The National League playoff race is heating up as teams hit the final stretch of the regular season. The race for the second wild card spot is getting tight as a game on Thursday night will help factor into it. The San Francisco Giants and Chicago Cubs are competing for that spot in the postseason as they are set to battle on Thursday.
The Cubs and Giants meet for a four-game series as history favors the Giants recently as they aim for their eight win in 10 games in Wrigley Field. After beating the Atlanta Braves, the Giants are closing in on the Cubs for the playoff spot as Chicago continues to falter in the second half of the season. San Francisco has won 16 of their last 21 games while they team has combined to hit .303 with a 2.98 ERA. Now they head to Wrigley Field where they have essentially been playing like it is a home game.
Chris Heston will take the mound as his 11-5 record and 3.13 ERA have the Giants thriving. Heston is coming off a rought outing where he gave up three runs and seven hits in just over four innings. However, he had a 0.95 ERA while going 3-0 in his last four starts. He has some big bats behind him to get plenty of support. Matt Duffy is hitting .383 with 14 RBI in his past 21 games. He currently leads all rookies hitting .310 on the season. Buster Poser is also swinging the bat well. He is hitting .354 in his career against Chicago while batting .449 with 18 RBI in his last 19 games.
The Cubs still have one of the best records in the league, but they have dropped seven of their last 10 at home. Jason Hammel will take the mound as he is 6-5 with a 3.13 ERA on the year. He recently gave up just one run in over five innings of play against Milwaukee while surrendering eight runs in eight innings over his past two starts. He is 0-3 with a 3.19 ERA against the Giants in his career.