"Seven September showdowns between the Giants and Dodgers: Does it get any better? Unfortunately, these matchups won't mean much in terms of the National League West, at least for the Giants. Even with their recent surge, eight games separate them from the division lead. That said, the teams' weekend series in San Francisco that begins Friday night followed by four more in Los Angeles next week comes with more stakes than merely giving the Giants a chance to play spoilers."
"Meanwhile, just about everything that can go wrong has for their rivals down south. Maybe it is the hangover from their World Series celebration, or the weight of expectations from their superteam billing, but the Dodgers simply have not been the force they were expected to be. They aren't challenging the 2001 Mariners for the regular-season wins record, nor do they even pose much of a threat to this year's Phillies for the top seed in the National League."
"You could say it's not exactly the scenario schedule-makers envisioned when they drew up the last month of the season, but then again, the Giants are right in line with their preseason projections. It has, as manager Bob Melvin put it, been a little bit of a rollercoaster ride, but they're right where most methodologies had them: somewhere around .500, currently two games over."
Seven September matchups between the Giants and Dodgers start with a weekend series in San Francisco followed by four games in Los Angeles. Giants sit eight games behind the NL West leader despite a recent surge and are roughly .500, two games over. Manager Bob Melvin described the season as a rollercoaster. The Dodgers have underperformed relative to expectations and are not chasing the 2001 Mariners' wins nor challenging the Phillies for the top NL seed. Los Angeles must treat the series seriously to keep the Padres, three games back, at bay. Giants endured two six-game losing streaks in July.
Read at www.mercurynews.com
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