It’s tempting to write off the Giants, but . . .

[...] Brandon Crawford was right Wednesday night night.

[...] even when they lose, the Giants keep tossing out a signs that success is around the corner if they can just have all of the parts working in unison; or, as manager Bruce Bochy said of his players after Wednesday's 1-0 loss to the Dodgers, "Every day they think this is the day we're getting out of it."

The Dodgers have tied a major-league record by placing 27 different players on the disabled list, including enough starters to field a team and a half, and they keep winning.

[...] there is no homerism here, just a sense that once the Giants leave town after Thursday night's series finale they have the talent to make a run at this, starting this weekend, when they host the Braves for three while the Dodgers host the Cubs.

No key players on the disabled list.

There are plenty of negatives that still need to be addressed, including a lack of power that makes it awfully tough to come from behind, run-produciton struggles from key players such as Brandon Belt and Buster Posey, a porous bullpen and more.

The thing is, the Giants won 57 games before the All-Star break, and no matter how badly they have played since, those wins still count.

The Giants' bid to avoid a devastating sweep lies in the left arm of Matt Moore, who needs to throw more strikes and start to pitch like a guy worthy of the talent the Giants surrendered to get him.

Nobody knows that more than Moore, who at least has the recent memory of a great game at Dodger Stadium to take to the mound.

[...] Moore is being planted in the middle of a pennant race, in one of baseball's meanest and longest-standing rivalries, needing to stop a first-place team that is threatening to run away with the division.