Philadelphia— Jonathon Sanchez pitched eight stellar innings as the Giants managed a win in Philadelphia Thursday evening, 5-2. In the past week the Giants have went from one game ahead in the NL Wildcard to one game back. Not only have they lost ground to the NL West leaders San Diego, they have also forfeited the Wildcard to the Phillies. The Giants are now trailing the Padres by six games in the NL West. The team went 2-4 in the last week against these two teams, which partially explains the deficit in the standings. The other reason for the deficit is that the Padres and the Phillies are the two hottest teams in baseball. The Padres have won 10-of-11, building their lead in the West, while the Phillies have won 20-of-26.
Things won’t be easy from here on out for the Giants, as they head to St. Louis for a weekend series against the Cardinals. The Cardinals are nipping at the heals of the Giants in the Wildcard. The Cardinals trail the Giants by one game in the race, and two overall. Madison Bumgarner will take the hill this afternoon in arguably the biggest start in his young career. Every game from here on out for the Giants will be of major importance, every game becomes more crucial than the last.
The Giants head home to the Bay after the three game series in St. Louis. This is when the season will be make-or-break for the 2010 Giants. The NL Central-leading Cincinnati Reds come to San Francisco. That means by the middle of next week the last four series have been against SD, Philly, St. Louis, and Cincinatti, all playoff contenders. So far the Giants are 2-4 in those games, but good news for the Giants they are 22-8 against the NL Central this year. If the Giants can win four-of-six in the next two series, then .500 record in the last four series will not look so bad.
After the Reds come to town, the Giants have 19 straight games against divisional opponents. This is why the series in St. Louis and the one against the Reds is so critical, for the confidence. The Giants need to be consistent in these next 25 games. The club needs hitting and pitching to be at their best, and of course, a little bit of luck.
Go Giants.
