PHOENIX -- The National League West seems to be slowly slipping away from the San Francisco Giants, and even a postseason spot is in jeopardy.After posting the best record in the majors at the All-Star break, the Giants have had the worst record since.San Franciscos seemingly secure four-game lead over the Los Angeles Dodgers five weeks ago has evaporated, to the point where the Giants find themselves five games behind the Dodgers with 25 games to play in the regular season and clinging to a tenuous lead in the NL wild card race. The Dodgers have gained ground despite the fact that ace Clayton Kershaw has been out since June 26 with a herniated disk.The Giants enter a three-game series at the Arizona Diamondbacks this weekend trying to right matters after falling three more games behind the Dodgers in the last 10 days.Arizona had had a little bit to do with the recent shift in the balance of power.The Diamondbacks split a two-game series in San Francisco on the final two days of August in the first stop of a three-city road trip that concluded when they were swept in Los Angeles in a three-game set that ended Wednesday. The Giants, meanwhile, lost two of three in Colorado, giving up three runs in the ninth inning of a 6-5 loss Wednesday.You have to win games youre supposed to win, Giants manager Bruce Bochy told reporters.The Giants could look at this as a supposed-to-win series close to a must-win one, although the Giants and Dodgers do meet six times in the final 13 games of the season.San Francisco is 10-6 against the Diamondbacks this season and has won 10 of 12 against them since being swept in a four-game series at home during the second week of April. Arizona is 25-43 at home.Madison Bumgarner, a top NL Cy Young candidate, will oppose Arizona right-hander Rubby De La Rosa in Fridays series opener. De La Rosa will make his first start since going on the disabled list in late May with right elbow soreness. He threw 30 pitches in his most recent rehab assignment on Monday for Class A Visalia, so he is likely on a severe pitch limit.Bumgarner, 14-8 with a 2.51 ERA, has won four of his last five starts but has a 4.20 ERA over that span. He beat the Chicago Cubs last Saturday -- the only game the Giants won in that four-game series -- and is 2/3 with a 1.22 ERA in his last five starts against Arizona.The day before the All-Star break, Bumgarner beat Arizona with one of the best games of his career, striking out 14 and giving up only one hit, an eight-inning single by Jake Lamb, in a 4-0 victory on July 10.Part of San Franciscos trouble is a lack of offense. The Giants have only 39 homers since the All-Star beak, the second-fewest in the majors. Brandon Belts homer in Colorado on Wednesday broke a streak of 254 homerless at-bats for Belt, Brandon Crawford and Buster Posey, the top three home run hitters on the team. Posey has gone 150 at-bats without a blast.Arizona did not hit well in Los Angeles, scoring only five runs in the sweep while facing three rookie starters.Diamondbacks second baseman Jean Segura had 30 hits in each of the first five months of the season, the first player in franchise history to do that. Luis Gonzalez had five straight 30-hit months from May to September in 2000. Segura has 35 doubles and 30 stolen bases, joining Jonathan Villar and Starling Marte as the only 30-30 players in the majors. Wholesale Jerseys Free Shipping . Tuesdays surgery at Atlantas Piedmont Hospital was performed by Dr. Xavier Duralde and Hawks team physician Dr. Michael Bernot. Wholesale Jerseys . -- Bobby Ryan helped the U. http://www.basketballjerseyscheap.com/ . "It doesnt get any better than that," Giambi said. "Im speechless." The Indians are roaring toward October. Giambi belted a two-run, pinch-hit homer with two outs in the ninth inning to give Cleveland a shocking 5-4 win over the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday night, keeping the Indians up with the lead pack in the AL wild-card race. NBA Jerseys Wholesale . -- If Henry Burris has his way, he will be the starting quarterback to lead the Hamilton Tiger-Cats back to the Grey Cup next year. NBA Jerseys Cheap . During the athletes parade, the 23-strong Ukrainian team was represented by a lone flagbearer in an apparent protest at the presence of Russian troops in Ukraines Crimean peninsula. CARMEL, Ind. -- Roberto Castro kept pouring in birdies and expanding his lead in the BMW Championship until he finished with another 7-under 65 and led by as many as five shots as the other players at Crooked Stick were finishing their rounds.By the end of the day, U.S. Open champion Dustin Johnson had set the course record at 63 and was tied for the lead.Johnson was asked to put himself in Castros place. If he had never won in 125 starts on the PGA Tour, had a big cushion when he finished Friday, and then saw someone like Johnson charging into the share of the lead, would he be nervous.Yeah, I would be, for sure, Johnson said.Castro, the Georgia Tech grad who needs a big week just to get home to Atlanta for the Tour Championship, is a practical sort. Hes not as long off the tee as Johnson (not many are) but hes playing well and golf rewards all manners of good play.I think if you look at the tour, it sure helps to be long, Castro said. But the guy who is striping it usually wins.They were at 14-under 130. Next up is round three:DUSTINS PUTTER: Johnson was getting frustrated by not seeing enough putts fall, so he decided to mix it up and try the TaylorMade Spider. The oversize head of the putter is designed to increase stability. Johnson was asked about the physics behind it, and he wasnt going there.I dont go into that stuff -- as long as it goes where Im looking, he said.The putts were going in the hole, including a 25-foot eagle putt on the 15th and a 30-foot birdie putt on the 14th that sent him soaring to the course record.Johnson didnt know he had the course record until Tony Pancake, the golf director at Crooked Stick, informed him.As for the physics? Johnson says he took a physics course in high school.I got an A, too, bud, he said.CASTRO AND EAST LAKE: Castro is at No. 53 in the FedEx Cup and figured he would have to win the BMW Championship to be among the top 30 who advanced to the Tour Championship at East Lake, about 15 minutes from where he lives.Its not that dire. A fourth-place finish might be enough, dependinng on other players.dddddddddddd Third place would all but secure it.Castro is just trying to hit fairways and greens, make a putt or two and see where it takes him.He qualified for the Tour Championship in 2013, and the next year he ended up losing his PGA Tour card.CASEYS BACK: Paul Casey is trending in the right direction. One week after he had the 54-hole lead in the TPC Boston (he finished two shots behind Rory McIlroy), he played bogey-free for a 66 on Friday and was three shots out of the lead.If you can put it on the right side of the flag, it makes your week really, really easy -- or easier, Casey said. So Ive done so far a really good job of that and I would like to continue it over the weekend.He is No. 10 in the FedEx Cup. He is No. 22 in the world. He is not eligible for the Ryder Cup because he didnt want to take European Tour membership, so the FedEx Cup is really the only thing on his mind. That and winning, which Casey hasnt done on the PGA Tour since 2009.MOVERS: J.B. Holmes shot a 65 despite a bogey on the last hole. He was four shots out of the lead, and his name on the leaderboard could -- or should -- only help his cause for becoming a captains pick on Monday for the Ryder Cup.Bubba Watson, the No. 7 player in the world, overcame his fear of blind shots and shot a 67 to tie for 10th. He also needs a captains pick. He only cared about two tournaments this year -- the Olympics and the Ryder Cup. He was in Rio. He would like to be at Hazeltine at the end of the month.DJ AND DAY: Jason Day and Johnson are Nos. 1 and 2 in the world ranking. They started 1 and 2 in the FedEx Cup. And they are 1 and 2 in the Vardon Trophy for lowest adjusted scoring average. And they have played together the opening two rounds of all three FedEx Cup playoff events.The advantage goes to Johnson, who is a collective 13 shots better than Day and sure to take over the Vardon Trophy lead if he keeps it up. ' ' '
