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Amid the inevitable rough patches in the schedule, the San Francisco Giants take encouragement in the even-year phenomenon, which bodes well for happy endings in the Bay Area. But recent history is no guarantee that some odd occurrences wont happen along the way.The 2010, 2012 and 2014 Giants parlayed togetherness, rally thongs and dominant pitching into three titles. The 2016 club, a work in progress, is in the midst of an identity crisis. Are the Giants the juggernaut that cruised into the All-Star break with a 57-33 record and a 6 ?-game lead in the National League West? Or the lost boys who have dropped 13 of 18 since the break, provided an opening for the Los Angeles Dodgers and tested the proposition that Bruce Bochy-managed teams are adept at navigating turbulence and sticking the landing?Theyll find out soon enough if their recent funk is nothing that a few well-timed reinforcements cant cure.The Giants have been on a self-improvement kick of late. In the days, hours and minutes leading up to Mondays non-waiver trade deadline, they fortified the rotation by acquiring left-hander Matt Moore from Tampa Bay, added depth to the bullpen with the acquisition of lefty Will Smith from Milwaukee and addressed a trouble spot at third base by trading for Minnesotas Eduardo Nunez. In addition, second baseman Joe Panik returned from a concussion last week, and outfielder Hunter Pence is back in the lineup after missing two months with a torn right hamstring.In a best-case scenario, the 20 percent roster overhaul will result in a crisper brand of baseball and bring order to the chaos. Things?cant get much worse.Without question, I think the message is that ownership is doing all they can, Bochy said. When were buyers and we go out and fill some needs and get players to help out, (the players here) are being rewarded for a good first half. I think thats a shot in the arm and a shot of adrenaline for the guys.The Giants need to be inoculated for something. Since the break, they rank 25th in the majors in runs (64) and 23nd in OPS (.683). The pitching staff is 23rd in baseball in ERA (4.45) and leads the majors with 30 home runs allowed. And theyve committed 16 errors in 18 games after making only 46 in their first 90. Pick a facet of the game, and theyve been deficient at it.A brutal schedule hasnt helped. The Giants began the second half with an eight-game trip to San Diego, Boston and New York, followed by a seven-game homestand, which fed into the current nine-game swing through Philadelphia, Washington and Miami. Thats a mother lode of jet lag, but its not going to win them any sympathy points.I cant put my finger on it and say, This is why we havent been able to win more games than weve lost, said center fielder Denard Span, whose 10th-inning home run gave San Francisco a 3-2 victory over the Phillies on Thursday. I dont think anybody was complacent or took anything for granted. We just havent been able to get things going.In the first half, we were in sync. Whenever we didnt pitch well, we hit well. Whenever we didnt hit well, we pitched well. In the second half, its been vice versa. We score eight runs and lose. (In the first half), if we scored three runs, we won. This isnt how we wanted to start. But were still in first place. Life could be better, but it could be worse.Wheeler dealersBrian Sabean, Bobby Evans and the Giants front office have never hesitated to think bold at the deadline. Sometimes it works, sometimes not.In 2011, the Giants traded highly-regarded pitching prospect Zach Wheeler to the New York Mets for Carlos Beltran. He hit .323 with seven homers down the stretch, but San Francisco went 25-32 and faded from contention. Last year, the Giants swung a deadline deal for Cincinnatis Mike Leake, who went 2-5 with a 4.07 ERA for a team that finished out of the money. Outfielder Adam Duvall, packed off to the Reds in the deal, emerged as an All-Star this season.Conversely, San Franciscos three title teams are replete with in-season feel-good acquisitions -- from Pat Burrell, Cody Ross and Javier Lopez in 2010 to Pence and Marco Scutaro in 2012 to Jake Peavy in 2014. They all made a difference after joining the Giants midstream.This time around, the Giants werent shy about tapping a farm system thats better than the industry rankings suggest. They gave up pitcher Phil Bickford, the 18th overall pick in the 2015 draft, in the Smith trade and parted with third baseman Matt Duffy, shortstop prospect Lucius Fox and pitcher Michael Santos for Moore, who is two years and three months removed from Tommy John surgery. Moores contract includes three club options for a total of $26 million from 2017-2019, and that club control was especially appealing to the Giants.Get past Madison Bumgarner and Johnny Cueto (who blew a 4-0 lead in a loss to the Phillies on Wednesday), and San Franciscos rotation has a house-of-cards feel to it. Jeff Samardzija has two quality starts in his last 11 outings. Matt Cain sports a .298 batting average against and a 1.50 WHIP, and opponents are slugging .498 against Peavy, who was demoted to the bullpen in the aftermath of the Moore trade.?In his Giants debut Thursday, Moore threw six innings of two-run ball and emerged with a no-decision.Moore was in the weight room at Tropicana Field on Monday when his phone buzzed moments after the 4 p.m. ET trade deadline. It was a media outlet asking him to hop on and do an interview about the trade to San Francisco.I think youre a little bit ahead of where I am right now, a flustered Moore told the caller. We can catch up some other time.Moments later,?Rays pitching coach Jim Hickey came into the weight room and made it official, and Moore began the process of moving on with his professional life. Upon joining the Giants, he settled into a clubhouse where new arrivals blend seamlessly into the mix. Ninety minutes before Wednesdays game at Citizens Bank Park, he sat in front of a clubhouse TV and chatted with Samardzija as if they were longtime pals.Im a fan of the game, Moore said. Ive paid attention in the postseason. You look at all the guys here and understand its a special group. Theyre very much geared to one thing. From the day and a half Ive been in the clubhouse, theres a different aroma. Theres a lot of conversation about winning and how to get hitters out. There are a lot of open arms and guys who are happy Im here. That really helps with the transition.Mr. InspirationFor all the attention the Giants generated with their trades, the most meaningful upgrade might have come from within. Since his first full season with San Francisco in 2013, Pence ranks 12th among MLB outfielders in adjusted OPS+, which factors each players home park into the equation. Pence also inspires his teammates and keeps them amused with his Cosmo Kramer-like birds nest of hair, his unorthodox hitting and fielding mechanics and his penchant for hurtling his body in all directions with no regard for personal safety. His baseball preacher shtick might elicit eye rolls if he werent so gosh-darned sincere about it.You can look at all the numbers you want to on Hunter Pence, Peavy said. Whats lost is that intangible, that X factor that cant be quantified. Hunter Pence and Dustin Pedroia bring as much of that as anybody Ive played with. Its all about Hunters personality, his energy, his attitude and his mindset. Were a completely different team with him in the building -- never mind what he brings on the field.When Hunter walks in the room and starts talking about the game, hes influencing us from our minds on down. I call him our Spiritual Gangster.Contrary to public perception, Pence didnt completely lose his mind during eight weeks of idleness on the disabled list. He?meticulously tended to his rehab and?kept encouraging his teammates through good days and bad. Now that hes back on the active roster, its time to get his stroke in order and do whatever it takes to push this vehicle off the breakdown lane.Pences 10 years in the majors have taught him that hitting, and baseball in general, are two of lifes great mysteries.Ive been swinging (a bat) my whole life, Pence said, and you never master it. You never figure it out. Its a beautiful thing. Every day, its about coming in here and trying to get better.With two months left in the regular season, the Giants?quest to perpetuate their even-year mystique is a cooperative venture. If Pence, Bumgarner and Buster Posey are ready to lead, their teammates will be more than happy to follow. Ryan Dempster Jersey . -- Linebacker Myles Jack ran for four touchdowns, defensive end Cassius Marsh caught a scoring pass, and No. Mickey Morandini Cubs Jersey . Louis Cardinals. Victorino is batting sixth and playing right field after missing two games because of back tightness. https://www.cheapcubs.com/420t-kris-bryant-jersey-cubs.html .H. -- Matt Kenseth made it 2 for 2 in the Chase, holding off teammate Kyle Busch to win Sunday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. John Lackey Cubs Jersey . McCarthy, a player who played some games in the second tier for Wigan at the start of this season, would go on to shine inside Evertons midfield, outplaying the man he was brought in to replace, on one of the grandest stages in English football. On Saturday, it was fitting that Manchester Uniteds most recent dagger into the chest was delivered by Frenchman Yohan Cabaye, a wonderfully gifted central midfielder who put on an outstanding effort for Newcastle at Old Trafford. Rick Sutcliffe Jersey . -- If this was Aaron Gordons final home game at Arizona, and it almost certainly was, then he went out in style. KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Lorenzo Cains two-out single in the 14th inning scored Christian Colon from second base and the Kansas City Royals beat the Chicago White Sox 3-2 on Wednesday night.Colon opened the inning with a single and Paulo Orlando sacrificed him to second. Cain laced a single to center to score Colon, ending the 4-hour, 34-minute game, the longest by the Royals this season.Dillon Gee (4-5), the eighth Kansas City pitcher, struck out three in two perfect innings to pick up the victory. Matt Albers (2-5) was charged with the loss.Jarrod Dyson led off the 13th inning with a triple, but the Royals failed to get him home. Dan Jennings struck out the next three batters: Drew Butera, Alex Gordon and Alcides Escobar.Tim Anderson delivered a run-producing single with two outs in the 11th to give the White Sox a 2-1 lead, but closer David Robertson failed to hold it.Anderson, who had struck out four times, hit a soft liner over the head of first baseman Eric Hosmer to score Todd Frazier, who led off the inning with a single off Chien-Ming Wang.Robertson, who has blown saves in the first two games of the series, walked Hosmer to lead off the bottom of the 11th. Jarrod Dyson sacrificed him to second and Salvador Perezs double scored Hosmer.White Sox left-hander Jose Quintana limited the Royals to four hits and one run over 7 1/3 innings.He was pulled after Paulo Orlandos double in the eighth inning. Nate Jones replaced him and on his first pitch yielded a run-producing double to Cheslor Cuthbert. It was Jones seventh blown save of the season.Royals right-hander Ian Kennedy, who has a 0.93 ERA in his past three starts, held the White Sox to one run and six hits over 6 1/3 innings. Kennedy is 0-3 with five no-decisions sinnce a June 26 victory over Houston.ddddddddddddThe Royals have scored a total of nine runs while Kennedy was on the mound in his past eight starts.J.D. Shuck, who hit .083 over his previous eight games, homered on a 2-0 pitch in the third, the only run Kennedy allowed.Orlando had two outfield assists. He threw out Omar Narvaez at the plate in the seventh when he attempted to score from second onShucks single to center. In the ninth, pinch-runner Carlos Sanchez tried to take second on Tyler Saladinos fly out to deep right-center, but Orlando threw him out.QUICK EJECTIONWhite Sox pitching Don Cooper was ejected by plate umpire Pat Hoberg five pitches into the bottom of the first inning for arguing balls and strikes.HAWK ABSENTKen Harrelson, who is in his 32nd season in the White Sox television booth, will miss all six games of this Kansas City and Miami road trip due to illness.TRAINERS ROOMWhite Sox: INF Brett Lawrie (strained left hamstring) has resumed swinging a bat. He looks much better from where he was, White Sox manager Robin Ventura said. Its another step in the right direction for him, but, we dont know exactly how thats going to go.Royals: LHP Mike Minor, who has not pitched in the majors since Sept. 23, 2014, with the Braves and had surgery in 2015 to repair a torn labrum, is rehabbing with Triple-A Omaha. He likely will not rejoin the Royals until September, when the hope is could make some starts.UP NEXTWhite Sox: RHP Miguel Gonzalez is 0-1 with a 3.65 ERA in two starts this season against the Royals.Royals: LHP Danny Duffy is 4-0 with a 3.67 ERA in nine home starts this season. ' ' '