With the All-Star break firmly behind us it’s time to look forward to the end of the season. The San Francisco Giants are currently 1 game behind the Los Angeles Dodgers, no one else matter since the are all too far back to contend for the division title. I’m going to evaluate both teams remaining schedule and try to determine who will end the season with the title.

The Giants thankfully have the easier of the two schedule based on the quality of the opponents they will be facing. The combined winning percentage of the Giants upcoming opponents is (.490) meanwhile the Dodgers schedule has a (.496) winning percentage, so the advantage goes to the Giants. 39 of the 67 upcoming games are against teams that have a losing record (under .500) compared to the Dodgers only playing 30. The Dodgers are playing 35 games against teams with a winning record while the giants only have to play 27. The Giants are playing games against the top five teams 18 times and teams in the bottom five 16 times, the Dodgers play ten games against teams from the top five and 18 from the bottom five. So in the end the Giants have the advantage in combined winning percentage and facing teams under and over .500. The Dodgers meanwhile have the advantage when it comes facing top five and bottom five teams. Here is a list of each teams opponents.

San Francisco Giants

Dodgers X9 (.557)

Phillies X7 (.442)

Padres X7 (.432)

Rockies X7 (.421)

Brewers X6 (.552)

D-Backs X6 (.417)

Mets X4 (.474)

Tigers X3 (.582)

Nationals X3 (.548)

Pirates X3 (.516)

Royals X3 (.511)

Marlins X3 (.468)

Cubs X3 (.426)

White Sox X2 (.469)

Los Angeles Dodgers

Giants X9 (.547)

Padres X9 (.432)

Braves X7 (.547)

Cubs X7 (.426)

Brewers X6 (.552)

Rockies X6 (.421)

D-Backs X5 (.417)

Angels X4 (.606)

Nationals X3 (.548)

Cardinals X3 (.542)

Pirates X3 (.516)

Mets X3 (.474)

As shown above the Giants and the Dodgers play each other nine times in the coming months, six games in San Francisco and three in Los Angeles. The Giants have the easier schedule but overall it’s hard to argue that the Dodgers aren’t the better team, especially if they make a move at the deadline. In the end those nine games between the two will determine who wins the division. The Giants are 6-3 against the Dodgers this year. In the end I think the Giants have a chance to win the division. Only if they get Angel Pagan back and the Dodgers don’t make a big move at the deadline.