The Arizona Diamondbacks and San Francisco Giants entered August with minuscule playoff odds as trade deadline sellers, yet somehow, their matchup this week could double as a pseudo playoff series.

The Giants (75-74) were a .500 team at 55-55 at the deadline, trailing the third National League Wild Card spot by six games. The Diamondbacks (75-75) were in dire straits at 51-59, 10 games back.

Both teams have since dealt with significant injuries, with San Francisco losing All-Star reliever Randy Rodriguez for the season and Arizona left fielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr. tearing an ACL.

And yet, the Giants enter Monday’s series opener 1.5 games behind the New York Mets for the third Wild Card spot. They won 11 of 12 games over a stretch to storm back into the fight.

The D-backs are two games behind New York with 12 to play, as a younger roster is 24-16 over the last 40 games and owns the third best record in the National League since Aug. 1.

The Giants have scored the third most runs in the NL over the last month, while the Diamondbacks have a top-three starting pitching ERA at 3.67.

In a testament to these turnarounds, along with the mediocre state of the Wild Card race, the Giants have an 18.9% chance to make the playoffs. The Diamondbacks are at 12.8%, according to Baseball Reference.

FanGraphs has the Giants at 9.3% and the Diamondbacks at 5.3%.

The Mets, who snapped an eight-game losing streak on Sunday, face the San Diego Padres this week. There is a slight chance that whichever team wins this series at Chase Field will be in a Wild Card spot entering the weekend.

The season series between Arizona and San Francisco is on the line, as well, which could become relevant if tiebreakers are needed at the end of the season.

The Giants won two of three games against the Diamondbacks last week at Oracle Park, so the season series is tied at 5-5. The Diamondbacks are 29-26 over the last four years against the Giants, as this has been one of the tightest division head-to-head matchups in the league since 2022.

The Giants won a series at Chase Field in the final week of last season that contributed to Arizona falling a game short of the postseason. This is an opportunity for Arizona to return the favor.

Diamondbacks-Giants probable starting pitchers

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 used an off day last week to move up their top two starters, Logan Webb and Robbie Ray, so they could pitch this past weekend against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Neither pitched particularly well, and the Dodgers won both games to claim the series.

That bodes well for the Diamondbacks, who catch the back end of San Francisco’s rotation. Verlander is not someone to overlook even in this stage of his career, however, as the 42-year-old has a 1.13 ERA over his last four starts.

For the Diamondbacks, the question is whether Gallen and Rodriguez can continue on the upward trajectory they’ve been on lately. Gallen has a 2.83 ERA since the trade deadline, although the Giants tagged him with five earned runs last week. He threw seven innings with one earned run against the Giants at Chase Field in July.

Who’s hot?

Giants: Shortstop Willy Adames has slashed .299/.394/.675 with nine home runs over his last 22 games played, and he hurt the D-backs last week with a three-run home run off Gallen. Adames has hit .342 in 10 games against the Diamondbacks this year.

Diamondbacks: Shortstop Geraldo Perdomo is 7-for-his-last-16 with five walks mixed in. He is one long ball away from his first career 20-home run season, and he is five RBIs away from reaching the 100 RBIs milestone.

Giants calling up top prospect

The Giants are calling up their top prospect, 20-year-old first baseman Bryce Eldridge, for the postseason push. Eldridge is a 6-foot-7, left-handed slugger ranked No. 13 on MLB Pipeline’s top 100 prospects list.

In 66 games for Triple-A, he hit 18 home runs and slugged .514, but he also struck out 31% of the time.

Scoreboard watching

The Mets have Monday off but start a three-game series at the Padres on Tuesday.

The Padres are hunting the Dodgers at 2.5 games back of the NL West lead, so this is a massive series for both clubs. New York will start Clay Holmes in the opener against San Diego’s Michael King.

The Cincinnati Reds are a half-game behind Arizona with the head-to-head tiebreaker and take on the St. Louis Cardinals this week. The Cardinals are two games back from the Diamondbacks.

Diamondbacks drop ticket prices

To promote the midweek series, the Diamondbacks are offering $15 tickets all-in for lower-level bleacher and bullpen seats, as well as upper-level tickets.

The deal is only available for this week’s series against the Giants, as the club attempts to pack the building for a team that has survived against all odds despite the roller coaster of a season this has been.

Domo wants you here this week.

Get $15 tickets for the Giants series: https://t.co/hrJLGnoQg2 pic.twitter.com/td7q1lfWFr

— Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) September 15, 2025