The San Francisco Giants may be starting to gain a little bit of traction in the standings.
A 6-2 win over their NL West rivals in the Arizona Diamondbacks helped them move to within three games of the .500 mark.
They were buoyed by a four-hit night from rookie Casey Schmitt and another strong performance from veteran right-hander Alex Cobb.
Cobb gave the Giants 7.1 innings of shutout baseball and scattered seven hits and two walks.
The veteran right-hander also struck out three batters as the Giants rolled to a series-opening victory.
On Twitter, a graphic showing Cobb’s line from Thursday night’s win was posted by the page of the baseball podcast “Talkin’ Baseball.”
Alex Cobb gets his ERA on the year down to 1.70 pic.twitter.com/fhDEoeGf27
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) May 12, 2023
Cobb certainly had everything working against a tough Diamondbacks lineup.
With his dominant performance, the 35-year-old improved to 3-1 on the season and lowered his ERA to 1.70.
Cobb has started eight games and struck out 41 batters with a 1.24 WHIP in 47.2 innings of work.
The veteran right-hander has spent the bulk of his playing career with the Tampa Bay Rays, having pitched six seasons with the team.
He also spent three seasons with the Baltimore Orioles and made a brief stop with the Los Angeles Angels before joining the Giants.
Since he joined San Francisco, Cobb has been a steady veteran presence in the starting rotation.
His dominance helped the Giants get closer to .500 and gain a little bit of ground in the Wild Card race while remaining 5.5-games back in the NL West.
The Giants now own a record of 17-20 to start the 2023 season.
NEXT: Giants Rookie Continues His Torrid Start