No, this isn't a joke, we're actually advising you to watch the Arizona Diamondbacks. Wait, come back! It's less about them than it is the Giants and their mid-season acquisition, Jake Peavy. The Giants are entering play just 2½ games back of the Los Angeles Dodgers for first place in the NL West, and in control of the first wild card in the National League.
MLB Thursday viewing guide: Rejuvenated Jake Peavy starts for Giants
Jake Peavy and the Giants headline a reduced slate of games on Thursday.
Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports
Thursday's starter for San Francisco, Jake Peavy, has been stellar of late, rolling off a 4-1 record in his last five starts, with an ERA of 1.04 and a 27:7 strikeout to walk ratio in 34⅔ innings. Peavy has been better than the Giants could have been even hoped for when they sent Edwin Escobar and Heath Hembree to the Red Sox in exchange for his services; he has compiled a 2.36 ERA in his eight starts for San Francisco, with the Giants going 4-4 in those games.
Thursday’s MLB schedule
| Time (ET) | Game | TV | Reason to watch |
| 12:05 p.m. | Twins at Indians | FSNO, STO | The Tribe are only 5 games back and have a double-dip with the Twins. |
| TBD | Twins at Indians | FSNO, STO | Game 2 |
| 12:35 p.m. | Cardinals at Reds | FS Midwest, FS Ohio, MLB-N | Johnny Cueto is 0-2 against the Cardinals this year. |
| 2:10 p.m. | Athletics at White Sox | CSN Chicago, MLB-N | Chris Sale will look to push his ERA under 2.00 as the Athletics fight for their playoff lives. |
| 3:45 p.m. | Diamondbacks at Giants | FS Arizona, CSN Bay Area | Jake Peavy has a 1.04 ERA in his last five starts |
| 7:05 p.m. | Pirates at Phillies | ROOT, CSN Philly, MLB-N | Francisco Liriano has allowed two runs or fewer in nine of 10 second half starts. |
| 7:05 p.m. | Rays at Yankees | Sun Sports, YES, MLB-N | Brian McCann has hit 16 of his 18 home runs at Yankee Stadium. |
| 7:10 p.m. | Nationals at Mets | MASN, SNY | Bartolo Colon has a 2.57 ERA in three starts against the Nationals. |
| 8:05 p.m. | Angels at Rangers | FS West, FS Southwest | The Angels have the top offense in baseball. The Rangers pitching staff is the second worst. |
| 8:10 p.m. | Red Sox at Royals | NESN, FS Kansas City | The Royals turn to Liam Hendriks to keep them afloat, as they await Danny Duffy's return. |
| 8:10 p.m. | Marlins at Brewers | FS Florida, FS Wisconsin | Mike Fiers has turned in a quality start every time out in 2014. |
- The Brewers are abandoning their six-man rotation, and Brew Crew Ball's Derek Harvey has the skinny on who is out and why.
- The Phillies' Ken Giles can do a lot of things really well. Public speaking isn't one of them, as The Good Phight's Justin Klugh highlights.
- SB Nation MLB's Grant Brisbee gave us five mistakes Oakland made over the past two months, and Brandon Moss' struggles fall under number one:
Moss is now 0 for his past 13 and 5 for his past 54 overall, with 24 strikeouts in those 20 games.
— Susan Slusser (@susanslusser) September 11, 2014 See More:
