The Arizona Diamondbacks and the San Francisco Giants entered August with trivial playoff odds as trade deadline sellers, but their showdown could be used as a pseudo-playoff series this week.
The Giants (75-74) finished 55-55 at the deadline for the .500 team, trailing the third NBA wildcard in six games. The Rattlers (75-75) were in a terrible strait in 51-59, the defender was in a terrible strait in 10 games.
Both teams have suffered significant damage since then, with San Francisco losing All-Star Rescuer Randy Rodriguez this season, while Arizona left field player Lourdes Gurriel Jr. Jr. tore the ACL apart.
However, the Giants entered Monday's series opener 1.5 games, the latter being the third wildcard for the New York Mets. They won 11 of 11 of 12 games to rush into the fight.
The D-Backs are two games behind in New York, with 12 games in the game as the youngest lineup is 24-16 in the last 40 games and holds the third-largest record in the National League since August 1.
The Giants finished third in the NL last month, while the Diamondbacks finished the top three in 3.67.
To prove these turnarounds, and the mediocre status of the wildcard game, the Giants have an 18.9% chance of making the playoffs. According to baseball reference, the Rattlesnake is 12.8%.
Fanggraphs' Giants were 9.3% and the Rattlers were 5.3%.
The Mets snatched an eight-game winning streak on Sunday and faced San Diego Padres this week. Any team that wins the series at Chase Field will enter the wildcard position on the weekend.
The season series between Arizona and San Francisco is also coming, and this may become important if the finale is needed at the end of the season.
The Giants had two of two of the three games against the Diamondbacks last week at Oracle Park, so the season series tied 5-5. The Diamondbacks against the Giants have been 29-26 in the past four years as it is one of the most tense divisional matchups in the league since 2022.
The Giants won the Chase Field series in the last week of last season, which left Arizona’s games less than the playoffs. This is an opportunity for Arizona to regain favor.
Rattlesnake Giants Possible Starting Pitcher
Monday: RHP Zac Gallen (4.84 ERA) vs. RHP Kai-Wei Teng (7.54 ERA)
Tuesday: LHP Eduardo Rodriguez (4.98 ERA) vs. TBA
Wednesday: RHP Brandon PFAADT (5.31 ERA) vs. RHP Justin Verlander (3.94 ERA)
The Giants promoted their top two starters Logan Webb and Robbie Ray last week on Offday so they could play against the Los Angeles Dodgers this past weekend. Neither of them was particularly good, and the Dodgers won two games.
It's good for the Rattlers, who grabbed the back end of the San Francisco rotation. Even at this stage of his career, Verlander is not a neglect because the 42-year-old has 1.13 ERA in his last four games.
For the Rattlesnakes, the question is whether Gallen and Rodriguez can continue their trajectory lately. Gallen has an ERA of 2.83 ERA since the trade deadline, although the Giants tagged him with a five-game run last week. He ran seven innings against the Giants at Chase Stadium in July.
Who is hot?
Giants: Shortstop Willy Adames cut .299/.394/.675 in nine home runs in the last 22 games, and he hurt the D-backs on a three-round home run last week. Adames hit 0.342 in 10 games against the Diamondbacks this year.
Rattlesnakes: Shortstop Geraldo Perdomo was 7-1 in the 16-stroke match, five walks. He's just one long ball from his first career 20 family running season, and he's five away from reaching a 100 RBI milestone.
Giants call for top prospects
The Giants called for their highest prospects, with 20-year-old first baseman Bryce Eldridge playing the playoffs. Eldridge is the 6-foot-7 left-handed Slugger on the MLB Pipeline’s top 100 prospect list.
He played 18 home runs and hit 0.514 in 66 games in Triple-A, but he also had 31% of the time.
Watch the scoreboard
The Mets are off on Monday but start on Tuesday’s three-game series against Padres.
Padres hunted the Dodgers in NL West's leading 2.5 games, so it's a huge series for both clubs. New York will face San Diego's Clay Holmes in the opener.
The Cincinnati Reds trailed Arizona’s halftime game in Arizona and joined the St. Louis Cardinals this week. The Cardinal was the Rattlers' two games.
Rattlesnake fare
To promote the mid-week series, Rattlesnakes are offering $15 tickets are available for low-grade bleach and bullpen seats as well as premium tickets.
The deal is only available in this week's series against the Giants as the club tries to pack the building for a roller coaster this season, despite the season's roller coaster, the team is still packing the building for a team that supports a good supporter.
Dono wants you here this week.
Get $15 votes for the Giant Series: https://t.co/hrjlgnoqg2 pic.twitter.com/td7q1lfwfr
— Arizona Rattlesnake (@dbacks) September 15, 2025