The Giants enter October needing two wins to secure the division. They will start with the final game of their series in Arizona, before a final series in San Francisco against the NL Central chasing St Louis Cardinals. The Rockies are the only team that can overtake the Giants, with Colorado starting with the last two games of a home series against the Cardinals before finishing with a three game home series against the Dodgers.
October 1
It’s a tough 2-8 L for the Giants against the Diamondbacks. Juan Montoya has a tough outing for the loss, only managing 3.1 IP, with 7 H and 7 R. That saw the Giants fall 7-0 behind, which became 8 in the bottom of the 6th. The Giants scored single runs in the 7th and the 8th but with only 5 H on the day, didnÂ’t generate enough to earn the win. Meanwhile, the Rockies had a walk off victory 12-11 against the Cardinals. The Giants still require two games to secure a place in the postseason.
October 2
While the Giants have a rest day the Rockies ensure that the pressure remains on with an 11-8 win over the Cardinals to complete the three game sweep. The Cardinals are now at risk of missing out as they head to San Francisco while the Rockies host the eliminated Dodgers.
October 3
A huge result for the Giants as they take game one of their final series of the year, 6-4 over the Cardinals. Donte Lebeaux gave up 6 H and only 3 R in 5.1 IP but it was Arturo Bello who gets the W while Rickey Martino secured his 33rd SV of the season. The Giants did the damage in the 6th inning, trailing 4-0, PH Joel Hudson had a 2-run HR as part of a 5-run inning to take the lead. They tacked on an insurance run in the 8th to secure the victory. The Rockies refuse to go away though, a comfortable 10-3 victory over the Dodgers meaning the Giants still require another one from the final two games of the season.
October 4
The Giants blow a 4-3 lead, giving up 5 runs in the final three innings to drop game two 8-6. Dan Caines takes the loss, giving up 2 R in 1.1 IP after Jesus Barbosa gave up 3 R in 5.0 IP. Luckily for San Francisco, the Rockies were unable to take advantage as they dropped an extra-inning game 4-3 to the Dodgers. That defeat secured the NL West for the Giants, while a win on the final day will give the Giants a bye into the NLDS. ItÂ’s only a fourth NL West division title in the 30 years of this world, and 13th division title overall.
October 5
Cason Willard takes the mound for the Giants for the final game of the regular season and finishes with 5.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R. That was enough to earn the win as Wilfredo Polo and Ernesto Pantoja hit HRs and the Giants win 6-3. Martino finishes the game off to secure his 34th SV of the season, two more than he managed in his first full season with the Giants. That win, the Giants 88th secured the bye in the playoffs.
Final Standings
Despite losing of three to the Giants, the Cardinals manage to secure the NL Central, joining the Giants and Washington Nationals as division winners. The Braves and Mets both win more games than the Cardinals but have to settle for a Wild Card series while three teams tied for the final wild card spot, the Rockies taking the spot courtesy of their 5-1 record against the Pirates, giving them an overall .583 winning percentage in the mini table, ahead of the .474 of both Chicago and Pittsburgh.
Over in the American League the Royals finished as the only 100-win team in baseball, while the Yankees and the Angels won the East and West respectively. They are joined in the playoffs by the WestÂ’s Rangers and Mariners, and the Blue Jays from the East.
