SF Giants Gameday: How would the Giants fare in the AL West?

SAN FRANCISCO -- With a second consecutive blowout win over the Los Angeles Angels on Wednesday, the San Francisco Giants will wake up Thursday with a chance to secure their first series win of the month. Times have been tough for a Giants team that's blown three ninth-inning leads in the last week, but Gabe Kapler's club has consistently demonstrated resilience and it's paid off with back-to-back victories over an American League West foe. The Giants last won a series against the Texas Rangers and despite being swept by the A's, the Giants were in position to take the first two games of their three-game set over the weekend. Kapler's team remains in last place in the NL West, but it's worth considering how the Giants would fare if they played the 2020 season in the AL West instead. When the coronavirus pandemic began, there were all sorts of ideas tossed out about how to build a condensed schedule and while the interleague play ultimately consists of one-third of this year's games, it's interesting to think about how the Giants would view their chances of contending if they matched up more frequently with teams such as the Mariners and Angels. With 40 total games against their four NL West peers (all of which are above .500), it's hard to see a path for the Giants to reenter a playoff race no one expected them to be in anyway. If the 10 teams in the two West divisions formed a super conference, it's much easier to see how the Giants could push for a postseason berth. Realignment isn't happening, but given how much better the club has performed against AL West teams, it's interesting to think what the 2020 Giants could accomplish in another division or over the course of a full 162-game season.