The San Francisco Giants have to be looking themselves in the mirror right now. Their season has been marred by up-and-down play. The team finished June by losing five games in a row, and seven out of nine. The Giants record for the month was 13-14. Their records now stands 40-37.
The team has dropped to fourth in the National League West and things won’t get easier from here. The team is in the middle of 20 straight games and will have a quick turnaround. They will be in Colorado to face the Rockies in a four game series at Coors Field, this is the beginning of an 11 game road trip that also hits Milwaukee and Washington D.C. This will also take the Giants up to the All-Star break, July 12-14 in Anaheim. With the position the Giants are in at the moment, these next 11 games may make-or-break the 2010 squad.
What has put the Giants in this position are the problems they have been experiencing all year long. The Giants struggle at the plate, have experienced lapses in defense, and despite strong pitching, have dropped a few games late. The Giants finished 7-8 in interleague play, are currently 15-20 on the road, and most importantly are 8-17 against the division to this point. Another pain is the batters hitting into double play balls, killing their opportunities to plate runs. The Giants lead the NL in the category, with a whopping 84 to this point, in just 77 games. The Giants hit into six double plays in the three game Dodger series, and scored only six runs. The team was 2-14 with RISP in the series, and left 18 men on base in that time.
Manager Bruce Bochy will have to light a fire under his ball club. Hopefully the Giants will respond. This next stretch of games could keep them in the NL West race or take them out of it. Bochy will turn to young prospect Madison Bumgarner to take the hill in Colorado tomorrow at 5:40 p.m. The tall, talented lefty will look to win his first of the year. This game is a must.
Go Giants.
