Diamondbacks breathing down the neck of defending champs

Keeping pace with the defending champs isn't easy.

The San Francisco Giants, going into today, maintain their three-game lead over the the pesky Arizona Diamondbacks. The D'backs, at 58-49, could knock off the LA Dodgers today and head for San Francisco tomorrow for a three-game series with the Giants and a shot at knotting up the NL Western Division.

Of course, the best scenario would be for the Giants to lose to Cincinnati today and our Diamondbacks to win not only today, but capture the three-game series in San Francisco -- a tall order and highly unlikely. The Giants are 61-46, but they have lost two in a row and if ( a Giant if, that is) they could lose their next four, the Arizona Diamondbacks would find themselves in first place in the division. Here's hoping for the above scenario. We will know soon enough. The D'backs will end their three-games series in San Francisco with an afternoon game on Wednesday.

Good luck, D'backs!