The San Francisco Giants cling to a slim lead in the NL West. This weekend they get to host a team they just swept three games from last weekend. Can San Fran do it again, or will Colorado rise up and show some spine, and who are we going with for our free MLB picks for this battle by the Bay?
San Francisco evened this series Saturday with a 9-3
victory, rapping out 13 hits and getting a quality outing from Matt Cain.
The Giants, much to the relief of their financial backers,
won as favorites of upwards of -250, and the game played 'over' its total of
seven.
San Francisco also, as we hoped it would, covered on the run
line.
With the win, and a Los Angeles loss in Miami, the Giants
are back on top in the NL West, a game up on the Dodgers.
Sunday's Pitching
Matchup
The Giants will go with Barry Zito (9-8, 4.19) for Sunday's
series finale against Alex White (2-6, 5.75) for the Rockies.
Zito is 10-for-22 on quality starts this season, and
three-for-five since the All-Star break. His last time out Zito gave up two
runs on two solo homers in 6 2/3 innings against the Cardinals, although that
came on the heels of a bad outing against the Mets.
On the year Zito has allowed 122 hits in 129 innings, but 17
of those hits have been homers, and his K/BB ratio, at 75/54, leaves something
to be desired.
In his one start this year against Colorado, which happened
to be his season debut back in April, Zito threw a four-hit shut-out, walking
none and striking out four.
White, meanwhile, is three-for-12 on quality starts this
year. Most recently he held the Dodgers scoreless on one hit through four
innings, although he walked five; and just before that he limited the Cardinals
to two runs on five hits in 5 1/3 innings.
On the season White has allowed 70 hits in 61 innings, and
owns a rather mediocre K/BB ratio of 39/28.
White hasn't started this season against the Giants; last
year, in two starts against San Francisco, he gave up nine ER and 15 hits in 9
2/3 innings.
Sunday's Betting Odds
and Trends
As of Sunday AM most online baseball books were listing San
Fran at around -160 for Sunday's game, with an 'over/under' of 7.5.
The Giants can also be played at upwards of +140 on the run
line at some baseball betting outlets.
Early betting has seen over 70 percent of action on the side
come in on San Francisco, while about 55 percent of play on the total has come
in on the 'over.'
The Giants lead the season series with the Rockies seven
games to three.
Injury Update
Colorado, which is already playing without Mike Cuddyer and
Troy Tulowitzki, might also be without Dexter Fowler, who missed Saturday's
game with a sore back. Those three have combined for 35 homers and 125 RBI this
season.
Free MLB Pick
It's always an iffy
proposition betting on Zito, but we'll add San Francisco to our
MLB picks for Sunday.
Colorado won the opener of this series Friday night 3-0,
getting five shut-out innings from starter Tyler Chatwood and four innings of
no-hit ball from the bullpen.
The Rockies won as +200 underdogs Friday, and the game
played 'under' its total of seven.
With the loss, and a Los Angeles win in Miami earlier
Friday, the Giants are now tied with the Dodgers for first place in the NL
West.
San Fran still leads the season series with Colorado six
games to three.
The Rockies have won three of their last four games, despite
scoring just 12 runs total over that span.
Saturday's Pitching
Matchup
Matt Cain (10-5, 3.01) will go for the Giants Saturday
against lefty Drew Pomeranz (1-6, 4.76) for the Rockies.
Cain is 12-for-22 on quality starts this year, but he hasn't
been too hot lately. In his most recent start Cain gave up five runs in less
than six innings against the Cardinals Monday, and over his last four starts
he's allowed 15 ER and 29 hits in 25 2/3 innings. And San Francisco has
actually lost six of Cain's last eight starts.
This will be Cain's first start against Colorado this
season; last year, in two starts against the Rockies at AT&T Park, Cain
gave up four ER and nine hits over 14 innings.
Pomeranz is just three-for-12 on quality starts this season,
and 0 for his last five. Most recently he held the Dodgers scoreless on three
hits but only went four innings, and over those last five starts he's allowed
18 ER on 29 hits in 21 1/3 innings.
This will be Pomeranz' first start this season against San
Francisco; last year, in two appearances against the Giants he gave up five ER
on 10 hits through 11 1/3 innings.
Saturday's Betting
Odds and Trends
As of Saturday AM the best price we could find on the Giants
was the -222 at a couple of online sportsbooks, while the Rockies could be
played at +212 at Matchbook.
And every baseball betting shop we consulted was listing the
total on Saturday's game at seven.
Free MLB Pick
We took a hit with
San Francisco Friday, but cut our losses because we played the Giants on the
run line. For Saturday we fully expect San Fran to get this series back to
even, but once again that money line price is brutal. So we'll take another
chance and add a run-line bet on the Giants to our MLB picks tonight.
Rockies against Giants:
Series Set-Up
The Giants just split four games in St. Louis, losing
Thursday 3-1, to finish off a 5-2 road trip. That trip included outbursts of
16, 11 and 15 runs by the usually pedestrian San Francisco offense.
So at 61-51 San Francisco leads the NL West by a game over
the Dodgers and four games over the Diamondbacks.
On the other side of this matchup the Rockies just helped
the Giants out by taking two of three games from the Dodgers in LA. Before
that, though the Rocks had lost seven straight series.
So Colorado, at 40-69, is just looking to end this nightmare
of a season.
The Giants lead this season series this year six games to
two, and just swept three games in Denver last weekend, outscoring the Rocks
35-13.
Friday's Pitching
Matchup
San Francisco will send Tim Lincecum (6-11, 5.43) to the
mound for Friday's series opener against Tyler Chatwood (1-2, 6.61) for
Colorado.
Lincecum is just seven-for-23 on quality starts this season,
but four for his last five. Over his last two starts he's held the Mets and
Rockies to two ER on 11 hits through 13 innings, and he had similar numbers in
his first two starts coming out of the All-Star break. So while Timmy has had a
rough season as a whole, maybe Lincecum is coming around.
The Giants are only 8-15 in Lincecum's starts this season,
with the 'over/unders' going 15-7.
Cumulative in three starts this year against Colorado
Lincecum has allowed 11 ER and 20 hits in 15 1/3 innings. San Fran lost two of
those games.
Chatwood has made one start this year, and it just happened
to come last weekend against San Francisco, when he gave up one ER on two hits
and four walks in 3 1/3 innings of an 8-3 Rockies loss. Earlier this year,
though, he carded a save against the Giants, holding them to one run on two
hits through three innings of a Colorado blowout victory back in April.
Chatwood has also spent time this summer throwing for
Double-A Tulsa.
Friday's Betting Odds
and Trends
As of Friday morning most online baseball betting sites were listing
the Giants at around -220 for Friday night's game, with a total of seven.
San Francisco could also be gotten at around -110 on the run
line at several baseball betting shops.
Early betting on Friday's game has seen two-thirds of play
on the side come in on the Giants, and 60 percent of play on the total come
down, somewhat surprisingly, on the 'over.'
Finally, the MLB odds makers at 5Dimes are listing the Giants at a heavy -310 to win
this series, while the Rockies can be gotten at +260 as the underdog at
Bookmaker.
The totals have leaned toward the 'unders' by a 34-18 margin
in games played at AT&T Park this season.
Personnel Notes
The Rockies lineup is a bit hamstrung, going without both
Troy Tulowitzki and Matt Cuddyer, who are both on the DL dealing with injuries.
Free MLB Pick
We're still a bit leery of Lincecum, but the Giants are
simply the better team in this series. But we also do not like giving that big
a price on a single baseball game, regardless of the situation. So while we're
also not big fans of betting a home team on the run line, that's what we'll do with our MLB picks on Friday night.
Pick: Giants on the Run Lines