Giants-Dodgers: Disdain, Paranoia, History

By Art Spander

SAN FRANCISCO — This is what baseball wanted. This is what the Giants hoped. The Dodgers are coming to the Bay, coming to play a three-game series, which could mean everything and then again, because there’s such craziness in the long season, might mean very little.

Dodgers-Giants, so much background, so much disdain. And up here, even after two World Series victories, so much jealousy. The chant isn’t “Go Giants,” it’s “Beat L.A.”  Short and pithy. Resonating with paranoia.

Watching the Dodgers lose gives San Francisco fans as big a thrill as watching the Giants win, and if both can be accomplished in one fell swoop — well, Brian Johnson’s 1997 home run against L.A., which sent the Giants to the postseason, is the stuff of legend.

It’s a sporting matchup, the one-two teams in the National League West. It’s a societal matchup, the glitz of Hollywood against the garlic fries of North Beach.

“It’s good for baseball the way the schedule worked out,” said Bruce Bochy, the Giants' manager. “This is where we were hoping to be.”

He means in the chase, two games back of L.A. He also means at AT&T Park, where on a fine Thursday afternoon San Francisco beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 6-2, a ninth straight win at home.

“There’s a lot of history between these two teams,” said Bochy of the Dodgers-Giants battle.

There’s Bill Terry, back in 1934, when the Giants were in New York and the Dodgers in Brooklyn, chiding, “The Dodgers? Are they still in the league?” Oh yes they were, and they beat the Giants the final two games of the season to give the Cardinals the flag.

There’s the Dodgers building up a 13½ game lead over the Giants in 1951, ending up tied and losing the playoff on Bobby Thomson’s momentous home run in the bottom of the ninth at the Polo Grounds, the “shot heard ‘round the world.”

There’s Juan Marichal smashing John Roseboro over the head with a bat, and Reggie Smith — a Dodger who would become a Giant — climbing into the stands at Candlestick Park to attack a pesky fan. And, of course, there’s Joe Morgan’s home run in 1982, which KO'ed the Dodgers and left Tom Lasorda apoplectic.

Three games in San Francisco this series, then three games next week at Dodger Stadium. “We’re feeling good,” said Giants catcher Buster Posey. And why not? Four days ago the Giants were 3½ games out, a month ago 5½ games behind.

“We also know that’s a pretty good team coming to town.”

No, that’s a very good team. A team that overtook the Giants in July and hasn’t been out of the lead since.

Over the last couple of weeks, the Giants, finally out of their funk, also have looked like a pretty good team. Their pitching is back where it belongs — the Diamondbacks scored only three runs in losing all three games of the series. Now the Giants are hitting when needed, and they’ve won 12 of the last 15.

So much of it is attributable to Angel Pagan. He missed 34 games with back inflammation. The Giants had no leadoff hitter. The Giants had no spark.

On Wednesday, he began the game with a double, then had a single and walk, scoring twice. “He’s our catalyst,” said Bochy, emphasizing the obvious. “We’re a different team with him out there. He’s our get-on-base guy. It’s funny how one guy can mean so much.”

Pagan went 7-for-12 in the three games against Arizona and is hitting .488 (21-for-43) in 10 games against the D-backs. With Pagan on base, opposing pitchers think and throw differently when they face Joe Panik. And Buster Posey. And Pablo Sandoval. And Hunter Pence.

Dodgers-Giants, pitching against pitching. Hyun-Jin Ryu, Zack Greinke and the remarkable Clayton Kershaw for L.A., Madison Bumgarner, Tim Hudson and Yusmeiro Petit for San Francisco.

“Pitching gives you a chance to win,” said Bochy.

It did Wednesday. Jake Peavy started for the Giants. In 5 2/3 innings he allowed only one run, striking out eight.

“Since we got him, he’s been solid,” said Bochy said of Peavy, whom San Francisco acquired from Boston in July. “It’s been fun watching him. He’s a guy who plays the game the way it should be played, as hard as anyone.”

Bochy is upbeat. He knows what’s ahead, and he’s confident.

“This club has been through quite a bit,” he said, meaning the great April and early May, the awful June and July.

In the three games against the Dodgers, it will go through a great deal more. Just as it hoped. Just as baseball wanted.