The Western Division champion Arizona Diamondbacks go for a sweep of their opening series when they host the Giants at Chase Field in Phoenix. Game time is 4:10 PM ET and after opening as a pick em', the lines are on the move.
The MLB odds makers had first opened this game as a pick em', and nearly all of the early MLB betting action has gone the Giants way. San Francisco now finds themselves listed at -128 with the game's total set at 8 points.
Lets go over this matchup and decide where we should place our MLB picks in this game to find the best value.
It will be a battle of righthanders in
the finale as Josh Collmenter, who tied an Arizona rookie record one year ago
with 10 victories will face San Francisco’s Matt Cain who went 12-11 with a
2.88 ERA in 33 starts last season. Cain takes the mound less than a week after
he signed a $127.5 million, six-year contract, the largest deal for a
right-handed pitcher in baseball history. The Giants are hoping he can start
earning some of that and help them snap a seven-game losing streak to the
Diamondbacks.
Snakes strike
Saturday afternoon, Aaron Hill hit
two homers, Chris Young had a pair of run-scoring doubles and winning
pitcher Daniel Hudson worked in the seventh inning as Arizona edged San
Francisco 5-4. Young is 3 for 7 with four RBIs in the first two games, while
Hill got untracked after going 0 for 4 in the opener.
Pablo Sandoval and Brett Pill each hit
two-run homers but the Diamondbacks bullpen slammed the door after SF came closed
to within a run. That leaves the Giants in need of a victory today to avoid
their first season-opening sweep since 1969.
Need a stop
After roughing up Tim
Lincecum and Madison Bumgarner in the first two games of the
series, the Diamondbacks hope to get the best of Cain, who is 6-2 with a
2.92 ERA in his last nine starts against them. The right-hander had won three
straight starts at Chase Field before he allowed three runs in 7.1 innings of a
3-1 loss there Sept. 23.
Collmenter vs. San Francisco
Collmenter, who earned the win in his
major league debut April 17 against the Giants, was 1-1 with a 5.25 ERA as a
starter versus San Francisco last year. After being called up from the minors
in mid-April, the right-hander made his first seven appearances out of the
bullpen before going 9-10 with a 3.59 ERA in 24 starts in 2011. His 10
victories overall matched a club record for rookies.
Bettors beware; Collmenter
experienced arm trouble (forearm stiffness) during spring training, going 0-4
with a 9.95 ERA in six starts.
Cash for Cain
Giants general manager Bran Sabean is
already taking heat for doling out the big bucks to ‘extend’ Cain’s contract.
Some are already calling it the right-handed version of the ill-fated Barry
Zito deal some five years ago. As long as Cain pitches well, he’ll be able to
keep Sabean’s butt out of the fire. If not then San Francisco will be in the
market for a new GM. Just in case, have your resume updated. What we do know is
Cain will have to be really, really bad to reach Zito’s legendary status as one
of the worst bets in MLB history.
Trends
Arizona and San Francisco split their 18
meetings last season with the home team going 10-8 in those contests.
Of Major League Baseball's six
divisions, only the NL West has sent each of its clubs to the playoffs at least
once since 2006. The Giants are currently favored to win the West followed by
the Diamondbacks. SF is listed at 13/2 to capture the NL pennant while Arizona
is 8/1.
Harvey’s Take: Matt Cain gets an immediate chance to
earn some of that big money. San Francisco fans will be nodding their heads in
agreement with Sabean if the Giants win today. If the D-Backs get the sweep,
look at for a barrage of “I told you so”.
I’ll lay the low number and take Cain in
the series finale.
Good luck!