On Memorial Day, the San Francisco Giants are returning home to face another Los Angeles named team for the eighth time in 10 contests. This one however is from Anaheim and without a key superstar.
Monday, May 31 – 4:05 PM ET, Oracle Park
After being swept by the Dodgers last week, San Francisco had what can only be described as a super successful weekend in Dodger Stadium taking three of four against their hated rivals. Back at Oracle Park where they are 14-7 thus far, the Giants are out to sweep this brief two-game interleague series.
The Angels take the Bay Bridge to continue their time in the Bay Area after playing Oakland four times and coming away with two victories in Oak-Town. Los Angeles is in fourth place in the AL West and doesn’t figure to move up with Mike Trout on the injured list.
Sportsbooks, like BetOnline (visit our BetOnline Review), have San Francisco as -130 money line favorites on their betting odds.
Arturo "Arte" Moreno has never gotten it. Since buying the then Anaheim Angels in 2004, two years after they won the World Series, he’s always been infatuated with certain star players from other teams. To name a few, Moreno has signed large contracts for Josh Hamilton, Albert Pujols and most recently Anthony Rendon and has nothing to show for.
With all the money tied to everyday players who don’t come close to earning their overpriced paychecks, the pitching staff is ignored. The Halos are 28th in starting pitching ERA and 26th in bullpen earned run average and are just a couple ticks short of allowing the most runs in the big leagues (compared to Cincinnati) at 5.4 RPG. If you wonder why the Angels are 24-29 (-7.4 units), that’s the answer.
All season, baseball fans outside of San Francisco have waited for the Giants (33-20, +15.3) to start playing back to expectations. When they were swept by the Dodgers at home, you could hear outsiders think, “Ah, here we go, Frisco will be .500 in no time.”
Instead, the Giants showed resolve and completed a 5-1 division road trip. It doesn’t seem possible San Francisco should be this good with so many of its players in their 30’s. Teams like this usually are on their way down trying to hang onto one more year of glory.
When September rolls around, that could be true at this club after a long season and injuries are starting to pile up. But for now, Buster Posey, Evan Longoria, Marc Crawford and Brandon Belt have productive at-bats, especially with running backs on base, and are third in the NL in run differential.
Dylan Bundy (0-5, 6.50 ERA) must feel like he’s back in Baltimore. After three or fewer earned runs in five of his first six starts and pitching six innings in all but one of them, with nothing personally to show for it (like a win), Bundy has caved in. Maybe not physically but mentally, and he’s been tattooed for 17 runs in his past three starts, covering only 9 2/3 innings.
Johnny Cueto (3-1, 3.86) is another over-the-hill gang member of the Giants at 35. The fastball is not close to what it used to be. However, with so many opposing batters trying to launch every pitch. Cueto’s deception, different arm angles and change of speeds have generally kept hitters off balance and he worked out of jams with his guile.
For MLB picks, with the total listed at 8.5, it is hard to overlook Cueto and Giants are 9-2 when the total is 8.5 to 10 since last season. At the same time, San Francisco loves the sunshine or brightness of day games and is 15-5 in daytime conflicts this campaign.
On Memorial Day, the Giants are a big selection.
Free MLB Picks: Giants -130 ML at BetOnline