Cardinals vs. Giants MLB Best Bets for Thursday (Archive)
It could be a playoff preview as two teams deep in the National League postseason mix meet for a four-game series in San Francisco, starting Thursday night. Let’s see what the MLB odds for this matchup tell us!
St. Louis Cardinals vs. San Francisco Giants
Thursday, May 05, 2022 – 09:45 PM EDT at Oracle Park
The St. Louis Cardinals head west in possession of a Wild Card spot—if the season ended today. The Cards are currently two and a half games back in the NL Central after winning three of their last four.
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The Giants are coming off of a rough two-game series at the NL West-leading Los Angeles Dodgers, where San Francisco was unable to cut into the Dodgers’ lead.
Instead, they were swept in two games by a combined 12-1 margin and enter play in third place out West, two and a half games back but still in possession of a Wild Card berth.
The Giants have lost five of their last six, however. The Dodgers series opened a tough stretch for the Giants, who face L.A., and St. Louis in two series, two series against the Rockies (currently at .583), Mets (.667), and the Padres (.640) leading up to Memorial Day weekend.
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The Cardinals have enjoyed the opposite end of the standings, playing the Reds, Diamondbacks, and Royals—all last-place teams in their respective divisions—in the last four series and have the last-place Orioles coming up after leaving San Francisco.
What Is Wrong With Giants’ Offense?
The Giants scored nine runs in a win over Washington on Saturday. In the four games surrounding that win, all losses, they managed a total of 10 runs. Part of the problem on offense has been a long list of absences in the lineup.
- Mike Yastrzemski was just starting to heat up when he tested positive for COVID-19 in Washington on April 24. He was expected to return for the start of the Dodgers series but didn’t make his return to the lineup until Wednesday’s finale.
- Similarly, the Giants held out hope that outfielder LaMonte Wade Jr., out with a knee injury, would be back for the Dodgers. He’s been on a minor league rehab assignment and is now expected to make his return at some point in the St. Louis series, although maybe not for Thursday’s series opener.
- Evan Longoria, Tommy La Stella (both on minor league injury rehab assignments), Brandon Belt (COVID Injury List), and pitchers Dominic Leone and Zack Littell (also COVID IL) are all close to returning to the Giants, although it’s not clear which, if any, will be back for the weekend series.
- Joc Pederson has also been battling injury and had a pinch-hitting appearance before starting at DH on Wednesday. Assuming he doesn’t have a setback, he should be back to full duty going forward.
The Giants were officially TBD for Thursday’s starter at game time on Wednesday, but it should be Logan Webb’s turn in the rotation. The right-hander has struggled lately, giving up a 5.03 ERA over his last three starts, although the Giants ended up winning two of them. He’s 3-1, 3;26 on the year.
Help From the Minors
The Cardinals won the series finale against Kansas City, 10-0, on Wednesday, topping their run total for the previous four games. It’s just the fourth time in the last 11 games that they’ve topped five runs.
St. Louis called up Juan Yepez from Triple-A Memphis after hitting nine homers with 26 RBIs over the first month, and he made his big-league debut on Wednesday, playing right field and hitting fifth, sparking a shuffle up and down the Cardinals lineup.
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Yepez became the first player in team history to hit a pair of doubles in his first MLB game. Righthander Miles Mikolas gets the start for the Cards.
He’s 1-1 with a 1.52 ERA. He’s gone at least seven in each of his last two starts, although he gave up his first two home runs of the season the last time out.
Cardinals vs. Giants: What Is the Best Choice
The Cardinals got a spark from Yepez, but the rookie likely isn’t going to turn around an offense that has struggled to plate runs for much of the season.
The Giants, meanwhile, are likely to see Wade’s return and should get a boost from getting three regulars back over the last two days. For your MLB picks, look for San Francisco to win in a low-scoring affair.
MLB Pick: Giants (-115) with BetOnline (visit our BetOnline Review)
MLB Pick: Under 7.5 (-125) with BetOnline
*The line and/or odds on picks in this article might have moved since the content was commissioned. For updated line movements, visit BMR’s free betting odds product.