MLB Standings: Giants Continue To Separate From The Pack

The San Francisco Giants have opened up a 7.5 game lead on the Los Angeles Dodgers heading into the Giants three-game series at the Arizona Diamondbacks this weekend.

The Giants are both playing well and watching their rivals falter as the Giants are on a two-game winning streak while the reeling Dodgers dropped their fourth straight on Thursday night. And with the Rockies and Padres following the Diamondbacks series, the Giants have an opportunity to further extend their lead over the Dodgers.

The Giants sit at 81-62 while the reeling Dodgers are 74-70. The Giants, Nationals and Reds lead the NL West, East and Central divisions, respectively, and all three hold substantial leads over their division's respective second place team. Barring colossal collapses, all three should be in the NL playoffs.

For a complete listing of the current MLB standings, check here.

For more on the Giants pursuit of a National League West title, check out McCovey Chronicles and the SB Nation MLB hub.

Marco Scutaro Would 'Love' To Re-Sign With San Francisco

Marco Scutaro has been an impact player since the San Francisco Giants acquired him at the trade deadline and now he's open to returning to San Francisco next season.

"I would love to come back here," Scuataro said according to CSN Bay Area. "I really love it here. There are great fans, it's a great place to play. More important, it's a place where you have a chance to win every year."

In 44 games with the Giants, Scutaro has hit .341 with a .808 OPS. His desire to stay in San Francisco is a change from when he was initially traded. Following the trade, Scutaro told the Denver Post he would like to re-sign with Colorado.

"I want to be a part of this," Scutaro said of the Rockies. "I think they are going to be pretty good pretty soon."

The 36-year-old has played both second and third base for the Giants.

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Giants Vs. Rockies Final Score: San Francisco Wins, 8-3

The San Francisco Giants scored five runs in the top of the first inning and went on to beat the Colorado Rockies, 8-3, on Wednesday. The win was the Giants second straight after they dropped the first game of the series to the Rockies.

At 81-62, San Francisco now has a seven-game lead over the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL West. They gained another game Wednesday as Los Angeles lost to the Arizona Diamondbacks, 3-2.

Tim Lincecum (9-14, 5.09 ERA) picked up the win for the Giants, allowing three earned runs over six innings. Lincecum struck out eight and has now won three of his last four decisions. The Giants spotted Lincecum an early five-run lead when they batted around in the first inning.

Marco Scutaro, Joaquin Arias, Hector Sanchez and Brandon Crawford all drove in runs during the first. The Rockies scored a run of their own in the first inning and added another on a Wilin Rosario home run in the third inning, but Colorado never pulled closer than three runs. Scutaro drove in another run in the sixth inning while San Francisco added two more insurance runs in the top of the ninth.

The Giants racked up 15 hits in the game, with six different players finishing with at least two hits. Seven different pitchers out of the bullpen combined to pitch three scoreless innings to secure the win.

The Giants will have Thursday off before starting a three-game series with the Diamondbacks on Friday.

For more on the Giants, head over to McCovey Chronicles. For the Rockies side of the story, check out Purple Row. For more on the league in general, make your way over to Baseball Nation.

MLB Schedule 2013: San Francisco Giants Open Season Against Dodgers

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MLB Standings: A's, Giants Extending Leads

The San Francisco Giants and Oakland Athletics are playing well to end the season and extending their leads in the playoff race. A look at the MLB standings shows both teams comfortably in front with just three weeks left in the regular season.

The Giants are well ahead in the NL West standings, as the Dodgers have fallen six games behind San Francisco. The Giants extended their lead in the last ten games, winning two more than Los Angeles over that span.

The A's are four games from falling out of the last Wild Card spot. They have also tightened up the AL West race, pulling within three games of the division-leading Texas Rangers. Winning the division would allow Oakland to avoid the one-game playoff that features the league's two Wild Card entrants at the end of the regular season.

For the complete standings, head over to S.I.'s MLB Standings page.

For more on the A's, check out Athletics Nation. To stay updated on the Giants, check out McCovey Chronicles.

Giants Vs. Rockies: Tim Lincecum Looks To Continue Road Success

With about a 80 percent chance of a thunderstorm around game time, the San Francisco Giants and Colorado Rockies are hoping that mother nature allows them to finish their series at Coors Field on Wednesday evening and not on their scheduled off day on Thursday.

San Francisco will send out Tim Lincecum (8-14, 5.11 ERA), who is 1-1 with a 5.64 ERA in four starts this season against Colorado. The former Cy Young winner has been lights out on the road lately, winning his last four outings with a 2.16 ERA away form AT&T Park. He allowed just two runs on four hits in 6.1 innings against the Dodgers on Friday despite struggling with his control with a career-high seven walks.

Colorado will counter with Jeff Francis (5-4, 5.38), who is seeking revenge for his last outing against San Francisco. Francis allowed six runs on nine hits in just 3.2 innings en route to a 11-6 loss, though tossed 5.2 scoreless innings in his last outing on Saturday, striking out seven as part of Jim Tracy's limited 4-man rotation.

Colorado has last six of their last seven games.

First pitch is set for 5:40 p.m. PT with coverage on CSN Bay Area and KNBR 680 AM.

For more on the Giants head over to McCovey Chronicles. For the Rockies side of the story, check out Purple Row. For more on the league in general, check out Baseball Nation.

Giants Vs. Rockies, Final Score: San Francisco Hangs On For 9-8 Victory

Denver, CO (Sports Network) - Brandon Belt clubbed a solo home run and knocked in four overall to lift the San Francisco Giants over the Colorado Rockies, 9-8, in the middle test of a three-game set Tuesday at Coors Field.

Marco Scutaro and Angel Pagan each plated a run, while starter Madison Bumgarner smacked a three-run homer for the Giants, who have won three of five and own a 6-game lead over the Dodgers atop the NL West.

"We have to keep focusing on what we're doing," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. "This was a hard-fought game. Typical Coors Field game and we held on."

George Kontos (2-1) earned the victory after striking out the final two hitters in the fifth in relief of Bumgarner, who gave up five runs on 11 hits over 4 1/3 frames.

Carlos Torres (4-2) was tagged with the loss after giving up four runs on four hits over two innings of relief work.

Tyler Colvin launched a pinch-hit, two-run homer in the ninth, but the Rockies lost for the sixth time in their last seven games.

"It's really encouraging to see young people performing offensively against some of the teams that we've been playing against in the manner in which they've performed," Colorado manager Jim Tracy said of his club's effort.

With the game locked at 4-4 entering the fifth, Scutaro singled into right field and Buster Posey worked a walk two batters later before Belt laced a two-out double into the left-field corner to give the Giants a 6-4 edge.

Colorado battled back in the bottom half on Matt McBride's RBI single, but Kontos entered and fanned back-to-back hitters to escape the fifth.

Pagan scorched an RBI triple into right-center field in the sixth and then crossed home on Scutaro's sacrifice fly before Belt launched a two-out homer in the top of the seventh to extend the lead to 9-5.

In the eighth, pinch-hitter Charlie Blackmon and Dexter Fowler smacked back- to-back singles before Santiago Casilla replaced Jeremy Affeldt.

After a force out at second put runners on the corners, Carlos Gonzalez laced a single into left field to plate Blackmon, but Casilla got Wilin Rosario to ground into an inning-ending double-play to end the threat.

Sergio Romo yielded a two-out single to McBride in the ninth before Colvin crushed a fastball into the right-field seats trim the margin to one.

Javier Lopez entered and got pinch-hitter Jason Giambi to pop out weakly to third base to secure the victory and nail down his seventh save of the season.

Earlier in the game, Colorado scored in the second when Jordan Pacheco clubbed a one-out double and quickly scored on Chris Nelson's base hit.

Colorado starter Jhoulys Chacin ripped a leadoff double in the third and Fowler followed with a bunt single. Josh Rutledge's double-play groundout scored Chacin before Gonzalez doubled and quickly crossed home on Rosario's base hit to center field.

Pacheco followed with a single to score Rosario and make it a 4-0 contest.

San Francisco answered with four in the fourth, as Posey singled, moved to third on Pence's base hit and then scored on Belt's groundout.

Gregor Blanco then singled and, after Brandon Crawford grounded out, Bumgarner helped his own cause with a long drive into the left-field seats to knot the game at 4-4.

Game Notes

Pagan tied a San Francisco record for triples in a season (12) ... Rockies reliever Rob Scahill made his major league debut in the ninth inning. He allowed one hit ... Chacin was charged for four runs on six hits and a walk over four innings.

Giants Vs. Rockies: Madison Bumgarner Looks To End Recent Skid

After dropping the first game in the series Monday night, the San Francisco Giants are looking to bounce back against the Colorado Rockies with Madison Bumgarner on the mound on Tuesday.

Bumgarner (14-10, 3.15 ERA) has struggled as of late, taking the loss in his last three straight starts, though has been very successful against Colorado in his career. The big left-hander has a 0.66 ERA in his last four outings against the Rockies, allowing two runs or fewer in each of his last seven starts, winning the last three.

One man Bumgarner will have to be careful with is Carlos Gonzalez, who is batting .368 with two homers and two doubles in 19 career at-bats at Coors Field against Bumgarner.

Colorado will send out Jhoulys Chacin (2-5, 4.50), who has been solid since returning from a three month DL stint, though without much allowing no runs on seven hits in his last start, though was still pulled after 3.1 innings en route to a 1-0 loss to Atlanta. He has a 5.40 ERA in his last three starts against San Francisco, all of them loses.

Chacin has struggled with Pablo Sandoval in the past, who is currently 7-14 with two homers, a double and a triple against the Colorado right-hander.

The Rockies are 2-5 against the Giants at Coors Field this season.

First pitch is set for 5:40 p.m. PT with coverage on CSN Bay Area and KNBR 680 AM.

For more on the Giants, head over to McCovey Chronicles. For the Rockies side of the story, check out Purple Row. For more on the league in general, make your way over to Baseball Nation.

Giants Vs. Rockies, Final Score: Buster Posey, Hunter Pence Homer, G-Men Fall 6-5

The San Francisco Giants returned to the Mile High City Monday night looking to keep their dominance of the Colorado Rockies rolling at Coors Field. Unfortunately the Rox had other plans, outlasting a late Giants rally for the 6-5 victory.

Ryan Vogelsong (L 12-8) got tagged for four runs in his first four innings of work tonight, lasting just one more before getting yanked. A pair of home runs from Hunter Pence and Buster Posey kept the Giants close, but the Rockies two-run sixth inning off of Dan Otero proved too much for the Giants, who's two-run eighth inning rally fell just short.

The Giants look to Madison Bumgarner to even up the series on Tuesday, while Colorado will send out Jhoulys Chacin to extend their winning streak. First pitch is set for 5:40 p.m. PT with coverage on CSN Bay Area and KNBR 680 AM.

For more on the Giants, head over to McCovey Chronicles.

San Francisco Giants Injuries: Clay Hensley Off The DL, Xavier Nady Close To Return

The San Francisco Giants announced they will activate Clay Hensley off the disabled list on Tuesday, and outfielder Xavier Nady might be ready for the weekend.

Hensley strained his groin on Aug. 26, and his return will give the Giants a 14-man bullpen. As the Giants look to hold off the Los Angeles Dodgers, they will need all the bullpen help they can get. Hensley is 4-3 with a 4.37 ERA and three saves.

Nady did some light running on Monday after straining his left hamstring last week, and manager Bruce Bochy is hoping that he will be available to pinch hit soon. The Giants trainers are putting him at 60%, and he'll take over his spot from Gregor Blanco in left field when he is ready.

Nady was acquired from the Washington Nationals on Sept. 1. He is hitting .333 with the Giants through 12 at bats.

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Giants Vs. Rockies Lineups: Ryan Vogelsong Goes for Win No. 13

Buster Posey will bat fourth as the San Francisco Giants take on the Colorado Rockies on Monday night. Right-hander Ryan Vogelsong will go for his 13th win of the season and will take a 3.29 ERA into Coors Field to face fellow righty Alex White.

Th first pitch is scheduled for 5:40 p.m. PT. Here are the rest of the lineups for the contest:

Giants

1. Angel Pagan, CF
2. Marco Scutaro, 2B
3. Pablo Sandoval, 3B
4. Buster Posey, C
5. Hunter Pence, RF
6. Brandon Belt, 1B
7. Gregor Blanco, LF
8. Brandon Crawford, SS
9. Ryan Vogelsong, P

Rockies

1. Tyler Colvin, CF
2. Josh Rutledge, SS
3. Carlos Gonzalez, LF
4. Jordan Pacheco, 1B
5. Ramon Hernandez, C
6. Chris Nelson, 3B
7. Charlie Blackmon, RF
8. DJ LeMahieu
9. Alex White, P

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Giants Vs. Rockies: Ryan Vogelsong Looks To Bounce Back

After taking two of three from the Los Angeles Dodgers, the San Francisco Giants look to continue their success against the NL West as they take on the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field Monday night.

Ryan Vogelsong (12-7 3.29) takes the bump for San Francisco, looking to get back on track after a rough start in his last outing. The right-hander lasted only 3.1 innings after allowing six runs early against the Diamondbacks, eventually taking the no decision. He is 1-0 with a 3.38 ERA against the Rockies this year.

Colorado will send out Alex White, (2-8 5.31), who hasn't won a game since June 3. He took the loss in his previous two outings, lasting 7.1 innings with three earned runs in both starts combined.

San Francisco is currently 30-20 against the NL West this year.

First pitch is set for 5:40 p.m. PT with coverage on CSN Bay Area and KNBR 680 AM.

For more on the Giants, head over to McCovey Chronicles.

MLB Standings: Giants Separate Themselves From Dodgers With Series Victory

The Giants are now 5.5 games up on the Dodgers with 22 games left to play.

Giants Vs. Rockies, Series Preview: San Francisco Visits Coors Field For 3-Game Set

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