Giants clinch share of West, match team mark with 106th win

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The San Francisco Giants clinched at least a share of their first NL West title since 2012 by matching a franchise record with their 106th win, beating the San Diego Padres 3-0 Friday night before turning their attention to the Dodgers' game against Milwaukee.

Darin Ruf hit a first-inning home run and Mike Yastrzemski added an RBI single to send San Francisco on its way, and then the Giants waited on Los Angeles' result against the NL Central champion Brewers. A Dodgers loss would ensure San Francisco the division crown outright over the eight-time defending West winners and reigning World Series champions.

San Francisco went through a quick congratulatory handshake line on the diamond. Then, the big screen scoreboard started airing the Brewers-Dodgers game and fans were invited to stay put.

LaMonte Wade Jr. added a sacrifice fly as these surprising Giants (106-54) continue to leave their mark in the franchise's storied history — for a special regular season, anyway. One that San Francisco hardly got picked to win in the talented West with the Dodgers and Padres considered the favorites.

After going 29-31 during the coronavirus-shortened 2020 season in Gabe Kapler's first year as manager to becoming contenders again at last, the group delivered a stunning turnaround. The Giants navigated through injuries to many key players for long stretches. Brandon Belt, sidelined now by a fractured left thumb, hit 29 home runs and shined alongside fellow World Series veterans Brandon Crawford and Buster Posey.

Now, they believe they're poised for another deep October run like those champion Giants teams of 2010, ‘12 and ’14.

Posey played in his fourth straight game behind the plate, to which Kapler said, “Buster wants to be in there every day at this point."

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source https://www.chron.com/sports/article/Giants-clinch-share-of-West-match-team-mark-with-16503916.php