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The San Francisco Giants take on the Arizona Diamondbacks. Our MLB odds series has our Giants Diamondbacks prediction and pick. Find out how to watch Giants Diamondbacks.
The Arizona Diamondbacks are playing the San Francisco Giants on Tuesday night, but both teams are playing not just each other; they're playing in what is a five-team competition. That's how layered and tangled the wild card race is in the National League.
The Diamondbacks lead the Giants by 2.5 games, but that's not the main story here. The main story is that the Diamondbacks have a small amount of leverage in the National League wild card derby. The Diamondbacks, with a sweep of the Chicago Cubs, have moved into the second wild card spot, but only by half a game, over the Chicago Cubs and Cincinnati Reds, one game over the Miami Marlins, and 2.5 games over San Francisco. These five teams — Arizona, Chicago, Cincinnati, Miami, and San Francisco — are in a competition for two wild card spots. The Philadelphia Phillies have a solid hold on the first wild card position. These five teams are pushing for the second and third wild card berths in the Senior Circuit.
The National League postseason scramble boils down to this: Of these five teams, the top two go to the postseason, and the lower three will miss out. Distinguishing between the second and third wild card spots is done for the purposes of seeding and bracketing. The fourth and fifth seeds will play each other, while the sixth seed will face the Milwaukee Brewers. What matters, though, is getting in, and that will be achieved by finishing in the top two of this five-way race.
The teams aren't separated by a large number of games, but the challenge is that if any team falls behind in this race, it might have to climb over multiple teams in the final days of the season. The teams with a lead in this race don't have to leapfrog their competitors. Arizona is trying to maintain its pole position, while the Giants — currently fifth out of these five teams — desperately need to make up ground and have very little margin for error.
Here are the Giants-Diamondbacks MLB odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
MLB Odds: Giants-Diamondbacks Odds
San Francisco Giants: +1.5 (-166)
Arizona Diamondbacks: -1.5 (+138)
Over: 8.5 (-105)
Under: 8.5 (-115)
How To Watch Giants vs. Diamondbacks
TV: NBC Sports Bay Area (Giants) / MLB (Diamondbacks) / MLB Extra Innings
Article Continues Below
Stream: MLB.tv
Time: 9:40 p.m. ET/6:40 p.m. PT
*Watch Giants-Diamondbacks LIVE on fuboTV (click for a free trial)*
Why The Giants Could Cover The Spread
The Diamondbacks just swept the Cubs, but before that, they had a terrible series against the New York Mets. They're only seven games over .500. They might not even finish the season 10 games over .500. That's mediocre. It's the good side of mediocrity — better to be eight over .500 than eight under — but it's still mediocrity. The National League wild card race does not have above-average teams. The Phillies have above-average talent but have not produced above-average results. No team in this competition is an elite team. As such, the Giants — the team with no margin for error — might play the more desperate style of ball and might prevail.
Why The Diamondbacks Could Cover The Spread
The Diamondbacks have Zac Gallen on the mound. Gallen hasn't always pitched like a Cy Young Award candidate, but in a very big game earlier this month in Chicago against the Cubs, Gallen pitched a complete-game shutout. He pitched into — and through — the ninth inning for the first time in his MLB career. Gallen wants the ball here in a big game. He will be ready for the moment. Let's remember that he has pitched far better at home than on the road. He will win this game for Arizona.
Final Giants-Diamondbacks Prediction & Pick
The Diamondbacks have their ace on the bump. Zac Gallen will shut down a weak Giant batting order. Take Arizona.
Final Giants-Diamondbacks Prediction & Pick: Diamondbacks -1.5
