W    L    GB                                                     

Philadelphia        82 69 Coasting toward home field series

Arizona                80 72   Just knocked out Giants

Chicago                 79 72         Stopped freefall just in time?

Miami                 79 73 0.5  Cubs are a better team, but... 

Cincinnati         79 74    0.5 No head-to-head left with Cubs

GIANTS                76 75  3 Turn out the lights; the party's over

Yesterday

Giants lost at Arizona, 8-4. 

Chicago waited out a rain delay and crushed Pittsburgh, 14-1, to snap their five-game losing streak.

Miami defeated New York, 4-3, after losing Monday, and Cincinnati was shut out by Minnesota, 7-0, after winning Monday.

Philadelphia lost at Atlanta, 9-3.

Today

Giants finish up at Arizona; 12:35 local time. 

Miami and Cincinnati complete their home series against New York and Minnesota, respectively; both daytime starts. Chicago hosts Pittsburgh tonight and tomorrow.

Last Night's Game

"Ask not for whom the bell tolls..."  That bell tolled, for the first time, in the bottom of the second inning. The Giants had jumped out early, LaMonte Wade leading off the game with a triple and Joc Pederson following with a two-run homer. But it all fell apart in the bottom of the second as Alex Cobb, determined but clearly hobbled, couldn't get enough on his pitches and the Giants, as has been their wont too often this year, added to the pain with some uncertain fielding. Four runs came across, a lead Zac Gallen wouldn't lose, though he was hardly at his best.  And that implacable bell tolled for the last time in the top of the fifth. Trailing 7-2, the Giants had rallied, pushing across two runs as a struggling Gallen issued back-to-back walks, the second with the bases loaded to Wilmer Flores and forcing in a run. Now it was 7-4. Pederson stepped in as the go-ahead run, bases full, one hit away from a brand-new ballgame-- and Joc took three straight called strikes. Inning, game, season-- over.   

What now? Cobb has likely pitched his last game of the season, and at 35 with a bad hip, his career may be in jeopardy. There's no reason any longer to hold back the rookies-- Kyle Harrison, Casey Schmitt, Luis Matos, Marco Luciano, Wade Meckler, and the rest all deserve their chance to lead this ballclub to s strong finish. The Padres have won six straight and are only two and a half games behind the Giants. It will take six wins over the final eleven games to secure a winning season and, probably, third place in the division. 

We'll be taking a few days off from this blog, and will return with our usual missive at the end of the regular season.