Diamondbacks (50-45) vs Giants (43-51)
It has only been a little more than half a season but things have been pretty wild in the National League West so far.
Friday July 19
AT&T Park – San Francisco, CA
10:15PM
Probable Pitchers:
ARZ: Ian Kennedy (R)
SF: Chad Gaudin (R)
Moneyline: San Francisco -119, Arizona +109
Over/Under: 7.5
[dfads params=’groups=63740&limit=1&return_javascript=0′]
ATS Matchup Stats | Gambling Insight!
Check out our in-house Handicapper!!! Buy Razor Ray’s MLB Picks Today!
Arizona
At the break Arizona was in first place with a slim lead over surging Los Angeles but you could probably make a case for any team in the division except for San Diego right now. The Diamondbacks have certainly not dominated, ranking in the middle third in batting and pitching this season but they do have a couple of standout performers in 1B Paul Goldschmidt and SP Patrick Corbin, who were both at the All-Star game. This is a key series as they could really put a mental hurt on SF with a sweep.
CLICK GRAB OUR BEST Expert MLB Baseball Picks for 2013 GAMBLING season!
One of the things that would really help the Diamondbacks cause in the second half would be if they could get more from starter Ian Kennedy. He is dead last on the team in ERA, showing none of the form that netted an average of 18 wins over the last two seasons. Perhaps seeing the Giants can get him pointed in the right direction as Kennedy is 6-2 against San Francisco with an ERA of 2.52 against the division rival. He has made one start against San Francisco this season and it was of the mediocre variety though.
San Francisco
The San Francisco Giants were the talk of the MLB heading into the break on the heels of Tim Lincecum’s no hitter. [dfads params=’groups=10&limit=1&return_javascript=0′]
While that created some positive feelings for sure it doesn’t completely mask that this is a 4th place team that has been struggling for a while; and one fantastic performance doesn’t change the fact that Lincecum, and most of the pitching staff, have been pitching below expectations for the season. Offensively this club, though better than expected, is still challenged. C Buster Posey is leading the way and getting some help from the likes of OF Hunter Pence but they don’t strike much fear in opponents. The Giants have recently picked up OF Jeff Francouer hoping that “Frenchy” might ignite some things. There are worse moves to be made.
One of the best moves the Giants made was adding P Chad Gaudin this offseason. Pressed into starting duty he has been surprisingly good with 4 of his 6 starts of the quality variety. This is Gaudin’s tenth team and his record is well documented so you have to be wondering how long he can keep this up for. Only twice in a season has he pitched more than 100 innings and never has he had peripherals like he is putting up this season for San Francisco. He has made one start against the Diamondbacks this season and it was very solid going 6 innings with 7Ks and 1ER in a victory.
The Diamondbacks are in first place and I like them to begin the second half with a win. The Giants had some momentum after the no-hitter but have been sitting on their hands so the advantage is lost. Speaking of advantages I don’t image Gaudin can keep this up much longer, he is someone who I am going to be fading while Kennedy is too good to continue pitching like he has.
O/U: Under
Score Prediction: Arizona 5 – San Francisco 2
