Terrific Twosome Player VORP* Pitcher VORP* Barry Bonds 118.9 Jason Schmidt 55.8 J.T. Snow 37.5 Dustin Hermanson 13.9 Ray Durham 23.0 Jerome Williams 10.7 A.J. Pierzynski 21.2 Felix Rodriguez 10.5 Mike Tucker 20.0 Jim Brower 10.4 Marquis Grissom 17.5 Noah Lowry 8.5 Pedro Feliz 14.9 Brett Tomko 7.4 Edgardo Alfonzo 13.4 Tyler Walker 6.5 Deivi Cruz 18.1 Kirk Rueter 4.9 Dustan Mohr 17.0 Matt Herges -3.8 Neifi Perez -10.1 Wayne Franklin -5.2 * VORP: The number of runs contributed beyond what a replacement-level player would contribute if given the same percentage of team plate appearances. Source: www.baseballprospectus.com

The Giants have the best hitter in the game and the best pitcher. It's a heck of a combination, to be sure, a duo to die for.

But in Bud Selig's parity-packed universe, there is no way that two players, even two as good as Barry Bonds and Jason Schmidt are, should be able to carry a team into the playoffs by themselves. No way. Especially when one of them sits in the dugout four of every five days and the other is walked more often than a 13-year-old spaniel with a bladder problem.

So how do the Giants do it? How did the Giants get to be the postseason possibility that they are -- and, yes, they're tied with the Cubs for National League wild-card lead -- behind just Bonds and Schmidt?

The Giants can't be a two-man team. Can they?

The answer -- as long as we're asking the questions here, we'll go ahead and answer them -- is no, they can't. The Giants are more than Bonds and Schmidt.

But, you know, they're not a whole lot more.

"We have to get better ourselves," manager Felipe Alou said recently, discussing the possibility of getting help either by a trade or when the rosters expand.

Starting pitching is the Giants' major problem. After Schmidt, the Giants have Kirk Rueter (7-10, 5.10 ERA), Brett Tomko (8-6, 4.76) and two guys who have a total of 13 major-league starts between them (Noah Lowry and Brad Hennessey). Their bullpen is not good, either (its 4.89 ERA ranks 14th in the NL), though it's shown a little life since Dustin Hermanson became the closer.

General manager Brian Sabean tried to swing a deal this week to bring Colorado starter Shawn Estes back to San Francisco, but that fell through. So the Giants will have to ride with what they have. And, of course, they'll lean on Schmidt (15-5, 2.78 ERA), who will have to win just about every one of his starts from here on out.

While the pitching limps along, the Giants should continue to be an above-average offensive team, which is how they got in the playoff race in the first place. They're first in the NL in on-base percentage, second in runs, sixth in slugging percentage and they don't strike out. Most of that, of course, is directly attributable to the incomparable Bonds. Despite what will be another record-setting season for walks, Bonds has 38 home runs and 88 RBIs in only 307 at-bats.

But Bonds isn't doing this alone. Teams continue to pitch around him and take their chances with the No. 5 hitter, and the strategy isn't working. In games in which Bonds is walked, the Giants are 59-37. That's because when Bonds is walked, the next hitter is considerably better than at other times.

The No. 5 hitter in the Giants' lineup, after Bonds is walked, is hitting .280 with 41 RBIs in 164 at-bats (through Monday), compared to .240 otherwise. Since Aug. 4, Giants players following a Bonds walk are hitting .379, with 13 RBIs in 29 at-bats. (Edgardo Alfonzo, the Giants' main No. 5 hitter, is hitting .280 from that slot.)

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"It's not just the player there [in the No. 5 spot]," Alou said. "It's if the No. 2 hitter and the No. 3 hitter are getting on base. It's a mixture of things."

Pedro Feliz and Marquis Grissom have belted 18 homers apiece, catcher A.J. Pierzynski is hitting .291 and first baseman J.T. Snow batted .452 in August (.327 on the season).

Still, Bonds' influence on a game, and on his team, is unmistakable. Without him in the lineup, the Giants are 4-11.

The next two weeks could seal San Francisco's fate. The Giants are 28-26 against the NL West, including 6-7 against the Dodgers and just 3-10 against the Padres. After Tuesday's win against the Rockies, the Giants play 13 straight against the dregs of the NL -- the Rockies, Diamondbacks and Brewers. In the final 15 games of the season, the Giants play the Padres, the West-leading Dodgers and the Astros.

San Francisco has to win now.

"We'll take anything that will put us in the playoffs," Alou said. "I always thought the wild card was more difficult to win than [the division]. You have so many clubs fighting for the wild card. [The division] looks easier, at times."

Neither will be easy, but nothing has been for the Giants. They were eight games below .500 and eight games out of first place in May. Since their last hot streak in late June, they've been a roughly .500 ballclub.

Schmidt missed a recent start with a pulled groin and was shelled by the Braves his last time out. Bonds is 40 and will need rest in September. Still, as long as Bonds and Schmidt are healthy, the Giants have a chance.

They've carried them this far. They have a month to go.

John Donovan is a senior writer for SI.com.