San Francisco Giants vs. Pittsburgh Pirates National League Wild Card Game – October 1, 2014 – Betting Preview and Prediction

There seems to be something with even-numbered years and the San Francisco Giants, who have won the World Series in 2010 and in 2012.

This 2014, San Francisco wants nothing but to continue that pattern, as the team makes its return to the postseason after missing the boat to October in 2013. The Pittsburgh Pirates, meanwhile, are in the postseason for the second year in a row after breaking a 21-year absence from the October festivities last season. Find out more about this thrilling matchup between two teams aiming to advance to the National League Division series to meet the Washington Nationals.

You can also read out preview of the other wild card matchup between the Athletics and the Royals here.
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San Francisco Giants vs. Pittsburgh Pirates Betting Preview

Where: PNC Park, Pittsburgh

When: Wednesday, October 1, 2014, 8:00 PM ET

Line: San Francisco Giants (+170) at Pittsburgh Pirates (-200); total: 5.5 – view all MLB lines

Betting on the San Francisco Giants

[sc:MLB240banner ]Granted that the game on Wednesday is a do-or-die matchup, the Giants will take no chances and will give the ball to ace Madison Bumgarner, who is undoubtedly the best choice for manager Bruce Bochy to start in Pittsburgh. Bumgarner leads the Giants in wins (18), ERA (2.98), and strikeouts (219), making it easy for Bochy to pick MadBum over veteran Jake Peavy.

In addition, Bumgarner has been one of the best performing pitchers away from home in the regular season with a majors-best 11-4 record with a 2.22 ERA in 18 road starts. He also ranked within the top 11 in the majors in ERA (2.22), opposing teams’ batting average (.222), and strikeouts (118) on the road during the regular season.  The Giants are 7-3 in Bumgarner’s last seven road starts.

What Bumgarner is to pitching, Posey is to the Giants’ offense. The former NL MVP tops San Francisco in batting average (.311), home runs (22), RBI (89), and OBP (.364). Posey is coming into the wild card game on the heels of a terrific performance in September, wherein he finished with an MVP-like triple slash line of .393 BA/.436 OBP/.607 SLG. Furthermore, Posey is a career .556 hitter against the Pirate starter Edinson Volquez, albeit in just nine at-bats.

Aside from Posey, heavy-hitter Pablo Sandoval is also another player Volquez would need to worry about facing on Wednesday. Sandoval hit .279 with 16 homers and 73 RBIs during the season, and is a career .462 (6-for-13) hitter against Volquez.

Betting on the Pittsburgh Pirates

A questionable move to start ace Gerrit Cole in the last game of their regular season had left Pirates manager Clint Hurdle with the decision to send Edinson Volquez (13-7, 3.04 ERA) against San Francisco on Wednesday. That may turn out just right for Pittsburgh, as Volquez is coming off a great September run, wherein he went 2-0 with a 1.08 ERA, the best between pitchers with at least 30.0 innings logged during that stretch.

It’s not just Volquez, though, who has rounded into form going into the postseason. The Bucs’ bullpen stepped up too in September, as evidenced by their relievers’ collective ERA of 2.24, which is the best in the majors during that time frame. Relievers Tony Watson and Mark Melancon both have 1.32 ERAs in the last month of the regular season.

Furthermore, Volquez and the bullpen may also be getting some help from the fact that PNC Park is in the bottom half of ESPN’s Park Factor rankings with a 17th-ranked 0.977 rating. The Pirates are 6-1 in their last seven home games.

On offense, the Pirates’ best player is undeniably perennial MVP candidate Andrew McCutchen. The workhorse outfielder has scintillating numbers of .314 BA/.410 OBP/.542 SLG. He finished the regular season inside the top 10 in the majors in each of those three categories. Moreover, McCutchen’s .952 OPS is third best in the MLB.

Josh Harrison, meanwhile, also deserves some attention heading into the wild card matchup. The All-Star third baseman barely edged out Cutch for the team’s batting title with a .315 BA to go along with 13 homers and 32 RBIs.

Overall, the Pirates’ offense looks better than that of San Francisco. Pittsburgh is ranked fifth in the majors in batting average (.259), third in OBP (.330), seventh in SLG (.404), and fifth in OPS (.734).

Writer’s Prediction

Madison Bumgarner shows the poise of a seasoned postseason ace and leads the Giants (-112) to a 5-3 win. Create a betting account now, while odds are still available.
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