SAN FRANCISCO -- Having faced must-win situations before, the Giants know that their upcoming three-game series against the Los Angeles Dodgers isn't one.
And yet ... it's the Giants against the Dodgers, a matchup that thrills purists, brings the blood of partisans for both teams to a ferocious boil and always seems to prompt maximum intensity from both ballclubs.
Many of the current Giants experienced the postseason of 2012 -- when they won six consecutive games in which they faced elimination -- and 2014, when Madison Bumgarner bracketed October by blanking Pittsburgh in the Wild Card game and pitching five shutout innings in World Series Game 7 at Kansas City.