It was a strong three-game set for the San Francisco Giants when they took on the Colorado Rockies. They made a statement to the NL West-leading foes by taking two of three in dominating fashion, though their propensity to lose game threes that are potential sweeps is somewhat maddening and a cause for concern. It did seem like everything was working for them in the series, though. Tim Lincecum, Jonathan Sanchez, and even Matt Cain in a losing effort, all of them were solid and had run support (except for Cain, imagine that) from guys like Freddy Sanchez and Pablo Sandoval.
The Giants sent the top of their pitching rotation out against the Rockies, so the bottom two of the five would normally be up when they host the Atlanta Braves for a three-game set (before departing on a ten-game road trip), but Barry Zito's injury and placement on the disabled list really mucks things up a bit. Instead, San Francisco has simply elected to skip his turn and put Madison Bumgarner in there in game one on Friday, with Lincecum and Sanchez rounding out games two and three.
Atlanta is finishing up a disappointing four-game set against the Los Angeles Dodgers, in which they've lost 4-2, 6-1, and 5-3, respectively - but did pick up a 10-1 win in game two. They're on a ten-game road trip which will take them to San Diego to face the Padres after the three-game set in San Francisco.
They're inconsistent, and the Giants need to do what they can to capitalize on that. Madison Bumgarner is looking for his first win, while Lincecum and Sanchez will be looking to build on what they were able to do prior. This isn't some huge test for the Giants with a ton of significance, but they just want to establish some form of consistency after the rocky start.