Marco Scutaro

San Francisco Giants: Their 3 Biggest Struggles This Season

This article was originally published on Golden Gate Sports.

Jul 30, 2013; Philadelphia, PA, USA; San Francisco Giants pitcher Barry Zito (75) wipes the sweat off his head during the first inning against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. The Phillies defeated the Giants 7-3. Mandatory Credit: Howard Smith-USA TODAY Sports

After winning two World Series titles in three years, the San Francisco Giants have been extremely disappointing this season. They currently have a 50-63 record and are 13 games back of the Dodgers in the NL West. Although it’s almost impossible that they will make the playoffs, the Giants are always going to believe that they can come back. They have a “never say die” attitude that rode them to a World Series title last season.

However, if they want to even attempt to make a comeback, or at least just finish out the season strong, they will have to be more consistent in several areas of their game. Here are three of those areas:

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San Francisco Giants Midseason Grades: Offense, Defense and Pitching

This article was originally published on Golden Gate Sports.

Jul 13, 2013; San Diego, CA, USA; San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Tim Lincecum (55) celebrates with teammates after throwing a no hitter against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park. The Giants won 9-0. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports

The 2013 season for the San Francisco Giants has certainly been a disappointment. After winning two World Series titles in three years, the Giants have looked tired this season and are now struggling just to get back to being a .500 team. Going into the All-Star break, the Giants have a 43-51 record, which puts them six and a half games back from the Arizona Diamondbacks in the NL West standings.

One word to sum up the Giants’ season so far: inconsistent. Sometimes, this team looks unstoppable. When the Giants do what got them two World Series titles in the past three years, such as stellar starting pitching, perfect defense, and timely hitting, then they can win a lot of games.

Other times, this team’s effort is laughable. It all starts with the starting pitcher. If the starter gets off to a rough start and gives up some runs, it puts more pressure on the offense and defense, and many times, the Giants can’t recover.

The All-Star break couldn’t come soon enough for the Giants. They could use a break from the long road trips and the mental grind of the game.

Here are the Giants’ midseason grades:

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