Petit threw a gem and now I kind of believe

After Yusmeiro Petit's near-perfect game against the Diamondbacks last year (it still stings), it seemed feasible he could do something similar in another start against them. This was a Diamondbacks team without Paul Goldschmidt, after all. Save giving up a home run to Ender Inciarte (not a real name, by the way), Petit almost did it again. A complete game on 84 pitches seems impossible, except when you consider who Petit threw it against. Even factoring in the opponent, Petit's performance and Joe Panik's five-hit night makes you believe this team is capable of real greatness. Panik is reminding me so much of Marco Scutaro and Freddy Sanchez that I'm starting to worry, but that's neither here nor there. I won't start to really Panik (get it? hah) until the postseason. While not always consistent, considering what Petit has had to do and in the manner he's had to do it in, he's been fantastic for the Giants. Looking back at the whole season, I consider him one of the most underrated components of the team.

The Giants have a remaining schedule that, except for six games against the Dodgers, makes for a real race in the NL West up until the final day of the regular season. Granted, the Dodgers have an equally "easy" schedule, but they also lost a series to the Cubs this year, and Yasiel Puig is going through a slump. What do we have to do to ensure that that slump lasts through the end of the month? On paper the Dodgers are clearly the better team, but they have the same depth issues the Giants do, just with a crapload more money in their bank account. The Dodgers actually claimed Roberto Hernandez (or Fausto Carmona, whichever you prefer) for some reason and he has been pretty terrible, Josh Beckett probably won't pitch again and Dan Haren is, well, Dan Haren. Relying that heavily on already worn-out pitchers like Kershaw, Greinke (which autocorrected to Grinch! so perfect!) and Ryu might not work out the way they want it in the end. It is the offense you really have to worry about with the Dodgers, especially since Adrian Gonzalez is on a tear again and so is Carl Crawford, kind of. But who can say how long it will last.

If you want a sign that the Dodgers are not that secure with their division lead, look no further than the pitching lineup they have for BOTH of their remaining series against the Giants: Ryu, Grienke, Kershaw. Rinse and repeat. Save Hernandez and Haren for the Padres and Cubs, I suppose. In fact, that's pretty much been their pitching rotation against the Giants most of the season and in light of it, the Giants have done pretty well against their rivals this year. The last series of the year for the Giants is the Padres, which should ring some bells for even more recent Giants fans. It will be a fun second half of the month and if the Giants have more games like last night, they can make a run for it; another NL West title is in their grasp. Will Lincecum pitch against the Padres the last week of September? GOD I HOPE SO!