At least seven teams are fighting over the two Wild Card spots in the National League. Two of those teams will meet Thursday night when the San Francisco Giants host the Philadelphia Phillies; this game will be streamed for free on YouTube beginning at 9:45 PM ET.
The Giants went on an epic 18-6 run in July to vault themselves into playoff contention, but after shedding some talent at the MLB trade deadline, they finished the weekend at 56-57, 3.5 games behind 59-53 Philadelphia for the last NL Wild Card berth. The Phillies enhanced their lineup at the deadline by acquiring OF Corey Dickerson (.929 OPS) from the Pittsburgh Pirates; OF Jay Bruce (.825 OPS) is out until mid-August with a strained right oblique.
If the starting rotations hold up, Thursday should be an impressive pitcher’s duel between San Francisco’s Madison Bumgarner (3.92 ERA) and Philadelphia’s Aaron Nola (3.60 ERA). The Giants are 14-10 this year (Over 14-7-3) with Bumgarner on the mound, while the Phillies are 16-8 (Over 15-8-1) behind Nola. Adam Morgan (3.94 ERA) will be absent from the Philly bullpen because of a strained left flexor, joining seven other relievers on the injured list.
