SAN FRANCISCO -- Madison Bumgarner threw a bullpen session on Sunday morning, so he won't pitch today. Ty Blach pitched eight innings yesterday, so he's off today. As for the rest of them, it's all hands on deck.
Manager Bruce Bochy said he has one more player being held for a potential play-in game Monday in St. Louis and he doesn't anticipate using that pitcher, but he hasn't completely ruled it out. It's likely that Jeff Samardzija is that guy, but Johnny Cueto is someone who can pitch on three days rest Monday, too.
Bochy told his team to "pack for a possible long trip," and bags were placed on a truck Sunday morning. The Giants are traveling one way or another, with a flight to St. Louis tonight or a flight to New York tomorrow. They also will be watching the Cardinals-Pirates game, started by old friend Ryan Vogelsong.
"He's a guy that's won so many big games for us, and he's going today, but it's in our hands," Bochy said. "It's up to us to take care of business."
That was the theme of the morning. Bochy said he'll check the other game on the scoreboard, but he won't be getting instant results from a player or coach. He wants the Giants to focus on the task at hand, and they know that all they need is a win to lock up a postseason spot. A win today would also give the Giants their first four-game winning streak of the second half. Timing is everything in life.
"This is more like who we are," Bochy said. "Sure this is hard to explain, this second half, but it's good to see these guys gel."
--- The Giants handed out cards to celebrate Vin Scully, who will broadcast his final game. You can listen to Vin during the third inning on CSN Bay Area. Also, you can listen to Jon Miller tell stories about Vin on my podcast. It can be downloaded on iTunes here.
--- Blach said he received about 130 text messages last night after his huge performance. He has not had the time yet to check social media, but he expects to be overwhelmed. Blach was trending nationally on Saturday afternoon.
--- Today is also the final regular season game for Lee Jones, the engineer for KNBR's broadcasts. Jones has worked for KNBR for 40 years, and he's the man responsible for bringing you so many of the famous calls over the years. He truly is one of the nicest and hardest-working people in this business, and he'll be missed. He went out in style, though. He threw the first pitch yesterday and then watched as his Tennessee Volunteers beat Georgia on the final play of the game. (Gordon Beckham, of Georgia, did not appreciate the result. He walked out of the clubhouse yesterday muttering "unbelievable, unbelievable.")
