Sports Betting OverviewThe San Francisco Giants are in a much different situation this year compared to the same time last year. None of the MLB betting experts were expecting much out of the Giants at the 2010 all-star break because the Giants were so far removed from the NL West pennant. San Francisco turned on the after-burners in the second half of the season and won the World Series. The Giants’ meteoric rise in the MLB standings had a lot to do with its pitching. As the Giants enter the all-star break in first place in the NL West, its pitching could be the team’s undoing as September arrives.
What a difference a year makes. At the all-star break last year, the San Diego Padres were posting some impressive MLB scores that had them in the middle of the NL West pennant hunt. But after the all-star break, the Padres fell apart and dropped out of the pennant race. This season, the Padres enter the all-star break in last place in the NL West looking up at the rest of the division. Now baseball fans in San Diego are wondering if the Padres can pull off what the Giants did last year and surge to the top of the standings in the second half of the season.
San Francisco Giants
The biggest problem for the Giants is the pitching that won them the World Series last year is not performing at a championship level this year. Madison Bumgarner was not an ace on the mound for the Giants last year, but he did not hurt their chances either. This year, Bumgarner is certainly not helping the Giants stay in first place. He is 4-9 with a 3.87 ERA, but he has been playing well as of late. Bumgarner is 4-3 in his last 10 starts and is only giving up an average of 2.5 runs a game in that stretch. But he has been wildly inconsistent. He has games where he has given up only one earned run sandwiched between an eight-run game and a five-run effort. The San Francisco bullpen has not been much help as the bearded Brian Wilson has had problems closing out games.
San Diego Padres
The Padres send one of their more consistent pitchers to the mound in this game in the form of Aaron Harang. Harang is 7-2 this season with a 3.45 ERA. In his last three starts, he is 2-0 and has given up only four earned runs. The problem for the Padres is run support. San Diego is at the bottom of the league in home runs hit, and near the bottom in team batting average. This is the same issue that caused the Padres’ decline last season. They could pitch, but they could not hit.
The Bottom Line
Could this be a complete reversal of last season? Will the Giants be the NL West-leading team that disintegrates after the all-star break while the Padres ascend to the top of the division? It could. But it didn’t look that way as each team entered the all-star break. The Padres lost seven of their last 10 games before the break. But, still, anything can happen.
Pick: San Diego Padres
