"The Cubs came to town for a three-game series that amounts to an appetizer for The Three-Game Series.

The first-place Diamondbacks, riding a seven-game winning streak, will be at China Basin this weekend, and the Giants were hoping to cut the deficit before the arrival, get within striking distance to do some damage to the D'backs.

However, the gap now is five games. As the Diamondbacks were spanking the Rockies 5-1 Monday night, Tim Lincecum was getting knocked around in a rare August letdown. He surrendered three home runs for the first time in his career, and the offense-deprived Giants lost 7-0.

Manager Bruce Bochy, who usually reports to the Giants' interview room for a postgame Q&A, was a no-show. He was back in his office and, when reporters approached, pointed to the clubhouse and said, "You might want to ask them (for) a different answer because it's hard to figure out right now."

Bochy did respond to a couple of questions.

"We have to stay positive," he said. "That's the only way I know, keep coming out here working. We've tried different things: lineups, yelling, meetings, but it's a tough rut. There's no getting around it."

Alfonso Soriano in the fifth and Geovany Soto and Blake DeWitt in the seventh homered off Lincecum, who entered with a 1.23 ERA in August and 1.17 ERA over nine starts, losing three of them."