San Francisco Giants vs. Arizona Diamondbacks Preview
Where: Chase Field – Phoenix, Arizona
When: Sunday, April 2, 2017, 4:00 PM ET
Line: San Francisco Giants (-130) vs. Arizona Diamondbacks (+120) ; total: 8.0 – view all MLB lines
TV Broadcast: ESPN2
Writer’s Pick: San Francisco Giants (-130)
Betting on the San Francisco Giants
Everyone knows who’ll be on the mound for the Giants on Opening Day: MadBum. Madison Bumgarner will be making his fourth Opening Day start in a row. He’s gone 2-0 with a 2.25 ERA in his past three season-opening starts, two of which have come against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Bumgarner went 1-1 with a 2.45 ERA in three starts against the D-backs last season, one of which was a one-hit shutout at home. But he hasn’t been too bad in Arizona, either. He’s 6-2 with a 2.80 ERA in 15 career appearances (14 starts) at Chase Field.
The Giants as a team, meanwhile, also have an absolutely terrific record in the desert. They’re 16-4 in their last 20 visits to Arizona.
There’s still not a lot of pop in the Giants’ offense, which finished 9th in the NL in runs and 13th in home runs. But Bumgarner doesn’t really need a ton of run support to get the win, and he can also help himself with the bat if needed.
San Francisco also addressed its top weakness last season – its bullpen – by signing veteran closer Mark Melancon. However, reliever Will Smith is already done for the season after undergoing Tommy John surgery.
Betting on the Arizona Diamondbacks
Zack Greinke will be making his second Opening Day start for the Arizona Diamondbacks. His first go at it last season left a lot to be desired, as he was rocked for seven runs on nine hits in just four innings by the Colorado Rockies.
Things didn’t really improve for the former Cy Young winner after that, as he had a disappointing debut season with the D-backs. He finished 13-7 with a 4.37 ERA, his highest since 2005. Greinke did have fairly decent numbers against the Giants, though. He went 2-2 in four games against them, with a 3.28 ERA.
Shortstop Jean Segura and catcher Welington Castillo are both gone, but the lineup which finished in the top 5 in the NL in runs still retained most of its key players. Yasmany Tomas, Jake Lamb, and Paul Goldschmidt all had over 20 homers and 80 RBI last season. Meanwhile, leadoff hitter A.J. Pollock will be back after missing all but 12 games last season.
Writer’s Prediction
Bumgarner deals Greinke another Opening Day loss as a D-back as the Giants (-130) win, 5-3.
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