San Francisco— After going 2-4 on a road trip to Philadelphia and St. Louis, the Giants hope that the friendly confines of AT&T Park treat them well. To be honest, the Giants didn’t look like a playoff team on the road. The team lost 9-0 on Sunday and only managed three hits. The team is now third in the NL Wildcard race behind their two most recent opponents, Philly and St. Louis. Philadelphia leads the race while St. Louis and the Giants sit two games behind. At this point, the NL West is somewhat of an afterthought, as the Giants trail by six games to the San Diego Padres. Although the Giants are not out of the race by any means, the last 37 games have to be played with playoff intensity.
This has to begin tonight as Matt Cain takes the reigns against Edison Volquez and the Cincinnati Reds. The Reds are no joke this season, as they are the surprise team in the MLB. The Reds are also coming off a series win against the Dodgers in LA, a place where the Reds previously dropped 12 straight. The Reds currently lead the NL Central by 3 1/2 games over the St. Louis Cardinals.
This three-game series will be a must for the Giants, the team has to win at least two-of-three. This is the fourth consecutive series the Giants have faced a playoff contender, and the Giants are 3-7 in those games. The team has 21 games remaining at home, which is a plus for the stumbling team. The Giants also have 28 games against divisional opponents. If the team is worthy of a playoff appearance, the team must win at least 25-of-37 remaining games. In order for this to occur, everyone on the team must have the best six weeks of their careers. This includes Tim Lincecum, who is having the worst month of his young career. Lincecum’s ERA is 8.38 in August and he hasn’t won in four consecutive starts.Lincecum has already allowed more earned runs this year than he did in his two previous Cy Young seasons. Regardless, Lincecum must put his struggles behind him if the Giants are to make and succeed in the playoffs.
On Sunday, the Giants acquired OF Cody Ross off of waivers from the Florida Marlins. This brings some confusion due to the recent acquisition of Jose Guillen( who is 10-26 with the Giants) and now a crowded outfield. As a fan one would hope that the team doesn’t decide to let Nate Schierholtz go. Schierholtz is the only member of the outfield that will be under the age of 30 at the beginning of next season. Whatever the reasoning, the Giants hope Ross can have an impact when called upon and give them the push the team needs.
Go Giants.
