Aug 22, 2021; Oakland, California, USA; San Francisco Giants players celebrate their 2-1 victory over the Oakland Athletics at RingCentral Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: D. Ross Cameron-USA TODAY Sports
The San Francisco Giants can say they accomplished this feat before the 29 other teams in the 2021 season.
Last year, the San Francisco Giants missed out on the chance to clinch a playoff berth on the final day of the truncated season. This year, they are in a position where they won’t have to worry about being in that “last-chance” situation ever again. And this latest stat proves just that.
After the Giants defeated the Oakland Athletics on Sunday, they officially became the first team in the majors to reach 80 wins this season.
Giants first team in MLB to reach 80 wins this season
That’s right, the Giants accomplished this feat before the Tampa Bay Rays, Milwaukee Brewers and even the rival Los Angeles Dodgers, who currently sit 2.5 games behind them in the NL West standings.
The Giants found themselves in a perilous situation in Sunday’s game, as they were down 1-0 to the Athletics following an RBI single by Mark Canha in the bottom of the sixth inning. But in the top of the eighth inning, manager Gabe Kapler called upon Donovan Solano to pinch-hit for LaMonte Wade. With Austin Slater on first, Solano sent a pitch from A.J. Puk over the left field fence to give San Francisco the 2-1 lead.
With the Oakland series now in the books, San Francisco moves onto a three-game series against the New York Mets. Following that, they move onto pivotal series against the Atlanta Braves (three games), Brewers (four games) and Dodgers (three games).
Congratulations, Giants fans, you officially have bragging rights over the other 29 MLB fanbases.