San Francisco Giants First Team to Clinch Playoff Berth

You never would have guessed this to start the baseball season but the San Francisco Giants were the first team in the league to punch their ticket to the postseason. The Giants beat the San Diego Padres 9-1 on Monday night, which was their eighth win in a row.

The expectations for this season were a touch light as the Giants were 29-31 during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. This year is a totally different story and the team is now 94-50 on the year, displaying the best record in baseball. The Giants now could lose every game left on the year and still end up in the wild card game.

As for game notes from their victory on Monday night:

Tommy La Stella homered on the fourth pitch from Padres starter Yu Darvish and Evan Longoria hit a three-run drive five batters later. Mike Yastrzemski added a solo shot in the fourth, when Brandon Belt also went deep as San Francisco secured a postseason berth for the first time since 2016. All four homers came off Darvish (8-10), struggling in his first season with the Padres after starting 6-1. The five-time All-Star lasted four innings, allowing eight runs and six hits.

San Diego fell a game behind idle Cincinnati for the second NL wild card. After the final out, Giants players hugged on the field and coaches did the same in the dugout before heading inside the clubhouse for a bubbly celebration.

Here's everything you missed from Monday's matchup: