Giants vs. Cardinals is the series to watch this week

Aug 14, 2015; San Francisco, CA, USA; San Francisco Giants left fielder Gregor Blanco (7) high fives catcher Buster Posey (28) after scoring against the Washington Nationals during the sixth inning at AT&T Park. The San Francisco Giants defeated the Washington Nationals 8-5. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY Sports
Aug 14, 2015; San Francisco, CA, USA; San Francisco Giants left fielder Gregor Blanco (7) high fives catcher Buster Posey (28) after scoring against the Washington Nationals during the sixth inning at AT&T Park. The San Francisco Giants defeated the Washington Nationals 8-5. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY Sports /
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The series between the San Francisco Giants and St. Louis Cardinals is the series to watch in Major League Baseball this week.

Every week Sports Illustrated and ScoreBig get together to highlight the must-watch series in Major League Baseball every week. This week the series to watch is the showdown between the San Francisco Giants and St. Louis Cardinals, Aug. 17–19.

It is easy for the most casual of baseball fans to see why this series would be highlighted as a must watch, the San Francisco Giants have won three of the last five World Series and the Cardinals won in 2011. Since 2010, no team aside from the San Francisco Giants or St. Louis Cardinals has won the National League pennant, making the league a two-horse race.

The Giants defeated the Cardinals in last year’s National League Championship Series in route to their latest World Series run.

Unfortunately for the Giants, who are fighting for first place in the NL West, they won’t have Madison Bumgarner coming to the mound in St. Louis to face the league-leading Cardinals.

The other series to watch this week are as follows:

  • Rays vs. Astros, Aug. 17–20
  • Tigers vs. Cubs, Aug. 18–20
  • Twins vs. Orioles, Aug. 20–23
  • Blue Jays vs. Angels, Aug. 21–23

The Watchability Rankings also labels the pitcher showdown between Carlos Carrasco and Masahiro Tanaka as a must-watch on Aug. 21.

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