Giants have now lost six straight

Pictured: Dodgers pitcher Vincente Padilla reminds me of The Joker.

So the Giants (40-38) were swept by the Dodgers (43-35) after dropping the last two to the Red Sox (47-32) and then lost the opener of their road trip tonight to the Rockies (42-37). So that's now six straight losses by the Giants. I don't know how much more of this I can take. We're falling further behind in the standings every day and are now in fourth place in the National League West. We need to win tomorrow to tie the Rockies in the loss column for third and still only be a few games back of the second place Dodgers. The Giants really need a solid road trip.

As I watching the Giants-Dodgers game yesterday I couldn't help but notice that Dodgers pitcher Vincente Padilla (2-2, 5.05 ERA) looks like the character "The Joker" from the Batman movies. And he is indeed a nemesis to the Giants. Not only did he pitch very well yesterday in helping the Blue Crew complete the sweep, but he also hit Giants center fielder Aaron Rowand (.239 avg, 7 hr, 24 rbi) in the face with a pitch earlier this season in Los Angeles, fracturing a bone in Rowand's cheek and landing him on the disabled list. Rowand has struggled pretty much ever since the injury and has even found substantial time on the bench when healthy, but has really been turning it around at the plate recently and hitting well. Rowand took Padilla deep for a home run to straightaway center field yesterday. It was really cool to see him exact some measure of revenge. I also enjoyed Giants relief pitcher Santiago Casilla (1-2, 2.51 ERA, 2 saves) throw a pitch clearly aimed at hitting Padilla, showing him the Giants haven't forgotten about the Rowand incident. Unfortunately those were about the only things I have enjoyed over the last six games.