NL Wild Card Standings update: SF Giants in need of a boost

Aug 19, 2024, 8:39 AM

OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA - AUGUST 18: Jerar Encarnacion #59 of the San Francisco Giants celebrates with ...

(Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images)

Lead Editor & Kings Beat Writer

The season of “baseball torture” is upon us.

With 36 games remaining in the 2024 Major League Baseball season, the San Francisco Giants find themselves in a position that has seemed all too familiar over the past decade: Clawing its way to a National League Wild Card spot.

Following Sunday’s extra-innings triumph over the Oakland Athletics, the Giants (63-63) pulled itself back to the .500 mark as they continue to hold steady in the NL Wild Card standings.

San Francisco is four games behind the Atlanta Braves for the third and final Wild Card spot, but several opportunities await the Giants over the final month-plus of action.

NL Wild Card Standings

(MLB.com)

A four-game deficit in the NL Wild Card standings at this point in the season certainly doesn’t raise a feeling of optimism, but San Francisco is still within arms reach of a postseason spot.

The Giants will begin a three-game set against the Chicago White Sox (30-95) on Monday, a team that has already been eliminated from playoff contention before the calendar has turned to September. If San Francisco can take care of business against the Sox, there is a strong chance they can chip away at the four-game game standing in between themselves and the Braves.

Atlanta will have its hands full this week with the Philadelphia Phillies (73-51), as both teams will begin a three-game series on Tuesday at Truist Park.

For the Giants, it’s simple: Take care of what’s in front of you to put yourself in the best position possible and reduce the need to rely on others to provide relief in the standings. Handling the White Sox would be an ideal start to that mission, especially before facing above .500 squads like the Seattle Mariners and Milwaukee Brewers.

According to Tankathon, San Francisco holds the fifth-hardest remaining schedule in the National League. The good news is that the Arizona Diamondbacks hold the fourth-hardest schedule, which could help a Giants team that trails their NL West counterpart by 6.5 games in the Wild Card standings.

San Francisco and Arizona will face one another six more times this season–three at Oracle Park and three at Chase Field–meaning that there will be opportunities for redemption down the line.

Will the Giants make them count, or will they slip further out of the playoff picture?