San Francisco Giants look to bounce back against sliding Angels

Aug 7, 2023, 9:33 AM

OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA - AUGUST 06: Thairo Estrada (L) #39 of the San Francisco Giants talks to home p...

(Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images)

Sacramento Kings Beat Writer

Entering play on Saturday afternoon, the San Francisco Giants were riding high after winning three-straight games and seven of their past nine to put themselves on the doorstep of the National League West-leading Los Angeles Dodgers.

The Giants looked to keep the good vibes rolling against the league-worst Oakland Athletics in the latest (and possibly one of the last) Battle of the Bay series at the Coliseum.

Instead of bringing themselves closer to the top spot in the NL West standings, San Francisco (61-51) suffered a two-game sweep to their Bay Area counterpart, the 32-win A’s.

After opening play on Saturday 2.5 games behind the Dodgers, the Giants now sit four games back of Los Angeles after squandering a 6-3 lead on Sunday afternoon.

Bangeliers for the lead! pic.twitter.com/2xRMIjIwuC

— Oakland A's (@Athletics) August 6, 2023

“To get where you want to be, you have to beat the teams you’re supposed to beat,” San Francisco starting pitcher Alex Cobb said following the loss. “Letting two games go like that, hopefully, it’s not going to cost us at the end of the year, but definitely has the potential to.”

While the Giants lost ground in the NL West standings, they continue to hold the top National League Wild Card spot, although the Philadelphia Phillies entered a tie with San Francisco after winning two-straight games over the weekend.

If the Giants are looking for an opportunity to get back on track, a three-game set against the sliding Los Angeles Angels could be just what the doctor ordered.

After choosing to go all-in at the trade deadline and surround impending free agent superstar Shohei Ohtani with trade acquisitions Lucas Giolito, Mike Moustakas, Randal Grichuk, and CJ Cron, the Angels have hit a significant skid en route to making a hopeful playoff push.

Since last Tuesday’s trade deadline, Los Angeles has lost seven straight and fallen seven games behind the third and final American League Wild Card spot.

If the Angels want to avoid wasting another MVP season from Ohtani and improve their chances of keeping the star two-way player in free agency this winter, they will need to turn things around–and in a hurry.

The best part of this video is the mic picking up someone just cackling. Among his many tricks, Shohei Ohtani defies words and in the process brings out the primordial. pic.twitter.com/r3FcpYqkVj

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) July 28, 2023

On Wednesday, the Giants will face Ohtani, who holds a 9-5 record with a 3.32 ERA as a pitcher, but they will have to navigate his dangerous bat during all three games at Angel Stadium.

Ohtani is on his way to a second MVP award over the past three seasons, hitting .306 with 40 home runs and 82 RBI with two months of the regular season remaining.

While Ohtani is setting the baseball world ablaze, the Angels have struggled to produce around its superstar. Entering play on Monday, Los Angeles has hit .213 and averaged 3.3 runs during their seven-game losing streak.

Can San Francisco right the ship and bury the Angels’ postseason chances? It should be an action-packed week-starting series in Los Angeles.