Saturday Sharp Money MLB!

7/12/14

Giants vs. D’Backs

Recommendation: Giants -125

Even after the Giants terrible slump, they are still tied atop the NL West. The bats came to life Friday night as San Fran beat Arizona 5-0. With how bad the Giants offense has been over the past month or so, the Diamondbacks certainly aren’t any better. The Orange have way more potential than they’ve been showing, and we have to expect a turnaround to come. Last night was a good building block, and today Marco Scutaro will make his long awaited season debut. That should give a spark to the Giants and help them string together a few wins in a row.

Ryan Vogelsong takes the hill after holding his own against a deadly A’s team. He’ll be able to work his way through a very weak Arizona lineup. He knows all of the hitter’s tendencies, and should have no trouble getting a win here with some run support to back him up. Wade Miley will throw for Arizona. He’s been solid for the Snakes this season but his biggest problem is consistency. He hasn’t won back to back starts since April. Miley pitched well and got the W in his last outing, so the trends suggest some regression here. Stay away from Paul Goldschmidt and the Giants will cruise to an easy home victory here. Take the Giants.

Cardinals @ Brewers

Recommendation: Cardinals -131

                This matchup is an example of two teams headed in completely opposite directions. The Cardinals have won 7 of 10 and look to move into a tie for first place in the NL Central tonight. They’re in great shape to do so with their ace Adam Wainwright on the mound. The only player in baseball with a better ERA than Wainwright this season is Clayton Kershaw. Wainwright is 3-1 with a 0.79 ERA in his last 6 starts. The loss of Yadier Molina will undoubtedly hurt this Cardinals team long term, but it shouldn’t be an issue tonight.

                The Brewers are a complete mess right now. They’ve lost 6 in a row and are absolute “fade” material right now. They got swept against a bad Phillies team, and then gave up a 6 run lead to let the Cards take the opener yesterday. That will definitely hurt their moral.

                Jimmy Nelson was called up from AAA to start tonight’s game. Nelson has pitched very well in the minors this season. He has a solid, mid-90’s fastball and a slider that induces a lot of ground balls due to its late break. He has a big frame and the look of a workhorse. But as we know, pitching at the big league level is whole different world compared to the farm. It will be the first time the Cardinals get to see him, although I’ll take Wainwright any day over an inexperienced minor leaguer. Definite edge to the Redbirds in this one. Take the Cardinals.  

 sounds very ESPN write-up like?

GL jr