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		Pathetic Giants keep on losing By Jeremy Harness August 9, 2006
	San Francisco Giants baserunner Omar Vizquel, left, looks towards first base to see if Arizona Diamondbacks second baseman Orlando Hudson, right, can throw baserunner Moises Alou out in time for a double play during the first inning Wednesdasy, Aug. 9, 2006 in Phoenix. Alou was out on the play. The Diamondbacks turned four double plays in the first five innings. (AP Photo/Tom Hood)
	Hey, if this keeps up, San Francisco’s now-downtrodden football team, the San Francisco 49ers, can actually win more games in one month than the Giants can. Things started so nicely in their three-game series with the Arizona Diamondbacks, with winning the opener on Monday night. But since then, they have reverted back to the team they have become known for during the past couple of months, a team that squanders leads, can’t get a clutch hit to save their lives, and generally makes bad teams like the Pittsburgh Pirates and Washington Nationals look like World Series contenders. Those Giants showed up in all their glory Wednesday night, as they hit into a whopping five double plays - the lead-footed Moises Alou hitting into two of them - en route to a 5-3 loss to the Diamondbacks at Chase Field. In the first and fifth innings, the Giants had a little rally going, during which they got two runners on base. Both times, Alou obliterated their hopes with a twin killing. He did hot a double in the top of the eighth inning, but he led off that inning and, therefore, didn’t have to worry about having men on base. To better illustrate how futile the Giants were on Wednesday - and have been for quite some time now - in getting run-scoring hits when they need them. Diamondbacks starter Miguel Batista gave up 12 hits over six innings and surrendered only two runs in getting his 10th win of the season. You do the math. It definitely didn’t help Giants starter Matt Morris (8-10), who, after winning five straight decisions, had to swallow his third consecutive loss after going five innings and giving up three runs on seven hits. By the way, the Giants are 3-13 since July 23. Not a position you want to be in when you’re, as utterly mind-boggling as it sounds, within striking distance in the National League West. Yes, that’s correct. As of Wednesday night, despite having a 54-60 record, they are only 4 ½ games behind the front-running San Diego Padres. That may not last very long, however, since the Giants will now head to Los Angeles to face the white-hot Dodgers, who have won 11 of their last 12 games.