Olympics will offer a perfect contrast to the Giants

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The start of the Olympic Games would seem to arrive at a perfect time for the San Francisco Giants to slip out of the news before they slip out of the wild card race. If being below the .500 mark, they actually are in it.

There was excitement when the Giants entered the All-Star break after a mini-burst. But then the games began, and San Francisco dropped two of three to the Rockies (unacceptable) and three out of four to the Dodgers (understandable). 

There are truisms in what could be called California’s sporting rivalries. The 49ers always find a way to defeat the Rams. The Giants always find a way to lose to the Dodgers. 

Yes, that’s a figure of speech. The Giants literally don’t always lose to the dreaded Dodgers, but this season they dropped 8 of 11. Including the one Thursday, 6-4, when after San Francisco rallied to tie, LA won on back-to-back home runs in the eighth, with one of those homers coming off the bat of Shohei Ohtani.

Look, I know the Giants have won three World Series in the last several decades compared to one by the Dodgers. But there is no question that baseball in the West belongs to the Dodgers. The Angels and Padres are no less the pretenders than the Giants.

Turn on Kruk and Kuip and virtually before you get the TV volume adjusted, the Giants trail the Dodgers, 1-0.  You wonder, 'Hmm, is this live or a recording?' Inevitably, it’s live—the same story repeated.  

The Giants now may have a healthy and effective pitching rotation. Robbie Ray in his first game for the team—and for any team—after a long recovery from Tommy John surgery was possibly better than anyone might have wished. That offered optimism. But for the most part, the hitting has been inconsistent. The 8 runs the Giants scored Wednesday were equal to what they had in the other three games against the Dodgers combined. They were thunderous before Ohtani. Boom. Sigh.   

The Giants need to trade for a power hitter, right?  As do numerous teams as the trade deadline approaches. Do not be surprised if the Dodgers get the player in whom the Giants are interested. But do be surprised if the Giants front office makes a blockbuster deal. That’s rarely been the Giants' way.     

Bob Melvin, in his first season as Giants manager, sounded properly frustrated by the series-ending defeat Thursday. The Giants struck out a total of 16 times. That’s atrocious, even when Clayton Kershaw was making a comeback start for the Dodgers.

“It was a pretty deflating game,” conceded Melvin.

Maybe he ought to try taking a break by watching the Olympics.