MLB: Giants, Pads and Braves eye two playoff spots
MLB: Giants, Pads and Braves eye two playoff spots
2010-10-02
With their sweep of the Arizona D-Backs, the San Francisco Giants now have a three game lead in the NL West on the San Diego Padres. Coincidentally enough, the Giants host the Pads for a three game series starting tonight. Sportsbook.com currently has the Giants as -155 favorites to win tonight.
The Giants need to win just one game to clinch the division. San Diego dropped three-of-four to the Cubs to find itself in this precarious position. The Padres are two games back of Atlanta for the Wild Card. The Braves close out the year with a three-game series against NL East leading Philadelphia Phillies at Turner Field.
It’s been seven years since the Giants have won the NL West and they hope to clinch Friday night when they send Matt Cain (13-10, 2.95 ERA) to the mound against Clayton Richard (13-9, 3.71 ERA). Cain has been phenomenal lately with a 2-0 record and a 0.82 ERA over his past three starts. It’s been the complete opposite for Richard, who is just 1-2 with a 7.41 ERA over his last three outings. No wonder 73% of Sportsbook.com’s bettors are on the Giants tonight.
The Padres have gotten the better of San Francisco so far this season, going 10-5 against the Giants including a 5-1 mark at AT&T Park. These teams usually combine for low-scoring affairs as the under has cashed in 10 of their meetings so far this year. Tim Stauffer (5-5, 1.89 ERA) gets the call for the Padres on Saturday against Barry Zito (9-13, 4.08 ERA), while Mat Latos (14-9, 2.82 ERA) and Jonathan Sanchez (12-9, 3.15 ERA) are scheduled to close out the year on Sunday.
The following baseball betting trends support a Giants NL West clinch tonight:
SAN FRANCISCO is 44-24 (+16.3 Units) against the money line vs. teams whose hitters strike out 7 or more times/game in the second half of the season this season. The average score was SAN FRANCISCO 4.7, OPPONENT 3.3 - (Rating = 2*).
SAN FRANCISCO is 28-9 (+15.6 Units) against the money line in home games vs. a good bullpen that converts on 75%+ of its save opportunities over the last 2 seasons. The average score was SAN FRANCISCO 5.0, OPPONENT 3.1 - (Rating = 2*) .
SAN FRANCISCO is 50-30 (+17.7 Units) against the money line vs. teams averaging 2.75 or less extra base hits per game in the second half of the season this season. The average score was SAN FRANCISCO 4.4, OPPONENT 3.4 - (Rating = 2*) .
Meanwhile, over in the East, the Braves look to shore up the Wild Card with Brandon Beachy (0-1, 2.89 ERA) on the mound Friday night. He’ll be opposed by Kyle Kendrick (10-10, 4.76 ERA) for Philadelphia. The Braves have a two-game lead on the Padres and Atlanta’s magic number to clinch the Wild Card is two. Sportsbook.com has the Braves at -155 chalk.
Philadelphia has already locked up home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. Atlanta enters the series after sweeping the Marlins in a three-game set. Philadelphia comes in after taking two-of-three from the Nationals. The Phillies lead the season series over the Braves 8-7. Atlanta has won four of the six games played at Turner Field this year. Saturday’s probable starters are Cole Hamels (12-11, 3.09 ERA) and Tommy Hanson (10-11, 3.41 ERA). Vance Worley (1-1, 2.25 ERA) and Tim Hudson (16-9, 2.76 ERA) are scheduled to go on Sunday.
Considering that Philly has little to play for in addition to the following MLB betting trends, Sportsbook.com is expecting bettors to back the Braves all weekend long.
ATLANTA is 54-23 (+17.9 Units) against the money line in home games vs. teams averaging 2.75 or less extra base hits per game this season. The average score was ATLANTA 4.8, OPPONENT 3.5 - (Rating = 2*).
ATLANTA is 14-3 (+9.8 Units) against the money line in home games when playing against a good team (Win Pct. 54% to 62%) this season. The average score was ATLANTA 4.9, OPPONENT 2.9 - (Rating = 1*) .
ATLANTA is 56-24 (+18.1 Units) against the money line in home games this season. The average score was ATLANTA 4.8, OPPONENT 3.4 - (Rating = 2*).
MLB News
Click here to read latest MLB news