San Francisco Giants can Compete in Wide Open National League

After winning five-of-six, the San Francisco Giants are in prime position to compete for a playoff spot in a wide-open National League.

Despite their current win streak, the San Francisco Giants are five games back of the Arizona Diamondbacks in the NL West. But, they’re only three games out of a Wild Card spot.

Unlike the American League, which has pretty much been decided before the All-Star break, the National League playoff spots are up for grabs.

There are 10 teams in the National League that legitimately have a shot at reaching the playoffs this year. Only the Pirates, Padres, Reds, Mets and Marlins can hang it up right now.

In all honesty, there are a lot of mediocre teams in the National League, and that plays into the hands of the Giants.

San Francisco is not a great team — I hate to break your hearts. But, as we know from the past, anything can happen once you reach the postseason.

If the Giants can weed through this scattered National League and sneak into the playoffs, I like our chances with Madison Bumgarner in a one-game Wild Card.

The Giants are about to play six games against the struggling Rockies with three against the Diamondbacks mixed in.

A lot of these teams in the National League will try to decide over the next month whether or not they want to go all in to make the postseason this year. That will help thin the pack some as teams separate themselves or fall back.

The good news for the Giants is they know what they’re doing, and they know who they’re doing it with.

As I wrote last week, we are stuck with the lineup we have. But at the same time, that lineup was built to be able to reach the postseason.

Whether you believe they can or not, this is the team that will either get us to the playoffs or won’t.

As much as I believe this team is mediocre, that just may be good enough to reach the playoffs in the National League this year.

Next: San Francisco Giants Brandon Crawford Shines in Win Over Padres

That being the case, the San Francisco Giants are more than capable of reaching a Wild Card game and advancing with Bumgarner on the mound.