Giants vs. Red Sox in World Series? Idea is not that far-fetched

Wendy Thurm

Giants vs. Red Sox in World Series? Idea is not that far-fetched image

On Tuesday night, we saw a preview of a potential 2016 World Series matchup. No, the Cubs didn’t have an interleague game. The Giants hosted the Red Sox at AT&T Park in San Francisco. Boston won the game 5-3 in extra innings. Lefty hurlers Madison Bumgarner and David Price face off in Wednesday’s contest.

Forget that it’s an even year. Look at the standings. The Giants sit atop the National League West with a 35-25 record and a three-game lead over the Dodgers. The Red Sox are just a half-game out of first in the American League East, chasing the Orioles. Using a mix of current records and rest-of-season projections, Fangraphs predicts the Giants and Red Sox will both end the season as division winners, with identical 91-71 records.

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Those aren’t the only similarities.

Both teams feature tremendous home-grown talent around the diamond. Matt Duffy, Brandon Crawford, Joe Panik and Brandon Belt around the horn for the Giants, with Buster Posey behind the dish. Travis Shaw, Xander Bogaerts and Dustin Pedroia from third to short to second for the Red Sox, with Christian Vazquez in the squat and Jackie Bradley, Jr. patrolling center field.

Both teams signed big-ticket free agent starters last winter to fill out their rotations. Johnny Cueto and Jeff Samardzija in San Francisco, and David Price in Boston. And despite those signings, both teams have faced some rough patches with their pitching and will be looking for upgrades before the non-tender trade deadline on July 31.

Oh, and both teams have won three World Series championships this century, and are the only teams to do so.

Before Tuesday night’s tilt, neither manager was willing to admit that the two-game interleague series carried any more meaning than a couple games in June. When asked if this was a measuring-stick series for the Giants against the Red Sox’ torrid offense, Giants manager Bruce Bochy replied, “I hear that quite a bit. We heard it when the Cubs came in. With what these guys have been through, they don't need to measure themselves against anyone.”

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But Giants reliever Javier Lopez had a slightly different take. Lopez pitched for the Red Sox from 2006 to 2009, and won his first World Series ring with Boston in 2007. The Giants acquired Lopez from the Pirates at the trade deadline in 2010, and he’s been a pivotal part of their three championships since then. Lopez is the only active MLB player with four World Series rings.

Before the game, Lopez smiled when thinking about facing his former team. "It's a different dynamic when you play the Red Sox," he said. "It is a storied franchise and not one we see often. They’re the hottest team in baseball on offense. It will be a good test. Ultimately, to get where you want to go, you have to play well against these teams.”

In the top of the seventh inning, with the Giants clinging to a 3-2 lead, Bochy summoned Lopez from the bullpen to face his former teammate David Ortiz. The Red Sox had runners on first and third with one out. Lopez did his job, inducing a weak grounder from Ortiz, but the Giants couldn’t turn the double play and Jackie Bradley, Jr. scored from third to tie the game. Boston won it in the 10th with two runs off Giants closer Santiago Casilla.

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There’s a good chance Lopez will face Ortiz in Wednesday’s game, as Boston manager John Farrell plans to use Ortiz only as a pinch hitter. After that, who knows. Maybe again in October.

This is the fifth interleague series between the Giants and the Red Sox since Ortiz joined Boston on a one-year contract in 2003, after being let go by Minnesota. The teams faced off in 2004, 2007, 2010, 2013 and, now, in 2016.

The Red Sox won the World Series in 2004, 2007 and 2013. The Giants did in 2010. Stay tuned for what happens in 2016.




 

Wendy Thurm