The San Francisco Giants have climbed back into the race in the NL West. Although 3 games under .500, the Giants are in third place, 3 1/2 games out of first place. One big reason is that they now have the pitching staff in control. In April, it seemed like they couldn't get an out, allowing a 5.55 ERA. They've almost knocked two runs off that in May, down to 3.66. They has more than made up for a fall in offense of .5 runs during the same time period. With Bonds starting to hit again, that may change as well.

Schmidt, Tomko and Hermanson have all pitched well for the starters this month, although Schmidt is the only one with a win for his efforts. Rodriguez and Walker have anchored the bullpen. Herges has saved 6 of 7, despite an ERA over 6.00. If the Giants can maintain this level of pitching, they can win the west with a small increase in offense.