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History does not favor the Giants
- Updated: July 26, 2016
3:12 PM ET
The San Francisco Giants’ even-year magic might have run its course, as they’ve lost eight of nine games coming out of the All-Star break. According to Elias Sports Bureau research, they are the sixth team to enter the All-Star break with a division lead and then lose at least eight of nine games, and no first-place team to lose at least eight of nine to begin the second half has ever made the playoffs.
In fact, according to Elias Sports Bureau research, no first-place team at the All-Star break has ever lost nine of 10 to start the second half.
What’s gone wrong
The Giants were 29-33 when trailing at any point in games in the first half, the best such record in the majors. In the second half, they’ve trailed in each game and won just one of those.
Their first-half strengths included two key offensive players and their starting rotation.
Brandon Belt
Belt is hitting .135 since the break, 177th out of 186 qualified batters. He hit .302 in the first half and was the Final Vote selection to the NL All-Star team.
Belt has struck out in 42 percent of his plate appearances since the All-Star break, the fourth-worst rate in the majors in that span. He had a strikeout …
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