Maybe the competitive fire that I referenced earlier amongst the Giants’ five starting pitchers is real.

With San Diego in town for just a pair of mid-week games, the Giants had a chance to improve to 4-1 on their homestand. San Francisco took both games from the Padres, but it was how they did it that is raising eyebrows.

Tuesday’s 8-3 victory was impressive in that the offensively challenged Giants managed to chase the always tough Jake Peavy. And (see the previous post) Edgar Renteria may well have found his swing and picked up his game, as he crushed a Grand Slam and made some excellent defensive plays.

Oh yeah, and Matt Cain was brilliant–again. The Giants need quality starts out of Cain and he delivered–and for the third time this season, San Francisco scored more than three runs for the guy who’s best known as a hard luck loser.

Now, I would be remiss if I didn’t preface these next statements with this: I am not at all a fan of Barry Zito, the man or the pitcher.

That being said, I cannot take anything away from Zito’s masterful performance Wednesday afternoon in throwing seven dazzling shutout innings. The only thing that didn’t go “Zeets’” way was tallying the “W.” Yet, the Giants managed to scratch out a run and win the game 1-0, sweeping the short two game set from the Friars.

What’s wild, and even crazy about the last five games is just how well the frontline-five have pitched. With so much being made about the Giants’ pitching staff headed into the season–the expectations, the pressure, the urgency–to see the performances turned in by Lincecum, Johnson, Cain, Zito, and Sanchez brings a ray of unyielding hope to The City.

It’s unrealistic to expect these types of results each and every time the Giants take the field. However, when you look around the league and see teams like the Mets, Phillies, and Brewers–all teams loaded with offensive firepower–struggling to find any kind of pitching at all, it makes you sort of wonder what may be if the Giants start finding their offensive identity.

Actually, just in looking at the NL West division, the Giants–if they can muster some offensive consistency–are poised to contend. The Padres are who we thought they were–they won’t be able to score enough, or pitch well enough (outside of Peavy and Young) to hang around. The Rockies are an enigma, but likely won’t be able to continuously produce in all three facets of the game. The Diamondbacks are built well–but they are young, and seem to be taking steps backwards and not forwards. The Dodgers, well, they’re pretty good. Yet, a lot of their pitching is young and untested. Can it sustain continued success?

And then there’s the Giants. They’re a good mix of youngsters and veterans. The bullpen is mostly solid and strong at the back end. The bats have some holes in them, but if they can patch those up, there’s a chance for some small-ball production. Speed never slumps–when it’s on base. Their defense needs some work, but overall it’s at least average.

Lest we forget, if the starting rotation shines like it has lately, then the Giants are a team few others will want to match-up against. They certainly have the arms to clash with any of the other teams within the NL West.

Not many line-ups will be salivating when the likes of Cy Young winner Tim Lincecum toes the slab. Randy Johnson is still a feared lefty arm. Matt Cain is coming into his own. Barry Zito, is well, improving. Jonathan Sanchez is working toward changing his middle name to “Dirty.”

San Francisco’s front five can go to battle with anybody. They can keep the Giants in any game, and will brawl with any line-up. There’s no doubt that the Giants have a starting rotation that’s “Five for Fighting.”