A New Streak

Something had to change in Phoenix. There were too many factors that insisted a swing towards the win column. Jason Schmidt was on the mound, normally dominant at Chase Field, combined with hitter friendly confines in Arizona. Schmidt, perhaps in a tryout for his next team, did not have his best stuff but emerged with the victory anyway, thanks to a home run barrage by the Giants, and even Schmidt himself.

As the Dodgers' streak continues and sees the return of Jeff Kent, the Giants would like to gain some momentum before heading into Los Angeles to face their southern California rivals. The Giants will take whatever offensive momentum they can establish, especially on the road, where this victory in Arizona represented their first away from AT&T Park since July 8th.

None of that offense matters without established late-game pitching, something the Giants can only dance around for so long. Felipe Alou insists he'll have the bullpen issues sorted out by the end of the week, and the time away from the boo-birds in San Francisco might allow Armando Benitez to re-establish himself.

In other news Andrew Morbitzer admitted the sale of Barry Bonds' record-breaking HR ball, which placed him second on the all-time list, was a tough sale because "My wife is a huge sports fan." San Diegan Marc Chase purchased the ball for $220,100 and plans to put it on tour for a bit before returning to La Jolla.