Hope everyone had a safe and fun 4th of July weekend full of burgers, hot dogs, fireworks, and America’s pastime. Hard to believe we are already embarking on the 2nd half of the baseball season, but here we are. So sit back and relax on your (hopefully) Monday off and take a look at the best bets we have for you:
Cardinals @ Giants Run Line
The San Francisco Giants just continue to roll right along, bouncing back from a four-game losing streak with a three-game winning streak against Arizona in which they scored a total of 22 runs. That includes knocking around LHP Caleb Smith for 5 runs on Sunday night. San Francisco has performed very well against lefties all season (.324 wOBA, 108 wRC+) and they get another one on Monday in Kwang Hyun Kim. Kim is coming off a decent start against the Diamondbacks in his last start, but the start prior he gave up 7 hits and 4 ERs in 4.1 IP against the Pirates, aka the worst team in the majors against LHP. With a powerful 17 MPH wind blowing out to LF at AT&T Park today, the Giants contingency of RHHs should be able to put up some crooked numbers at the plate.
All-Star Kevin Gausman takes the mound for San Francisco and is coming off his worst start in quite some time, as he allowed 3 ER with 5 walks against the Dodgers on June 29th. The Cardinals are not scaring anyone at the plate right now, as they scored just two runs in three of their four games at Coors Field over the weekend. Gausman should be able to bounce back nicely and the Giants are in a good spot to take this game easily.
Pick: Giants -1.5 (-105 DK, -102 FD)
White Sox Total Runs O/U 5.5
The White Sox get to face young Twins starter Bailey Ober for the second consecutive start and if the first game is any indication of how this one will go, Chicago should have no problem eclipsing the 5.5 total runs set by the bookmakers. In that previous start, the White Sox tagged Ober for 5 ER in just 3.1 IP on their way to a 13-3 victory on the final day of June. Ober is not the only pitcher the White Sox have been battering around lately, as they are averaging 7.6 runs per game over their last seven games. Despite an injury-depleted lineup, Chicago continues to put up large run totals with Tim Anderson and Jose Abreu still leading the charge. With the temperature projected at 96 degrees for the first pitch in Minnesota, the ball will be flying around the park and pitchers could wear down quickly if baserunners start to pile up.
Pick: OVER 5.5 (+112 DK)
Austin Slater/Nelson Cruz Total Hits O/U 0.5
As we stated above, the Giants have been very impressive against LHP this season and a big reason for that is Austin Slater. The lefty masher shoots to the top of the lineup with a southpaw on the mound and that was the case on Sunday against Caleb Smith. Slater rewarded Giants fans with a single and a home run in his first two at-bats. Seeing as he has a .270 AVG against LHP compared to a .230 AVG against RHP, Slater is as good a bet as any to pick up a base hit against Kwang Hyun Kim on Monday.
Nelson Cruz has been on fire lately (.333 AVG, .444 wOBA) and he gets a familiar face in Dylan Cease on the mound. In 11 career ABs against Cease, Cruz is 6 for 11 (.545 AVG) and Cease’s rapidly declining spin rates are a bit concerning for the 25-year old pitcher. I was genuinely surprised to see Cruz’s total hits at 0.5 instead of 1.5 and if you wanted to throw a bet on Cruz to hit a home run (+280 on DK) I wouldn’t blame you.
Pick: OVER 0.5 Hits Each (+106 DK, +101 FD)
Kyle Stanzel Overall Record: 34-36-1
Net Money (Assuming all wagers are $100): +$788.54
Featured Image by Justin Paradis (@JustParaDesigns on Twitter)