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Cleveland Indians at San Francisco Giants Pick
Two World Series contenders will meet in an interleague match on Saturday afternoon when the Cleveland Indians head to AT&T Park to take on the San Francisco Giants in Game 2 of a three-game series.
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Date/Time: Saturday, June 4, 4:10 P.M. ET
Venue: AT&T Park in San Francisco, California
Broadcast: FOX
Cleveland Indians at San Francisco Giants Betting Lines
Money Line: Indians +125, Giants -145
Spread: Giants 1.5
Over/Under: 6.5
The Cleveland Indians (40-33) will try to rebound after loosing a three game series over the week to the Colorado Rockies, when they take on the defending World Series champion San Francisco Giants (41-34) on their home field in the Bay Area.
Cleveland is perhaps the biggest surprise of the 2011 season, and has rebound well from their late-season failure in 2010.
The Indians are led by their young star-shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera, who has shined at the plate all year. Cabrera boasts a .296 batting average, 12 home runs, 43 RBIs, and 49 runs; all tops for the Tribe.
Other than Cabrera, the Indians are a middle-of-the-road hitting team, and they will be matched up against one of the best pitching staffs in the entire league.
Matt Cain (6-4) will get the start on the mound for the Giants on Saturday. The 26-year-old right-hander is having a tremendous year, boasting a 3.44 ERA with 83 strikeouts.
In Cain’s last start, a 2-1 loss to Oakland, he went seven innings while only giving up three hits and one earned run. He has been on fire during the entire month of June, going 3-1 including a complete game in which he only gave up one run and retired 11 hitters swinging.
Countering, the Indians will have right-hander Justin Masterson (5-5) on the mound for Saturday’s game. Masterson has had a rather pedestrian fourth year in the majors. In the month of June, he has had ups and downs to say the least. In his last start, a 5-2 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates, he was pulled after five innings, and in a June 3 game against the Texas Rangers, he gave up 10 hits and four runs in 6.1 innings.
After starting the year with five wins in five starts, Masterson has yet to earn a victory since the month of April, but he will be matched up against a mediocre hitting team in San Francisco.
The Giants are near the bottom of the league in nearly every batting statistic, and first baseman Aubrey Huff has been the only bright spot for the world champs so far this season, batting .245 with eight home runs and 37 RBIs.
But offensive power isn’t what this Giants’ team is all about. They are a team solely dependent on their pitching staff, and that has worked for them quite well.
Cleveland on the other hand has yet to establish an identity for their team, as they are average in every aspect of the game, but so far being average has gotten them through most of June at the top of the AL Central.
The odds makers have the San Francisco Giants as a -1.5 point favorite with an run total of 6.5.
Matt’s Free Prediction: San Francisco – It’s hard to pick against the home team when the matchup is as even as this one. Each team is starting their middle-of-the-rotation pitchers, with Giants having the advantage there, and each team is run of the mill in the hitting department, with the Indians having a slight advantage. But the Giants will have their sellout home crowd to lift them over anything Cleveland throws their way.
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Cleveland Indians Betting Trends:
- The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Cleveland’s last 7 games
- Cleveland is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games
- Cleveland is 2-5 SU in its last 7 games on the road
- The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Cleveland’s last 6 games on the road
San Francisco Giants Betting Trends:
- The total has gone UNDER in 4 of San Francisco’s last 5 games
- San Francisco is 2-5 SU in its last 7 games
- San Francisco is 17-8 SU in its last 25 games at home
- The total has gone UNDER in 11 of San Francisco’s last 14 games at home
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