After a day off on Monday, the Giants and Marlins return to the diamond to begin their three-game series.
The Giants will host the set at Oracle Park in San Francisco, California. Tonight’s game will feature a pitching matchup of Justin Verlander and Cal Quantrill.
San Francisco is a -181 favorite on the moneyline, and the game total is set at over/under eight runs on DraftKings Sportsbook. The Marlins are +148 underdogs.
Here’s my prediction and pick for Tuesday’s Giants vs. Marlins matchup.
Giants vs. Marlins prediction
The Giants made a major splash trading for Rafael Devers last week. It was unexpected and gives San Francisco a bonafide star.
The team is 3-3 since acquiring Devers, and he’s slashing .217/.308/.391 in 26 plate appearances. It hasn’t been a great start, but that’s bound to change. Devers is a consistently great hitter each season, so he’ll return to form in due time.
It could come tonight against the Marlins, who are starting Quantrill. He has a 5.68 ERA through 14 starts. Quantrill has been better in his past three outings, but he’s not pitching deep into games. That forces the Miami bullpen to take over, and that crew owns the 24th best ERA among bullpens in MLB.
If the Giants can get Quantrill out of the game by the fifth inning, it’ll give them plenty of time to attack a weak bullpen. It’s the opposite for San Francisco as it has the best bullpen ERA in the majors.
Verlander is starting for the Giants in what has been a poor year for the future Hall of Famer. As long as he doesn’t give up too many runs, the Giants’ bullpen and bats can carry the team to victory.
Giants vs. Marlins pick, best bet
Although Devers isn’t hitting well at the moment, that should change soon. Tonight will be a good opportunity against a weak Marlins team that features a miserable bullpen.
Even without Devers’ production, the Giants are a great team and just 3.5 games behind the Dodgers for the NL West lead.
This game will be decided by the bullpens. Verlander and Quantrill aren’t having great seasons, and they shouldn’t last more than five innings tonight. Whatever happens in the first five innings could be irrelevant if the bullpens live up to their expectations.
Giants will win and cover the -1.5 spread in tonight’s series opener.