Arizona     79-60  …        Kennedy makes case for Cy Young Award.
GIANTS   73-66  6 GB   Everything right is wrong again.

Yesterday
Giants lost to Arizona, 7-2.

Today
Giants finish up with Arizona; 1:05 PDT (4:05 EDT) at the 'Bell. Needless to say, the Giants must win this game if their pennant hopes (and this daily log) are to stay alive. Ryan Vogelsong (10-5) faces Daniel Hudson (14-9). The Giants are familiar with Hudson; they've faced him thrice and beaten him twice this year. Those two wins were back in April and May; the loss was barely a month ago. Vogelsong, for his part, has two strong starts against the 'Snakes' this season. Overall, though, he's lost his last three decisions as his record has declined from 10-2 to 10-5.

Last Night's Game
In stark contrast to last September, this September did not bring out any Tim Lincecum 'mojo'-- well, at least not last night. Throwing strong and striking out seven, the Giants' ace was also eminently hittable from the git-go, and after he issued back-to-back two-out walks in the fifth, a sense of impending doom hung implacably over the 'Bell like a cloud. Less than an inning later, he was gone after giving up back-to-back doubles, and the team that rarely plays catch-up once again didn't. Adding injury to insult, Pat Burrell limped off in the fourth after re-injuring the same foot that kept him on the DL for so long; he's listed as day-to-day. Positives were positively miniscule: Carlos Beltran continued his hot hand and is now 7-for-7 in the series, and Lincecum's last strikeout was his 200th. "The Freak" joins Amos "The Hoosier Thunderbolt" Rusie and Juan "The Dominican Dandy" Marichal as the only Giants pitchers to fan 200 or more four straight seasons.