SAN FRANCISCO -- Ross Stripling spent the early years of his career with the Los Angeles Dodgers and hit free agency at a time when the San Diego Padres were making a splash seemingly every other day. He knows how tough this division should be, but he hadn't looked at the standings recently, at least not until they were shown on ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball broadcast.
For Stripling, the graphic confirmed a feeling that many Giants have right now. They've played disappointing baseball for most of the past month, but so have the two superpowers in their division. They're not anywhere close to being buried, even after a 1-4 road trip against two teams they should fare well against and two rough losses at the start of this homestand.
The Giants bounced back by taking both weekend games against the New York Mets, including a 5-4 win on Sunday night that was sparked by Joc Pederson's return to the lineup. They expect to get Mitch Haniger and Austin Slater back in the coming days, possibly as soon as Monday when the St. Louis Cardinals arrive.
They're not in a great spot, but it could be worse. At least, Stripling pointed out, they're not trying to chase down a team like the 19-3 Tampa Bay Rays.
"No one is like the Rays, off and running," he said of the NL West. "When you're struggling as a team you maybe look for things like that. You look for light at the end of the tunnel."
Stripling and Pederson, two veterans who were once Double-A roommates, had similar feelings after the Giants went back-to-back for the first time all year. Pederson pointed out that the Giants have lost games they should have won, but noted that "it's a playoff team over there" in the Mets clubhouse, and the Giants could try and pull some momentum from the weekend wins.
"To get the last two is a big deal," Stripling said. "It's hopefully a little momentum going through a tough stretch."
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There might be light at the end of the tunnel, but the Giants still are very capable of getting run over before they get there. The Cardinals are a disappointing 9-13, but they're expected to be a playoff contender, too. After that, it's the Padres, Houston Astros and Milwaukee Brewers.
This is a stretch that can bury the Giants if they're not careful, but they have gotten some help in trying to stay afloat. The young Arizona Diamondbacks and new-look Dodgers are tied atop the NL West at 12-11, with the Padres half a game behind. With the exception of Arizona, it has mostly been a disappointing month for all in the NL West.
The Giants have been the shakiest of the teams with true playoff aspirations, but they scored early Sunday, with Pederson driving in a run in his first plate appearance in 12 days. He later hit a foul ball 115.6 mph, showing his right wrist is healthy enough for the types of vicious swings that are his trademark. In a tie game in the eighth, he drew a walk and then raced around from first when Mike Yastrzemski put one in the gap.
"I was flying," Pederson said. "I don't know what else to say."
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The Giants' lineup against left-handed pitching hasn't been good, but still, Pederson is a game-changer when healthy. They hope is to say the same about Haniger and Slater over the next few days, and it seems likely they both will be active when the Giants face two lefties during the Cardinals series.
For all of the optimism on Sunday night, the Giants have yet to win three games in a row all season. But they're just three back of the NL West leaders, and they're poised to return to full strength. Stripling's start in orange and black has matched the team's April, but as he looked at the big picture, he thought of something teammates have said during this tumultuous month.
"You keep hearing it," he said. "When we get healthy, we're gonna go."
