Fateful

The San Francisco Giants begin their most important road trip of the season tonight in Chicago.  They begin 1.5 games out of first place, and only barely ahead in the Wild Card.  They split their home series with Arizona by winning Wednesday 4-2.

As beset by injuries as the Giants have been, the Dodgers have their continuing woes, especially among starting pitchers.  After losing the first game of their doubleheader at Colorado 7-0 on Wednesday, they were forced to string together bullpen pitchers for the second game when their announced starter continued to have blister issues.  Only a late offensive flurry saved them from losing both games, but the split kept them 1.5 games ahead of the Giants instead of .5.

The Giants are going to have to show such resilience in Chicago, Arizona and Colorado before they finish mostly at home.  The Cubs are one of the hottest second half teams, running away with their division.  The Giants...well, you know.

A bunch of roster additions today, including the return of Kelby Tomlinson from the DL.  Giants get a look at young phenom Ty Blach, left handed reliever.