The St.Louis Cardinals (41-36) host the San Francisco Giants (40-34) tonight, Monday June 29, for a four game set in St.Louis. The Giants lead the Cardinals 2-1 since their last set in May. MLB oddsmakers at Sportsbook.com have the Giants as -130 moneyline favs over the Cardinals (+115) with the over/under listed at 7.5 runs. Be sure to get your MLB Picks: Cardinals vs Giants MLB Betting Odds in now at Sportsbook.com
The Giants are 3-3 during their recent six game road trip and they’ve won six of their last ten. The Giants avoided a three-game sweep at Milwaukee with a 7-0 victory Sunday. Nate Schierholtz homered and finished with four hits and two runs scored. It was the fourth multi-hit performance in five games for Schierholtz, who's 12 for 21 (.571) with two homers, three RBIs and five runs scored in that stretch. The Giants are bringing out their big gun pitcher Tim Lincecum (7-2, 2.57 ERA). San Francisco's ace has gone 4-1 with a 1.48 ERA during a streak of seven consecutive quality starts. He held Oakland to one run and seven hits while striking out 12 in a 4-1 victory Tuesday, his fourth career complete game and second in his last three outings. Lincecum is 3-0 with a 2.37 ERA in three career starts against the Cardinals. DeRosa is 2 for 9 (.222) with two walks and two strikeouts against the right-hander, while Pujols has two singles and two strikeouts in five career at-bats against him.
The Cardinals went 1-2 during their last three game set against Minnesota and are five and five in their last ten games. The Cards newest addition Mark DeRosa hasn’t panned out well, yet. St. Louis acquired DeRosa from Cleveland on Saturday night, hoping the versatile infielder could provide some protection for Pujols and jump-start an offense that had totaled eight runs and batted .214 while dropping three of its last four games before the trade. DeRosa batted .270 with 13 homers and 50 RBIs in 71 games with last-place Cleveland this season. DeRosa didn't have a particularly promising debut with the Cardinals on Sunday, going 0 for 3 with a walk as St. Louis totaled seven hits in a 6-2 loss to Minnesota. The Cardinals will bring pitcher Brad Thompson (2-3, 4.50) to the mound tonight. The right-hander was 2-1 with a 3.63 ERA in his first four outings after being moved into the starting rotation, but gave up five runs in five innings of an 11-0 road loss to the New York Mets on Wednesday. Thompson has no decisions and a 2.13 ERA in six career games – one start – against the Giants.
Recent Trends to Consider:
- Giants are 4-1 in the last 5 meetings.
- Over is 7-2 in the last 9 meetings.
- Giants are 5-1 in Lincecums last 6 road starts with the total set at 7.0-8.5.
- Giants are 9-3 in Lincecums last 12 starts as a favorite of -110 to -150.
- Giants are 9-3 in Lincecums last 12 starts following a Quality Start in his last appearance.
MLB Picks: Cardinals vs Giants
When: Mon, June 29, 2009 8:15 PM ET
Line: Sportsbook.com
Pick: Giants -130
Point-Spreads.com MLB Picks: Cardinals vs Giants
The Bottom Line: Lincecum is the man on the mound. Go Giants! Be sure to get your MLB Picks: Cardinals vs Giants MLB Betting Odds in now at Sportsbook.com and start winning today!
