Los Angeles Dodgers vs. San Francisco Giants
RHP Walker Buehler vs. RHP Logan Webb
LOS ANGELES DODGERS
REPEAT LA: The Dodgers advanced to the National League Division Series against the San Francisco Giants on the shoulders of Chris Taylor, who launched a two-run shot in the ninth inning to walk-off the St. Louis Cardinals, 3-1 on Wednesday night. The two franchises have been around since the 19th century and both moved from New York to California in 1957 but have never met in the
playoffs. They met in the tiebreaker series in 1951 and 1962 but those were part of the regular season. This matchup involves the two best records in all of baseball and it is the first time in Major League Baseball history that two 105+ wins teams will meet in the
postseason.
ALL GOOD THINGS COME TO AN END: The Dodgers went 106-56, finishing the season with a franchise tying 106 wins (2019) and the second-best mark in the Major Leagues. The Dodgers .654 winning percentage was slightly behind the San Francisco Giants, who also set a franchise record with 107 wins and a .660 winning percentage. The Dodgers .654 winning percentage is tied fourth highest with the 2019 squad since 1900, trailing only the 2020 (.717), 1953 (.682) and 1942 (.675) teams. The Dodgers eight division titles was the longest active streak in the Major Leagues, and it was the third longest streak in Major League Baseball history:
MLB All-Time – Most Consecutive Division Titles
Braves, 1991-2005 14
Yankees, 1998-2006 9
Dodgers, 2013-2020 8
The Dodgers will play “October Baseball” for the 35th time in franchise history (26th time in Los Angeles) and for the 11th time in the last 14 years.
HOME SWEET HOME: The Dodgers set a franchise record, finishing the regular season with six straight wins at home and adding to their home winning streak of 15. The 15 straight wins is a new franchise record, surpassing the Brooklyn Robins, who won 14 straight in 1921 from April 12 – May 12. The Dodgers finished the home campaign with 58 wins, leading the Major Leagues in winning percentage (.712) and finishing one win shy of the franchise mark set by the 2019 team that went 59-22 at Dodger Stadium. Los Angeles has led the National League in home winning percentage the last three seasons and four of the last five seasons. The Dodgers finished third in the Major Leagues with a .593 road winning percentage, finishing behind the San Francisco Giants (.654) and Milwaukee Brewers (.617) for the best road record in the Majors.
THE DOCTOR IS IN: Dave Roberts is now a perfect 6-for-6 in postseason appearances, becoming the first National League manager in history to lead his team to the playoffs in his first six seasons and is the first to accomplish the feat since Joe Torre led the Yankees to the playoffs in his first 12 seasons at the helm. Under Roberts, the Dodgers have posted a Major League best 541-329 (.622) record since 2016. Last season, he led the Dodgers to the 2020 World Series Championship, becoming the first African-American manager of a World Series-winning team since Cito Gaston and the first manager of Asian heritage to win the World Series. He has led the Dodgers to two 106-win seasons, and in his six seasons at the helm, he is averaging 90.3 wins a season, which included the 60-game season that resulted in 43 wins. He has won the NL West five of six seasons and became the first manager in franchise history to win 100 games three times, besting Hall of Famers Walter Alston (1962 and 1974) and Leo Durocher (1941and ’42). In the 2020 playoffs, Roberts became the winningest postseason manager in franchise history, surpassing Hall of Famer Tommy Lasorda with his 32nd postseason win in Game 5 of the NLCS against the Braves. He has 39 postseason wins, which is seventh all-time in Major League
Baseball history and currently ranks third amongst active managers, trailing only Tommy LaRussa (70) and Terry Francona (40).
WALK THE LINE: Dodger right-hander Walker Buehler will get the nod tonight after a masterful 2021 campaign (16-4, 2.47 ERA, 212 K). In his postseason career, Buehler has made 11 postseason starts, going 3-1 with a 2.35 ERA (16 ER/61.1 IP) and 83 strikeouts against 22 walks. Last season, the Kentucky native helped the Dodgers win the World Series by going 2-0 with a 1.80 ERA (5
ER/25.0 IP) and 39 strikeouts in five starts. The Dodgers went 4-1 in those games and the Dodgers are 7-4 in his 11 postseason starts.
In his last postseason start, he tossed 6.0 innings, allowing one run on three hits with 10 strikeouts in Game 3 of the World Series.
In his career against the Giants, he is 7-1 with a 2.55 ERA (19 ER/67.0 IP) and 70 strikeouts. He went 3-1 with a 2.19 ERA and a 0.97 WHIP in six starts against SF this season.
ROUNDTRIPPERS: Los Angeles clubbed 237 homers and finished the season third in the National League in homers, trailing only San Francisco (241) and Atlanta (239). It was the first season since 2017 that the Dodgers have not led the NL in homers. The Dodgers tied Colorado for the Major League lead with 11 grand slams this season, which set a new franchise record for bases loaded clouts, surpassing their previous high of 10, which they set in 2004. Max Muncy led the team with 36 homers, setting a new career-high and recording his 118th homer in Dodger Blue. The infielder’s 118 homers with the Dodgers rank 27th all-time and his 36 homers tied for fourth in the NL. With 35+ homers in three seasons (2018, 2019, 2021), he became only the third Dodger in Franchise history with three 35+ homer seasons, joining Duke Snider (5 times) and Mike Piazza (3).
On August 7 against the Diamondbacks, the Dodgers tied a franchise record with eight homers in a game, matching their other two eight-homer games on March 28, 2019 vs. ARI and May 23, 2005 at MIL. The Dodgers had 12 games this season with four or more homers, which was fourth best in the Majors, behind San Francisco and Toronto (18) and Boston (13).
Los Angeles homered in 123 of its 162 games and went 91- 32 when hitting at least one homer. The Dodgers were 46- 11 when hitting two or more home runs in a game. Corey Seager (Sept. 26), Trea Turner (Sept. 26) and Muncy (May 30) all tallied their 100th homers this season. The Dodger infielders tallied 132 homers this season, finishing third in the Majors behind San Francisco (149) and Toronto (139) for infield homers.
BORN TO RUN: The Dodgers led the Majors with a +269 run differential, 59 better than the next best team (San Francisco +210). The +269 run differential represented the second best in franchise history, trailing only the 2019 (+273) team. Their +269 run differential ranks eighth all-time in National League History (Since 1900):
National League Run Differential
1902 Pittsburgh Pirates 335 (775 Scored/440 Allowed)
1906 Chicago Cubs 323 (704/381)
1944 St Louis Cardinals 282 (772/490)
1942 St. Louis Cardinals 275 (755/480)
1905 San Francisco Giants 275 (780/505)
2019 Los Angeles Dodgers 273 (886/613)
1904 San Francisco Giants 270 (744/474)
2021 Los Angeles Dodgers 269 (830/561)
Los Angeles led National League with 830 runs scored and led the Majors with 561 runs allowed. The Dodgers have led the NL in runs scored and runs allowed four straight seasons, which is tied for the longest such streak by a team leading its league in both categories since the Yankees (1936-39) The Dodgers have led the National League in run differential since 2017 and their +1149 run differential
leads all of baseball in the last five years:
Major League Run Differential Leaders (Since 2017)
Los Angeles Dodgers +1149
Houston Astros +971
Cleveland Indians +666
New York Yankees +649
Boston Red Sox +624
The next closest NL team in run differential is the Chicago Cubs (+483), which represents +666 run difference in favor of Los Angeles. All other teams in the NL West have a negative run differential in the five-year span, SF (-32), Arizona (-106), Colorado (-171) and San Diego (-448). START ME UP: Dodger starting pitchers lead the Major Leagues in ERA (2.93), WHIP (1.03), opponents’ average (.209) and opponents’ OBP (.265) and finished third in the Majors with 1.09 home runs per 9.0 innings.
According to Sport Radar, the Dodgers are just the fifth staff in the divisional era to lead the Majors in both opponents’ average by a reliever (.205) and opponents’ average by a starter (.209). The other teams were the 1993 Braves, the 2012 Rays, the 2016 Cubs and the 2018 Astros.
Los Angeles starters finished with a National League best 74 quality starts despite having 20 different players start a a game for them this season
THE BIG 3: Max Scherzer, Walker Buehler and Julio Urías led the pitching staff all season, going a combined 43-7 with a 2.59 ERA. The Dodgers went 59-17 in games started by one of the three. The three hurlers joined the 1927 New York Yankees as the only teams to ever to have the Top-3 pitchers in win pct. at the end of the season (min. 15 decisions), as Urías led the Majors with a .870 winning percentage, while Buehler (.800) and Scherzer (.789) finished second and third. Urías made history on 10/2, becoming the fourth Mexican-born pitcher to win 20 games, joining Fernando Valenzuela (1986), Teddy Higuera (1986) and Esteban Loiaza (2003). He is the Dodgers’ first 20-game winner since Clayton Kershaw in 2014 and the first in the NL since Max Scherzer in 2016. Urías is just the 13th Los Angeles Dodger to join the 20-win club, joining Sandy Koufax (3 times), Clayton Kershaw (2), Don Drysdale (2), Claude Osteen (2), Orel Hershiser, Fernando Valenzuela, Al Downing, Bill Singer, Andy Messersmith, Tommy John, Don Sutton and Ramon
Martinez. His .870 winning percentage is fifth all-time in MLB history behind Randy Johnson (.900, 1995), Ron Guidry (.893, 1978), Max Scherzer (.875, 2013) and Clayton Kershaw (.875, 2014) (Minimum 25 starts). Buehler finished his fifth season, recording career-highs in innings pitched (207.2), wins (16), starts (33) and posting his second 200+ strikeout season. He finished the campaign among the league leaders in wins (3rd), ERA (2.47), strikeouts (7th, 212), starts (T-1st), Opp. Avg (2nd, .212). Scherzer posted a 7-0 record with a 1.98 ERA (15 ER/68.1 IP) and 92 strikeouts in 11 starts for the Dodgers. The Dodgers went 11-0 in his starts and on Sept. 12 vs. SD, he became the 19th player in Major League Baseball history to record his 3,000-strikeout with a strikeout of Eric Hosmer.He currently ranks 18th all-time with 3,020 strikeouts and is the strikeout leader amongst active players. RUBBER ARMS: Dodger relievers posted a 3.16 ERA, finishing second in the Majors behind San Francisco (2.99). The Los Angeles bullpen held opponents to a .205 average (1st, MLB) and posted a 1.19 WHIP, third best in the Majors. Dodgers’ relievers led the Majors with 59 saves and their 67.5 save percentage was third best in the Majors. Post All-Star Break, Dodger relievers led the Majors in saves (27), WHIP (1.10), Opp. Avg. (.190), Opp. SLG (.310), Opp. OPS (.594) and inherited runners strand rate (85%). Kenley Jansen finished the campaign with 38 saves in 43 tries with a 2.22 ERA (17 ER/69.0 IP) and 86 strikeouts. He recorded his 350th save as a Dodger, which is an on-going franchise record and ranks 13th all-time in Major League history. In his last 30 games after blowing three consecutive saves from July 18-22, he went 3-0 with 17 saves and a 1.17 ERA (4 ER/30.2 IP) with 42 strikeouts. Blake Treinen led the team in games (72) and posted a 6-5 record with a 1.99 ERA and seven saves. His 1.99 ERA ranked ninth in the Majors for relievers with 50+ games, while ranking amongst relief leaders in games (T-8th) and Opp. Avg. (11th, .179).
THE BATTING CHAMP: Trea Turner concluded the 2021 season with a grand slam in the final contest of the regular season and captured his first career batting title with a .328 batting average. He became the first Dodger to win a batting title since Tommy Davis on back-to-back crowns in 1962 and 1963. Turner ended the season on a career-best 19-game hitting streak, which was the longest by a Dodger this season. During the streak, which began on Sept. 12, he is hit .405 (31-for-77) with seven homers, five doubles, 18 RBI and 19 runs scored. After the trade to the Dodgers on July 31, the All-Star recorded two hitting streaks of 16+ games, while recording a
hit in 46 of his 52 games in Dodger Blue. He hit .338 (70-for207) with 41 runs, 17 doubles, 10 homers and 28 RBI with LA. Turner led the NL in batting average (.328), hits (195), stolen bases (32), average vs. left-handed pitching (.392), multi-hit games (58), infield hits (33) and total bases (319). The Florida native become the first Dodger to win a batting title and lead the league in steals since Jackie Robinson in 1949. He was the NL Player of the Week for the final week of the season after slashing .458/.480/.917 with three homers and 11 RBI from Sept. 27 – Oct. 3.
THE ENCORE: Dodger shortstop Corey Seager enters the postseason as the reigning NLCS and World Series MVP. He became the second Dodger in franchise history (Orel Hershiser in 1988) to win the NLCS and World Series MVP in the same season after clubbing seven homers in 18 games and slashing .328/.425/.746 in the 2020 postseason. He had the second-most home runs (eight), second-most runs scored (20), and second-most RBI (20) of any postseason in MLB history last year. Seager finished his seventh season in Dodger Blue with a .306 batting average and 16 homers and 57 RBI. He missed part of the season with a broken hand but returned July 30th and finished the season hitting .335 (69-for-205) with 15 doubles, one triple, 12 homers and 35 RBI.
REDTOBER: Dodger third baseman and postseason standout Justin Turner finished the campaign tying his career-high of 27 homers (also, 2016) while driving in 87 runs and hitting .278 in 151 games. The two-time All-Star finished his eighth season in Dodger Blue and has slashed .298/.379/.498 with 143 homers and 493 RBI in 947 games as a Dodger. He recorded his 150th career homer on September 30 against the Padres and recorded his 500th career RBI on April 5 at Oakland. In 73 postseason games (all with the Dodgers), Turner has hit .294 (80-for-272) with 13 homers, 19 doubles and a .905 OPS. He holds the Dodger postseason records in homers, doubles, hits and RBI. He clubbed his 13th postseason homer on Wednesday, which is tied for fourth all-time in NL History, and trails only Albert Pujols (18), Carlos Beltran (16) and Jayson Worth (15)
BIG BOSS MAN: Dodger President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman assembled his seventh straight postseason team with the Dodgers and eighth straight (2013 Tampa Bay Rays) overall. He triggered the midseason trade that brought Max Scherzer and Trea Turner to Los Angeles on July 30, which resulted in the best record in the Majors from August 1 on (43-13, .768). Since taking over the top spot in baseball operations, Freidman’s Dodger teams have gone 634-399 (.614) while setting the record for most wins in Los Angeles Dodger history in 2019 and 2021 (106, franchise record). He has won the NL West six of his seven years and has made it to the WS in three of his six tries with the Dodgers.
RHP Walker Buehler (16-4, 2.47 ERA in 33 GS)
2021 Regular Season:
▪ Last pitched on Sunday against the Brewers, picking up the win with 11 strikeouts in 5.0 innings of one-run ball…allowed three hits, walked one and threw 79 pitches
▪ Established career-best mark with a 2.47 ERA…set career highs in wins (16), innings (207.2) and starts (33)
▪ Selected to his second career All-Star team, but did not pitch in the All-Star Game
▪ Had a 23 start streak without a loss from Sept. 27, 2019-June 29, 2021, tying the franchise record along with Kirby Higbe (1943-46)…went 9-0 with a 2.72 ERA during the run
▪ Ranked among the NL’s best in wins (3rd), innings (2nd), strikeouts (7th), WHIP (0.97, 4th), opponents’ batting average (.199, 2nd),
▪ Has struck out 212 against 52 walks in 207.2 innings…posted his second 200-strikeout season (also: 2019, 215 SO)
▪ Has pitched 6.0 or more innings in 29 of his 33 starts
Career vs. Giants:
▪ Has gone 7-1 with a 2.55 ERA (19 ER/67.0 IP) in 13 career games (11 starts) against the Giants
▪ Went 3-1 with a 2.19 ERA (9 ER/37.0 IP) in six starts against the Giants this year…posted a 0.97 WHIP
▪ Had one of his worst starts of the season in his last outing against San Francisco on Sept. 5 at Oracle Park, when he allowed six runs in 3.0 innings in the Dodgers’ 6-4 loss…it was the first loss of his career against San Francisco
Career Postseason:
▪ Helped lead the Dodgers to their 2020 World Championship, going 2-0 with a 1.80 ERA (5 ER/25.0 IP) in five Postseason starts…limited opponents to a .196 batting average (18-for-92) with 39 strikeouts in 25.0 innings
▪ Has posted a 3-1 record and a 2.35 ERA (16 ER/61.1 IP) in 11 postseason starts, limiting hitters to a .177 batting average, posting a 0.99 WHIP and averaging 12.18 strikeouts per 9.0 innings…has allowed just one run in 13.0 innings in two World Series starts (0.69 ERA)…all time among pitchers with 60.0 or more Postseason innings, ranks 12th in ERA, fourth in opponents’ average and 10th in WHIP
SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS
NL WEST CHAMPIONS: The 2021 NL West Champion San Francisco Giants concluded their 139th regular season of play by winning their sixth NL West title and first since 2012… overall, it’s the Giants’ ninth division title since 1969…the Giants took sole possession of first place following their win on May 31 and held it for 121 of 122 days for the remainder of the season, beating out the Los Angeles Dodgers by 1.0 game.
TONIGHT’S GAME: The Giants and Dodgers play Game 1 of this best-of-five Division Series…these teams have never faced each other in the postseason…San Francisco is in the Postseason for the first time since 2016, while Los Angeles-NL has made the Postseason for the ninth-consecutive season.
OCTOBER BASEBALL: San Francisco has advanced to the postseason for the 27th time in franchise history (since 1900)…it marks the 13th postseason appearance in SF-era history (since 1958).
WINNING THE WEST: The Giants won their first NL West title since 2012 and their sixth overall…the Giants have won NL West titles in 1997, 2000, 2003, 2010, 2012 and 2021 since the division was formed in 1994.
POSTSEASON HISTORY: The Giants are 98-90-2 all-time in postseason play and 59-49 in the SF-era (since 1958)…they are 19-19-2 (win-lost-split) in 40 postseason series, having gone 15-18 (4-4-0 win-lost-split) in eight trips to the NLDS, 24-15 (5-2-0) in seven trips to the NLCS and 57-57-2 in the World Series (8-12-2).
27 APPEARANCES: The Giants’ 27 postseason appearances (since 1900) are tied for fifth-most all-time behind the New York Yankees
(57), Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers (35), St. Louis Cardinals (31) and Philadelphia/Kansas City/Oakland Athletics (29).
GIANTS IN THE DIVISION SERIES: The Giants will be making their ninth appearance in the Division Series, their first since 2016 against the Cubs…the Giants have won four of eight NLDS series, posting a record of 15-18.
WINNING WAYS IN PLAYOFFS: Beginning with the 2010 postseason, the Giants have gone 36-17 (.698) in postseason play, going 17-8 (.680) at home and 19-9 (.679) on the road.
GAME ONE’S: In Giants’ playoff history, the team has an overall record of 25-12 in Game 1 action since 1903 (16-7 in SF era) and 5-3 in Division Series Game 1’s…the Giants have won six of their last seven Game 1s dating back to the 2012 World Series.
POSTSEASON EXPERIENCE: The Giants’ NLDS roster features 12 pitchers and 14 position players…12 of the 26 players have appeared in at least one postseason game… five of the Giants’ pitchers have appeared in at least one postseason game (except for Castro, DeSclafani, Doval, Garcia, Leone, Rogers and Webb)…seven of the Giants’ 14 position players have MLB playoff experience (all but Dickerson, Duggar, Ruf, Slater, Solano, Wade and Yastrzemski).
AT THE HELM: This is the first postseason appearance under Manager Gabe Kapler… Kapler appeared in two postseasons as a player in 2003 and 2004 with Boston, winning one ring with the Reds Sox in ’04.
POSTSEASON LEADERS: C Buster Posey leads all Giants players in postseason games played with 53…IF Brandon Crawford ranks third on the list with 38 games and IF Brandon Belt is fifth with 37 games…Posey’s 51 postseason hits are the second-most in club history behind Pablo Sandoval (53).
VS. THE DODGERS: The 106-win Dodgers face the 107-win Giants in this NL Division Series…according to Elias, this will be their first ever postseason meeting, and it’s the first time in MLB history (regular season or playoffs) that two teams will meet after winning at least 105 games.
2021 REGULAR SEASON NOTES
OVERALL TEAM NOTES
HOW THE WEST WAS WON: The Giants clinched the National League West on the season’s final day with their franchise-record-setting 107th win…at the beginning of the season, Fangraphs projected the Giants to finish third in the National League West with a 5.7 percent chance of making the playoffs.
WHAT A FINISH: When it was all said and done, the Giants won the division by one game over the second place Dodgers… according to Elias, the Giants and Dodgers won on the same day 66 times this season (including the season’s final day), which is the third-most all-time by two teams from the same league… the only divisional opponents that did it more often were the Mariners and A’s in the AL West in 2001 (67)…additionally it’s the third time ever that MLB had two 105+ win teams in the same season and it was the first time they were both in the same league (AL or NL) (ESPN Stats & Info).
SIMPLY ONE OF THE BEST…: The Giants set a new franchise record with 107 wins, surpassing the 1904 New York Giants who went 106-47-5…it was the eighth time that the Giants franchise has reached the 100-win mark…the 107 wins were the most by a National League team since the 1986 New York Mets won 108 games, which is tied for the most wins by a National League team in the divisional era (1969-present)…the 1975 Reds also won 108 games…the Giants finished with the best record in the Majors this season at 107-55…the last time they had the best regular season record in MLB was 2000 (97-65).
CONSISTENCY: The Giants became the first National League team with a .600 or better winning percentage in every month of the season since the 1942 Brooklyn Dodgers and are the eighth NL team to do so since 1901.
IF YOU AIN’T FIRST, YOU’RE LAST: SF was the first team in the Majors to reach 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90 and 100 wins this season… in the chart below you’ll find the last time in Giants history that each of those took place prior to this season.
Last Time Giants Were First In MLB to Win Milestones Prior to 2021
Win Milestone Last Time
40 wins 2014
50 wins 1938
60 wins 1993
70 wins 1993
Win Milestone Last Time
80 wins 1993
90 wins 2000
100 wins 1913
TOP LEVEL VIEW: SF had the best record in the Major Leagues for 125 days in 2021…the chart below courtesy of Stats, LLC shows how many days the Giants had the best record in the Majors, National League and the NL West in 2021 and the last time they led each of those, respectively, in team history are in parentheses.
Giants, Days with Outright Best Record in NL West/NL/MLB – 2021
Leading NL West
151 days (2003 — 182)
Leading NL
149 days (1924 – 154)
Leading MLB
12 days5 (1924 — 144)
ONE FOR THE ROAD: The Giants were an especially effective team on the road this season, posting a 53-28 (.654) record away from Oracle Park this season…that winning percentage was one of the best in franchise history.
Giants, Road Winning Percentage — All Time
Year (City) Record (Win Pct)
1904 New York 50-21 (.704)
1912 New York 54-23 (.701)
1885 New York 34-17 (.667)
Year (City) Record (Win Pct)
1993 San Francisco 53-28 (.654)
2021 San Francisco 53-28 (.654)
1905 New York 51-27 (.654)
SMELLS LIKE POTENTIAL: The Giants played 108 games this year that were decided by three or fewer runs, the fourth-most in the Majors…SF had the best record in such games of any team in the Majors (67-41, .620)…furthermore, the Giants were 51-30 (.630) in games decided by two or fewer runs, best in the Majors.
GOING STREAKING: SF rattled off a season-best nine-game winning streak from September 5-14…the Giants scored at least six runs and limited opponents to fewer than six runs in each of those nine games…in doing so, they became the first MLB team to score 6+ runs while allowing 6 or fewer runs in nine straight games since the 1939 New York Yankees (Stats, LLC).
BE A GOLDFISH: SF finished the season with the best record in the Majors in games following a loss, going 38-17 (.691).
GETTING DEFENSIVE: As a team, the Giants were worth 27 outs above average this season according to Statcast, tied for fifth-most in the Majors with KC behind the Cardinals (53), Astros (41), Rangers (31), and Rays (29)…for comparison’s sake, last year’s Giants were worth two outs above average in the shortened season.
GET LEMONS, MAKE LEMONADE: The Giants lost a good chunk of their Opening Day roster for long stretches throughout the 2021 season…overall, the Giants lost 1,490 games due to injury this season, 10th-most in the Majors…SF had 37 different players placed on the IL, the third-most in the Majors.
STRENGTH IN NUMBERS: The Giants made 376 transactions from the first day of the season to the final day of the season, the third-most in MLB behind the Mets (393) and Blue Jays (390).
WELCOME TO THE SHOW: Four different Giants made their Major League debuts this season and all were pitchers…they are: RHP Kervin Castro, RHP Camilo Doval, LHP Sammy Long and RHP Gregory Santos.
TEAM BATTING NOTES
ADÍOS PELOTA!: SF hit 241 homers in 2021, the most in franchise history for a single-season and the most in the National League this season…only the Blue Jays (262) hit more.
Giants, Home Runs in A Single Season — All Time
Year (City) Home Runs
2021 (SF) 241
2001 (SF) 235
Year (City) Home Runs
2000 (SF) 226
1947 (NY) 221
WE GOT FIVE ON IT: The Giants had a Major League record 17 different players hit at least five home runs this season, surpassing the previous mark held by the 2019 Mariners (16)… prior to this season, the record by a National League club was held by the 2019 Reds, who had 15 such players.
DOUBLE DIGIT HOMERS: SF also had 10 different players reach the 10 homer threshold in 2021, most by any NL team and tied for the most in the Majors with the Dodgers, Rays and Yankees… the 10 such players with 10 or more homers was also a new team franchise record with the previous best being nine different players in 2000, 1987, 1958 and 1952.
AND WHEN YOU’RE FIFTEEN…: Additionally, the Giants had seven different players reach the 15-homer mark this season, the most of any team in Giants history…the previous mark was six different players with 15 or more homers by the 2002 Giants.
YOU MIGHT FEEL A PINCH: The Giants set a new franchise and Major League record with 18 pinch-hit homers, passing the previous mark of 14 set by the 2001 club…the 2016 St. Louis Cardinals held the previous MLB record with 17.
FOOOORE: SF turned in a franchise-best 17 games with four or more homers this season that also was tied for most in the Majors with Toronto…the previous Giants franchise record for 4+ homer games in a single season was 13 by the 1954 Giants… the 17 4+ homer games were second-best in National League history behind the 2019 Dodgers, who had 22 such games.
HOME RUN DIFFERENTIAL: While the Giants hit a lot of home runs this season their pitching staff did a good job of keeping the ball in the ballpark…SF’s home run differential was +90, which was the best figure in the Majors and tied for the fourth largest differential in the NL all-time.
HOME RUNS WITH MEANING: Of the franchise-record 241 homers hit this season, 111 of them either gave the Giants the lead or tied the game (88 go ahead and 23 game tying)…the 111 go-ahead and game-tying homers were the most in the Majors… overall, the 111 such homers accounted for 46.1 percent of SF’s homers hit this season.
NOT TO NITPICK BUT…: While the Giants offense had one of its most prolific seasons in some areas, the Giants did struggle in some instances…this season, Giants batters drove in a runner from 3rd base with less than two outs 45.1% of the time, the lowest percentage of any team in the Majors…in terms of making productive outs overall, the Giants as a team had the worst percentage of making a productive out (21.9%) of any team in the Majors…Kansas City led the Majors at 32.6 percent… the league average was 26.4 percent.
TEAM PITCHING NOTES
PITCHING IN: The Giants pitching staff finished the season with the second-best ERA (3.24) in the Majors behind the Dodgers 3.01 ERA and issued the fewest amount of walks of any team in the Majors (416)…the next closest team, Tampa Bay, issued 436…if you look at full seasons only, the club’s 416 walks were the seventh-fewest allowed in the SF-era (1958-present)…the last Giants team to walk fewer batters over a full season was the 2014 club (389).
NO BULL: The Giants bullpen had a 2.99 ERA at season’s end, best in the Majors ahead of the Dodgers (3.16) and Rays (3.24)… it marked the lowest ERA posted by a Giants bullpen since 2010 (also 2.99)…they also had the lowest WHIP (1.13)and allowed the fewest walks (189) of any team in the Majors…they permitted only 24 homers, tied for sixth-fewest and fashioned a .222 batting average against, tied for second-lowest in the Majors this year behind the Dodgers (.205).
THE CAT’S PAJAMAS: Jose Alvarez, Jarlín García, Dominic Leone, Zack Littell, Jake McGee and Tyler Rogers all finished the season with at least 50 appearances and an ERA under 3.00…the Giants became the second MLB team in history to have six players with such seasons, matching the 2014 Seattle Mariners, which coincidentally enough also featured Leone as one of the six.
RELIEVERS OF THE MONTH: The Giants had two different relievers take home NL Reliever of the Month accolades in 2021…LHP Jake McGee won the award in July, converting all seven of his save chances while not allowing a run in 11.0 innings pitched…rookie RHP Camilo Doval took home September’s award after he did not allow a run over his final 14.1 innings with 20 strikeouts and three saves.
YOU GET A WIN AND YOU GET A WIN: SF had 23 different pitchers record at least one victory this season, the highest number in Giants history, surpassing the 2016 club who had 21 different hurlers record at least one win…the 23 different pitchers with at least one win is tied for seventh-most in Major League history…the 2016 Braves hold the MLB record with 28 different players recording at least one victory
GIMME FIVE: The Giants had five pitchers who made at least 20 starts this season and each had a win percentage of .500 or better…according to Stats, LLC, only three other rotations in franchise history have had five such pitchers.
Giants, 5+ Starting Pitchers with .500 Win Pct (min. 20 GS) — All Time
Year Number Pitchers
2021 5 J. Cueto, A. DeSclafani, K. Gausman, A. Wood, L. Webb
2000 5 S. Estes, M. Gardner, L. Hernández, K. Rueter, R. Ortiz
1917 5 R. Benton, P. Perritt, F. Schupp, S. Sallee, J. Tesreau
1906 5 R. Ames, C. Mathewson, J. McGinty, L. Taylor, H. Wiltse
INDIVIDUAL PLAYER NOTES
THREE’S COMPANY: IF Brandon Crawford, RHP Kevin Gausman and C Buster Posey were all selected to the NL All-Star team for this year’s Midsummer Classic in Denver…it was Crawford’s third selection (also 2015 and 2018), Posey’s seventh (also 2012-2013, 2015-2018) and Gausman’s first…Crawford was the only Giant to play in the game as Gausman pitched the day before the break and Posey was dealing with a thumb injury at the time.
I’M HAVIN’ A RECORD YEAR…: This season, 13 different Giants tied or set career-bests for homers in a single season… IF Brandon Belt (29), IF Brandon Crawford (24), OF Alex Dickerson (13), IF/OF Mauricio Dubón (5), OF Steven Duggar (8), IF/OF Thairo Estrada (7), IF/OF Darin Ruf (16), OF Austin Slater (12), IF Donovan Solano (7), IF/OF Jason Vosler (3), IF/ OF LaMonte Wade Jr. (18)and OF Mike Yastrzemski (25) all set new career highs in homers while IF Wilmer Flores (18) matched his previous career best.
DYNAMIC DUO: Both IF Brandon Belt and OF Mike Yastrzemski eclipsed the 25-homer mark this season…it was the first time since 2006 (Barry Bonds and Ray Durham) that a pair of Giants teammates hit at least 25 homers…it’s only the fifth time since 2000 that at least two Giants players each hit 25 or more homers.
WHO’S ON FIRST?: Brandon Belt, Curt Casali, Wilmer Flores, Darin Ruf, Jason Vosler and LaMonte Wade Jr. all saw some time at 1st base this season for the Giants…as a collective unit, Giants first basemen hit .283 with 48 homers,106 RBI and a .969 OPS…the 48 homers were most in the Majors while the .969 OPS was second-best in the Majors behind Toronto’s .970 OPS from
first basemen.
THE CAPTAIN: IF Brandon Belt enjoyed one of the best seasons of his career despite missing 54 games due to injury…Belt hit a career-best 29 homers in 2021 while also posting a career best .975 OPS for any season where he’s played at least 95 games…18 of Belt’s 29 homers this year came after the All-Star break as he averaged a homer every 8.61 at-bats…that rate was third-best by a Giants player in the SF-era after the break
YOU DA REAL MVP: IF Brandon Crawford turned in arguably the best season of his career, setting career bests in homers (24), RBI (90), OBP (.373), SLG (.522) OPS (.895), runs scored (79), Fangraphs WAR (5.5) and wRC+ (139)…Crawford led the Giants in go-ahead RBI (21) and was second on the team in game-winning RBI (12) behind LaMonte Wade Jr (13)…on the defensive side of the ball, Crawford was worth 15 outs above average this year according to Statcast, tied for 7th-best in the Majors…Crawford suited up in 138 games for the Giants this year and they were 93-45 (.673) in games he played while going 14-10 (.583) in games he didn’t.
CLUTCH CRAW: Crawford hit a blistering .353 with RISP this year, fourth best in the Majors, while also hitting .474 in late inning pressure situation with RISP…30 of his 90 RBI this year either gave the Giants the lead or tied the game…the 30 such RBI were seventh-most in the National League…14 of Crawford’s career-best 24 homers (58.3%) either gave the Giants a lead or tied the game (nine go-ahead, five game-tying).
GAUS DADDY: RHP Kevin Gausman turned in one of the best first half’s in team history, posting a 1.73 ERA in his first 18 starts… his 1.73 ERA was the second-lowest by any qualified Giants pitcher in their first 18 starts since Hal Schumacher posted a 1.39 ERA in his first 18 games in 1933 (Elias)…Gausman went 5-3 with a 4.42 ERA over his 15 starts in the second half of the season but still finished with a career-high in wins and innings pitched, a career-low in ERA and reached the 200 strikeout mark for the first time in his career…Gausman finished among the NL leaders in ERA (2.81, 6th), wins (14, T-5th), strikeouts (227, 4th), games started (33, T-1st), innings pitched (192.0, 5th), average against (.210, 6th) and WHIP (1.04, 7th)…his 492 swings and misses this season were most in the NL and second-most in the Majors only to Toronto’s Robbie Ray (527).
THE COMEBACK KID: After opting out in 2020, C Buster Posey returned this season to have one of his best offensive seasons since 2015…Posey’s 18 homers were the most he’d hit since 2015 (19) while he finished the year with a .889 OPS, his best total since his MVP season in 2012 when he posted a .957 OPS in 148 games…additionally, Posey crushed left-handed pitching this season with a .368 batting average, fourth-best in the Majors (min. 100 PA vs. LHP).
LATE NIGHT LaMONTE: IF/OF LaMonte Wade Jr. was one of SF’s most clutch hitters of the season, especially in late-game situations…Wade led the team in game-winning RBI (13) while his 19 go-ahead RBI were second-most only to Crawford…Wade had eight go-ahead RBI that put the Giants in the lead in the 8th inning or later, most in the National League and second-most in the Majors only to Aaron Judge’s nine…in the 9th inning this year, Wade was 13-for-24 (.565) with one double, one triple one homer and 12 RBI…he had six game-tying or go ahead hits in the 9th inning, the most by any MLB player in a season in the last 40 years according to Stats, LLC.
WEAPON X: RHP Logan Webb enjoyed a breakout campaign in 2021, setting career bests in virtually every category…from May 11 through the end of the regular season, Webb’s 2.40 ERA was second-best in the Majors (min. 20 games started) only to LAD’s Walker Buehler, who posted a 2.32 ERA in that time…over his final 20 starts of the season, Webb went 10-0 with that 2.40 ERA…the streak of 20 consecutive starts without taking a loss matched an SF-era record (also Jack Sanford in 1962).
LOGAN WEBB RHP #62
2021 RECORD: 11-3, 3.03 ERA
Height/Weight: 6-1/216 Bats/Throws: R/R
Born: Rocklin, CA
Age: 24 (November 18, 1996) Signed Through: 2021
BREAKOUT SEASON: Logan Webb wrapped up his third Major League season with a 11-3 record and 3.03 ERA (50er, 148.1ip) in 27 games (26 starts) for SF…the right-hander is set to make his first career postseason appearance tonight as he takes the mound for SF on this first game of the National League Division Series…the Giants gave gone 21-5 in his starts this year, winning 18 of his last 20 outings.
YOUNG AND HUNGRY: At 24 years, 324 days old, Webb will become the 10th-youngest player to start a postseason game for the Giants in the SF-era…Webb is the youngest postseason Giants starter since Madison Bumgarner’s World Series appearance in 2012 and the second-youngest Giant to start a Game 1 behind Bumgarner’s 2012 NLCS start at 23 years and 74 days old.
LAST TIME OUT: Had a career game last Sunday here at Oracle Park in SF’s final regular season game as the Giants beat San Diego… earned his 11th win of the season after throwing 7.0 innings and holding Padres hitters to four runs on six hits with eight strikeouts… Webb also stood out behind the plate, hitting SF’s only homer and going 2-for-3 with two RBI and three runs scored…became the first Giants pitcher to homer since Bumgarner on September 24, 2019 vs. Colorado.
VS. LOS ANGELES-NL: Is 1-2 with a 3.64 ERA (12er, 29.2ip) in six career starts against the Dodgers…Webb is slated to face Los Angeles-NL for a fourth time this year after posting a 1-0 record with a 2.25 ERA (4er, 16.0ip) in his three prior outings…SF won each of the his three starts vs. LA this season…Webb has also held Dodgers batters to a combined seven hits (.127 opposing average) with 17 strikeouts this year…last faced LA on July 27 here at Oracle Park, when he allowed just one run on three hits with five strikeouts over 6.0 innings.
ELITE STRETCH: Webb went 10-0 with a 2.40 ERA (31er, 116.1ip) anda .218 opposing average over his last 20 starts…he has struck out 125 batters (9.67 SO/9) and held opponents to six homers (0.46 HR/9ip) in that stretch…the outings lowered his ERA from the 5.34 figure he had through his first seven starts of the season to his final 3.03 mark…his 2.40 ERA after May 11 was second-lowest in MLB (min. 20gs).
STREAKING: The stretch also marked 20 consecutive starts without a losing decision, something no Giants pitcher can claim since Jack Sanford done so in 1962…the streak is tied for second-longest in Giants history (see chart on the right)…SF is 18-2 as a team in his last 20 starts.
UNDEFEATED TERRITORY: Webb went 6-0 with a 1.96 ERA (16er, 73.1ip) in 13 games at Oracle Park this season…his 1.96 ERA at home was third-lowest in the Majors (min. 65.0ip), trailing PHI’s Ranger Suarez (1.51) and LAA’s Shohei Ohtani (1.95)…SF won each of his 12 home starts this year, the most consecutive team wins in a Giant player’s home starts to begin a season since Billy Pierce also led the Giants to win 12 straight in 1962…the stretch also matches the second-longest such stretch in Giants history, trailing only Larry Benton’s 14 consecutive home starts without a Giants loss in 1928…the last team to go undefeated at home when a player starts was Zack Greinke’s Brewers in 2011 (Stats, LLC).
KEEP THEM IN THE YARD: Webb gave up a total of nine home runs over 148.1 innings this season, third-fewest in the Majors (min.
110ip)…his 0.55 HR/9ip average was third-best in MLB (min. 110ip), trailing MIL’s Corbin Burnes (0.38) and MIA’s Trevor Rogers (0.41).
GROUNDBALL: Had a 62.2% groundball rate this season, second-best in MLB (min. 110ip)…he’s also struck out batters out at a solid 26.5% rate.
FIRST TIME THRU: Batters are .187 (40×214) with just 10 extra-base hits and 79 strikeouts off Webb in his first time through the lineup.
IL STINT: Was placed in the IL on June 3 with a right shoulder strain and missed 34 games, returning on July 9…had also missed 10 games from May 18-28 with the same injury after feeling soreness following his start on May 17 at Cincinnati.
