Bragging rights are at stake once again in the Bay Area as the Oakland Athletics and the San Francisco Giants meet for the first time this year with both teams hoping to continue their stellar form this season.
Read on for a complete breakdown of this matchup as the American League-leading Athletics (55-33) and the Giants (49-39) resume their interleague rivalry in this unique home-and-away four-game set. You can also check out our MLB Free Picks for the five best baseball games of the day.
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San Francisco Giants vs. Oakland Athletics, Major League Baseball Betting Preview and Prediction
Where: O.co Coliseum, Oakland, California
When: July 7, 2014, 10:05 PM ET
Line: San Francisco Giants (+135) vs. Oakland (-150); total 8.0 – view all MLB lines
Betting on the San Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants finally put an end to their horrible slump as they won back-to-back games against the San Diego Padres this past weekend. They had lost 18 of their previous 22 games.
[sc:MLB240banner ]The Giants will be hoping to keep that streak going as they start Ryan Vogelsong (5-5, 3.86 ERA), who will be hoping to get some run support this time around.
Vogelsong pitched particularly well in his last two games, allowing only three earned runs in both of those starts in 13 innings of work. However, he was unlucky to get only one run in support as the Giants lost 3-1 to the Reds on June 26th. They were also shut out by Adam Wainwright for 7.2 innings as they were defeated by the Cardinals 2-0 on July 2nd.
Before their offensive outburst against the Padres where they scored ten runs in a pair of 5-3 victories, the Giants had registered just 13 runs in their previous eight games. In fact, the Giants are 20th in the league this year in terms of batting average with a lowly .245 team mark.
The Giants will have to continue their hot batting to stave off the rampaging Athletics. They will once again rely on right fielder Hunter Pence, who went 5-for-8 in their last two games against the Padres. Pence leads the team in batting for the season with a .301 clip.
The Giants are 2-8 in their last ten games at Oakland.
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Betting on the Oakland Athletics
The Oakland Athletics got a boost from the trading block as they got starting pitcher Jeff Samardzija from the Chicago Cubs over the weekend. Samardzija pitched seven strong innings in a 4-2 win that helped the A’s to a four-game sweep of the Blue Jays.
The Athletics will hope to build on that streak when they send Jesse Chavez (6-5, 3.23 ERA) to the mound to face the Giants. Injuries to starters A.J. Griffin and Jarrod Parker gave Chavez an opportunity to get a place in the starting rotation early on in the season and he has never looked back since. The Athletics have won 12 of the 17 starts he has pitched in and has been a vital component in the Athletics’ surge to the top of the MLB standings.
Though Chavez has been shaky in his last four games, the last one a 9-3 drubbing at the hands of the Tigers where he allowed five runs in just five innings of work, the Athletics were able to win three of those games because of the impressive run support provided by the A’s batting crew (21 runs in those three victories).
In fact, in Chavez’s 17 starts this season, the Athletics have scored 100 runs. Those runs are part of the 435 they have scored so far this year which is the best in the entire league. They are also third in the league when it comes to on-base percentage with a .331 average.
Leading the hit parade for the Athletics is Yoenis Cespedes, who is batting .262 this season. Though he only went 1-for-16 in their four-game sweep of the Blue Jays, he still leads the A’s in total hits with 86 this campaign.
Coco Crisp also has been on a tear, going 7-for-21 in his last five games. He leads the Athletics in batting with a .291 average this season.
The two batting stars will lead the Athletics, who are 9-1 in their last 10 home games.
Writer’s Prediction
Chavez will once again get enough run support as the Athletics will march on to their fifth straight win. Take Oakland at -150 for some value on your bet.
