What must Giants do in the second half to return to the postseason?

San Francisco Chronicle​

5 days ago

If the season ended today, the San Francisco Giants, at 52-45, would be on the outside of the playoffs looking in — by a half game. They'll begin the second half behind the San Diego Padres for the third wild-card spot while vying with quite a few other teams for a postseason berth.
The Milwaukee Brewers and New York Mets hold the first two wild-card spots. Close behind the Giants, by a game, are the St. Louis Cardinals with the Cincinnati Reds (two back) and Arizona Diamondbacks (five back) within range. The NL West crown is still within reach, too, with the Giants six games back of the Dodgers despite dropping two of three to Los Angeles last weekend.
How does the second half look for the Giants as they try to return to the postseason for the first time since 2021? Here's a look.
Schedule: The first series out of the break won't be a soft landing. The Giants will travel to Toronto to play a Blue Jays team that's just soared into first place in the AL East by winning 11 of 14. Then they'll go to Atlanta, a team they swept at home earlier in the year.
They haven't played well against sub-.500 teams — they were swept at home by the Miami Marlins and dropped a series to the Chicago White Sox — but they have a few easier stretches in the second half. At the end of July and August, they'll see the Pittsburgh Pirates at home and on the road within two weeks, then play the Washington Nationals at home and, toward the end of the month, the Baltimore Orioles.
They'll also make a visit to New York to play the Mets, who are vying with the Philadelphia Phillies for the NL East crown. Their most challenging stretch will begin with a four-game series against the Padres in San Diego (Aug. 18-21) followed by a trip to Milwaukee for three before returning home to face the first-place Chicago Cubs.
September could be an uphill battle. The month begins and ends against the NL-worst Colorado Rockies, but in between there are home and away series against Dodgers, Diamondbacks and Cardinals.
Promising trends: Success in the second half will be easier if a few players turn their seasons around. A handful appear to have taken a step in the right direction.
Great as the rotation has been at the top with All-Stars Logan Webb and Robbie Ray, it could get even better if Justin Verlander 's mechanical tweak pays off. Ironically, given his quest to enter the 300 wins club, Verlander entered the All-Star break without a win as a Giant and a good number of his losses (he's 0-7) and no-decisions (eight) weren't his fault as he's received some of the worst run support in baseball.
But Verlander, at 42, was starting to look mortal, lacking deception in his offerings. He tweaked his delivery slightly in his last start against the Phillies and saw his velocity improve, which led to a lot of ugly swings. If he can pick up where he left off — with his experience chasing the postseason — he could kick the pitching staff into another gear.
It would be huge if Willy Adames keeps up what he did in the month before the break. He's been a different hitter since Rafael Devers debuted with the Giants on June 17, batting .279 with an .853 OPS, four home runs and four other extra-base hits over his past 25 games. He'd batted .201 with a .624 OPS, eight homers and 12 other extra base hits in his first 71 games.
Adames attributed his turnaround to confidence acclimating to a new outdoor ballpark known not to reward every well-hit line drive — he'd previously played his entire career in domes in Tampa Bay and Milwaukee.
An awakening from Devers is likely essential. A career .277 hitter, the three-time AL All-Star has hit only .202 with two home runs and 10 RBI in his 25 games with the Giants.
Trade deadline: Buster Posey and Co. made their big move well before the deadline, adding Devers on June 15 to give a listless lineup some pop. They could add a bat, perhaps another right-handed hitting outfielder.
The pitching staff has been the Giants' savior, but Posey may look to strengthen that group. In trading for Devers, the Giants gave up depth in Kyle Harrison and Jordan Hicks. Perhaps they explore the market for another starting pitcher to supplement the rotation given uncertainty around Verlander and Hayden Birdsong 's durability and effectiveness in the second half.
Erik Miller's elbow sprain should prompt them to look for another left-handed reliever, too.