What’s the old saying? Father Time is undefeated? That might not be more applicable in the current season of MLB than with Justin Verlander’s tenure with the Giants.
Verlander is just 38 wins away from 300. There’s a chance he’ll be the last pitcher to ever accomplish the feat, yet with each passing game, that outcome is looking more and more like a fever dream. Heck, the 42-year-old is about to make his 17th start of 2025 on Wednesday afternoon and he’s still yet to register a single win in a San Francisco uniform. Unlucky? A little. Sad? Very.
Today’s matinee between the Giants and the Braves will get underway at 12:15 p.m. ET. Let’s preview the matchup with the help of some odds and lines on the DraftKings Sportsbook.
Giants vs. Braves prediction, preview
It’s not like Justin Verlander hasn’t had a single good start this season, as his lack of a win is the product of both underwhelming individual performances and San Francisco’s inability to consistently score runs. Still, Verlander hasn’t helped his team out much in his past six starts. After getting rocked for nine hits and four earned runs in only 2.2 innings of work to kick off the second-half of the campaign in Toronto last Friday, Verlander now sports a 6.26 ERA dating back to June 18. That said, a .412 opponent BABIP and hilariously low 59.3% strand rate within that stretch are significantly weighing the right-hander down, and Verlander’s 3.24 FIP is at least somewhat encouraging to the fact that brighter days remain on the horizon for the soon-to-be Hall of Fame member.
Another recent positive for the Giants is the play of Willy Adames — the team’s high-priced star addition this past offseason. Adames got off to an awful start with the bat in San Francisco, but the shortstop seems to be turning a corner in July. Since the calendar flipped, Adames is slashing .339/.423/.742 with a .403 ISO and a 221 wRC+ across 71 plate appearances. It’s a hot streak that has the veteran’s wRC+ for 2025 as a whole back up above league-average (105). It’s also one where Adames has three home runs, two doubles and five RBI in specifically his last four games. He’s on fire, people.
Looking to slow Adames and the rest of the Giants’ lineup down will be Spencer Strider, who is looking more and more like himself with each passing day. The former All-Star began his second-half with six scoreless inning against the mighty Yankees, racking up eight strikeouts in the process. In his past seven outings, Strider’s fastball velocity is up and that’s translated into a 2.53 ERA, a 2.41 FIP and a 34.1% strikeout rate. Again, the raw stuff isn’t yet quite back to where it was prior to the injury, but Strider is clearly trending in the right direction. It’s a rare storyline in 2025 that doesn’t make Atlanta fans want to cry.
Giants vs. Braves pick, best bet
Best Bet: Under 8 (-113)
Strider has been great in his past seven starts and Verlander’s been unlucky. Unless the Braves’ bats go wild, this game should stay relatively low-scoring.
