Can Giants make run for playoff spot?
The San Francisco Giants are currently on the outside of the National League playoff picture, and they could be locked out very soon. San Francisco is the defending champion and looking to make the playoffs for the fourth time in six seasons. The Giants were expected to get back into the dance despite some defections in the offseason, but suddenly things don’t look so good.
Last weekend, the Giants went into Wrigley Field and did the only thing they absolutely had to avoid; being swept. With that momentum, the Chicago Cubs have continued to roll, winning on Thursday afternoon to give them a seventh straight win. The Cubs are 9-1 in their last 10 games and currently sit a season-high 17 games over .500 at 65-48. Chicago owns the last wild card spot in the National League, five games ahead of the floundering Giants.
San Francisco needs to start making a push. The Giants are likely hard-pressed to win the National League West considering the roster that the Los Angeles Dodgers bring to the table. While Madison Bumgarner has been terrific again, making the All-Star team, he does not have a compliment like Clayton Kershaw has in Zack Greinke. In addition, the Dodgers have a lineup that features Yasiel Puig, Adrian Gonzalez, Howie Kendrick and others. San Francisco is short offensively, boosting only Buster Posey and Hunter Pence as stars.
With the Dodgers and Giants still in action on Thursday night, the Giants are 3.5 games behind their most hated rival. San Francisco would love nothing more than to beat out Los Angeles down the stretch, and perhaps its experience will pay huge dividends. The two teams play each other seven more times, including a four-game set at AT&T Park from Sept. 28 through Oct. 1.
However, to make those games matter, the Giants have to get through a brutal August schedule. Starting Friday, San Francisco has to play the Washington Nationals for three more games before a seven-game road trip that takes on the St. Louis Cardinals and Pittsburgh Pirates. After that, the Cubs come to San Francisco for three games followed by St. Louis. After that, the Dodgers will host the Giants for three games.
The good news? San Francisco won’t face a team over .500 again until the aforementioned four-game series at AT&T Park against the Dodgers in late September.
For all intents and purposes, everything comes down to how the Giants play over the rest of August. If Bruce Bochy’s club can handle the next few weeks and stay in the division/wild card race, San Francisco is in position to make a serious run in September. If August proves to be too tough, the Giants will likely have too much ground to make up.
It’s the Hunt for October. Buckle up.
