NL West

With the the final game of the weekend's Giants-Padres series now played, and Giants find themselves 3.5 games out of first place in the NL West with 43 games left to play.

All season long, people have doubted whether the Padres would be able to hold onto their lead in the division, and with the Padres taking two-of-three from in the most recent match-up, the Giants now have some work to do if they hope to be playing in October.

Had I asked you in April who you saw leading the NL West in mid-August, you'd likely have answered with either the Rockies or the Dodgers. I know I would have.

The Dodgers won the division with the best record in the National League last season, and the Rockies made the playoffs as the NL's wild-card.

Both teams entered the season with young, talented rosters, coming off a highly successful season, and having suffered only minimal off-season losses.

So it made sense to think one of these teams would win the division.

The Rockies walked off with a win on Sunday. Their fans walked off sick to their stomachs.

The clubs Baylor managed were referred to as the "Blake Street Bombers." They set all sorts of records for home runs.

From 1993 to 1998, Colorado baseball fans were not real baseball fans, they had fallen in love with a game that was more like slow-pitch softball. Scores of 15-12 were more common than scores of 3-2.

Let’s take a look at some of the biggest stories from yesterday’s games:

American League:

The Giants lost 3-2 to the Padres Friday night in a battle of supremacy for the NL West.

Jonathan Sanchez's prediction was proven wrong, his attempt at becoming a baseball mystic falling short.

But losing the game and the prediction will not be what this game is remembered for in the coming weeks, months, and years.

Tonight was the official death of Aarond Rowand as a San Francisco Giant.

by shlepcar

The Coors Field Rockies showed up for their brief home stand on Friday night.

While the Dodgers' season appears to be slowly fading into a dismal abyss of disappointments and shortcomings, a welcomed break to the negativity is...well...the hot significant others of current and former Dodgers. 

While the Dodgers may be in disarray, one thing they have going for them is gorgeous women by their side cheering them up. Check out these shots of Dodgers wives, girlfriends, and ex's past and present.

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The San Diego Padres and San Francisco Giants play the first game of a three-game set that is sure to be an epic battle between two NL West teams.

Both are locked in a battle for the top spot in the division, there's already trash talk going on, and both want a series win in a big way. The winner of this series will definitely be in the driver's seat.

There will be several things to watch for during this series and several keys for each team to come out on top, but here are 10 things to watch for over the next three days.