Early Signs the San Francisco Giants Are the NL's Clear World Series Favorite

If the postseason is all about momentum, then the San Francisco Giants have it.

If the postseason is about doing all the little things right, then the Giants are the team doing that best.

When asked to choose which National League team is the clear World Series favorite, early signs point to the Giants.

Momentum

Dating back to the 2012 National League Championship Series, the Giants have now won 10 straight postseason games. Of the starting eight they’re sending out in the field every game, six of them were among the starting eight on their 2012 World Series championship team.

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Part of momentum is having hitters who come through in key situations.

They did enough of that last weekend against a tough customer in Stephen Strasburg in Game 1 of the National League Division Series and did it twice in Game 2.

While Nationals starter Jordan Zimmermann dominated for 26 outs, rookie Joe Panik calmly took the game’s first walk. When Washington manager Matt Williams panicked, two veterans of close postseason games—Buster Posey and Pablo Sandoval—relished the chance to face a new pitcher, coming through with big hits to tie the game and swing the momentum in San Fran’s favor.  

During the longest game in postseason history, the entire Giants team stayed calm and waited for an opportunity. Meanwhile, the Giants pitching staff, primarily Yusmeiro Petit, who tossed six innings of one-hit ball in extras, held the tie, and Brandon Belt finally delivered another shot of momentum in the 18th inning.

San Francisco now heads home up by two games, with their best starting pitcher—Madison Bumgarner, who has already thrown a shutout this postseason—on the mound Monday. That is about the most momentum a team can possibly have in the postseason.

Veterans

All of the teams participating in the National League race to the World Series have been through this postseason dance at least once in the past two years. So it’s safe to say that most of these lineups and pitching staffs contain veterans of postseason play.

In addition to the six guys returning to the Giants’ starting lineup from their last successful postseason run, the core of their rotation and bullpen have remained intact for both of their World Championships the past four years.

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The two veteran starters they added this season have also contributed and come up big in this postseason. Jake Peavy turned out to be one of the best trade-deadline pickups for any team and finally delivered a strong postseason start in Game 1. Tim Hudson, no stranger to 18-inning postseason games, came close to matching the performance of Zimmermann in Game 2.

With those two veteran starters able to battle into the late innings and the young veteran Bumgarner assuming the role of staff ace, the Giants rotation may not be a sexy as the Dodgers' or Nationals', but it may be just as good.

Another veteran presence often overlooked is that of veteran manager Bruce Bochy. While rookie manager Matt Williams made critical mistakes in Game 2, Bochy pulled all the right levers.

Williams’ abrupt removal of Zimmerman from the game with just one out left to get opened the door for the Giants to tie the game. He was also unable to control or direct the passions of his team, which was upset at the umpire’s strike zone. That led to Williams and his starting second baseman Asdrubal Cabrera being ejected.

Bochy, meanwhile, kept his team in check while they dealt with the same inconsistent strike zone. He also managed his relievers like a Society for American Baseball Research expert, bringing in his closer to face the heart of the order in the 11th inning even though the game was tied.

Even-numbered year

It’s an even-numbered year, and the Giants have won the World Series in each of the last two even-numbered years. So if the universe has any sense of design, then this is once again the Giants’ year.

They’ve won those rings without always having the best team on paper. And this year’s team, like those other championship teams, knows how to play up to the level of its competition.

Certainly, being up 2-0 with two games at home to get a win is an enviable position, one that makes picking the Giants as the NL favorite a bit of a gimme. There’s also something to be said for surviving nine frames of extra-innings baseball on the road that makes picking the Giants, a team that has already had to face the one-off Wild Card elimination game, a Cinderella pick.

The other NL teams also have a lot of postseason experience on their rosters, but no one else has the momentum that the Giants have, nor the advantage of going to their home park needing only one more win to advance to the next round.

While the Dodgers and Cardinals will play at least two more games, the Giants could wrap up their series on Monday with their ace on the mound, then rest their lineup and set their rotation for the NLCS. Those other two teams may not have that luxury.