Giants Split Four With Mets

After mustering only 7 runs in the first 3 games of their series in New York with the Mets, the Giants offense exploded in Monday's finale, enabling the Giants to leave Flushing Meadows with a 4-game split.

The Giants have been playing very average baseball of late, and haven't really taken advantage of the teams they need to be taking advantage of. The Mets are a team that has scuffled all year long, are completely banged up, and shouldn't really have the fire power to keep up with a team like the Giants, yet the Giants could only salvage of split. A big reason why they were able to salvage the split was the offensive day from Aaron Rowand. The Giants' center fielder had arguably his best day as a Giant, going 4-5 with a home run, 2 RBI and 2 runs scored. Rowand's average had dipped below .270 for the first time since May 2oth, so his big day was definitely something he needed and maybe that will get him back on track. The other outfielder the Giants would very much like to get going is Randy Winn. The veteran right-fielder continues to struggle through his worst season as a Giant, but he had a three hit game with a couple of runs scored on Monday as well. With Nate Schierholtz back, and Eugenio Velez striving in the leadoff spot, playing time is getting slim for outfielders, and if Rowand and Winn cannot continue to help out the offense, Bochy needs to seriously consider sitting those guys down for a bit.

The Giants starting pitching threw very well in New York, including another solid outing from Jonathan Sanchez and another victory for rookie Joe Martinez. In fact, it looks like Martinez is quietly grabbing hold of the fifth spot in the rotation and it doesn't look like he'll be relinquishing it anytime soon. He's yet to go more than five innings in a start, but he's certainly shown the ability to keep the ball in the yard and keep the Giants in the game when he's out there. He had one sub par start vs. LA last week, but other than that, he's been nails for the Giants. It's still unclear on when and if Randy Johnson will return to the club this year, so it's especially crucial that the Giants get some support from the bottom half of their rotation. Barry Zito has been pretty darn good since the All-star break, and Jonathan Sanchez has looked like a new pitcher since he threw his no-no back in early July. I thought the Giants rotation would suffer a set-back with The Big Unit on the shelve, but that hasn't been the case. If the Giants can get Randy back in September and he's anywhere close to full-strength, then it will be icing on the cake.

Note: Speaking of the pitching staff, the Giants inked their first round pick from June's Amateur draft just before the deadline on Monday. The Giants and right-hander Zach Wheeler agreed on a deal that will pay the rightie just over 3 million dollars in guaranteed money. Can't wait to see him get his professional career started.... For those of you looking to do some MLB gambling this season, be sure to check out our baseball handicapping and any info you'll need on how to bet on baseball at Betfirms!