Giants or D'Backs? A Statistical Look at Each Club's Chances at Winning the West

With 34 games to go, just one game separates the Arizona Diamondbacks and the San Francisco Giants in the NL West.

Who wins this battle for a postseason berth?

Will it be the upstart, surprise-of-the-year Arizona Diamondbacks?

Or will the defending world champions once again sneak into the playoffs for a chance at a repeat performance?

Here are some key statistics that may paint the picture for the stretch run ...

Winning Percentage Against Remaining Opponents

While it's true that both the D'Backs and Giants have only one team left to play that has a record above .500 (each other), there is a significant disparity between the winning percentages each team has against their remaining opponents.

The Diamondbacks have a combined record of 53-51 against the teams they have remaining on the regular season schedule (Nationals, Padres, Rockies, Giants, Pirates, and Dodgers).

That works out to a winning percentage of .509.

The Giants, however, have a record of 66-43 against their remaining opponents, which works out to a winning percentage of .606.

If these winning percentages hold true, Arizona's record the rest of the way would be 17-17, while the Giants' record the rest of the way would be 21-13.

The "Real" Strength of Schedule

There's the strength of schedule as we know it, which is really comprised of the win-loss records of the teams that remain on a given contender's calendar.

Then there's the "real" strength of schedule that takes into account other important factors, such as how each team on the remaining schedule plays to the relative strengths and weaknesses of the contender in question.

The D'Backs are clearly superior to the Giants when it comes to hitting, and indeed, are sixth in the NL in runs scored.

But four out of the remaining six teams that they play (Nationals, Padres, Giants, and Dodgers) are in the top six in the league in pitching, all with a team ERA of 3.69 or less.

By contrast, the Giants, a team built on the back of its elite pitching staff, face just two teams that rank above seventh in the NL in hitting (Rockies and Diamondbacks).

Given Each Team's Relative Strength, Giants Faring Better Despite Injuries

The strength of the Diamondbacks is in their hitting, while the strength for San Francisco lies in pitching.

But since the All-Star Break, Arizona's team batting average is just .232 (a 19-point drop from first half batting average of .251).

And as bad as San Francisco's offense has been, since the break, the Giants have an identical .232 team batting average.

The D'Backs are slugging just .384 in the second half.

The Giants, who have a very weak offense and therefore rely all the more on their stellar pitching, have seen their staff put up even better numbers as the season has progressed.

Since the All-Star Break, San Francisco's team ERA is 3.05 (it was 3.19 before the break), and the Giants' pitching staff has held opponents to a .228 batting average (.231 before the break).

By the Numbers, the Giants Win the West

The Giants are the defending champions for a reason, and in a season filled with an unbelievable multitude of key injuries and slumping veterans, this club continues to show grit and an uncanny ability to stay in the playoff hunt.

According to ESPN, the Giants should have a record of 62-66 right now, given all of the obstacles that they have had to somehow surmount.

Instead, San Francisco's record stands at 68-60, and the Giants look to make another hard charge toward October.