The San Francisco Giants host the Arizona Diamondbacks in Game 3 of their current four-game set.
San Francisco owns the best record in the National League and will host NL West rival Arizona for the third time this week. San Francisco won the first two meetings, including a 9-8 victory last night where they came back from seven runs down to win the game. The Diamondbacks have lost 12 straight games and 26 out of their last 28 overall.
The Diamondbacks blew a seven-run lead on Tuesday night and suffered their 21st consecutive loss on the road. With the defeat, Arizona is one loss away from tying the 1963 New York Mets and 1943 Philadelphia Athletics. They are 20-48 on the season and are in the bottom of the NL West team standings.
Merrill Kelly will start for the 14th time this season and he has struggled in his last seven starts. During that span, Kelly is 4-0 with an ERA of 4.64 while allowing 22 runs in 42.2 innings. He did not factor in the decision in his last start against the Angels but allowed only three runs and four hits while walking two and striking out six in five innings of work
Arizona’s bullpen enters this game with a record of 8-16 with six saves while having an ERA of 4.64 and a WHIP of 1.439. It has allowed 131 earned runs on 271 hits while walking 95 with 237 punchouts.
Pavin Smith has four home runs and 16 RBIs against right-handers this season. Carson Kelly leads the team with a hitting line of .278/.316/.500 with one home run and three RBIs in their last seven games.
The Giants improved their NL best record to 41-25 after their dramatic come-from-behind 9-8 win over Arizona in Game 2 on Tuesday. San Francisco is just 6-4 in its last 10 games overall but they enter this game having won four out of their last six games and are just 1 game up on the L.A. Dodgers in the divisional standings.
Anthony DeSclefani will open on top of the hill for the Giants on Wednesday. DeSclefani will make his first start after pitching a complete game, a two-hit shutout of the Washington Nationals. The 31-year old struck out eight and walked just one to pick up his sixth win of the season against two losses. He enters Wednesday’s game with a 3.61 FIP and a 1.018 WHIP in 75.2 games.
The San Francisco bullpen is 13-11 with 25 saves and has an ERA of 3.33 and a WHIP of 1.138 in 224 innings. They have combined to allow just 83 runs and 179 hits while walking 76 and striking out 214.
Donovan Solano has slashed .294/.368/.412 in his last seven games while Brandon Crawford has 10 home runs and 29 RBIs. At home, Crawford has 20 RBIs and six homers for San Francisco.
The Diamondbacks are 29-49 in their last 73 games after losing the first two games of a series. Arizona is 16-35 in their last 51 games against the National League West, 16-38 in their last 54 games against a right-handed starter, 14-37 in their last 51 games overall, and 13-42 in their last 55 road games.
San Francisco is 4-0 in their last four games against the National League West, 5-1 in their last six games against a right-handed starter, 4-1 in their last Game 3s of a series, 22-6 in their last 28 games as home favorites, 11-4 in their last 15 games against a right-handed starter, and 8-3 in their last 11 Wednesday games.
The Giants were in the midst of an offensive funk and were slashing poorly in the last seven days. But San Francisco exploded for 9 runs on Tuesday night behind McCovey Cove’s first career grand slam. Meanwhile, the Diamondbacks suffered their 21st consecutive road defeat and blew a seven-run lead to the Giants.
It’s been a disaster season for Arizona due to the injuries to their pitching staff. The good news though is that Merrill Kelly will be on the hill and he shut down the Giants to only two runs in their previous meeting this season. Merrill also has an ERA of 2.57 in five games against San Francisco.
Meanwhile, DeSclafani is a solid pitcher but he isn’t a strikeout pitcher and he isn’t as effective when he starts at home, with an ERA of 4.66 on the season. This will be the first time that Arizona will be facing DeSclafani so that could be a factor here. Overall, his ERA of 3.09 and a WHIP of 1.02 are better than Kelly’s numbers
Arizona scored 15 runs in three games against the Angels. They have scored 10 in the first two games of this series. I think they can score enough points to end their 21-game road losing streak. However, they blew a seven-run lead last night and that’s something that’s tough to erase in a day. Give me the Giants who are the safe pick here.
Prediction: San Francisco Giants
The total has gone under in each of the last four games of Arizona as underdogs. The under is 3-0-1 in their last four games against the National League, 4-0 in their last four road games, 9-2 in their last 11 games against a right-hander, and 3-1-1 in their last 11 Wednesday games.
The total has gone under in each of the last six games for the Giants. The under is 4-0 in their last four games when the total is set between 7-8.5, 4-1 in their last five games as betting favorites, 3-1-1 in their last five against an opponent with a winning percentage below .400, and 7-3 in their last 10 games against a right-hander.
The under is 12-3-1 in their last 16 head-to-head meetings. The under is also 4-0 in their last four games played in San Francisco.
Kelly has enjoyed success against the Giants and the under is 6-0 in San Francisco’s last six games against a height-hander. Meanwhile, DeSclafani has been tough to solve this season for San Francisco.
The Giants have scored 3 or fewer runs in five out of their last seven games and the under has been a common trend for them. Their bullpen ranks sixth with an ERA of 3.33 on the season and doesn’t give up to many runs this season.
Prediction: Under 8
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