San Francisco Giants have bettor’s attention

Yesterday went to take in Tim Lincecum and the rest of his teammates in the black and orange hats and see if this reporter could figure out why they are playing such good baseball. Having struck out and walked more than enough batters in my youth, I always appreciate outstanding pitchers and try to make it point to see as many as possible when they come to town.

It just so happens the San Francisco Giants (56-43, +7.7 units) are racking up profits faster than Major League teams selling $10 beers, winning 16 of last 20 and collecting +13.35 units of profit, moving into second place in the NL West, trailing San Diego by four games in the loss column.

What is most noticeable about the Giants of course is their pitching, the starters in particular. Lincecum didn’t begin the game with his best stuff, unable to command his curveball and Arizona batters were sitting on his fastball and tallied two runs in the second inning. However, as the game wore on, the long-haired competitive right-hander settled into a groove and never permitted another run over the final six innings of work.

This giant streak has seen Giants pitchers allow only 2.5 runs per game, which gives the offense a chance in every contest even if they don’t score many runs early on. This type of pitching has brought about something that hasn’t happened in nearly a century of Giants baseball. Among their last 15 victories is a pair of four-game sweeps (at Milwaukee and at Arizona). The last time this franchise accomplished this feat was 1912, 98 years ago. (OMG)

Another factor is this San Francisco team has been averaging 5.8 runs per game compared to 4.4 for the season (10th in the NL). Aubrey Huff is batting over .300 and is their leading home run hitter with 19. Pablo Sandoval is starting to hit despite personal issues. If you haven’t seen catcher Buster Posey swing the bat, he looks every bit as good as his .371 batting average. His 18-game hit streak (he’s hitting .472 in this stretch) is the second-longest for a rookie in Giants history, passing one Hall of Famer Orlando Cepeda and chasing another in Willie McCovey, whose streak stands at 22 games. With six more games to play this week, Posey could also break the team record for runs batted in for a rookie of 24 set by Jim Ray Hart in 1964 having 23 this July.

After their 6-1 road excursion, San Francisco opens up homestand with Florida (49-49, -0.1) tonight. Manager Bruce Boche hands the ball to Barry Zito (8-5, 3.45 ERA) who has had a career resurgence to help the Giants this season and they are a combined 21-13 (+11.3 Units) against the money line after a win the last three seasons. Sportbet.com has the San Fran as -140 ML favorites and the 2002 AL Cy Young winner and his club are 11-4 against NL East squads. The left-hander is 5-0 with a 2.15 ERA vs. the Marlins.

Florida arrives in the Bay Area playing very well with seven triumphs in last nine outings and they are 20-11 as underdogs with Ricky Nolasco (10-7, 4.50) the starting pitcher. Nevertheless, it is difficult to discount the way the Giants are playing and they are 37-17 as a home favorite of -125 to -150 since 2008. The Fish on the other hand are 6-18 vs. an NL starting pitcher whose ERA is 3.50 or better this season.

Until further notice, it’s awfully hard not to back San Francisco with reasonable money lines.

MLB 's Best and Worst Pitcher in April

Gave our friend Marc Lawrence a call to talk a little baseball and see what he is up to with college basketball windowing closing. We got talking about the importance of starting pitchers and bullpens when it comes to wagering on the big leagues. We both agreed you can’t win the pennant in April but you can certainly lose it with a sluggish start and weaknesses exposed.

At Marc’s Playbook.com, he has for the last several years compiled a list of good and bad pitchers per month and he shared that list with me. Below is the complete list, along with why each of them performs in this manner.

APRIL GOOD MONTH PITCHERS:
Beckett, Josh 10-4
Buehrle, Mark 10-3
Greinke, Zach 10-5
Hernandez, Felix 10-4
Hudson, Tim 8-3
Looper, Braden 12-3
Matsuzaka, Daisuke 8-4
Moyer, Jamie 10-5
Penny, Brad 10-4
Saunders, Joe 11-3
Wainwright, Adam 11-4
Webb, Brandon 11-1

BAD MONTH PITCHERS:
Arroyo, Bronson 5-10
Zito, Barry 4-10

Arroyo – Throws strikes and changes speeds on his fastball continually. Likes to mix in changeup and eats up a number of innings. He is more a feel pitcher and with the colder weather in the opening month, the baseball tends to be slicker which doesn’t give him as much command, explaining his slow starts.

Beckett- Power pitcher with drop and drive delivery. His strength is low to mid-90’s fastball with one of the best curveball’s in baseball.

Buehrle – Doesn’t impress many radar guns topping out around 87 MPH, but is expert at working both sides of the plate and like most left-handers has tailing fastball to right-hand batters. Changeup and slow curve makes fastball appear quicker.

Greinke – Skill and ability finally meshed as Greinke started last season 6-0 in 2-009 with late-1960’s Bob Gibson-like like ERA of 0.40. Tremendous arm, with a real feel for how to pitch, who put it all together to be AL Cy Young winner in 2009 on a bad ballclub.

Hernandez –Still only 23 years old, King Felix has mid-90 fastball and superior breaking pitches. He also a heavy sinker that batters have said is like “swinging and hitting a bowling ball”. That’s a pitch most hitter’s don’t want to swing at when the temps are in the 30’s and 40’s.

Hudson – Coming off Tommy John surgery, interesting to see how he starts.

Looper- Last reported as free agent.

Matsuzaka – Has neck injury rehabbing.

Moyer – Internet reports of Moyer being a rookie learning to pitch from Christy Mathewson (google this name) are unfound, as the lefty continues to confound batters with slow, slower and slower yet pitches, being able to spot them where needed.

Penny –The big right-hander could not have found a better place to resurrect his career. Working with pitching guru Dave Duncan should be a blessing for this flyball pitcher. Duncan will work with Penny not to overthrow and improve slow breaking pitches.

Saunders – Lost ability to work down and inside on right-hand batters and was tattooed frequently last season. Historically, fast starter and needs to for confidence reason on Angels club that needs him more this season.

Wainwright – The last two seasons has been among the best pitchers in all of baseball. Helps himself by being good hitter and won Golden Glove for fielding.

Webb – Out indefinitely coming back from shoulder surgery.

Zito – Similar to Arroyo, doesn’t throw hard, but not as good at spotting pitches. Has big loopy curveball that is batting practice material if it doesn’t break to the knees. Can sail along for four innings and give up a five-spot in a manner of minutes.

Two Monday Tilts Highlight MLB Schedule

With only nine wagering opportunities on the baseball beat this Monday, some games take on greater importance than others. Two games in particular standout for today, Detroit at Los Angeles Angels and the final game between San Francisco and Colorado. Here is a betting outlook at each conflict.

Tigers at Angels

With football programming taking over the mother-ship on Monday’s, baseball gets moved to the side slightly, over to ESPN2 (remember when they tried to make it sound cool by calling it “The Deuce”). For real baseball and sports fans, that should not detract from the fact that two American League division leaders matchup, with a superb pitching matchup.

Detroit (65-58, -1.2 units) is three games clear in the loss column of Chicago, thanks to its efforts at home, not on the road. The Tigers have had nothing to roar about with 25-38 road record, scoring just four runs per game, which is 25th in baseball. Detroit just lost series to appalling Oakland club and will take on team from Anaheim that loves to scoot. The Tigers are 3-14 in road games vs. good base-running teams averaging 0.85 or more stolen bases a game over the last three seasons.

Justin Verlander (13-7, 3.29 ERA) will be entrusted with limiting the Angels, having 2.70 ERA in his last eight starts and has pitched at least eight innings in four of his last six outings. The only knock on Verlander is 0-2 record with a 4.55 ERA in five starts (Tigers 1-4) against the Angels.

The Halos (74-48, +24.1 units) are six games ahead of Texas in the loss column in the AL West and will send their best pitcher to the mound in Jered Weaver (13-4, 3.89). Weaver’s been a little spotty in the second half of the season, but is off complete game road shutout at Cleveland. Weaver is 5-1 in his last nine starts, with an ERA of 5.43, however that has gone somewhat unnoticed with the Angels batters scoring 8.2 runs in that stretch. Weaver is 8-1 at the Big A this season (Halos 11-2) and his ERA is more than a full run lower at home.

DiamondSportsbook.com has the Angels as -125 money line favorites with total Un8.5, in part because how effective they have been at home against Detroit. L.A. has won eight of 10 and 27 of last 35 at home against the Tigers and are 15-5 having lost three of their last four games this season. The Angels are 10-2 OVER after seven or more consecutive road games and Verlander and the Tigers are 10-1 OVER playing on Monday’s.

The opening pitch is set for 7:05 Pacific with Detroit 17-36 in road games when playing against a team with a winning record.

San Francisco at Colorado

The Rockies (70-54, +13 units) turned a deficit into an advantage with one swing of the bat yesterday and is positioned to win three of four against their closest wild card competitor. Colorado’s Seth Smith homered a hanging changeup from Tim Lincecum, giving the Rockies the lead and they went on to win 4-2. Colorado is now three games ahead of San Francisco (67-57, +10.1 units) and would like to build on that lead before traveling to the Bay Area next week to play three at San Fran.

Colorado is 20-9 after a win by two runs or less and will send Jason Marquis (14-8, 3.58) to the mound trying to become the National League’s first 15-game winner. The Rocks will face a rejuvenated Barry Zito (8-11, 4.26), who has allowed three or less runs in his last seven starts. The left-hander has been victimized by offense that has produced a league-low 2.9 runs for a regular starting pitcher.

The Rockies are -165 money line favorites with total Un9.5. Colorado is 16-4 (+14.6 Units) against the ML playing against a good team (Win Pct. 54% to 62%) this season and 21-12 OVER as a home favorite of -125 to -175. San Francisco is looking for the split and is 12-6 vs. a starting pitcher who throws more than 6.5 innings per start and Zito and the Giants are 13-3 UNDER in August games since 2007.

This NL West confrontation is 5:40 Pacific start.

San Francisco posting Giant betting numbers at home

Remember when the Los Angeles Dodgers started the season by winning their first 13 home games of the season, setting modern day record. Since then they are 15-13, still with the best overall home record, however, that could end tonight and the Dodgers have already been passed as the best bet to play in Major League Baseball by a fellow division rival.

The San Francisco Giants (45-37, +9.8 units) decided to retool what was the oldest team in the big leagues, infusing younger players with the end of the Barry Bonds era. The Giants front office was comfortable with their pitching staff, having Cy Young winner Tim Lincecum at the top of the rotation and Matt Cain and Jonathan Sanchez ready to emerge as youthful starters. They were supplemented with veterans Barry Zito and Randy Johnson, giving San Francisco a chance to be .500 team if the offense showed any life.

Though Sanchez and not worked out to this point, being replaced by 26-year old Ryan Sadowski at this moment, the Giants trail the Dodgers by seven games in the NL West, but have the second best record in the National League, thanks to pitching and home record. The Giants have the best ERA in the majors at 3.53 and are 27-13 at AT&T Park, picking up +13 units for supporters.

San Francisco hurlers lead baseball in strikeouts and have learned to filter fly-balls to the enormous centerfield area that looks as big as The Bay itself. With last night’s 5-4 win over Florida (43-41, +3.1 units), manager Bruce Bochy’s club is 9-3 against the NL East and have won six of last seven games on home turf.

The Giants are listed as home underdog (11-7, +5.9 units) at Bookmaker.com, thanks to pitching matchup. Barry Zito started the year fairly well, but suffered without much run support. Since then, he’s looked pretty much like the same overpaid pitcher that came across the Bay, with 4-8 record and 4.82 ERA. Zito and his teammates are +115 dogs, with total Un8. Combined, they are 4-10 in Zito’s last 14 starts as a home pooch of +110 to +150.

Florida will send out their ace Josh Johnson (7-1, 2.76), to slow down San Fran. Johnson has 14 quality starts in 17 tries in 2009, with sterling 1.128 WHIP and a better than 3-to-1 strikeout to walk ratio. The Marlins are 12-2 when Johnson starts as favorite and have won last nine outings when the right-hander has been the Game 2 starter. Florida is 15-5 OVER in road games after four straight contests where they stranded seven or less runners on base.

Despite 2.76 ERA against the Giants, Johnson has not defeated San Francisco in three previous attempts, while Zito is 3-0, conceding more than one run once in four starts versus the Fish.
First pitch is set for 7:15 Pacific and this contest is available in local markets as well as on MLB.TV, with the Giants 15-3 OVER in home games in July games.

Rack'em for a Thursday

Well hello all, had great time away, didn’t look at one baseball score or almost anything related to sports, nice mental break. When we were last here Saturday, posted 3-0 record and will look to build on that starting up again today. We return today with an 81.8 percent system. The Top Trend is flat perfect at 10-0 and the Free Pick as arrived. Good Luck.

What I learned yesterday – The Arizona D-Backs are now 1-15 in next contest after Dan Haren pitches, after losing again last night.

Took the world’s long tram to the top of Sandia Mountains, almost 11,000 feet up. It states you can see 11,000 square miles and I would believe it, very cool. Came back on Craps table and won a little money playing roulette.

Now on Twitter at: www.twitter.com/3Dailywinners

Free Baseball System-1) PLAY AGAINST road underdogs like Arizona with a money line of +125 to +175, who are have .250 or less team batting average, against a decent NL starting pitcher with 3.70 to 4.20, who are hitting even worse, with .240 or less BA over their last 10 games. Since 1997, this system checks in at 45-10, 81.8 percent.

Free Baseball Trend -2) Barry Zito and the San Francisco Giants are 0-10 against the money line against NL Central opponents over the last two seasons.

Free Baseball Selection -3) Slick Rick’s has cooled since we last were here and is still 16-10 since last week. He likes the Phillies in underdog role tonight.

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