The Padres have lost 10 in a row, and the Giants have gained 5.5 games in the standings in that stretch. After today's rubber-match victory against the Dodgers, the Giants now find themselves just one game out of 1st place, with a huge 4-game series in San Diego about to start this Thursday.
Jonathan Sanchez finally showed a glimmer of consistency, as he posted back-to-back quality starts for the first time since April 14th and April 20th. Over his last 15 innings, Sanchez has allowed only 1 run on 8 hits with 15 strikeouts against 3 walks. The walks, of course, are the key to Sanchez's success. With a robust .212 opponent's batting average, Sanchez is almost unbeatable as long as he's pounding the strike zone. He's had a consistent arm slot over his last two starts, and the evidence has been his ability to locate his fastball on both sides of the plate. The Giants will be a dangerous team in September if he keeps up this production because he's by far the best 4th starter in the National League.
The great Henry Schulman of the SF Chronicle wrote that Juan Uribe's go-ahead homerun (a homerun which is probably only landing now) off Jonathan Broxton in the 9th inning on Saturday was the "Brian Johnson moment" of the 2010 season. There have been many huge hits throughout this team's 30+ come-from-behind victories this season, but Uribe's homerun on Saturday tops them all. The Padres are floundering, and the Giants looked dead in the water against Ted Lilly, unable to capitalize on their great fortunes. But Uribe sent a jolt through the Giants dugout, and Saturday's win was the type of victory that can propel a team on a hot streak. With 19 of their remaining 25 games against teams from the NL West, the Giants could sure use a sustained run to get themselves into the playoffs.
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