The San Francisco Giants are one good weekend away from clinching the NL West division title.
The NL West features the two best teams in baseball, with the Los Angeles Dodgers being the other, and whichever team comes away with the division crown this season is going to have a lot to be proud of.
Currently, the Giants are in the driver’s seat, and it would require a shocking turn of events for that to change.
San Francisco can lock up the division title this weekend by winning its series against the San Diego Padres.
In fact, the Giants could even clinch the division tonight with a win and a Dodgers loss.
Any of the following outcomes would do the trick for the Giants this weekend:
- 2 wins against the Padres
- 2 losses by L.A. against the Milwaukee Brewers
- A combination of a win and an L.A. loss
Even if the Dodgers don’t lose another game, the Giants will still have a good shot at closing the door themselves.
Reason being, they’ve got their three best starting pitchers on the mound this weekend.
DeSclafani is starting tomorrow, Gausman Saturday and Webb on Sunday.
— Susan Slusser (@susanslusser) September 30, 2021
San Francisco has to feel good about its chances because of that.
Anthony DeSclafani Will Start For The Giants On Friday
The Giants will kick things off this weekend by giving the ball to Anthony DeSclafani.
DeSclafani has had a great season, pitching to a 3.26 ERA, 3.66 FIP, and 1.10 WHIP across 30 outings.
He has allowed three runs or fewer in all but three of his starts this season, so it’s no surprise that the Giants are 20-10 on days that he pitches.
The righty will look to claim his 13th win of the season tonight and get San Francisco one step closer to the division title in the process.
It’ll Be Kevin Gausman’s Turn On Saturday
If the division isn’t wrapped up on Friday, then Kevin Gausman will hope to finish the job on Saturday.
Gausman has had the best season of his career in 2021.
The righty has a 2.87 ERA, 142 ERA+, 3.03 FIP, and 1.04 WHIP over 32 starts.
He also has an extremely impressive 5.0 WAR.
He has fanned 22 batters in 185 innings on the year, giving him a great nine-inning strikeout rate of 10.8.
The 30-year-old is likely going to receive some Cy Young votes.
To Wrap Up The Regular Season, Logan Webb Will Start
The Giants are certainly hoping that the NL West will be a done deal by Sunday.
But on the off chance that the division is still up for grabs on the final day of the regular season, the team will turn to Logan Webb in hopes of locking it up.
Webb has been one of the biggest surprises of the season for San Francisco.
After pitching to a 5.22 ERA in 2019 and 5.47 ERA in 2020, he has a 2.93 ERA over 26 outings (25 starts) this year.
He also has a 139 ERA+ and 2.78 FIP.
Logan Webb, Ridiculous 93mph Sinker. 😯
[20" arm side run] pic.twitter.com/gZhvtqKr8Z
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) September 29, 2021
The 24-year-old has a very bright future, and we’ll get one last look at him in the regular season on Sunday.
But as mentioned, the Giants are certainly hoping that this will be a meaningless game by the time it arrives.
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