San Francisco Giants vs. Cincinnati Reds
The San Francisco Giants will enter play on Monday as one of the hottest teams in all of baseball, coming into tonight's game with a 5-game winning streak.
San Francisco also currently holds the number one wildcard spot in the National League.
The Giants are fresh off of a sweep over the Pittsburgh Pirates and will look to continue their stellar play tonight.
Lamonte Wade Jr leads the team in batting average as he enters play, hitting .273 on the campaign. Wade Jr also leads the Giants in total runs created.
Michael Conforto was a significant off-season signing for San Francisco, and he has paid off as he leads the Giants in home runs with thirteen.
The Giants rank thirteenth in baseball in runs per game with 4.62, and they also enter play ranking ninth in team ERA, as the staff has supported an ERA of 3.86.
The star of the Giants rotation, Logan Webb, will toe the rubber for Gabe Kapler and the Giants tonight. Webb enters play with a record of 8-7 and an ERA of 3.14.
Webb is fresh off of one of the best starts of his career as he pitched a complete game shutout vs. the Rockies on July 9th.
On the other side, the Reds entered the all-star break as the number-one team in the NL Central. They now sit two games behind the Milwaukee Brewers in the NL Central after being swept by the Brewers over the weekend.
Few teams in baseball are more entertaining than the Cincinnati Reds.
There are multiple young stars on this Reds team, but Elly De La Cruz is the most exciting.
De La Cruz has been on scouts' radar for years, and the world has witnessed why this season. He appears to be a franchise player, hitting .297 in his rookie season.
Matt McClain is another young star that the Reds will look to keep around for a long time. He is hitting .299 on the campaign, and at age twenty-three, the future is bright for the shortstop.
Spencer Steer is another young Red that has exceeded expectations. Steer debuted late last season and has earned himself an opportunity to be an everyday player this year. He leads the Reds in home runs with fourteen.
Reds' Stats:
- The Red's offense has struggled a bit recently but still ranks top ten in baseball in runs per game.
- Cincinnati ranks 9th overall with 4.88 runs per game.
- Pitching has been the issue for the Reds as they rank 27th in baseball in team ERA (4,87).
The Reds will send young left-handed pitcher Brandon Williamson to the mound tonight.
Pick: Giants/Reds F5 Under 5.5 -115 (DraftKings)
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Despite being a top-thirteen offense in baseball, the Giants have struggled to produce runs in first five innings situations.
The Giants rank 20th in the MLB in runs in the first five innings with 2.45 runs per game.
San Francisco has struggled to hit for power vs. southpaws this season as they have hit just twenty-five home runs vs. lefties compared to eighty-two vs. right-handed pitchers.
Williamson has pitched much better as of late, as he has allowed just two earned runs over his last eight innings.
On the flip side, the Giants have Webb on the bump tonight.
The Red's bats have been cold lately, and Webb is the last guy you want to face when struggling offensively.
Miami Marlins vs. St Louis Cardinals.
The Marlins enter play following a rough series vs. the Baltimore Orioles, where they got swept in a three-game series.
Miami went into the all-star break as the top team in the NL Wildcard.
Miami is now tied with the San Francisco Giants for first place in the Wildcard, but they hold a lead of just one game over the Philadelphia Phillies.
The Wildcard race will be fun to watch all summer, and the Marlins will be in the thick of things the rest of the way.
Despite being swept to begin the second half, Miami is still eleven games over the .500 mark. The offense for Miami has been below average as they rank 23rd in the bigs in runs per game (4.18).
Their pitching has been slightly above average, as they are 14th in baseball in runs allowed per game (4.07)
The star of this offense has been second baseman Luis Arraez.
Arraez is flirting with MLB history as he attempts to hit .400 this season. Arraez has been over the .400 mark numerous times this year but has been a bit cold as of late, and his average has dropped to .380.
Another star of this Marlins offense has been outfielder Jorge Soler who earned himself his first all-star appearance. Soler has blasted twenty-four home runs while driving in fifty-two total runs.
The star of the rotation, Jesus Luzardo is the man getting the ball tonight. Luzardo is 8-5 on the year, working with an ERA of 3.29.
St Louis has been one of the most disappointing teams in all of baseball.
The Cardinals won the NL Central a season ago, and the sportsbooks had them as the favorites entering the season. However, they will begin play on Monday in dead last in the Central and 11.5 games out of the final wildcard spot.
This is an offense that has star power all over it. The Cardinals are 11th in baseball in runs per game (4.66), but they have struggled to win games.
The main reason for that is their pitching staff, one of the worst in baseball.
The Cardinals rank 25th in team ERA (4.60).
Former All-Star Mike Mikolas will get the ball tonight and look to continue his success as of late.
Mikolas has not allowed a run over his last two starts (10.0 innings).
Pick: Miami Marlins F5 +0.5 -130 (FanDuel)
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Jesus Luzardo has good lifetime numbers vs. this Cardinals team, with a batting average against of .235.
Luzardo has been one of the best pitchers in all of baseball over the last six weeks. In his last five starts, the Southpaw has allowed just four earned runs in 32.2 innings of work.
St Louis has also been a great fade in first five scenarios as they are 46-45 ATS in the first five (-6.85 units).
Mike Mikolas has struggled to pitch in St Louis this season.
Mikolas has an ERA of 5.01 at home compared to an ERA of 3.44 on the road.
Left-handed hitters are hitting .277 vs. him this year, and some of Miami's best hitters come from the left side.
Four Marlins that will likely be in the lineup tonight have a lifetime average of .333 or better vs. Mikolas.
The Marlins will bounce back in this spot tonight.
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