2010–2014: A Dynasty in San Francisco History of the San Francisco Giants

1 2010–2014: dynasty in san francisco

1.1 2010: torture , triumph

1.1.1 first championship in san francisco


1.2 2011: square one
1.3 2012: champions again
1.4 2013: inconsistent struggles
1.5 2014: third world series championship in san francisco

2010–2014: dynasty in san francisco
2010: torture , triumph

in 2010, in season described slogan giants baseball: torture broadcaster duane kuiper, club won national league western division title first time since 2003 after trailing san diego padres of season. (the torture slogan coined on april 21 edition of kruk , kuip on baseball on knbr radio, following game giants lost 1–0 despite 1-hitter thrown jonathan sánchez.) on july 4, after losing four-game road series in colorado, giants record stood @ 41–40 @ half-way point of season. boosted 21-game hitting streak buster posey, called in may aaa fresno, giants won 19 of remaining 24 games in july. august saw losing record of 13–15, club lost 4 series against braves, padres, phillies, , cardinals. on august 25, despite overcoming 10–1 deficit in 5th inning, giants lost reds in innings @ home drop 6.5 games behind san diego. 3 days later, following 11–3 debacle @ home against diamondbacks, brian sabean, bruce bochy, , drew northfield held private meeting starting pitchers, had gone 5–13 5.56 era in august, including 14 straight starts without win.

the padres suffered 10-game losing streak going september , on 5th, giants beat dodgers 3–0 move within game of first place. despite being shut out 4 times in ten games, giants recorded september 18–8 move first 3 games pitching staff achieved team era of 1.78, lowest in national league in september stretch run since 1965 dodgers. during september run, giants pitching staff allowed no more 3 runs 18 straight games, longest single-season streak since 1920. division title came down final 3 games of year in october @ home against san diego, giants clinching in last regular season game, 3–0. jonathan sánchez, had been ridiculed in august when failed make boast giants sweep padres, led september charge 3–1 record , 1.17 era, , took win in clincher. closer brian wilson finished game franchise record-tying , major league-leading 48th save. in second half of season giants went 51–30. after 9–20 first half against division opponents, giants won 29 of remaining 43 division games.

pat burrell in giants 2010 world series victory parade.

at beginning of 2010 major league baseball season 1 (jim caple of espn.com, although later recanted pick before nlcs, saying philadelphia phillies beat giants , advance world series) out of literally dozens of baseball writers , pundits picked giants reach world series, not expecting giants make playoffs.

first championship in san francisco

in 2010 national league division series, giants defeated atlanta braves 3 games one. tim lincecum won game 1 memorable , record-setting 14-strikeout, 2-hit shutout performance. in ensuing nlcs, giants took 3–1 advantage on philadelphia phillies, winning 2 games @ home after splitting first 2 @ philadelphia. game 1 notable cody ross hitting 2 homeruns off of roy halladay, had come off throwing no-hitter against cincinnati reds in postseason debut. starting pitcher giants tim lincecum rematched against phillies roy halladay in game 5. giants failed beat roy halladay, losing 4–2, forcing return trip philadelphia. in game six, giants beat philadelphia final score of 3–2, win nlcs 4–2 , advance face texas rangers in 2010 world series.

the first world series game highly anticipated matchup between 2-time national league cy young award winner (2008,2009) tim lincecum, against 2008 american league cy young award winner , heretofore undefeated in postseason play cliff lee. pitching matchup turned out sideline, giants won first game of world series 11–7 on rangers, backed freddy sanchez s 3 doubles, setting world series record being first player hit 3 consecutive doubles in first 3 @ bats. game saw giants set record runs (6) scored in single half-inning in world series since 1933. next day, giants won game 2 of world series, crushing rangers 9–0 after rangers walked 4 in row , allowed 7 runs giants in 8th inning. matt cain had dominant game, pitching 7 ⁄3 innings without giving run. giants went on lose game 3 in arlington, texas 4–2 after 3-run home run ranger s rookie mitch moreland in second inning, , solo home run josh hamilton in fifth. game 4 belonged giants, rookie left-handed starting pitcher madison bumgarner shut out rangers on 8 innings home runs aubrey huff , buster posey propelling team 4–0 victory. giants, along tim lincecum, won game 5 score of 3–1. lincecum outdueled cliff lee in every-pitch-matters matchup scoreless until Édgar rentería hit stunning three-run homer 2 outs in seventh inning. nelson cruz homered in bottom half, lincecum returned wicked self , preserved lead. brian wilson brought in pitch 9th , produced scoreless inning, allowing san francisco bring out series of firsts, not giants, city of san francisco , san francisco bay area. Édgar rentería named world series valuable player.

the firsts championship were:

giants:

championship since 1954, when in new york.
championship since moving san francisco.


city of san francisco:

world series championship.
major sports championship since 49ers won super bowl xxix in 1995.


san francisco bay area:

world series championship since oakland athletics swept giants in 1989.
major sports championship since 49ers win in super bowl xxix.

on november 15, 2010, giants catcher buster posey named nl rookie of year.

2011: square one

2011 began on dark note when giants fan bryan stow critically injured after being attacked dodgers fans in dodger stadium parking lot on opening day. season continued plagued hardship, on may 25 during regular season game against miami marlins giants star catcher, buster posey, suffered year ending injury in collision @ home plate. san francisco finished 2011 season disappointing 86–76 record, winding in second place in nl west, 8 games behind arizona diamondbacks.

2012: champions again

the giants started season playing barely above .500, trailing dodgers in second place of first half of season , falling 7.5 games near end of may. however, june 17–10 giants, combined june 11–17 dodgers included sweep giants, brought giants ahead 1 game end june. giants , dodgers continue trade places @ top until august 20, @ point giants started sweep of dodgers give them lead good.

on june 13, 2012, matt cain pitched first perfect game in 129-year history of franchise, against houston astros @ at&t park.

melky cabrera named valuable player of all-star game after delivering first-inning hit off tigers justin verlander, followed game-breaking, two-run homer in fourth inning off matt harrison of rangers. @ trade deadline giants picked right fielder hunter pence philadelphia phillies , second baseman marco scutaro colorado rockies. on august 15, melky cabrera suspended major league baseball 50 games use of performance-enhancing drugs. despite suspension, giants still won 2012 nl west division.

on october 11, giants became first national league team come 2–0 deficit in nlds beat cincinnati reds in 3 straight games @ great american ball park. giants clinched spot in national league championship series , became first take best-of-five winning last 3 on road. nlcs pitted giants against st. louis cardinals. cardinals won 3 out of first 4 games, bringing giants brink of elimination again. giants left-hander barry zito, left off of 2010 postseason roster, led giants 5–0 win in game 5, pitching 7 2/3 innings. giants won next 2 games reach world series against detroit tigers. giants defeated tigers in first game, pablo sandoval becoming fourth player in mlb history hit 3 home runs in world series game, , proceeded sweep detroit in 4 straight games second world championship in 3 years. sandoval received world series mvp award.

2013: inconsistent struggles

early in 2013 season, giants in first place in national league west. however, in may, during road trip toronto, giants began slide last place. struggled both offensively , defensively due several players being injured throughout season, notably Ángel pagán, suffered hamstring injury mid-season , out 12 weeks, , no-hit against cincinnati reds. buster posey, had won previous year s national league batting title, experienced significant drop-off, hitting 15 home runs (and 2 in second half of season) , slumping .294 average. although giants won season series on every team in own division, including going 11-8 on rival dodgers, won division, went 32-54 outside of division, including mlb second worst 6-14 record in inter-league play, season series victory outside of national league west being on atlanta braves. in several series, giants scored 5 runs or fewer, such against red sox (outscored 21-4, lost series 2-1), against yankees (outscored 12-3, lost series 2-1), against cardinals in st. louis (outscored 17-5, lost series 2-1), against blue jays in san francisco (outscored 5-2, split series 1-1), , against cubs in san francisco (outscored 6-3, swept). slide lasted until mid-august when giants began play efficiently again (highlighted 19-3 romp on rival dodgers in los angeles) , ended season in tie 3rd place san diego padres after brief resurgence. @ conclusion of season giants signed right fielder hunter pence five-year, $90 million contract. giants finished 2013 season 76-86 record. giants .469 record marked first losing record since 2008 , 1 of worst records ever team had won world series previous year, behind 1998 florida marlins.

one notable highlight tim lincecum throwing first no-hitter against san diego padres @ petco park in 9-0 victory. notable oddity happened during doubleheader cincinnati reds on july 23 in reds designated home team game 2 though giants playing @ home. reds won game 1, 9-3, , giants prevailed in game 2, 5-3.

2014: third world series championship in san francisco

the giants acquired outfielder michael morse , starting pitcher tim hudson in offseason. @ 1 point, giants had twice many wins had losses, sporting 42-21 record. however, 9.5 game lead on dodgers dissipated. lincecum pitched second no-hitter, against padres. won-loss record of 12-9, lincecum achieved more wins previous 2 seasons, though second-half struggles put lincecum out of starting rotation.

the giants finished season 88-74 record, first time in baseball s modern era had reached postseason under 90 wins. giants defeated pirates in 2014 national league wild card game, 8-0, madison bumgarner pitching complete game , brandon crawford hitting grand slam off of pirates starter edinson vólquez, first in mlb postseason history shortstop. giants won 2014 nlds, defeating nationals , passing cincinnati reds big red machine new national league record in consecutive postseason victories. giants played cardinals in 2014 nlcs rematch, winning in 5 games. travis ishikawa hit game winning walk-off 3 run homer in game 5. madison bumgarner named mvp of series. giants faced kansas city royals in 2014 world series, defeating al champions in 7 games, winning 4 games 3. madison bumgarner named world series mvp.

the championship giants third in five-year span, spurring debate on whether giants considered modern-day baseball dynasty.