Giants Go for Five Straight Against Luckless Phillies
The Giants will try to keep on rolling when they take on the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park on Monday, May 7th.
San Francisco has shrugged off its slow start and overcome a litany of injuries to win four straight and eight of its last ten. The key to its resurgence has been a red-hot offense led by first baseman Brandon Belt, who’s hitting .298 with six home runs, 17 RBI and a team-high .422 OBP. The two-time World Series champ repeatedly came up big over the weekend in a commanding three-game sweep of the AL East-leading Atlanta Braves.
Philadelphia, meanwhile, has lost seven of its last ten, and has gone ice cold at the plate. The Phillies have averaged just 3.2 runs over their last ten games and find themselves 21st in the Majors in OPS, 22nd in batting average and 23rd in slugging. Those aren’t the kinds of numbers analytics guru Gabe Kapler dreamed of when he signed on as manager.
Below, find the opening odds, key statistics and betting trends, weather forecast, and score prediction for tonight’s game.
Opening Odds
| MONEYLINE | RUNLINE | O/U RUNS |
|---|---|---|
| GIANTS (-110) | GIANTS +1.5 (-210) | OVER 9 (-105) |
| PHILLIES (-110) | PHILLIES -1.5 (+175) | UNDER 9 (-115) |
Anyone hoping for a pitcher’s duel tonight will be sadly disappointed. Giants right-hander Jeff Samardzija is 1-1 with a 5.27 ERA this season and has yet to last longer than five innings in each of his three starts. The former All-Star looked particularly shaky on April 25th, giving up six earned runs in 3.2 innings against the Nationals. Samardzija is still dealing with a right pectoral strain that sidelined him earlier in the season and is unlikely to stay in the game for long tonight.
Jeff Samardzija is 1-1 with a 5.27 ERA this season and has yet to last longer than five innings in each of his three starts.
Taking the mound for the Phillies is Zach Eflin. The 24-year-old began the season in Triple-A Lehigh Valley and has logged just one start for Philadelphia this season. Eflin has promise, but his career has been derailed by chronic tendonitis in both his knees and a shoulder strain since making his Big League debut in 2016.
Team Stats
| 19-15 (9-8 Away) | RECORD | 18-15 (11-5 Home) |
| +1 | RUN DIFFERENTIAL | +15 |
| RHP Jeff Samardzija: 1-1, 5.27 ERA, 1.83 WHIP | PROBABLE STARTER | RHP Zach Eflin: 0-0, 1.50 ERA, 0.50 WHIP |
| .341 BA, .426 OPS (in 41 at-bats) | LINEUP VS OPPONENT STARTER | .278 BA, .381 OPS (in 18 at-bats) |
| 3.58 ERA (11th in MLB) | BULLPEN ERA | 3.12 ERA (5th in MLB) |
| .713 (19th in MLB) | TEAM OPS | .703 (21st in MLB) |
| 3-4 (1-2 Away) | 2017 HEAD-TO-HEAD | 4-3 (2-1 Home) |
Betting Results & Trends
| GIANTS | TREND | PHILLIES |
|---|---|---|
| Won 4 | WIN/LOSS STREAK | Lost 1 |
| 8-2 | LAST 10 | 3-7 |
| 22-12 | RUNLINE RECORD | 15-18 |
| 17-17 | OVER/UNDER SPLIT | 16-14-3 |
| Under 1 | OVER/UNDER STREAK | Under 1 |
The Giants completed their weekend sweep of the Braves by defeating Atlanta 4-3 on Sunday afternoon. Starter Andrew Suarez gave up just one run over 5.1 innings and second baseman Alen Hanson went 2-4 with a double.
Max Scherzer struck out 15 batters in 6.1 innings, and the Nationals held on to beat the Phillies 5-4 on Sunday afternoon. Philadelphia center fielder Odubel Herrera went 3-5 and raised his batting average to .333 on the season.
Weather Forecast at Opening Pitch
| TEMPERATURE | 72° |
| HUMIDITY | 43% |
| WIND SPEED | ESE 9 mph |
| P.O.P. | 10% |
Score Prediction
| GIANTS | 7 |
| PHILLIES | 2 |
The Giants and Phillies are two teams going in very different directions at the moment. The Giants have scored nine or more runs in three of their last four starts and finally seem to be coming into their own despite injuries to key contributors like Madison Bumgarner, Johnny Cueto, Hunter Pence, and Joe Panik.
Philadelphia has lost each of its last four series, and has scored one run or less in three of its last six losses.
The Phillies, on the other hand, appear to be unravelling after enjoying a six-game winning streak in early April. Philadelphia has lost each of its last four series, and has scored one run or less in three of its last six losses. Expect another power outage again tonight.
Ryan worked as an Editor and resident Lead NBA and MLB Writer for SB from 2017-19. He has authored his own weekly columns for Fox Sports and AskMen, and has created successful campaigns for the WWE, the NHL, and the NFL. Ryan's critically acclaimed stories have been published in 20 books.
