At 10:15 p.m. tonight, the San Francisco Giants host the Athletics for the opening contest of a three-game weekend homestand. The boys in the Bay sit 25-19 on the campaign, somehow third place among a loaded NL West group. As for the A’s, they come in with a .500 record at 22-22 so far, good for just fourth in the AL West.
Ahead of the first pitch on the West Coast this evening, here’s a Giants vs. Athletics prediction and pick on DraftKings Sportsbook.
Giants vs. Athletics prediction, preview
Stud righty Logan Webb takes the mount for the home-team Giants tonight and provides a major advantage in the starter department. Through 55.1 innings of work thus far, he boasts a league-leading 65 strikeouts with an impressive 2.60 ERA and 1.16 WHIP. The 28-year-old is one of the MLB’s hottest pitchers through the opening months of the season, so the Giants shouldn’t have to worry much about falling behind early in this one.
As for the Athletics, JP Sears’ play deserves some praise. In 45 innings this year, the lefty boasts a similarly-low 2.80 ERA and great 1.00 WHIP on the dot. While Sears doesn’t strike the same strikeout fears in batters Webb does with just 36 on the campaign, his opponents are hitting just .222 when he’s on the bump. That mark actually looks better than Webb’s opponent average of .243.
The pitching duel ought to be a fun one tonight as these top starters duke it out. Webb should retire plenty of batters, but the A’s offense might give him some issues if they can make contact. The Athletics’ .258 BA ranks sixth among all MLB teams and the team falls fifth in home runs with 58 as a group. First baseman Tyler Soderstrom leads the lineup with 29 RBI on 10 homers, and his .281 average sits second of all A’s players. Shortstop Jacob Wilson and left fielder Miguel Andujar are also raking with averages of .347 and .316, so they’ve got a handful of players with consistent offensive production at the moment.
While the Giants’ .237 team batting average sits a good deal below that of the Athletics, San Francisco reaches base more often as a team and comes out ahead of their opponents in runs scored and RBI. Their entire outfield hits .279 or better to this point with Heliot Ramos, Jung Hoo Lee and Mike Yastrzemski rounding out the trio, while first baseman Tyler Fitzgerald carries a .284 average of his own on a more limited sample size. They’re capable, and eventually, they should see a rise in the Wild Card standings, if not the AL West race.
Giants vs. Athletics pick, best bet
The Giants enter this game as -198 favorites to win on the Moneyline, while the Athletics hold +164 odds themselves. The run total sits at an even seven for the evening, at least for now.
While the -145 odds here aren’t the most exciting, Logan Webb feels like a near-lock to go over his strikeouts line of 5.5. He’s eclipsed that mark in seven of nine appearances this season, and the two games in which he went under both ended with five strikeouts apiece for the stud starter. While the A’s rank fourth-best in strikeouts, Webb does plenty of damage to even great hitters, so this one’s worth a look tonight.
For a bit more juice in the odds department, consider taking Webb’s alt line of 7+ Ks at +135 odds.
