How Sweep It Is

Sure it's only the Giants, but sweeping them in their house is still big. Perhaps even more significant: The Snakes are two games above .500 for the first time since June 25th (yes, that's more than a month).

It is also important to note that since his terrible outing against Milwaukee on the first of July, Randy Johnson has had a great month. In the four starts since then, he has given up a total of five earned runs (ERA of 1.71), struck out 19, walked only two batters, and won all four games. He is currently on a streak of 15 scoreless innings!

By the end of June I was worried that his back problems were returning, but Randy is looking much sharper. I'm also glad his strikeout numbers are falling-- that means he's throwing fewer pitches and can go deeper into games. The D-backs will need him to pitch at least six innings each start to avoid over-taxing the bullpen.

Another positive sign for the Diamondbacks: Over the last ten games, they have scored 57 runs. It is nice to see the offense waking up again. They have what it takes to win the NL West (almost any team does), but they will need pitching AND hitting if they plan to get out of the first round come playoff time.

Ed. note: I have corrected the stats above.