The season of “baseball torture” is upon us.
With 36 games left in the 2024 Major League Baseball season, the San Francisco Giants find themselves in a situation that has seemed all too familiar over the past decade: fighting their way to a wild card spot in the National League.
After their triumph in the extra innings round on Sunday against the Oakland Athletics, the Giants (63-63) were able to increase their record back to the .500 mark and thus remain stable in the NL Wild Card rankings.
San Francisco is four games behind the Atlanta Braves in the battle for the third and final Wild Card spot, but the Giants still have several opportunities in the final month and beyond.
NL Wild Card Ranking
(MLB.com)
A four-game deficit in the NL Wild Card standings at this point in the season certainly doesn’t inspire optimistic feelings, but San Francisco is still within reach of a postseason berth.
The Giants begin a three-game series on Monday against the Chicago White Sox (30-95), a team that was eliminated from the playoffs before September even began. If San Francisco can hold its own against the Sox, there’s a good chance they can narrow the four-game lead that sits between them and the Braves.
Atlanta will have its hands full with the Philadelphia Phillies (73-51) this week as both teams begin a three-game series at Truist Park on Tuesday.
For the Giants, it’s simple: take care of what’s in front of them to put themselves in the best position possible and reduce the need to rely on others to make amends in the standings. Getting a handle on the White Sox would be an ideal start to that mission, especially before facing teams with a record above .500 like the Seattle Mariners and Milwaukee Brewers.
According to Tankathon, San Francisco has the fifth-toughest remaining schedule in the National League. The good news is that the Arizona Diamondbacks have the fourth-toughest schedule, which could help a Giants team that is 6.5 games behind its NL West counterpart in the Wild Card standings.
San Francisco and Arizona will face each other six more times this season – three times at Oracle Park and three times at Chase Field – meaning there will be opportunities for revenge down the road.
Will the Giants show their skills or will they continue to slide out of the playoffs?
What is the San Francisco Giants’ upcoming schedule?
- Monday, August 19-Wednesday, August 21– against Chicago White Sox
- Friday, August 23 – Sunday, August 25 – @SeattleMariners
- Tuesday, August 27-Thursday, August 29 – @MilwaukeeBrewers
- Friday, August 30th – Sunday, September 1st – against Miami Marlins
- Tuesday, September 3 – Thursday, September 5 – against Arizona Diamondbacks
Thanks for reading SactownSports.com. Follow us on Þjórsárdalur and Google News and subscribe to our YouTube channel.
