San Francisco Giants (29-25) AT Saint Louis Cardinals (33-23)
June 1st, 2011 at 8:15 PM EST
Opening Moneyline: SF -125; STL +105
Current Moneyline: SF -120; STL +100
Opening Total: 7
Current Total: 7
SP: SF- Tim Lincecum; STL- Jake Westbrook
The Cardinals haven’t been winning the way they were lately. They’ve alterated wins and losses for 7 straight games, and seeing Giants’ ace Tim Lincecum on the mound isn’t exactly the elixor for their struggles. Lincecum gave up only 6 ERs in five starts last month and has won five of his six career starts against the Cardinals. They’ve split the first two games of the series, but the cumulative run total goes to the Giants 10 to 7.
Last night, the Cardinals came from behind as Albert Pujols and his teammates Jon Jay, Craig Allen and Skip Schumaker made big contributions.
Skip Schumaker was pleased with the come from behind win. “It’s a good win, a comeback win against a very good bullpen,” said Schumaker, who had been struggling prior to last night’s game, “It’s very meaningful.”
While Lincecum’s record isn’t particularly impressive, his ERA is (2.22). In May, Lincecum went 3-1 with a 1.47 ERA. He threw a three hitter in a 3-0 win over the As. His speed was down, however, last outing; but Lincecum isn’t blaming an injury. “Nothing’s hurt or anything,” Lincecum said. “I felt like I was laboring through most of the game, for the most part. Sliders were flat. Fastball was down (in velocity). Changeup was not really diving or anything.”
Prior to his last outing against the Cardinals, he had gone 5-0 with a 1.54 ERA. Last outing he failed to record a quality start, giving up 4 runs over 5 1/3rds innings, and he didn’t receive any run support either (one run), so he picked up the loss.
The Cardinals will send Jake Westbrook to the mound. He hasn’t been particularly effective this year with a 5-3 record and a 5.19 ERA. Friday night against the Rockies, he gave up three runs over five innings, but it was sufficient for the victory since the offense produced 10 runs. He is 2-0 with a 1.86 ERA in his last three home starts, though, so he and the Cardinals hope that trend continues. In the 12 inning loss to the Giants on April 8th, he gave up 3 runs over 5 innings, but did struggle badly, walking four and giving up two homers.
Some betting trends:
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of the Giants’ last 6 games and they are 2-6 SU in their last 8 games. The total has gone UNDER in 4 of the Giants’ last 6 road games and it has also gone UNDER in 9 of their last 13 against the Cardinals. The Giants are 2-5 SU in their last 7 games on the road against the Cardinals.
The total has gone UNDER in 11 of Saint Louis’ last 15 games and the Cardinals are 11-4 SU in their last 15 games. The Cardinalas are 6-1 SU in their last 7 home games and the total has gone UNDER in 8 of their last 9 at home. It has also gone UNDER in 9 of the Cardinals’ last 13 games against the Giants. The Cardinals are also 5-2 SU in their last 7 home games against the Giants.
It’s always a risky proposition to bet against Tim Lincecum and the Giants are favored largely due to that fact. The Cardinals haven’t been their usual selves of late, and they’re against the wrong pitcher to right that ship.
