Week 3 - For Niner fans, Sunday's game would seem like a bad dream. One you would wake up from the next day and hope wasn't real. Instead, the San Francisco fan base, collectively holding their breath since the 5:44 mark in the 4th quarter in hopes that it was only a strain their new franchise quarterback suffered and not a tear, would face the tough reality that they'd be without their QB for the rest of the season when that unfortunate news was confirmed on Monday. Trailing 38-24 and chipping away at what was once a 28-point deficit, 49ers QB Jimmy Garoppolo was hard at work trying to get his team back into the game when the injury occurred. Facing pressure on a 3rd and goal and maneuvering out of the pocket to avoid a sack, Garoppolo broke free for positive yardage, but instead of stepping out of bounds to avoid any contact, decided to make a cut and stay in bounds while fighting for extra yardage before being met by a big hit put on by Chiefs cornerback Steven Nelson. His decision, while respectable considering the urge to fight for every yard possible, is one Niner fans and the coaching staff alike would've preferred he never made. Slow to get up, Garoppolo sat out the next play and appeared to be shaken up by the helmet to helmet contact. However, replay would show Garoppolo's knee buckle on the cut that kept him in bounds. A replay that would haunt the coaching staff and deprive Niner fans of what could've been as their season is virtually all but lost just three weeks in.
Before kickoff, the Niners were riding high coming off their first win of the season, but knew they'd have a tough challenge ahead, facing Patrick Mahomes and the red-hot Kansas City Chiefs (2-0) in their home-opener. The Chiefs would open as 6.5 point favorites and for good reason considering their blazing start and the fact that the 49ers hadn't won a game at Arrowhead since 1982 entering the game. And with the Chiefs scoring touchdowns on each of their first five possessions on Sunday for the first time in franchise history, including their third straight week with a touchdown on their opening-possession, the game appeared to be over by halftime. With 10 touchdown passes in his first two games, Patrick Mahomes who celebrated his 23rd birthday earlier in the week, continued to shine by adding another trio of touchdowns through the air on Sunday in the first half alone to set an NFL record with 13 touchdown passes through the first three weeks, breaking the previous mark held by Peyton Manning (12). Throw in a pair of easy first half touchdown runs by running back Kareem Hunt and Kansas City had built a 35 to 7 lead before a Robbie Gould field goal made it 35-10 at the half. San Francisco's lone trip to the end zone in the first half would come on a wide-open pass that fullback Kyle Juszczyk hauled in from Garoppolo and took 35-yards for the easy score.
Though it's been Kansas City's offense that has stolen all of the headlines through the first two weeks, their defense on the other hand has allowed over a thousand yards of offense and an average of 32 points per game to the opposition. Something Kyle Shanahan and company would take note of and try to expose at halftime. After forcing Kansas City's first punt of the ballgame in the third quarter, San Francisco opened the second half similar to how the Chiefs did the first, as Jimmy G and the Niners manufactured touchdown scoring drives in each of their first two possessions in the third quarter to make it 35-24 game. An 11-yard touchdown pass to receiver Marquise Goodwin who returned to the field after sitting out in Week 2 with a quad injury, and a 3-yard touchdown run by Alfred Morris gave the Niners new life as they found themselves right back in it with just under 3 minutes remaining in the third quarter. San Francisco appeared to be destined for the end zone for a third consecutive drive before Garoppolo suffered the injury and needed to be carted off the field, igniting the uncertainty regarding his status that would follow into Monday afternoon.
Backup C.J. Beathard came in to takeover for the injured Garoppolo under center and on his first play, linked up in the end zone with tight-end George Kittle for a touchdown on fourth down. However, a heinous offensive pass-interference call in the end zone against fullback Kyle Juszczyk wiped the touchdown off the board as coach Kyle Shanahan elected to go for the field goal with just over five minutes remaining in regulation. It would be their last possession of the game as Andy Reid's Chiefs become only the third team in NFL history to score 38-points or more in the first three games to start a season, before milking the clock to seal the 38-27 win. But that was the least of Shanahan's problems as he and his staff feared for the worst and faced the potential of a bigger loss. If the injury to Garoppolo didn't make you sick, the poor tackling and plethora of penalties committed by the Niners should've done the trick as San Francisco was flagged 14 times for 147 yards in penalties compared to K.C.'s six flags for 48 yards.
Before the injury, Garoppolo tossed for 251 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 20 of 30 pass attempts and received some much needed help in the ground game as running back Matt Breida ran for 90-yards on Sunday to go along with another 27 yards receiving. Through the first three weeks, Breida remains the league's leading rusher with 274 yards rushing and has been a nice jolt alongside Alfred Morris after the team learned just days before the season that they'd be without running back Jerrick McKinnon for the year. With both McKinnon and now Garoppolo lost for 2018, what started off as a promising season for the 49ers is now a season fans would prefer to hit the reset button on. Rubbing salt into the wound that has been San Francisco's 2018 season thus far, Garoppolo was also joined by cornerback Richard Sherman who needed to be helped off the field and taken to the locker room at the half as he suffered a strained calf that will cause him to miss the next 2-3 weeks. Sherman's absence is one the Niner defense can ill-afford given he's been one of the very few bright spots that has shined in what's been a putrid showing by the defense.
Week 4 Preview - Heading back to sunny California, the 49ers will take a trip down south to face the (1-2) Los Angeles Chargers in regular season match for the first time since their relocation from San Diego two years ago. Coming off a 35-23 defeat at the hands of the L.A. Rams in which the Chargers allowed their cross-town counterparts to rack up over 500-yards of total offense, it's unlikely the Niners will come anywhere close to that mark with Beathard under center, but they'll most certainly try. From facing one talented quarterback to another, the Niners will look to contain Philip Rivers and his big-body targets as Keenan Allen, Tyrell Williams, Mike Williams, Antonio Gates, Virgil Green and even running back Melvin Gordon all measure in at 6-foot 1-inch or taller, a tall order for the Niners' mediocre secondary. Meanwhile, Beathard will look to rekindle his chemistry with tight-end George Kittle whom he connected with plenty of times in their rookie season last year and even before that at the University of Iowa. If the Niners defense can finally muster up a strong outing and the duo of Alfred Morris and Matt Breida can find some holes with the Chargers missing their best player on defense in Joey Bosa who's been nursing a foot injury, San Francisco might have a chance at evening their record on the road.
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Week 2 - Making the playoffs after falling to 0-2 to start a season in the NFL is no easy task. In fact, of the 92 teams that have opened a season 0-2 all-time, only 10 have went on to make the postseason which translates to a 12% success rate. And with both the San Francisco 49ers and Detroit Lions falling in Week 1, both teams would much rather escape Week 2 with a victory and not have to test that statistic. After shooting themselves in the foot on multiple occasions and blowing several opportunities that resulted in a Week 1 loss against the Minnesota Vikings, the 49ers knew they'd have to tidy things up and play a much cleaner game if they wanted to get into the win column in Week 2, despite facing an opponent not nearly on the level of Minnesota. And hosting an 0-1 Lions team still searching for its identity under first-year head coach Matt Patricia whom 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo knows quite well dating back to the time they shared in New England where Patricia served as defensive coordinator, the 49ers would do just that. It wouldn't be easy, however, as the game quickly turned from being a blowout to a nail-biter that came down to the final drive.
Coming off a 48-17 shellacking on Monday Night against the visiting New York Jets which saw Pro Bowl quarterback Matthew Stafford throw four interceptions, the Lions appeared to be destined for a similar fate in Week 2 when they found themselves down by 17-points with under eleven and a half minutes remaining in the 4th quarter. But those interceptions which doomed Detroit in Week 1, never showed their face on Sunday as this time around it was Stafford's play-making ability that kept the Lions in the game, nearly pulling off the comeback. For San Francisco, their ground attack was on point virtually all afternoon long and wasted no time to get going as 49ers running back Matt Breida began what would ultimately be a career day for the second-year back with a 28-yard run on the offense's first play from scrimmage. But like they did so often in the season-opening loss, the Niners would once again sputter after marching into the red zone thanks to back-to-back sacks. Instead of opening the game with a touchdown, San Francisco would settle for a field goal. After taking an early lead, the 49ers would watch Detroit answer with a touchdown as a mental error in coverage by cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon allowed Lions receiver Kenny Golladay to catch a wide-open pass and take it to the 5-yard line before spinning his way into the end zone for the go-ahead score. Unfortunately for Detroit, it would be the only time the 49ers would trail as they would answer right back to recapture a lead they would never relinquish.
Orchestrating a 13-play drive that continued into the 2nd quarter, Garoppolo would not be denied on San Francisco's second trip inside the red zone, capping things off with a short 4-yard pass to a wide-open Kendrick Bourne who hauled in his first career touchdown reception, making it a 10-7 ballgame. With both QB's logging a much cleaner game in the turnover department on Sunday than in their season-opener's when they combined for seven total interceptions, Stafford's only blemish against the Niners would come in the second quarter when he was sacked and stripped of the ball by linebacker Elijah Lee who filling in for the injured Brock Coyle (concussion), would make his presence felt. But again, the Niners would only get a field goal out of it as Robbie Gould converted on his 28th consecutive made field goal, setting a new franchise record which he would later add to. Getting the ball back with less than a minute remaining before the half, Detroit would look to put any points they could onto the board as Matt Prater inched the Lions closer to make it a 13-10 San Francisco lead at halftime.
Opening the second half with some fireworks, rookie return man D.J. Reed would take the opening kickoff of the second half some 101-yards to the house before being called for a face masking penalty. Despite the call, the 49ers would setup shop within striking distance at the 26-yard line in enemy territory. Four plays later, Garoppolo would connect for his second touchdown pass of the day, throwing a dart to tight-end Garrett Celek for the 11-yard score. A few drives later, the 49ers would unleash Matt Breida who carried the ball 11 times on Sunday, but none bigger than the career-long 67-yard rushing touchdown that would also set a career-high in rushing yards as he tallied 138 to go along with 21 yards receiving. What won't show up on the box score is the superb blocking by Niners receiver Pierre Garcon that allowed Breida to reach the end zone on the big gain. He would also collect a team-high 4 receptions for 57-yards receiving. Robbie Gould's third and final made field goal on the day would make it a 30-13 lead that appeared to be out reach for Detroit given how the first three quarters went. But not so fast as the 17-point deficit instead appeared to be the fuel Matthew Stafford and company would need in order to get going.
Entering the 2018 season as the only quarterback in NFL history to record seven consecutive seasons of 4,000+ passing yards before reaching the age of 30, Stafford looked the part in the fourth quarter like he's done so often throughout his career. And with 30 career game-winning drives in the fourth quarter or overtime under his belt, the former No. 1 overall pick in 2009 would try to make it 31 as the Niners were forced to fend off a late surge by the Lions QB. And a 67-yard reception to receiver Golden Tate would be the first big play to help ignite Detroit's attempt at a comeback as Stafford threw a touchdown pass just two plays later. For a moment it appeared Stafford would get some much needed help from the Lions special-teams. After forcing a three and out on San Francisco's ensuing possession, Lions punt-returner Jamal Agnew returned a punt 73-yards for a touchdown before receiving the bad news of an illegal block in the back penalty that nullified the big play. Stafford would once again have to do things the hard way as he marched his team down the field before tossing a touchdown pass to tight-end Michael Roberts inside the end zone. What was once a 17-point deficit at the start of the 4th quarter was now 3-point game with less than 3:30 remaining in regulation.
As if things couldn't get anymore dramatic, the Niners who were in need of a big drive to either score or chew up as much time as possible, caught a huge break when what appeared to be a pick-six thrown by Garoppolo, was called back on a defensive-holding call away from the ball. Levi's Stadium would collectively share a sigh of relief, but still weren't off the hook as the 49ers offense was able to erase two minutes and some change from the clock before a sack on Garoppolo forced San Francisco to punt, giving Detroit one final chance. Pinned back at their own 16-yard line and out of timeouts, Stafford and co. would have 1 minute and 8 seconds to either tie and send things into overtime or win the ballgame. And while the Lions would make it interesting, San Francisco's defense would bend but not break as back-to-back incompletions on 3rd and 4th down spelled doom for Detroit as they turned the ball over on downs, sealing the Niners' 30-27 victory. Garoppolo logged a clean 206 yards passing and 2 touchdowns on 18 for 26 pass attempts, meanwhile, Stafford completed 34 of 53 attempts for 347 yards and 3 touchdowns in the loss.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan congratulated his team on the win in the locker room after the game and admitted that wins in NFL are hard to come by, but shouldn't be nearly as hard as his team made it seem on Sunday, hinting that they got too comfortable and took their foot off the pedal. Veteran cornerback Richard Sherman took some of that blame and pinned it on the players on defense for nearly allowing Detroit to complete the comeback while also praising the great game called by defensive coordinator Robert Saleh. Playing with a banged up Mike Person at guard and without Joshua Garnett (foot) at the same position, the 49ers offensive-line allowed Detroit to get to San Francisco's expensive quarterback for a total of six sacks on Sunday, despite the Lions being without their best pass rusher in Ziggy Ansah who was inactive with a shoulder injury. Protecting the quarterback will most certainly be a point of emphasis in Week 3 if the 49ers hope to stand any chance in going toe to toe with their next opponent who looks as good as anybody thru the first two weeks of the season.
Week 3 Preview - The 49ers will hit the road in Week 3 and will look to build upon their first win of the season as they head to Arrowhead to take on the 2-0 Kansas City Chiefs. Among the biggest surprises in the early going of the 2018 NFL season is the red-hot start by Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes who in his first-year at the helm, has dazzled at the QB position having tossing an NFL-record 10 touchdown passes through the first two games to start a season. And with such targets as Travis Kelce, Tyreke Hill and Sammy Watkins among others to choose from, there's no telling if and when Mahomes will show any signs of slowing. If an MVP Award was given to a player in the first two weeks of the season, it's likely Mahomes would be the recipient of that award. But the Niner defense won't shy away from the challenge as they look to crash the party and hand K.C. their first loss of the season in their home-opener. One player who will be added to that defense and will be making his season-debut is second-year linebacker Reuben Foster who will see his first action of the season after serving a two-game suspension which was handed down after a troublesome off-season that many thought was likely the end of his career in a Niner uniform. The 49er offense will also hope to welcome back one of their own as receiver Marquise Goodwin is currently ruled as questionable as he missed half of Week 1 and all of Week 2 with an injured quad. If he's able to play, Garoppolo will look to utilize his speed like K.C. does with the many deep threats they posses.
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Week 1 - Football season is back! With the NFL's 2018 regular season officially underway following Thursday Night's opener between NFC heavyweights Atlanta Falcons and the the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles, the San Francisco 49ers would see their first action on Sunday morning in a road match-up with the Minnesota Vikings. Given the daunting task of opening the season in hostile territory against the league's best defense from a year ago and a team looking to bounce back after being on the receiving end of a 38-7 beat down in their own home in last year's NFC title game, the 49ers would surely have their work cutout for them in Week 1 if they wanted to keep their new starting quarterback's record unblemished. As if defeating a Vikings team at home where they won all but one of their eight regular season games from a season ago wasn't challenging enough, the Niners who entered Sunday with the league's best active regular season winning-streak at five games, have lost each of their last five visits to Minnesota. Of course none of those defeats came with Garoppolo under center who the 49er faithful are hoping can serve as their savior the same way he did down the stretch to closeout 2017 when he led them on that magical five-game journey.
Having allowed a measly 10-points or fewer in five of their last seven regular season games dating back to last season, the stingy Vikings defense would look to carry that streak into 2018 and had other plans for Jimmy G and the streaking 49ers. And though San Francisco would eclipse the 10-point mark, they were unable to end their Minnesota skid as the Vikings defense gave Garoppolo his first taste of defeat as he suffered the first loss of his professional career in a 24-16 final, bringing his record to 7-1 as a starter. The 49ers had plenty of opportunities on offense and even had a chance to march down the field and tie the game in the final minutes, but were ultimately doomed by the myriad of self-inflicted miscues on both sides of the ball made throughout the game. And though his teammates didn't do him any favors either, from his receivers dropping passes to the guys on defense missing tackles, where Garoppolo made mistakes, his counterpart did not. Excited to show off their new toy on offense, the recently acquired Kirk Cousins enjoyed an impressive Vikings debut at QB in which he didn't commit any turnovers and threw for 244 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
With as much talk surrounding Minnesota's defense, their offense is nothing to scoff at either. With the return of Dalvin Cook who took the league by storm a season ago before suffering a torn ACL in Week 4 which ultimately put an end to his rookie campaign, the former Florida State Seminole and Heisman finalist picked up right where he left off before the injury with a handful of big gains in the first half. Minnesota would start the scoring with a field goal in the first quarter before taking a 10-0 lead on Cousins' connection in the end zone with receiver Stefon Diggs, catching 49ers cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon off-guard from behind as he failed to locate the ball which allowed Diggs to make the easy grab from 22-yards out. The Niners would answer with a field goal before missing out on a golden opportunity that could've tied the game. After a big run from Cook who broke multiple tackles before being surprised from behind as rookie linebacker Fred Warner punched the ball loose forcing a fumble recovered by Richard Sherman, San Francisco embarked on a 16-play drive that made it all the way to the 1-yard line before Alfred Morris coughed the ball up with a fumble at the 1-yard line. The costly turnover would be one of several stall outs endured in the red zone for San Francisco.
Already without free-agent acquisition Jerick McKinnon who suffered a torn ACL prior to San Francisco's pre-season finale and was acquired to be Kyle Shanahan's No. 1 weapon at the running back position, the 49ers would lose another one of their key cogs on offense. Receiver Marquise Goodwin who was signed to a new three-year extension during the offseason and has proven to be one of Garoppolo's favorite targets, would be forced to leave the game in the first half after banging knees with a member of the Vikings and was diagnosed with what team doctors described as a quad injury, putting an early end to his day and preventing him from contributing on the field. From there, Shanahan and Garoppolo would have to be creative in the passing game as rookie receiver Dante Pettis and fullback Kyle Juszczyk logged the two biggest gains thru the air for the Niners on Sunday, hauling in receptions of 39 and 56 yards respectively.
But the biggest plays for San Francisco's offense were the ones that weren't made as both receiver Pierre Garcon and tight-end George Kittle each had chances to strike pay dirt, but were tagged with drops. Then came one of the bigger back-breakers as Garoppolo had a pass intended for receiver Kendrick Bourne picked off and returned for a pick-six. Bourne admitted after the game to running the wrong route on the costly turnover, a perfect example of the type of mistake you can't make when playing a stingy defense and a talented football team like that of Minnesota's, not to mention in their own home. And while the Niners settled for field goals with kicker Robbie Gould going three-for-three on the day, Cousins was busy connecting for his second touchdown pass of the game, an 11-yard strike to tight-end Kyle Rudolph. The final score of the afternoon for the Vikings would appear to put some fire under the 49er offense as Garoppolo and company finally responded with a trip to the end zone as Jimmy G's first touchdown of the season came with less than a minute remaining the 3rd quarter. After being pressured and bouncing off a defender, Garoppolo rolled out to his left, throwing off-balance to find Pettis in the back of the end zone for the score. Gould's third and final field goal would make it a 24-16 affair before the Niner defense committed without a doubt their biggest miscue of the afternoon.
Facing a pivotal 4th and 1 call with 3 minutes remaining in regulation, Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer sent his offense onto the field for one thing and one thing only -- to draw the defense off-sides. With the play clock down to its final second, the trick would work on second year defensive-end Solomon Thomas who was called for neutral zone infraction which would give Minnesota a new set of downs. Despite the bone-headed penalty which took time off the clock, the Niners would still be given one final chance to tie the game and send it into overtime, but would need to march the ball down the field 89-yards with less than 2 minutes remaining. Instead, Garoppolo who was under heavy pressure, hurried a pass intended for Trent Taylor that was picked off, sealing the win. The interception would be the third of the day for Garoppolo who finished with a game-high 261 passing yards and one touchdown pass as he completed 15 of 33 passes for a QB rating of 45.1. Putting into perspective just how off a day Sunday was for Garoppolo, his previous low in the QBR department was 82.4 as Jimmy G suffered his first loss on a football field since December 13, 2013 when he was still under center for the Eastern Illinois University football program.
Overall, Sunday's loss was a sloppy performance for a Niners team that was without two of their top weapons on offense and a defense that is still trying to establish their identity. While players like rookie linebacker Fred Warner who tallied 12 tackles in his debut to go with the forced fumble and third-year defensive-end DeForest Buckner who logged 2.5 sacks showed flashes of greatness, there's still plenty of areas that need to be cleaned up for this team to click. However, that's nothing out of the ordinary for a team one week into the season. Given communication duties in his first glimpse of meaningful NFL action, Warner resembled a promising young defender who should only get better with Reuben Foster by his side when the two will be allowed to team up come Week 3 after Foster serves his suspension stemming from a series of off-the-field arrests during the off-season. As for Buckner, his 2.5 sacks were the most by a 49er in a single game since Aldon Smith's 5.5 sack performance back on November 19, 2012. San Francisco will need the help of them and others if they plan to get even in the win column in Week 2.
Week 2 Preview - Playing at Levi's Stadium for the first time this season, the 49ers will host the (0-1) Detroit Lions who are coming off a 48-17 shellacking at home at the hands of the New York Jets on Monday Night Football. Quarterback Matt Stafford who was picked off by the Jets defense four times on Monday for the fifth time in his career, will look to shake off one of the worst starts of his career and redeem himself against a San Francisco defense. With Detroit featuring a mediocre run game under first-year head coach Matt Patricia, DeForest Buckner and co. will have their eyes set on Stafford in hopes of making him feel just as uncomfortable as he was against the Jets. As for Garoppolo, facing a defense not nearly as ferocious as Minnesota's, I expect to see San Francisco's offense bounce back in the red zone, somewhere they didn't fair too well in Week 1. Meanwhile on the injury front, aside from receiver Marquise Goodwin who's been listed as day-to-day nursing his quad, the health at left-guard will be one coach Kyle Shanahan will keep an eye on heading into Week 2 as both Mike Person and Joshua Garnett went down with foot injuries against Minnesota, forcing 2018 first round pick Mike McGlinchey to man the position for the first time in his life and doing an exceptional job considering.
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Before the San Francisco Giants would even take the field in the series-opener against the division-leading Arizona Diamondbacks on August 2, the month would get off to an unfortunate start as the team learned they would be without both Johnny Cueto and Pablo Sandoval for the remainder of the season as both players were ruled out with injuries just a day apart. With Johnny Cueto needing Tommy John surgery and Pablo Sandoval suffering a significant tear in his right hamstring, the two injuries would only make things harder for a team looking to gain ground in the standings. An 8-1 win over the D-Backs would help brighten the mood, but back to back losses would force the Giants to hope for a series split which they would succeed at, sandwiching the four-game set with a win in the finale.
Hoping to carry some momentum into their next series as the Giants returned home for a short two-game series to host the defending champion Houston Astros who were without several key cogs in their offense. Instead, the Giants were humbled on consecutive days as the bullpen failed to close out a pair of stellar starts from starters Dereck Rodriguez and Madison Bumgarner. The loss in the opener would prove to be one of the more heart-wrenching losses of the season as the Giants took a 1-0 lead into the ninth inning before calling on closer Will Smith to shut the door. With 2-outs in the first inning and two runners on, Smith had the Astros down to their final out before second baseman Marwin Gonzalez launched a 3-run shot to left, shocking the AT&T Park faithful. Prior to the blown save, the Giants had a record of 46-2 when leading after 8 innings until Smith's hiccup as he surrendered his first home run in a Giants uniform. Going seven strong innings in which he allowed only 3 hits, walked none and struck out 7, Rodriguez's impressive outing would result in a no-decision after having a win stripped away. Bumgarner would pitch just as well in Game 2 the following day, tossing seven shutout frames before reliever Ray Black spoiled things in the 8th inning by allowing a 2-run home run to Houston first baseman Tyler White as the 'Stros left San Francisco with the 2-game sweep.
With a day off before beginning a four-game series against the visiting Pittsburgh Pirates, the Giants would need to regroup and solve a team who they've lost 12 of their last 17 games against in AT&T Park. After a 10-5 loss in the series-opener, the Giants answered with a 13-run outburst in Game 2, winning in a 13-10 slugfest in which San Francisco would bat around twice in a game for only the second time this season as they sent nine batters to the plate in the first inning and ten in the third. Buster Posey led the charge with his 18th career 4-hit game and second on the season as every starter managed to hit safely and score at least once including pitcher Derek Holland. Giants hitters would force a season-high 11 walks in the ballgame, the most since August 8, 2016 at Miami, four of them by Andrew McCutchen who drew a career-high four walks for the third time in his career and first since 2015. But in Game 3, a day in which the Giants would honor the all-time home run leader Barry Bonds by retiring his jersey number 25, the Giants offense appeared to have used all of their runs the night before as they were shutout by a final of 4-0. Thankfully, another dazzling start by Dereck Rodriguez (7 innings, 2 hits, 1 walk, 1 earned run and 4 strikeouts) would aid the Giants in salvaging the final game to split the four-game set.
Next on tap would be a trip to Dodger Stadium to renew rivalries with the archrival Dodgers. What started off as a classic pitchers duel between Madison Bumgarner and Clayton Kershaw in the series-opener, soon turned into a meltdown of bullpens as L.A. appeared to be on track for a 2-1 win before the Giants scratched four runs across the board in the 9th inning. Down to their final out, San Francisco rallied against Scott Alexander who filling in for Kenley Jansen, allowed a go-ahead 2-run single to the pinch-hitting Nick Hundley. The Giants would strike for another pair of runs via a Gorkys Hernandez RBI single and a fielding error by first baseman Max Muncy, helping San Francisco steal the 5-2 victory. Game 2 of the series would feature just as much drama as both teams' starting pitchers pitched well before the Giants scored in the 9th inning to pull out the 2-1 win. But it was what took place in the 7th inning that would steal the headlines as the Giants and Dodgers partook in another benches-clearing fracas. No surprise, right?
Things got testy when Giants catcher Nick Hundley had some choice words for Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig who appeared to throw a fit after fouling off a pitch he thought he should've taken deep. With Bumgarner on the mound the night before who's had his fair share of history with Puig in the past, the bombastic outfielder made a similar gesture which left MadBum shaking his head. But after doing it for a second consecutive night, Hundley finally did the baseball world a favor by telling Puig to quit his complaining and return to the batters box which Puig took exception to before engaging in a shoving match. And while Hundley showed restraint, Puig went berserk, taking a swipe at the Giants catcher despite being held back by several of his Dodgers teammates as well as Dodger skipper Dave Roberts. Both players would be separated before both were issued an ejection. For their actions in the dust up, Puig would receive a two-game suspension and Hundley would be fined, but the real damage would be done to that of Dereck Rodriguez who sustained a hamstring injury during the fray, landing him on the 10-day disabled-list. It would serve as quite the blow with the Giants playing catch-up and already without starters Jeff Samardzija and Johnny Cueto. The Dodgers would avoid the sweep with a 4-3 extra-inning win in Game 3.
Just when the Giants appeared to be in line for a favorable match-up against the lowly Cincinnati Reds, whatever sliver of hope that remained in the Giants playoff chances took a big hit as Cincy pulled off the three-game sweep. Making the trip to Cincinnati's Great American Ballpark, appropriately nicknamed "Great American Smallpark" for its offensive-friendly dimensions, that didn't appear to be the case for the G-Men as they managed to only score one run in each of the first two games and were outscored 20-6 overall en route to a three-game sweep despite the Reds being without their best hitter in Joey Votto for the entire three-game series. The Giants would give a much better showing in their next series in New York as they squared off with the Mets in four. After a struggle-filled win in the series-opener which the Giants would win 2-1 in 13-innings with the help of some poor defense and an error that scored the winning run, the Mets would claim Games 2 and 3. But in the series-finale, San Francisco would turn to ace Madison Bumgarner who's had ownage on the Mets in Citi Field thoughout his career. MadBum improved his scoreless-inning streak to 33 in Queens before allowing a solo home run to Todd Frazier. The solo dinger would be the only blemish on the day for Bumgarner who tossed 8 innings of 5-hit ball, walking none and striking out eight as he out-dueled NL Cy Young candidate Jacob deGrom and also drove in the winning-run with an RBI double in the Giants' series-splitting, 3-1 win.
Returning home for the start of an 11-game homestand beginning with a rematch of the 2010 World Series against the Texas Rangers, the Giants would get another strong outing from rookie pitcher Dereck Rodriguez, allowing 2 earned runs over 6 innings pitched. But while D-Rod appeared to be in line to get his seventh win of the season, the Giants bullpen failed to hold the lead and San Francisco's 6-0 advantage quickly evaporated, giving up five runs in the last four innings before dropping the game in the 10th inning, 7-6. The loss would be just the latest heart-breaking defeat suffered by the bullpen in the last month, but a bounce back performance in Games 2 and 3 would allow the Giants to take the series. Game 2 would witness the Giants tally a pair of homers for the first time at home since June 19, a span of 30 games, putting into perspective just how serious San Francisco's recent power outage has been. And on a day the ball club celebrated their 8-year anniversary of the 2010 World Series triumph, the Giants would get their revenge after spoiling the series-opener. Sadly, it would be the last series of the season for catcher Buster Posey who was shutdown before Sunday's finale to undergo surgery to repair the ailing hip that caused him to sit out of July's All-Star Game. With a recovery timetable of six months, Posey is expected to be ready in time for camp next season. Prior to being shutdown, Posey had hit .284 on the season with five home runs and 41 RBI's.
Hosting Arizona for a three-game meeting, the Giants would look to pull off a bit of a late-season miracle as well as hopefully play the role of spoiler. They would do just that in at least two of the three games, as Giants pitching put together back to back shutouts to take the series, the second of which on a walk-off as the pinch-hitting Gorkys Hernandez supplied all the offense needed with the first walk-off hit of his career, sending the first and only pitch he saw to left field with a single to score Steven Duggar from second base, snapping the scoreless tie. The shutout win would mark the ninth straight start by the Giants starting pitching staff with an ERA below 2.00. With Arizona scuffling at the plate, the D-Backs would see their struggles hit 25 consecutive scoreless-innings before finally scoring a run in the third inning of Game 3, a game in which they would salvage and fend off the three-game sweep with a 3-1 victory. Pitcher Dereck Rodriguez would suffer the loss and though he would only allow three runs over 5 innings pitched, it was clear he didn't have his best stuff as he gave up five hits and walked four, snapping a streak of nine consecutive starts of allowing two runs or less. Despite the loss, the Giants managed to win the season series against Arizona, 11-8.
Set to finish the month of August with the first of three games against the Mets, the Giants received some unfortunate news regarding outfielder Steven Duggar who appeared to hurt his shoulder in the series against Arizona while diving back to second base on a close play. An MRI would reveal a torn labrum in Duggar's left shoulder which would put an end to his 2018 rookie campaign. The team would also say goodbye to one of their most productive hitter this year as they dealt Andrew McCutchen to the New York Yankees in exchange for two prospects -- infielder Abiatal Avelino and right-handed pitcher Juan De Paula. A free-agent at the end of the season, San Francisco shipped 'Cutch to a playoff contender that had been in talks with Giants brass as far back as before the July 31st trade deadline. With the two teams unable to make a deal at that time, the Yanks made sure to capitalize on their second and final opportunity, acquiring the former MVP and 5-time All-Star just in time to make him eligible for the team's October roster, if the Yankees do in fact make the postseason. As of September 1, New York currently sits 7.5 games behind the first place Red Sox in the AL East, while holding a 5.5 game cushion for the American League's top Wild Card spot. At the time of his departure, McCutchen led the team in games (130), doubles (28), runs (65), walks (73), home runs (15) and RBI's (55).
The McCutchen trade coupled with the injury to Duggar would open the door for the Giants to kick the tires on their No. 4 prospect Chris Shaw who Bruce Bochy and company will get an extended look at in the final month of the season, as well as catcher Aramis Garcia, both of whom would be called up in time for the series-opener against the Mets. With Bochy wasting no time to plug them into the lineup, the duo would make their debuts together in a 7-0 win over the Mets. Both players would contribute in the victory, and with much of the hype surrounding the power of Shaw who finished 0-for-2 with a sac-fly, it was Garcia who stole the show. Carrying a 1-0 lead into the eighth inning, Garcia kicked things off with a lead-off home run to make it 2-0, San Francisco, becoming only the second Giants catcher since 1919 to homer for his first career hit (Eliezer Alfonzo 6/2/2006 also vs the Mets). With the Giants tacking on four more runs and batting around in the inning, Garcia would connect on an RBI single to become the first player in Giants franchise history to record the first two hits of his career in the same inning. With Garcia's help, the offense would back arguably the best outing of rookie pitcher Andrew Suarez's career -- 7 innings, 2 hits, 0 walks, 0 runs, 4 strikeouts. Having Garcia behind the dish might've had something to do with that considering the two were teammates in the Minors and even before that back in High School as the pair grew up in south Florida together.
Collectively, the Giants finished the month of August with a record of 13 wins and 14 losses and currently sit at an even 68-68 on the year. Entering the final calendar month of the season, the Giants have 26 games remaining and sit in fourth place in the NL West behind the Diamondbacks, Dodgers and Rockies, yet only trail by 6.5 games in the division. And while the first two games of September will be against the lowly Mets, the Giants still have trips to Colorado, Milwaukee and St. Louis on the calendar, all of whom are fighting for playoff spots in the NL. Not to mention the Braves, Rockies and Dodgers are all slated to pay AT&T Park a visit one more time this season. The only sub-par team that the Giants will see in the final month are the Padres who the Giants will see both at home and on the road before the end of the regular season. So if the Giants have yet to play their best baseball of the season and hope to stand a chance in pulling off a comeback in time for the postseason, they'll need to show it down the stretch against some formidable opponents and without one of their offensive leaders in Buster Posey.
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