I'll take a shot of Victory with a Series chaser

From comedian Jim Gaffigan (probably not an exact quote):

"It's really hard to get a girl drunk when you don't drink. You know, you're both sittin' at a bar, and the bartender asks what you want to drink, and you're like, 'Yeah, I'll just have a glass of water, and you...you want a shot of Jager? You want eight of 'em?'"

Ah, so this is what it's like to win a series. I've heard stories about it and all -- I've even seen a National Geographic special on the healing powers of winning 3-game series, but this is the first time I've...alright, lemme snap out of it. It's not like I'm doing the Royals Recap just yet.

However, it's been a minute and a half since the Giants have won a series, and thus I am disproportionately giddy. I've been a bit negative lately, whereas I normally try to stay on the positive side of things...wait, are any of you really buying that? Allow me to get on with the dousing of your heads with cold, honest water:

• The win Saturday came after still-unlikely-but-grinding-it-out Jeff Fassero pitched six strong innings against a struggling offensive team, and meanwhile the Giants offense struggled to put runs on the board despite 13 baserunners in a bit over six innings.
• Yesterday's win was similar, as Noah Lowry unexpectedly pulled it together (again, against a poor offense), but the Giants offense was nearly as ineffective against A's starter Barry Zito, who also has had his problems this year.

I'll not say anymore negative. The Giants did find a way to take two of three from a struggling team while they themselves aren't hitting on all cylinders, and that deserves some praise. So, here's the praise:

• Todd Walker again. Another save, another small reduction in my heart rate when the game is in the final innings and the Giants use their bullpen in a close and tight contest. Twelve pitches, ten strikes, game over. Looks like a Dennis Eckersley type of inning to me.
• Regardless that he was facing arguably the worst offense in baseball (that's the numbers talking), I still must give credit to Noah Lowry. I was down on him and thought he could have been sent down after his last poor start, but he came through with a very nice game. His next start should come against the Padres, and if he does something similar in that game then I'll start to believe he's snapped out of his miasma.
• Moises Alou's numbers are starting to look a bit more like Son Alou's numbers are supposed to look -- or, at least what we were all hoping for. Still buoyed by his ridiculous walk rate (ridiculously good, that is), his OPS is at .858, but his ISO SLG percentage is almost at 200 points, which is about what I would think Moises is capable of while playing half his games in a much less hitter-friendly park than last year. Twenty-two walks vs. only 6 strikeouts. Neat-o. With that walk rate and that bb/k ratio, he's doing sort of a Barry Bonds Lite. Now, if he could just add about 300 points to that SLG...

With the Padres loss coupled with the Diamondbacks win, there's a new leader in the NL West, so the Giants technically only gain half a game on the division leader, since that has switched from San Diego to Arizona. Now it's on to the all-of-a-sudden mediocre Los Angeles Dodgers, who just avoided a sweep at the hands of the Angels yesterday, and then onto the Padres, who after having their winning streak snapped at eight have started on a little, tiny losing streak.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a date with Triscuits, Cheddar Cheese, and Lipton Raspberry Iced Tea.