Los Angeles Dodgers @ San Francisco Giants – Friday July 5, 2013
The best sports betting websites know that the San Francisco Giants, the defending World Series champion, is dead last in the NL West division standings. Under normal circumstances, that would indicate that a playoff run in the second half of the season would be difficult to impossible. But in the 2013 version of the NL West, that means that the Giants are only four games out of first place. The NL West is one of the weaker divisions in baseball and it is doubtful that any of the teams will grab a wild card spot. But there is still plenty of hope for each team to make a run for the pennant before the season ends.
The sportsbook agents had big expectations for the Los Angeles Dodgers during spring training. The Dodgers had developed into what looked like a powerhouse team that was going to challenge the Giants for the NL West pennant. At this point in the season, the Dodgers are in third place in the division and two and a half games out of the division lead. The Dodgers and Giants are both going to make sure that the end of the 2013 season is exciting and worth watching.
San Francisco Giants
The problem for the Giants has been its starting pitching. The best sports betting experts think that Tim Lincecum’s best days may be behind him, but Madison Bumgarner is still a force to be reckoned with. Bumgarner brings his 8-5 record to the mound for this game in the hopes that he can spur the Giants onto a much-needed divisional win. Bumgarner has been playing well as of late, and he has a strong bullpen to back him up as well.
Los Angeles Dodgers
The Dodgers are having problems scoring runs and getting consistency from their starting pitching. The sports betting websites note that Clayton Kershaw is struggling on the mound and Matt Kemp is struggling from the plate. The Dodgers need to start making contact with the baseball if they want to have any chance at beating the Giants in this game. Bumgarner has pitched well against the Dodgers all season long and Los Angeles will have to come up with a huge effort to keep pace with the surging San Francisco Giants.
The Bottom Line
These teams have not liked each other for a long time. The rivalry goes all the way back to when both of these franchises were based in New York City. In this game, the Dodgers desperately need to keep pace with the Diamondbacks for the NL West lead, while the Giants do not want to lose any more ground in the pennant race. This will be a good game to watch, but the Giants should be able to pull out the win behind the strong pitching of Madison Bumgarner.
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Pick: San Francisco Giants
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