The Giants and Cardinals meet in a National League matchup on Saturday night, with the first pitch at 7:15 p.m. ET. The Giants have caught fire over the last few weeks, winning 11 of their last 12 games, including five straight coming into Saturday’s contest. They beat the Cardinals in the first game of this series 8-2 on Friday night, and they’ll look to take this one as well.
The Giants improved to 72-69 with their win on Friday and have climbed back into the fringe of the NL Wild Card race. They start Saturday four games behind the Mets and Padres, who are tied for the third and final NL Wild Card spot. The Cardinals are 2.5 games behind the Giants at 70-72 and currently sit 6.5 games out of the Wild Card race. The Cardinals have gone 2-3 in their last five games and 5-5 in their last 10, so they don’t have nearly as much momentum coming into this matchup on Saturday.
The Giants are -124 road favorites in this matchup, with the run total at 8.5. Let’s preview this Saturday night matchup with the help of some odds and lines on DraftKings Sportsbook.
Giants vs. Cardinals prediction, preview
The Giants give the ball to veteran Justin Verlander on Friday, while the Cardinals go with Andre Pallante. Both starting pitchers have had boom-or-bust results over the last few months, which adds some volatility to the mix in Saturday’s pick and prediction.
Pallante has an ugly 5.91 home ERA and has given up 48 runs in 49 2/3 innings over his last 10 starts. He is 1-9 in those 10 outings with a 7.79 ERA and 5.09 FIP, while giving up 1.45 HR/9.
Verlander has been more effective lately, going 3-2 in his last eight games with a 2.98 ERA and 2.67 FIP. He has allowed two earned runs or fewer in six of those eight games, including three of his last four. He threw five scoreless innings with 10 strikeouts against the Orioles in his last start to earn his third win of the season.
Verlander should get good run support from the Giants’ lineup that has found a new gear over the last two weeks. In the last 12 games, the Giants have averaged 7.8 runs per game, hitting .323 as a team with 26 homers and a .396 wOBA.
In my other posts for DraftKings Network this Saturday, I highlighted two of the hottest hitters in the Giants’ lineup. I looked at Rafael Devers as one of my top MLB DFS picks of the day, and I picked his teammate, Willy Adames as one of my top home run props for Saturday.
Both Adames and Devers have been scorching hot over the last few weeks, and the offense has gathered plenty of steam with Heliot Ramos, Matt Chapman, Jung Hoo Lee, Luis Matos, and even rookie Drew Gilbert making major contributions over the last few games.
The Giants offense has been so productive lately and Pallante has struggled so badly that San Francisco should be in a good spot to pick up another win on Saturday night.
Giants vs. Cardinals pick, best bet
Best Bet: Giants Moneyline (-124)
Let’s not get cute. The Giants are on a roll, and they should be able to keep it going on Saturday against Pallante.
Strong Lean: Giants over 4.5 runs (+100)
The Giants have scored over this total in nine of their last 12 games, and the Cardinals have allowed at least five runs in four of their last seven games. Specifically, Pallante has allowed 5+ runs in each of his last three starts just in his innings.
