San Francisco Giants Playoff Chances Feels ‘Insurmountable’ Due to Schedule

The San Francisco Giants will have a tough hill to climb to make the playoffs.

Aug 18, 2024; Oakland, California, USA; San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Blake Snell (7) prepares to throw a pitch against the Oakland Athletics during the first inning at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. / Robert Edwards-USA TODAY Sports

The past five games offered the San Francisco Giants an excellent opportunity to catch some of the teams ahead of them in the National League Wild Card. Unfortunately, in typical fashion for much of the year, the Giants didn't get the job done.

They went 3-2 against the Oakland A's and Chicago White Sox, arguably the two worst teams in baseball.

For a team desperate to make the postseason, it was a major missed opportunity.

Still, only four games out in the National League Wild Card with a little over a month remaining in the regular season, there's a chance. San Francisco hasn't proven throughout the campaign to be a legitimate playoff team, but they're also one of those teams who could get in and make some noise.

There's too much veteran talent on this roster to ignore, but the question remains of whether they'll get there. 

Kerry Miller of Bleacher Report doesn't expect that to be the case, highlighting their tough schedule coming up. 

"There hasn't been a better one-two pitching punch over the past month than Blake Snell and Logan Webb, but having the toughest remaining schedule among NL teams makes what is already an uphill climb feel almost insurmountable."

That doesn't mean the Giants can't make the postseason with their tough schedule coming up, but it makes things harder. They'll take on the Seattle Mariners, Milwaukee Brewers, Arizona Diamondbacks, and San Diego Padres in six of their next seven series. Those are all teams either in the playoffs or right on the cusp.

Their series against the Diamondbacks and Padres offers them a better opportunity than they've had all year. Arizona is currently ahead of them, in first place in the National League Wild Card with a 3.5-game lead. San Diego is in second place in the National League Wild Card with a three-game lead. They'll play the Padres six times in that span.

The chances of sweeping either team seem low, but San Francisco has enough to win both series. If they do that and take care of business against some of the other teams they'll play in the next month, they'll be in a strong position.

Blake Snell, Logan Webb, and all the others in the rotation must be at their best. The offense will also need to step up in a major way, as they'll take on some tough arms.