San Francisco Giants, Cincinnati Reds MLB Betting Preview
The ’over’ is 8-2 in the Reds’ last 10 home games vs. a southpaw.
The San Francisco Giants are buoyed by a recent acquisition, while the Cincinnati Reds are in an official freefall. The teams meet Saturday night in Ohio in the middle game of a weekend set.
The first pitch from Great American Ball Park will be at 4:10 p.m. (PT). It’s a mound battle of early 20-somethings in Madison Bumgarner and Mike Leake.
The Friday opener is still pending with San Fran and the surprising Ryan Vogelsong even odds against Cincy and reclamation project Dontrelle Willis.
San Francisco (61-44) made a huge move on Thursday, acquiring outfielder Carlos Beltran (.895 OPS) from the Mets for prized pitching prospect Zack Wheeler. Beltran went hitless in his debut at Philadelphia last night, but the team won 4-1 behind ace Tim Lincecum, also taking the series.
The Beltran move is a big boost to the NL’s 15th-ranked offense (3.59 runs per game). There were prior season-ending injuries to catcher Buster Posey and infielder Freddy Sanchez, so positive news was badly needed for team morale.
Bumgarner (6-9, 3.56 ERA) started slowly this year with a 7.79 ERA after four starts and some questioned whether last year’s rookie sensation was experiencing the dreaded sophomore jinx.
The 21-year-old lefty has quieted the talk and pitched very well since, having quality starts in 15 of his last 17 outings. He’s seen the low-scoring Giants go 6-0 in his last six starts after beginning 4-11. He even got a win the last two times out to boost his underserving poor record.
Bumgarner’s only two poor starts since late April were both at home. That includes an ERA-killing eight earned runs over 1/3 inning against Minnesota on June 21. His road ERA for the season is just 2.54.
Bumgarner allowed one run over seven innings at home against the Reds on June 9, but San Fran lost 3-0. He got racked (seven earned over 2 2/3 innings) at home against them last year. This is his first time pitching in Cincy.
Cincinnati (50-55) was rumored to be in the Beltran sweepstakes, but GM Walt Jocketty has been quiet heading into Sunday’s non-waiver trade deadline. A starter is the biggest need, but Reds’ players would like to see any big move just to know management is behind them.
Manager Dusty Baker’s guys are fading fast after just getting swept four home games by the Mets. The team is barely within striking distance in the NL Central (6 ½-games out), especially with Milwaukee, Pittsburgh and St. Louis all well ahead of them.
Leake (8-6, 4.04 ERA) pitched well in his last two starts at Pittsburgh and home to the Mets. He surrendered three earned runs over 12 1/3 innings, but lost both with just two total runs of support. Cincy is 2-5 in his last seven starts overall.
The 23-year-old right-hander does have eight quality starts in 11 tries (3.18 ERA) since coming back into the rotation in late May after a short minors stint.
Leake threw eight scoreless innings at San Fran last month, getting the win in a 10-2 blowout. He had a humungous 21.21 ERA in two appearances against the Giants last year.
These teams split four games out west in June, with the ‘under’ going 3-1. They split the four games in Cincy last year.
The Giants are just 29-26 on the road this year (+3.4 units), but are 7-3 in their last 10 away.
The ‘under’ is 6-1 in San Francisco’s last seven games overall, scoring just 2.29 runs per game. The ‘over’ is 3-0 in Cincinnati’s last three and 8-2 in its last 10 home games against a left-handed starter.
Weather should be clear and warm in the mid-80s. The Sunday afternoon finale will have Johnny Cueto against the Giants’ weak-link starter Barry Zito.
The ’over’ is 8-2 in the Reds’ last 10 home games vs. a southpaw.
The San Francisco Giants are buoyed by a recent acquisition, while the Cincinnati Reds are in an official freefall. The teams meet Saturday night in Ohio in the middle game of a weekend set.
The first pitch from Great American Ball Park will be at 4:10 p.m. (PT). It’s a mound battle of early 20-somethings in Madison Bumgarner and Mike Leake.
The Friday opener is still pending with San Fran and the surprising Ryan Vogelsong even odds against Cincy and reclamation project Dontrelle Willis.
San Francisco (61-44) made a huge move on Thursday, acquiring outfielder Carlos Beltran (.895 OPS) from the Mets for prized pitching prospect Zack Wheeler. Beltran went hitless in his debut at Philadelphia last night, but the team won 4-1 behind ace Tim Lincecum, also taking the series.
The Beltran move is a big boost to the NL’s 15th-ranked offense (3.59 runs per game). There were prior season-ending injuries to catcher Buster Posey and infielder Freddy Sanchez, so positive news was badly needed for team morale.
Bumgarner (6-9, 3.56 ERA) started slowly this year with a 7.79 ERA after four starts and some questioned whether last year’s rookie sensation was experiencing the dreaded sophomore jinx.
The 21-year-old lefty has quieted the talk and pitched very well since, having quality starts in 15 of his last 17 outings. He’s seen the low-scoring Giants go 6-0 in his last six starts after beginning 4-11. He even got a win the last two times out to boost his underserving poor record.
Bumgarner’s only two poor starts since late April were both at home. That includes an ERA-killing eight earned runs over 1/3 inning against Minnesota on June 21. His road ERA for the season is just 2.54.
Bumgarner allowed one run over seven innings at home against the Reds on June 9, but San Fran lost 3-0. He got racked (seven earned over 2 2/3 innings) at home against them last year. This is his first time pitching in Cincy.
Cincinnati (50-55) was rumored to be in the Beltran sweepstakes, but GM Walt Jocketty has been quiet heading into Sunday’s non-waiver trade deadline. A starter is the biggest need, but Reds’ players would like to see any big move just to know management is behind them.
Manager Dusty Baker’s guys are fading fast after just getting swept four home games by the Mets. The team is barely within striking distance in the NL Central (6 ½-games out), especially with Milwaukee, Pittsburgh and St. Louis all well ahead of them.
Leake (8-6, 4.04 ERA) pitched well in his last two starts at Pittsburgh and home to the Mets. He surrendered three earned runs over 12 1/3 innings, but lost both with just two total runs of support. Cincy is 2-5 in his last seven starts overall.
The 23-year-old right-hander does have eight quality starts in 11 tries (3.18 ERA) since coming back into the rotation in late May after a short minors stint.
Leake threw eight scoreless innings at San Fran last month, getting the win in a 10-2 blowout. He had a humungous 21.21 ERA in two appearances against the Giants last year.
These teams split four games out west in June, with the ‘under’ going 3-1. They split the four games in Cincy last year.
The Giants are just 29-26 on the road this year (+3.4 units), but are 7-3 in their last 10 away.
The ‘under’ is 6-1 in San Francisco’s last seven games overall, scoring just 2.29 runs per game. The ‘over’ is 3-0 in Cincinnati’s last three and 8-2 in its last 10 home games against a left-handed starter.
Weather should be clear and warm in the mid-80s. The Sunday afternoon finale will have Johnny Cueto against the Giants’ weak-link starter Barry Zito.
