Cards And Giants Will Struggle To Score

Giants vs. Cardinals, 2:15 ET

The other day, the game took place in Birmingham, Alabama. If you haven't had a moment to listen to Reggie Jackson's interview. It is rather uncomfortable to listen to, but you should because this man went through all the stories that make you uncomfortable. These things didn't happen all that long ago either, and hopefully we are moving forward, but the reality is we probably aren't. I'm not going to spend a ton of time preaching here, because you come here to read about sports betting, not my thoughts on race relations. Kindness can go a long way. Let's focus on this game between the Giants and Cardinals and hope the kind karma helps us line our pockets. 

This has been a bit of a trying season for the Giants to this point. They have struggled to find ways to consistently get victories. It seems like any time they make any progress, they lose it with a prolonged losing streak. This is a similar pattern that we saw from the club last season as well. They've had two four game winning streaks this season, both of which are the highest amount they have had for the year. From May 15th to May 28th, the team went 10-2. Then they promptly followed that with a six-game losing streak. They followed that by winning three straight. That's the kind of roller coaster I've been talking about. One step forward, two steps back. Still, the team is at least within a reasonable space of being .500. Today they get Jordan Hicks on the hill. Hicks has been very good for the team this season with a 4-3 record, a 2.82 ERA (good for 12th in the league, and a 1.23 WHIP. Hicks has had a pretty strong June, going 13.1 innings over three starts and allowing five total earned runs. He doesn't go too deep into games, which is nice for us because we can isolate the evaluation to the first five innings. He doesn't have a ton of experience against the Cardinals as he started his career with them, but the team is 2-for-9 against him. 

Jun 17, 2024; Chicago, Illinois, USA; San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Jordan Hicks (12) delivers a pitch against the Chicago Cubs during the first inning at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports

The Cardinals looked like a dead bird for much of the first portion of the season. We are almost at the middle point of the season and they are a .500 club. On May 11th, they were 15-24, so they've made substantial progress over the past month or so of baseball. There are still some giant flaws on this team. One big issue with them is that they really aren't hitting the ball all that wall. Sure, a 2.37 batting average is alright, but they don't have 300 runs scored for the season. They have the second fewest runs scored in the National League. With Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado in your lineup, the expectation should be better. The pitching staff has improved since last season, and was a focus for the GM in the offseason, but there is still a ways to go. Today's starter is Miles Mikolas, he is one of the better hurlers on the team, but he is a little inconsistent, resulting in a 5-6 record, 4.59 ERA, and a 1.15 WHIP. He's been great this month with a 1.40 ERA, where he allowed 19.1 innings and just three earned runs. He has put out five consecutive quality starts. Giants hitters have been productive against him, getting 14 hits in 51 at-bats against Mikolas. 

The way that Mikolas is pitching makes me think this game should be a Cardinals victory. I lean toward them winning the game, but I won't play it. Instead, I think we focus on the first five innings and take the under. Hicks has been a bit shaky lately, but I think we can expect him to manage fairly well against the Cardinals hitters. I am expecting Mikolas to continue his nice run as well and will back him here. Take the under through five innings. 

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