The San Francisco Giants are one of the hottest teams in baseball. They have started to find their form over the last few weeks, climbing back into the playoff picture in the National League.

The Giants are a long shot in the NL West, as they are nine games behind the first-place Los Angeles Dodgers. But, they have a legitimate shot for a Wild Card spot, as they are only 1.5 games out.

Depending on how things shake out in their series against the Atlanta Braves, San Francisco could enter the weekend with a wild card spot in hand. That is a huge series beginning on Monday night before playing against the Oakland Athletics and Chicago White Sox in must-win games.

If the Giants are going to defeat the Braves, they will need some more stellar performances. One of the players who has stepped up the most during this hot streak is third baseman Matt Chapman.

Chapman has been on fire at the plate in the second half. In 23 games, he has recorded a slash line of .310/.414/.619. He has hit six doubles, one triple and six home runs, scoring 18 times and knocking in 17 runs. The cherry on top; three stolen bases.

His advanced stats are all elite since the All-Star break, as he has been scorching in August. He already has four home runs this month, which ties his high for a single month this season despite there being 19 days remaining.

This hot streak at the plate has Chapman with a season-long slash line of .249/.338/.450 with 19 home runs, 60 RBI and 12 stolen bases. He has an OPS+ of 125 to boot.

Those numbers may not jump off the page, but Chapman is putting together an MVP-caliber campaign. He should be in the conversation for the prestigious award, with his performance at the plate being buoyed by the incredible job he does defensively at third base.

Chapman is currently No. 3 in the NL in WAR, per Baseball-Reference, with a 5.5. The only players ahead of him are Arizona Diamondbacks star Ketel Marte (6.1) and Dodgers sensation Shohei Ohtani (5.8).

Even based on FanGraphs numbers, which differ slightly from Baseball-Reference, Chapman is still comfortably inside the top 10 at No. 5 ahead of games on August 12th. The glovework isn’t going anywhere; if he keeps up his performance at the plate, he will command MVP consideration.

San Francisco remaining in the playoff hunt is also key to his MVP campaign. Chapman could be in line for the most productive season of his career, which voters will take notice of as long as the Giants remain relevant in the playoff race.

Popular San Francisco bagel maker Daily Driver has permanently closed the Cow Hollow location it opened in late 2023. A manager confirmed the closure to Eater over the phone on Monday, August 12, saying that business at the company’s Union Street location had been relatively slow. Founders Tamara Hicks and David Jablons opened the first location of Daily Driver in San Francisco’s Dogpatch neighborhood in 2019, helping usher in the Bay Area’s bagel wave by serving fresh-churned cream cheese and cultured butter and cranking out thousands of hand-rolled bagels a day. Just a year later, the duo added a quick-serve bagel shop at the Ferry Building. Both locations remain open.

Restaurants take another COVID insurance hit

On Thursday, August 8, California’s state Supreme Court ruled that San Francisco restaurant John’s Grill’s financial losses from COVID shutdowns are not covered by an insurance policy that applies specifically to viruses — those “carried by water or windstorms” — the San Francisco Chronicle reports. This was a follow-up to a major ruling in May, when the Court decided that businesses that temporarily closed or canceled events due to shutdowns did not suffer property damage, handing insurance companies a massive win. According to the Chron, John’s Grill already settled its insurance case in 2022 for a “substantial” amount, so it won’t take a financial hit due to the Court’s decision — but the ruling may make it trickier for other businesses disputing insurance policies to win their claims.

Fundraiser launches for cafe owner fighting cancer

Friends have launched a $20,000 GoFundMe campaign to support Sarah Deigert, owner of San Francisco “breakfast speakeasy” and catering business Farm:Table. Deigert is undergoing treatment for breast cancer including both chemo and a double mastectomy while still working to recover from the pandemic’s effects on the restaurant industry. Keep an eye on the GoFundMe page for updates on Deigert’s progress — in the meantime, the cafe is still open for breezy breakfasts of lavender lattes, breakfast sandwiches, sourdough French toast, and more.

Airplane food often has a pretty dicey reputation, as it’s known to not often be all that creative or high-concept…and doesn’t exactly have a reputation for being delicious. But over the years, airlines have tried to change all that by bringing on top sommeliers to revamp their wine list or celebrity chefs to upgrade their menu. Now, one airline is trying to do that in a pretty big way that is sure to get some attention.

Alaska Airlines has joined forces with a chef who has tons of star power – James Beard award-winning to Michelin-starred are among his credits – to add a serious punch of flavor to its first class menu on the airline’s popular San Francisco to New York City route.

Brandon Jew is a chef based in San Francisco, and is both owner and executive chef of Mister Jiu’s, a Chinese restaurant nestled in the heart of Chinatown inspired by the chef’s Cantonese heritage and local Bay Area ingredients and flavors. However, those who are on this flight route and who have not visited his Michelin-starred restaurant will now get a chance to experience some of his most famous dishes, from classic Chinese breakfast congee to slow-braised duck.

As airline food, even in the first class cabin, is often associated with dried out and over salted meats and carbs (not to mention sad variations on breakfast omelets), it’s worth noting that these dishes will also feature the same level of ingredients as those as Chef Jew’s restaurant. For example, the duck dish available on the lunch and dinner route will use poultry from Liberty Farms in Sonoma County, which is actually the same place the duck for Mister Jiu’s Peking Style Whole Roast Duck is sourced.

The revamped first class menu featuring Chef Jew’s dishes will be available beginning August 28, exclusively on routes between SFO and JFK, and feature a breakfast option of brown rice congee with soy cured eggs and braised pork belly that comes with turnip cake, pickled cauliflower, hoisin and a hot chili sauce. There’ll also be lunch and dinner choices that include a braised duck leg with sesame egg noodles and gai lan that comes with with wood ear mushrooms, tofu skin and cucumbers or roasted black cod that comes topped with ginger-scallion sauce and silken tofu and mapo sauce, paired with a quinoa and farro blend with roasted shiitake mushrooms.

“I’m so excited to partner with Alaska Airlines on their First Class flight menu, connecting my hometown of San Francisco with New York, a city where I’ve always dreamed of living in,” said Chef Brandon Jew in a press release. “Luxury begins with quality ingredients, which underscores our shared values. At Mister Jiu’s we are always evolving and defining Chinese American cuisine in the Bay Area while advocating for the global recognition of Chinese food — the partnership with Alaska Airlines elevates Chinese cuisine from coast to coast.”

Well, that’s certainly a way to start a trip off on the right foot.