by Chuck Sommers
Friday, Jun 03, 2022
Time: 6:40 p.m. ET
Venue: loanDepot park, Miami, FL
Where to watch: NBC Sports Bay Area, Bally Sports Florida
Opening Odds at USA Sportsbooks
DraftKings: Giants -140, Marlins +120
BetMGM: Giants -145, Marlins +120
Caesars: Giants -149, Marlins +130
Season record
Giants: 27-23
Marlins: 21-28
This has been a weird season to this point as we get through the second month of baseball season. The last 30 days, we've seen Jim Feist rack up plenty of good wins going 48-42-4 over the last 30 days. It's been an unpredictable season so far, but our champion handicappers have been doing well all season. Get on board and join the ride. Catch Jim's plays available right now at the Shop Picks page, where you can find all of the Best Bets from our champion sports handicappers.
Giants - Marlins preview and analysis
One thing we can absolutely count on for certain is the Miami Marlins’ pitching. At least at the top of the rotation. That was proven once again when Sandy Alcantara dominated by giving up just three hits over seven innings, and the Marlins took the first game of the series against the San Francisco Giants by a final count of 3-0 on Thursday.
The series continues Friday with Eileser Hernandez, holding a 2-5 record with an ERA hovering near 6.00, to take on Alex Cobb for the Giants holding also an ERA hovering near 6.00. Clearly this is the battle where pitchers are going to get rocked for their inability to not throw a shutout, but alas, we are here.
But in a year where the Marlins are exceeding expectations, they’re not putting up as many runs as they should. But nevertheless, they have at least established they have two starting pitchers that will carry them into the next era. As long as they pitch like this, Miami can score just about any amount of runs they want.
"We've seen Sandy enough now and know that as the game gets going, he just almost gets better at the end," Marlins manager Don Mattingly said. "It gets easier for him. It's easy to send him back out and trust that he's good."
Alcantara lowered his ERA to 1.81, showing just how dominant he’s been. Between him and Pablo Lopez, there’s a lot to like about this Marlins pitching rotation. The one thing keeping them entertaining to this point is, in fact, their willingness to understand who the best players are. And if they’re pitchers, at least they won’t be traded off.
At least we think so.
"My goal is to complete every game possible," Alcantara said in Spanish. "If it were up to me, I would have stayed until the ninth, but I respect the manager's decision."
The Marlins scored twice in the sixth inning to increase the lead, thanks to RBIs from Jesus Aguilar and Miguel Rojas. That was essentially all that group needed despite Alex Wood losing his last three decisions.
"Any time you face a guy like Sandy, he's pretty good, so there's no going to be a whole lot of room for error," Wood said. "He threw a great game tonight."
Prediction
It’s essentially pick your poison with how this game should proceed, but if I had to pick the lesser of two evils, I’d take the Giants on the basis that Hernandez hasn’t looked any better than Cobb, but there’s a belief the better team should want to play better. Who knows in this climate? Giants win 4-2
Betting trends
Giants are 9-2 on the road when the line is between -100 and -150 this season.
Giants are 11-8 against NL East teams this season.
Marlins are 14-20 the past three seasons as a home dog between +125 and +175.
Giants:
Tommy La Stella (L) DH
Mike Yastrzemski (L) CF
Wilmer Flores (R) 1B
Joc Pederson (L) LF
Brandon Crawford (L) SS
Curt Casali (R) C
Luis Gonzalez (L) RF
Donovan Walton (L) 2B
Jason Vosler (L) 3B
SP - Alex Cobb
Marlins:
Jazz Chisholm Jr. (L) 2B
Garrett Cooper (R) 1B
Jorge Soler (R) DH
Avisail Garcia (R) RF
Jesus Sanchez (L) CF
Jon Berti (R) SS
Bryan De La Cruz (R) LF
Nick Fortes (R) C
Luke Williams (R) 3B
SP - Elieser Hernandez
Statistical leaders
Giants:
Batting average: Mike Yastrzemski – .295
Hits: Thairo Estrada – 46
Home runs: Joc Pederson – 12
RBI: Wilmer Flores – 30
Wins: Logan Webb – 5
Saves: Camilo Doval – 8
ERA: Carlos Rodon – 3.44
Marlins:
Batting average: Garrett Cooper – .282
Hits: Garrett Cooper – 44
Home runs: Jorge Soler – 11
RBI: Jazz Chisholm – 31
Wins: Sandy Alcantara – 5
Saves: Anthony Bender – 6
ERA: Pablo Lopez – 1.83
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Chuck Sommers
About the Author:
Chuck Sommers has camped outside of sportsbooks since he can remember, learning the tricks and nuances of the trade. He still has nightmares of betting $5,000 on the Raiders in the Tuck Rule game but has since turned that to 25 years of veteran handicapping greatness. You can find him mostly in the shadows at the Red Rock or Aliante casinos wondering if the over is cashing on any given Sunday.
