They begin a weeklong trip Friday in Cincinnati and conclude it in Denver. After that, the Pirates are the only out-of-division team they play. Otherwise, it's a lot of games with the Diamondbacks, Dodgers, Padres and Rockies.

Manager Bruce Bochy was asked about being spoilers and about following proper late-season etiquette. Normally, teams play their veterans and not their prospects against contenders out of respect to other contenders.

But with the Giants, the team is playing better since a youth movement was implemented Aug. 1. This will be the first winning month of the season.

"We're not going to deviate from what we're doing now," Bochy said. "We're going to try to win games and put our best lineup out there."

The best lineup is with youth, so the likes of Pablo Sandoval, Travis Ishikawa and Emmanuel Burriss will continue to get playing time.

Bochy said he plans to play Burriss at shortstop during the trip so he can get a look at Ivan Ochoa and Eugenio Velez at second.