Since our last past, which took the temperature of the starting rotation, each of the Giants’ 5 starters got to take a turn. It went like this: Zito=Great, Vogelsong=Terrible, Cain=Very Encouraging, Bumgarner=Great, Lincecum=Very Encouraging.

So, mostly what we’ve come to expect/encouragement. All of which translated to 4 wins and 1 loss. Very Nice! The deep concern is still very much Vogelsong. How long do you wait this out? Like they did with Lincecum a year ago my gut tells me they wait this one out a long time. (A) There is no one knocking on that door (2) The Giants are in first place and have the luxury of waiting.

Results:

4-3 (23-15); 2 game lead in NL West

6-2 L vs. PHIL; 6-2 L vs. PHIL; 4-3 W vs. PHIL; 6-3 L vs. ATL; 8-2 W vs. ATL; 10-1 W vs. ATL; 5-1 W vs. ATL

Hitter of the Week:

How about Marco Scutaro! His line of .467/.467/.767 is pretty tasty. And take note of this, his average is now over .300. I know batting average isn’t as revered as a stat as it once was, but for a guy like Scutaro is pretty important…his value to the team is average and on-base-percentage, as opposed to power. He is the perfect #2 hitter for this team and every runs a little more smoothly when he is going well.

Also, don’t miss this fact, while we are talking about batting average: Scutaro is at .305, Sandoval at .320, Posey at .294, and Pence at .281. That is a very good sign for the 2-5 spots.

Here’s my prediction: this team has the capability of putting together at 10+ game winning streak. Their ability to put long streaks together in the past (based on excellent starting pitching) has always been stunted by the offense. Hard to maintain a streak when you are prone to the 1-0 caining loss.

Pitcher of the Week:

Tempting to give this to Lincecum but I’m going with Matt Cain. He still got burned by the longball, but a very, very encouraging sight to see him go 8 after getting hit by a ball and dominating.

Looking Ahead:

Very interesting road trip: 2 in Toronto and then 4 in Colorado. Neither team is playing well right now, but  it is weird to go to Canada and play with the DH and then go to Colorado where weird stuff happens. I’d be pleased with 3-3 but am hoping the success against the NL West leads to a 4-2 week.

(-SB)