LA SD SF
L--W--L
L--L--L
L--L--L
L--L--L
L--W--W
L--W--L
L--L--W
L--L--W
W--W--W
L--L--Rain
W--W--W
L--L--W

While the Padres have matched the Dodgers for the past six games (and nine of the past 12), the Giants have made up 3 1/2 games in the past six.

Last year, the Dodgers rallied from a large deficit to tie the Giants for first place near the end of May. I wrote then that making up the deficit is only part of the work - you still have to continue to be better than the other team. In 2003, the Dodgers didn't do it. In 2004, the Giants might.

But after thinking about it, I'm going to predict that they won't. The Giants don't have the depth to get them through the long haul. They need too many things to go right - more than the Dodgers do.

The Padres may be another story.

Update: The Padres' Jake Peavy, the National League earned run average leader at 2.01, has been placed on the disabled list.

Update 2: Believe it or not, the Giants are in the middle of a 20-game stretch in which they play Montreal, Arizona, Colorado and Tampa Bay - three fifth-place teams and a fourth-place team.