The San Francisco Giants took Game 1 in Oracle Park against the Los Angeles Dodgers, but the blues were able to steal home-field advantage with a convincing Game 2 victory.
It was clear that neither of these teams was going to sweep the other: they are both too good to lose a series 3-0.
In fact, it’s pretty clear that these are the two best clubs in Major League Baseball, and it’s really a shame that one of them will be eliminated in the first round of the playoffs.
The league really needed them to play in the National League Championship Series rather than the Division Series, but the rules are the rules.
I wish The Dodgers and Giants was a NLCS matchup, may the best team win!! pic.twitter.com/bMgPY1wEOH
— Aurelio Zepeda (@Azmoztyks11) October 8, 2021
After two electrifying matchups to begin the series, with one victory for each side, the series now becomes a best-of-three affair with two of the contests to be played in Los Angeles.
The series, which has been historically relevant ever since the clubs were in Brooklyn and New York, is by far the most attractive one in the Division Series, with no disrespect to the other clubs playing in the postseason.
The Two Best Teams In MLB
The Giants and Dodgers are two modern, analytically-driven organizations known for finding hidden gems and improving talent and output at all levels: pitching, defense, baserunning, and of course, offense.
Seeing these two teams play baseball is a joy: they are both fundamentally sound, and make very few mistakes.
The Atlanta Braves are very good, and the Milwaukee Brewers had an impressive season, running away with the NL Central division.
As good as those two clubs are, the Giants and Dodgers may represent the true Championship Series.
As things stand, however, whoever is still alive in the Dodgers–Giants affair will take on the winner of the Brewers–Braves matchup in the NLCS.
There is no doubt about the fact that the winner of the Giants–Dodgers series will be heavily favored to advance to the World Series.
The difference between the Dodgers and Giants with the rest of the league is abysmal, and this is even more evident in the NL.
A Sizable Difference
During the regular season, San Francisco finished with 107 wins and Los Angeles was able to collect 106.
The next best team in baseball was the Tampa Bay Rays, with 100.
The club with the third-most wins in the NL were the Brewers, with 95.
What does this mean?
Milwaukee, which is a top club with a fantastic pitching staff that could compete to make a deep playoffs run, was 11 games behind the Dodgers and 12 games behind the Giants.
That’s a sizable difference that was also evident in run differential.
The Dodgers finished at +269, San Francisco had +210, and Milwaukee checked in at +115.
Both series, as of Monday morning, are tied at one, so essentially, they are coming down to the best-of-three from this point on.
Final: Dodgers 9, Giants 2
Cody Bellinger made an impact. SF's right-handed stack couldn't beat southpaw Julio Urías. It's now a best-of-three starting with two games in Dodger Stadium. Max Scherzer awaits.
— Danny Emerman (@DannyEmerman) October 10, 2021
The Giants and Dodgers’ campaigns, which required a lot of blood, sweat, and tears to celebrate more than 100 times in the regular season, will be decided in the next three games, or two if one team manages consecutive wins.
Los Angeles–San Francisco should have been the NLCS, but it wasn’t, and it’s about to be decided in the next few days.
NEXT: Giants Pitcher Logan Webb Ready To Show Off His Skills In The NLDS