Giants at Phillies Picks and MLB Betting Odds
by Dave Schwab - 7/30/2013
The San Francisco Giants will head east this week for a six-game road trip starting with a stop at Citizens Bank Park to play three games against the Philadelphia Phillies. Tuesday night’s Game 1 of this National League clash is set for 7:05 p.m. (ET), and it will be available on MLB Extra Innings.
The Giants come into this series licking their wounds after dropping seven of their last six games at home, including three straight to the Cubs this past weekend. They are now 46-58 on the year and 10 full games out of first in the NL West. San Francisco hits the road with an 18-31 record away from home this season.
Any hope of a second-half rally has quickly faded away for the Phillies with eight-straight losses on the road that have them 11 games in back of Atlanta in the NL East. Philadelphia is now 49-56 overall and returns home tonight where it has gone 26-21 this year.
Giants at Phillies Betting Storylines
It is hard to blame San Francisco’s pitching for its recent skid considering it has not allowed more than three runs in seven of its last 10 games. The problem has been an anemic lineup that has scored a total of 21 runs during the same stretch of games. The Giants are now ranked 12th in the National League in scoring with an average of 3.8 runs a game. Most of the production has come from Hunter Pence and Buster Posey, who have combined for 110 RBI and 28 home runs this season.
Look for Barry Zito to get the start in Tuesday’s series opener. The left-hander is 4-7 this season with a 4.92 ERA and has really struggled on the road. He has yet to win a game away from home this season, and he has allowed 17 earned runs in his last four road starts. Lifetime against Philadelphia he is 3-3 with a 4.14 ERA.
The Phillies problems at the plate mirror their opponents with a total of 14 runs in their last eight games, but their pitching has also been a major reason for the slide. During the eight-game losing streak, this staff has allowed an average of 6.5 runs a game. Overall, it is ranked 14th in the NL with a team ERA of 4.22. This complements a lineup that is also averaging just 3.8 runs a game.
Philadelphia will turn to John Lannan as its starter to try and stop the slide. The left-hander got bounced around last Wednesday in a loss to St. Louis after allowing four runs in four innings. Prior to that, he gave up just one run in his previous 16 innings of work. Overall, Lannan is 2-4 with a 4.13 ERA. He is 0-1 against San Francisco with a 1.74 ERA.
Giants at Phillies MLB Betting Odds and Trends
BetOnline has opened the Giants as +128 road underdogs for Tuesday night’s series opener with Philadelphia listed as a -138 home favorite. The total has been set at 8.5.
The Giants are 7-19 in their last 26 games following a loss and 2-9 in Game 1 of their last 11 series. The total has stayed “under” in four of their last five games overall.
The Phillies are 6-2 in their last eight home games and 4-1 in Lannan’s last five starts at home. The total has stayed under in six of their last seven home games.
Head-to-head in this matchup, the road team is 4-2 in the last six meetings, and the total has gone “over” in four of those games. San Francisco is 4-1 in its last five games played in Philadelphia.
Giants at Phillies Picks and Betting Predictions
Both teams come into this contest in desperate need of a win but seriously struggling at the plate. That should set-up a strong play on the under. However, if playing a side, stick with Philadelphia to grind out a tight victory in the friendly surroundings of Citizens Bank Park.
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