San Francisco Giants Preview & Predictions: May

Apr 3, 2014; Phoenix, AZ, USA; San Francisco Giants catcher Buster Posey against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

The San Francisco Giants start a 10-day road trip that starts tonight in Atlanta and ends May 11th in Los Angeles. It’s their longest road trip until they head to New York at the beginning of August. The Giants are sitting on top of NL West Division with a 17-11 record and a half game up on the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Preview

San Francisco Giants (17-11) at Atlanta Braves (17-10): 3-game series. Both teams are at the top of their respective division.
San Francisco Giants (17-11) at Pittsburgh Pirates (10-18): 3-game series. The Pirates are currently at the bottom of the NL Central
San Francisco Giants (17-11) at Los Angeles Dodgers (17-10): 4-game series. The two teams are neck and neck in the NL West and the Giants will need to stay that way until they meet them on the 8th. It will be a key matchup going forward. Oh yeah, Kershaw will be back.

Atlanta Braves at San Francisco Giants: 3-game series. If the rotation sticks, Tim Hudson may also miss this series pitching against his former team.
Miami Marlins at San Francisco Giants: 4-game series. The Marlins stink on the road, so the Giants should have a good chance to win or sweep this series.
San Francisco Giants at Colorado Rockies: 3-game series. By mid-May the Giants just may need to get to Colorado bad, though the Rox are staying close in the division.
Minnesota Twins at San Francisco Giants: 3-game series. Interleague is stupid. That’s all I’ll say.
Chicago Cubs at San Francisco Giants: 3-game series.  The Cubs are barely better than the Pirates, but watch out for Nate Schierholtz in AT&T Park.
San Francisco Giants at St. Louis Cardinals: 4-game series ending June 1st.  Always a tough game. Giants will need a split at least.

Predictions

Pitcher of the Month –

I predict Cain will come out of this slump, and he needs it badly. Statistically, May has always one of his winningest months, so I predict more of the same.

Hitter of the Month – Buster Posey
Buster is coming out of his slump and his hitting .313 in his last 10 games. Plus, he’s hit better on the road (.318) than at home (.291) in his big league career.

Defender of the Month – Brandon Crawford – Did we really even have to ask this?