NL West

The Giants' season-long chase after the San Diego Padres has finally paid off. San Francisco is half a game back of the Padres.

Getting here has been a lengthy and remarkable pursuit marked by the resilience and dedication of the boys in orange and black.

And it isn't over. Much will depend on how the Giants play their last remaining games.

And yet there are some things beyond the Giants control that may happen to hamper their run at NL West Pennant.

Let's take a look at 10 key things to watch for down the stretch for the Giants.

Winning 11 baseball games in a row is tough to do in little league, let alone the big leagues.

He's baaaacccckkkkkkk!!!!

Looking at Tim Lincecum's three starts in September, one would think he is back to Cy Young form. After a horrible 0-5 August record, Lincecum has responded by winning each of his three starts in September. His ERA in August was an abysmal 7.82, compared to 2.09 in September. 

So he's back on track right?

Well, hold it right there. Sure his stats are back to ace-like form, but how do we know he has really changed?

Andres Torres, the center fielder and lead-off hitter, is the most irreplaceable member of the San Francisco Giants' lineup.

The Giants have to replace him, though, because he's out for the remainder of the regular season following surgery on his appendix.

As fantasy leagues wind down and head into playoff mode, most owners generally have similar goals in mind at this juncture.

Some owners are right smack in the middle of a battle for playoff position while others are looking forward to next season and the opportunity to start over. What you can expect to find in this week’s edition is a smattering of young players trying to impress their club and hopefully cement a spot on next year’s big league team.

The San Francisco Giants did three significant things during their humongous four-game series against the San Diego Padres. Call it a pleasant coincidence that the team also won three of the weekend contests.

By taking three of four in Petco Park, the good guys exorcised some serious demons in a personal house of horrors. Since the start of the 2009 campaign, the Giants had only won three of the last 14 contests played in the Friars' home. You have to imagine the lads enjoyed doubling a two-year win total in four days.

While some division races are winding down, others are just starting to heat up.

The Rockies, dead in the water two weeks ago, have ripped off 10 wins in a row and are now in the mix for both the Wild Card and NL West title.

Carlos Gonzalez continues to remind voters why he should be in the MVP conversation.

Troy Tulowitzki has jut finished a incredibly hot stretch as well. How hot? Well how does eight home-runs and 17 RBI in nine games sound?

The tandem are the reason the Rox find themselves within striking distance.

Despite the struggles of the Los Angeles Dodgers throughout the 2010 season, two teams in their farm system, the Ogden Raptors and the Great Lakes Loons, recently completed record-breaking years and continue to battle in the playoffs in their respective leagues.

The Colorado Rockies continued their climb to the top of the standings on Saturday night, but it didn't come the way most probably thought it would. The result, however, is the same for the Rockies, who came from behind in the late innings to win 2-1.

Saturday's game was characterized by dominant pitching and poor umpiring behind the plate. Madison Bumgarner pitched a beautiful game, allowing only one earned run on three hits through seven innings. The lone blemish was a third inning solo shot off of the bat of Yorvit Torrealba. Bumgarner only needed 79 pitches to get through seven innings, as he pitched extremely efficiently.