Wednesday BP, 7/18/18

So, Brandon Crawford went 0-for-2 with 2 strikeouts and had a chance to drive in some runs but didn’t, who cares? The Dodgers’ Ross Stripling coughed up the game to the Astros’ Alex Bregman and George Springer!

Of course, none of that matters because it’s an exhibition, but it’s worth noting that Robb Nen blew the save in the 2002 All-Star Game (if memory serves, it was an Omar Vizquel triple) and Benito Santiago struck out looking to end the game at a 7-7 tie. The Giants have really mucked up the All-Star Game for the National League before, too.

Then again, when the game “counted” back in 2012, Giants past and present basically took down Justin Verlander and the American League The Avengers versus Thanos-style. You can re-watch that game here, since I can’t embed it. Matt Cain started it, the Giants scored 5 runs off of Verlander in the first inning.

Melky Cabrera scored the first run thanks to Ryan Braun, former Giant Carlos Beltran drew a walk, as did #ForeverGiant Buster Posey, and Giants legends Pablo Sandoval and Dan Uggla combined to drive them all in. Joe Nathan even warmed up in the first inning in case Verlander gave up even more runs.

The game took place after Matt Cain’s perfect game and it served as a prelude to the 2012 World Series, in particular that Game 1 where... well... if you don’t know your Giants hitsory by now, I’m not going to help you.

The Giants, of course, made it to the World Series in 2002 despite altering the course of All-Star Game history with their blunders, and the Dodgers might very well follow the same path. Does that mean they’re fated to lose to the Angels in 7 games? Well, that would be something. They’ve certainly improved their chances of getting there by acquiring Manny Machado (as we all predicted once Seager went down), and Baseball has a way of evening out team’s fortunes over a long season.

Still, for one night — for the first time since November 1st, 2017 — the Dodgers were embarrassed on national television. The Giants might not win anything this season (or next, or the season after), but if we can take a cue from our friends the Oakland A’s, being extremely petty is the only way to live in this world anymore. Enjoy the Dodgers failures. It’s so rare we get to glimpse them.

The All-Star Game may not count and Stripling and Roberts more than likely forgot about the game before they even left the stadium, but for the rest of us, last night can be a touchstone for the next few weeks. And that’s something.