San Francisco Giants at St. Louis Cardinals Betting Preview
The San Francisco Giants head to St. Louis to face the Cardinals on Friday, July 16. Both teams are coming off big wins just a few nights ago. The Giant’s recently concluded their series against the Washington Nationals, sweeping them in the three-game series. They now head to the Cardinals, a team they hosted only a week ago. That series went in favor of the Cardinals, and now the Giants will look to return the favor.
The Cardinals are quite familiar with the Giants after just beating them in a three-game series. Their 2-1 series win is impressive, considering they were on the road against San Francisco. For this series, they’ll be the host, putting them at a distinct advantage. In their last seven games against the Giants, the Cardinals have gone 5-2.
Can the Giants get a win on the road against a team they can’t seem to beat? Or is the best bet here the St. Louis Cardinals. Let’s take a look at what both teams bring to Friday’s game.
The Giants lights-out pitcher gets the start on the mound Friday
The key to beating the Cardinals heavily relies on good pitching. The great news for the Giants is that they’ll have SP Kevin Gausman on the mound. With a 9-3 record as the starter, Gausman is San Francisco’s best chance against slowing down the Cardinals batters. Gausman has an ERA of 1.73, the best on San Francisco’s roster. It’s clear; the Giants are looking to take game one away from St. Louis.
The Giants need to produce at the plate, too, similar to the way they performed against the Nationals in game two. The Cardinals were able to get the better of them in two out of three games last week due to poor batting. The margins of victory were slim, but it’s those key moments in games the Giants need to close. They’ll also be on the road, where the Cardinals have a 23-18 record. Although it’s a tall task, the Giants can take the first game.
The Cardinals chance on Saturday hinges on their batters
The question heading into Friday’s game for the Cardinals is how well they can perform against Kevin Gausman. St. Louis went 1-1 in their series against the Chicago Cubs, with game three being postponed. We have to take into account the Cardinals’ recent series loss to the Colorado Avalanche. They went 1-3 in the series before facing the Giants.
At pitcher, the Cardinals will be starting one of their best in Adam Wainwright. Wainwright has a 7-5 record as a starter with an ERA of 3.58. His last start was a 6-5 win against none other than the San Francisco Giants.
Giants versus Cardinals, the best bet on Friday: Giants
The Giants have a much better chance in the first game of this series, solely due to pitching. Gausman’s 9-3 record and 1.73 ERA is a good indication of the way this game will go. It’s going to be a close one, but the Giants will pull out a win in the first game of this series.
