Some Random Pregame Notes...

• The Giants allowed 30 home runs in August, but only allowed 15 in September.
• The Giants have won eight of their last ten games, and 19 of their last 27. 
• Matt Cain's ERA of 2.52 at home ranks eighth among NL pitchers. He's 3-0 with a 0.82 ERA in his last three starts. He's tied for first in the NL with 25 quality starts. 
• The Giants went 18-8 in September...their .692 winning percentage in the month was the second-best in the majors.
• The Giants' 1.78 ERA in September marks the first time they've had an ERA under 2.00 in any calendar month since May of 1989. 
• Andres Torres' 67 extra base hits are tied for ninth-most in the NL. 
• Apparently, today is also Roberto Kelly's birthday. Happy Birthday to Cain, Ford, and Kelly!
• Aaron Rowand is one for his last 20. 

Happy 26th Birthday Matt Cain! And...Happy 25th Birthday Darren Ford!

Matt Cain's Stats:

How great would it be to get a playoff clinch courtesy of the birthday boy?!

And Darren Ford...

Giants fans won't soon forget this beautiful moment. 

Photo: Chad Ziemendorf / The Chronicle

Giants Execute Comeback, Beat Dodgers 5-4

Image by Fangraphs.com

Down 4-0 by the fifth inning, the Giants did not throw in the towels. Not one bit. Matt Cain settled down and threw shutout innings in the 5th, 6th and 7th for a final line of 7 IP, 4 ER, 7 H, 1 BB, 6 K. The Giants offense put together a noble (and successful) comeback effort. In the 7th inning, Posey cut the deficit to three with a solo home run. In the 8th, Renteria and Burrell cut the lead to one with back-to-back solo home runs. Finally, in the 9th, after a Cody Ross single (which he just barely beat out), Juan Uribe crushed a two-run homer to left-center field off of Dodgers closer Jonathan Broxton. Brian Wilson came in, and after the Dodgers had runners on the corners and just one out, he was able to settle down and shut the Dodgers down, securing the Giants win.

The Giants, now that the Padres have lost a staggering nine games in a row, are now just two games back in the NL West.

Jose Guillen had 4 K's

Now, here's some notes:

• Each day brings more evidence that Jose Guillen should not be a starting outfielder. Pat Burrell hit a home run, Andres Torres is, well, Andres Torres, and Cody Ross scored the game-tying run. Oh, yeah and Jose Guillen had a golden sombrero (four strikeouts in a game, for those of you that aren't well-versed on baseball terminology)
• Saturday's game was the first game since July 9 in which Matt Cain allowed more than 3 ER. Nevertheless, he got the job done, pitching seven solid innings. 
• Although not completely relevant to the Giants, it's quite interesting to note that the Dodgers have not caught a runner stealing since July 23. Darren Ford stole second in the 8th inning with two outs and the Giants down 4-3.
• The Giants have now executed three comebacks of four runs or more: June 4 against the Pirates; July 20 against the Dodgers (you might remember that as the game in which Bruce Bochy got Broxton taken out of the game because Mattingly stepped on the mound twice); and of course, Saturday, September 4 against the Dodgers. 
• Props to Pat Burrell: he was able to come off the bench and battle for an eight-pitch at bat, culminating in his solo home run off of Octavio Dotel. 
• The Giants had four home runs. Quite satisfying.
• Saturday's game was symbolically a juxtaposition of the Dodgers' and Giants' relative seasons. At home, the Dodgers blew a game they should have won thanks to yet another poor performance by Broxton, who has brought the Dodgers down with him during his second-half downfall. The Giants, in contrast, executed a beautiful comeback, and Brian Wilson was able to settle down and shut down the Dodgers to win the game, as he has done for most of 2010. 
• Uribe had a WPA of .622 on Saturday: he raised the Giants' chances of winning the game by 62.2% with his offensive performance. 
• Yet another post worth reading by Aubrey Huff on his blog
• Interesting article here by Andrew Baggarly about the friendship between Ryan Theriot and Mike Fontenot

Tomorrow: Hiroki Kuroda will face Jonathan Sanchez. They are both coming off of dazzling performances, in which they went 7+ innings and gave up 1 ER or fewer. The Giants bat a collective .153 against Kuroda in 72 career at bats, which is just...miserable. Watch out for Matt Kemp -- 9 for 20 in his career against Sanchez. If the Giants can secure the series win on Sunday night, it will go a long way toward building momentum as they get ready to face a hot Diamondbacks team and then the division-leading Padres.

Buster Posey - "It's funny to see so many of these guys who have done this for 10 years, 30 and 35 years old, jumping like little kids."

Welcome Back, Tim Lincecum: Things are Starting to Get Rolling

Lincecum struck out nine in eight innings

The Giants won 2-1 on Wednesday and after a disastrous month of August, Tim Lincecum has rebounded. It took several starts to rediscover his rhythm, but he did his job on Wednesday night. His line: 8.0 IP, 1 ER, 5 H, 1 BB, 9 K. The nine strikeouts are certainly a promising sign, as well as the one walk. The lone run came on an opposite-field solo shot by Carlos Gonzalez. With a Cy Young Lincecum on the mound, the Giants are a force to be reckoned with. Their offense hasn't been scoring a lot of runs lately (just 2 on Wednesday), but they did face Ubaldo Jimenez. Mike Fontenot knocked in a run with a 5th inning RBI single, and were able to score another run off of a combination of luck and small-ball: in the 8th inning, Mike Fontenot drew a walk. September call-up Darren Ford pinch ran for him, and Lincecum laid down a bunt to get him over to second. Ford attempted to steal third on a wild pitch, and the throw to third was high and flew into left field, giving Ford ample time to score. Darren Ford is going to be an asset to the Giants: previously, the best speed on their bench was Nate Schierholtz. Ford is quite a bit faster.

Meanwhile, the Giants' foes are falling rapidly. The Padres have lost seven in a row now, and they haven't been cheap losses. Five of the seven games they've lost have been by three runs or more. The Cardinals, too, are struggling, having lost 13 of their last 17. The Giants are just three games back in the NL West. They still have seven games left against the Padres, so an NL West division title is not out of the question.

Notes:

• The Giants' starting pitching is back to doing what it does best: win games. The Giants' starters have had four consecutive quality starts, giving up just 6 ER in 28.1 IP (ERA: 1.92); Tomorrow Barry Zito will try to continue the quality start streak. 
• Freddy Sanchez refuses to cool down: he was 2 for 4, and is now riding a nine game hit streak. During that span, he's 20 for his last 36 (.555 average). 
• The Rockies managed just 5 hits in the game, 3 of which came from Carlos Gonzalez. The only other position player with a hit was Melvin Mora with a single. 
• Freddy Sanchez made #8 on SportsCenter's top ten plays for his game-ending catch. You can see it here...rare to see a Giant on SportsCenter.

Tomorrow: Giants get to rest. And maybe enjoy a Phillies loss (Joe Blanton pitching at Coors Field).