The San Francisco Giants are trying to do something they haven’t done in seven years: make the playoffs. The Giants are in this position mostly because of their starting rotation and bullpen. They had a streak of 18 games in a row without giving up more than three runs in a game. The only team in the history of baseball to accomplish this is the 1917 Chicago White Sox who had 20 straight games allowing less than three runs.

The month of September has been good for the Giants’ pitching staff. Pitchers have accumulated a 1.84 earned run average in September, a full run better than the second best team era of 2.85 by the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. The word “inconceivable” comes to mind when you hear these insane numbers.

But Giants fans know that the pitching is good. The question that we should ask is what should the Giants do in the post-season? Should they go with a three-man rotation or a four-man rotation?

It is safe to say that Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain will start, but who should be the game one starter if the Giants make the playoffs? Lincecum and Cain have both been dealing down the stretch. Lincecum is 4-1 with a 2.08 era and 41 strikeouts. He has also walked four batters this month. Those stats show a magnificent improvement from his horrendous month of August.

But what about Matt Cain? Many in the media have called him the ace of this staff. Since the All-Star break, Cain is 7-2 with a 2.48 era. His opponent’s batting average is .189. This is a tough call for Giants manager Bruce Bochy, but I believe he will go with Cain because of his durability and ability to pitch on short rest. Either way, the Giants are in a win-win situation, no matter who the number one guy is.

The decision Bruce Bochy has to make is whether to go with a three-man or four-man rotation. The Giants will not go five deep in the playoffs because their young rookie pitcher Madison Bumgarner cannot surpass a certain amount of innings. So he will most likely be in the bullpen.

So do they go with former Cy Young Award winner Barry Zito or Jonathan Sanchez? Well they would have to go with the guy with seven career post-season starts. Right? Not necessarily. Zito has had a inconsistent season. After a good first half of the year Zito has struggled badly going 2-9 in 14 starts. Yes, Zito is the veteran, but that should not mean he starts in the playoffs. I do not believe Bochy has confidence in Zito. Zito has had six starts in which he did not even pitch 5 innings. And his numbers in September are dismal, going 1-3 with a 4.15 era.

Jonathan Sanchez, on the other hand, has been outstanding. Sanchez has a 0.73 era in the month of September. That is the lowest era for a San Francisco Giant pitcher since Gaylord Perry in 1967. Sanchez was in the dog house for many Giants fans and players after making a guarantee in August that the Giants will sweep the San Diego Padres, capture first place and never look back. But after that incident, he has quietly become an ace of this staff. His start in Philadelphia was one that began the great stretch of pitching for Sanchez. He gave up two hits in eight innings and had seven strikeouts. If Sanchez can keep the walks down, he has the ability to be an elite pitcher. He also has been a difficult pitcher to hit off of. His opponent’s batting average is .206 which is the lowest in all of baseball. Sanchez has earned the right to be the third starter for the post-season.

There have been some reports that the Giants would make Zito pitch Thursday versus Arizona. That means the Giants would have Lincecum, Cain and Sanchez to pitch against the Padres to see who will win the National League West. If Zito was going to start in the post-season, they would not mess with this starting rotation. But if this speculation is true, you will see Zito warming up in the bullpen and Sanchez taking the mound.