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The San Francisco Giants have been on a hot streak lately, winning five games in a row, while their starting rotation posted an ERA of .98. After getting off to a 3-9 start, the Giants have gone 12-4, and are sitting in 2nd place behind the Dodgers.
NL West standings 5/6:
| NL West | W | L | GB |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dodgers | 17 | 9 | - |
| Giants | 14 | 13 | 3.5 |
| Padres | 14 | 14 | 4.0 |
| Rockies | 11 | 13 | 5.0 |
| Diamondbacks | 10 | 14 | 6.0 |
NL West news and notes 5/6:
- Cole Hamels was apparently a target of the Giants after missing out on Jon Lester during the 2014 offseason. Ken Rosenthal reported that "after failing to land Jon Lester in free agency, [the Giants] talked to the Phillies about Cole Hamels. The teams obviously did not have a match, but the Giants are fairly deep in young pitching, and the Phillies also targeted infielder Matt Duffy".
- The Padres called up top prospect Austin Hedges earlier this week, and Gaslamp Ball wonders if he'll be able to "fix the pitching staff"
- Adam Ottavino has a partially torn UCL, and according to Purple Row, has a 99% chance of having to undergo Tommy John surgery. This is particularly awful news for the Rockies as Ottavino was primed to be a big piece of the bullpen for 2015. "His combination of velocity, stuff, and knowledge of the game, made him a sure bet to have a historic year at 20th and blake. He was well on his way there, striking out 13 batters and only allowing six base runners in 10.1 scoreless innings"
- The Diamondbacks have "Astros envy" as their 2015 season continues to look bleak. "Look to Houston. Or Pittsburgh. Or the Mets. Or even Kansas City. These are the teams the Diamondbacks should be more like"
- With a fantastic start in 2015, Alex Guerrero has drawn trade interest from several teams. Through 39 plate appearances, he's hitting .333/.359/.806 with a wRC+ of 218. The Dodgers infield is incredibly crowded however, and "has lead many to speculate that the team could trade from its pool of depth this summer when [Hector] Olivera is ready to hit the major leagues.
- Starting pitcher Joe Wieland was recalled today to start against the Brewers today. Daniel Coulombe was optioned to AAA to make room on the active roster. "He was 3-0 with a 3.60 ERA in four starts with Oklahoma City, with 22 strikeouts and two walks in 20 innings".