SF Giants Gameday: Why the Giants are counting on the lineup to will the team into the postseason

The words "pitcher" and "elbow" are never ones a major league manager wants to utter in the same sentence, because doing so almost always implies trouble. Before Sunday's doubleheader against the San Diego Padres, Giants manager Gabe Kapler had no choice. When discussing his pitching plans for two games against the red-hot Padres, Kapler revealed that one of his top starters, Kevin Gausman, wouldn't be available to face San Diego due to elbow tightness. The Giants planned for Gausman to get a MRI and haven't provided more details on the extent of his injury, but the fact Gausman had to be scratched was only the latest reminder of how important the team's offense is to its playoff hopes. With No. 1 starter Johnny Cueto battling inconsistencies and the rest of the rotation following his lead, the Giants' ability to secure one of the National League's final playoff spots is largely dependent on how the team's lineup performs over the final two weeks of the regular season. If the offense produces as it did in San Diego over the weekend, the Giants will be spending October watching baseball from their couches. The team scored one run in three games at Petco Park and was shut down by nearly every Padres pitcher it faced. The Giants' lineup entered the weekend with one of the top 10 offenses in baseball, but it left with questions as to whether its success this year is sustainable. With 13 games left to play, the Giants can't have their top hitters all sink into slumps at once. No NL Wildcard challengers are juggernauts and there's not a team that's suddenly threatening to overtake the Giants, but there are several clubs within striking distance of San Francisco. With an unsettled rotation and a top starter potentially headed to the injured list, it's clear the Giants will need their offense to carry the club the rest of the way.