Barry Zito: Giants Are 'a Real Threat'

SAN FRANCISCO -- After the San Francisco Giants got swept by the Los Angeles Angels last week, it made it easy to dismiss their prior hot streak as the result of a soft schedule full of Nationals, Diamondbacks and Marlins.

Then they did something this weekend that just might force you to pay attention. They swept the Texas Rangers, who came to AT&T Park in first place in the AL West.

"When you look back at a series like this, beating good teams, that's when you realize that we're a real threat," said Barry Zito, who carried a no-hitter in the seventh in Sunday's 3-2 victory.

The Giants are now 37-31, leading a crowded National League wild card race.

It's still too early to officially say the Giants can hold off teams like the Mets, Brewers, Cardinals and Cubs over the final three months. This sweep of the Rangers also comes with the disclaimer that Texas' vaunted offense was slumping even before the DH-less Rangers arrived at pitcher-friendly AT&T Park.

That said, holding any American League team to seven runs in three games and beating one of the AL's ERA leaders (Kevin Millwood) has earned the Giants the right to, for the moment, strut a little.

"Obviously it's going to give you some momentum," Aaron Rowand said. "If you can play as well as we did, more important pitch as well as we did, against one of the best offensive teams in baseball and hold them down enough to win some ballgames, it's a big confidence builder, not only for our pitching staff, but for the team as a whole."

All along the Giants were expected to have pretty good pitching, and they have not disappointed. Tim Lincecum (6-2, 2.72) and Matt Cain (9-1, 2.28) are arguably the best 1-2 punch at the top of any rotation. Zito and Randy Johnson each have had stretches where they've looked like the pitchers they used to be. The bullpen has been solid, with closer Brian Wilson converting 19 saves, including his past 10 opportunities, with a 2.94 ERA.

The issue, just as expected, is their offense. This is still a team that relies on Bengie Molina as its cleanup hitter. Third baseman Pablo Sandoval, who had two more hits on Sunday to raise his average to .338, is a candidate for the All-Star Game. Rowand has been reborn since a move to the leadoff spot, hitting .371 over his past 32 games.

After that, though, the Giants don't have a player hitting better than .268. Rowand, Molina and Sandoval are the only players with more than four homers.

The Giants have enough pitching that they are definitely contenders as currently constituted. Whether they can go from merely being a "threat" to being a playoff team probably depends on whether they can find another bat on the trade market.

The guess here is that they won't be able to make an impact trade without dealing one of their premium pitching prospects (Madison Bumgarner and Tim Alderson). Even if they do nothing, they should at least keep things interesting the rest of the season.