Manager Bruce Bochy has made it clear he hates to be a spoiler because it means the Giants are not going into the playoffs. He is a minority of one.
You had to feel the energy within the clubhouse after Sunday's 1-0, 11-inning victory to understand what a charge the players got from taking two of three from the white-hot Dodgers and preventing them from running away with the National League West.
Los Angeles still has the upper hand with a 2 1/2-game lead over Arizona but will have to scrap this week, with the entire bag of marbles possibly coming down to next weekend's Dodgers-Giants series in San Francisco.
That makes Rich Aurilia very happy. His two-out, two-strike single against Takashi Saito in the 11th inning drove in base-thief extraordinaire Brad Hennessey with the game's only run, and Aurilia was stoked about the consequences for L.A.
"I don't know what next year holds for me, my future with the Giants," Aurilia said. "But if this is how I can go out in my last game at Dodger Stadium, with a hit like that, it would be pretty cool."
To say Aurilia won the game would be a disservice to the panoply of Giants who did things ranging from good to "are you kidding me?" in what catcher Bengie Molina called "probably our best game of the year."
Where do you start?
Perhaps with Matt Cain, who struck out Casey Blake and Matt Kemp with the bases loaded to dodge a first-inning disaster en route to six shutout innings.
To do so, Cain required five outstanding defensive plays, starting with Ivan Ochoa's leaping catch of a floater to short left field in the first inning with the bags full, Nate Schierholtz's long run and diving catch to save a run in the third and Randy Winn's lunging catch with the bases loaded and two outs in the fifth. All were hit by James Loney, who must have stepped on a leprechaun on his way to the ballpark.
Even before Winn's catch in the fifth, Aaron Rowand fielded Andre Ethier's single and heaved a fantastic throw home to nail Angel Berroa, with Molina applying a quick tag.
Travis Ishikawa also made a diving stop and Schierholtz a second diving catch.
"Holy cow," Cain said. "I think everybody got a Gold Glove today."
What was next? How about Sergio Romo's three perfect innings, starting with a three-pitch strikeout of Manny Ramirez? Romo got slower as he went - fastball, slider, slurve.
"I was definitely, like, wow," Romo said. "I ain't going to lie. Manny Ramirez is arguably the best hitter in the game, but as dangerous as he is my approach doesn't change. You have to throw strikes. I definitely credited that to the first time he's seen me. I look forward to the next time. I'm sure he does, too."
Has Hennessey's stolen base been mentioned yet? It was huge and came in an 11th inning entitled "How to do all the little things right."
Rowand started the winning rally with a one-out single. Pinch-hitter Pablo Sandoval grounded into a force, but even with a bum left leg hustled up the line to beat the relay and keep the inning alive.
Hennessey ran for Sandoval, and with runs scarce, manager Bruce Bochy ordered Hennessey to steal second with Eugenio Velez at bat (after ensuring that Hennessey knew the sign). Hennessey took off a tad after Saito threw the pitch, an accidental delayed steal that stunned catcher Russell Martin, who did not throw the ball.
When Aurilia was told that Hennessey caught him with one steal for the season, Aurilia protested, "Wasn't that indifference? That should be defensive indifference."
The steal was huge because it removed the force. When Velez tapped slowly to short, Chin-lung Hu had to charge the ball and throw to first. Velez beat the throw for an infield hit and Aurilia followed with his single. After Hennessey scored from third and returned to the dugout, "the guys asked me why I didn't pick the base up over my head."
Brian Wilson struck out Ramirez to start the 11th then fanned Blake on a 100-mph fastball to end the Giants' 70th win and force the Dodgers into a week they surely did not want. The Giants, though, definitely want to see L.A. without a division title in hand next weekend.
"I'm kind of excited for it," Wilson said. "Being the reason one team doesn't go is always fun, especially if you don't get to go."
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