabled-list for the second time this season with right elbow inflammation. The news comes as a surprise given how well Cueto pitched in his last outing and comes just before the Giants prepare to hit the road for a 10-game road trip out east with stops in Atlanta, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. Stops in May also include trips to Houston to take on the reigning World Series champion Houston Astros and 2016 champion Chicago Cubs. Boasting the best ERA in baseball among starters, Cueto is the third Giants starter to hit the DL this season and will be on the shelf sporting a 3-0 record and 0.84 earned run average in 5 starts this season. Joining Cueto on the DL will be second baseman Joe Panik who is expected to miss six weeks after undergoing thumb surgery which will create quite a task for the Giants in the month of May if they plan to stay float in the competitive NL West.
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