The San Francisco Giants need Johnny Cueto to pitch at a Cy Young level to have any shot of winning the NL West or reaching the playoffs. Cueto wasn’t good in his return from injury last time out but returns to the bump on Tuesday against the visiting Cubs. San Francisco is a slight home underdog at the MLB Odds for Tuesday Night.
The Giants have played 47 games this year that have been decided by two runs or fewer, the fifth-most such games in the Majors. Only the Nationals (52), Mariners (51), Rays (48) and Tigers (48) have played more close games.
As of Monday, the Giants are 28-16 (.643) here at home this season, the third-best home record in the NL behind Philadelphia (30-16, .652) and Chicago (27-15, .643). The Giants have gone 9-0-1 (win-loss-split) in their last 10 home series. They haven’t lost a home set since dropping two of three to Arizona from April 8-10.
It’s Johnny Cueto on the mound. Cueto (3-1, 1.95) allowed five earned runs on 10 hits and two walks while striking out two across five innings to take the loss Thursday against the Cardinals. The final line wasn’t pretty for Cueto in his first start since April 28, but he allowed four hits, one walk and four of his five earned runs in his first inning of work. From there, his only blemish was a solo home run surrendered to Matt Carpenter in the second inning. His velocity needs monitoring as his fastball velocity was down nearly 1.5 mph from his season average.
“Everything was fine, except in the first inning, when I was trying to be too fine,” Cueto said. “Instead of just pitching, I was just trying to place the ball in the strike zone. I just have to continue working my way back to where I was.”
Cueto allowed three runs total before going on the disabled list April 22. He got off to a fast start for the Giants this season, going 3-0 with a 0.84 ERA, 26 strikeouts and six walks in 32 innings before being sidelined.
He is 9-9 with a 3.35 ERA in 25 lifetime starts against the Cubs.
How to Bet Cubs at Giants MLB Odds & TV Info
Earning that All-Star status. #CarryTheFreight pic.twitter.com/fDF6SUzdtX
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) 10 de julio de 2018
- When: Tuesday, 10 PM ET
- Where: AT&T Park, San Francisco
- Probable Pitchers: Jose Quintana/Johnny Cueto
- TV: MLB Extra Innings
- Radio: TuneIn
- MLB Odds: Chicago Cubs -109 / San Francisco Giants -101 (Total 7.5)
Why Bet on Chicago Cubs?
The Cubbies had two players named to start the All-Star Game: second baseman Javy Baez and catcher Willson Contreras, both first-time All-Stars. Contreras is the first Cubs catcher to make the club since Geovany Soto started the game in 2008. In Sunday’s win over the Reds, Baez had a single and a double over five at-bats. Since the middle of June, he has been scorching hot at the dish, going 31-for-72 (.431) with 11 doubles, a triple, three homers and 19 RBI over the past 19 games to elevate his average from a modest .255 to a robust .295. He has been successful on 16 of his 17 theft attempts this season, including a few of home plate. Báez is just the fourth player ever to reach 20 doubles, 15 homers, five triples, 60 RBI and 15 stolen bases prior to the All-Star break. He joins the Giants Willie Mays in 1960, the Rockies Carlos Gonzalez in 2013 and the Pirates Andrew McCutchen in 2014. Former NL MVP Kris Bryant (shoulder) was to begin a rehab assignment with Double-A Tennessee on Monday. Bryant took batting practice on the field again Sunday with no issues, clearing the way for his return to game action. The third baseman would figure to only need a game or two before being activated if all goes well. He probably doesn’t play here but maybe Wednesday. With 51 wins as of Monday, the Cubs have surpassed their pre-All-Star Break total from a season ago with six games. Last year, the Cubs took a 43-45 record into the break. This is just the seventh time the Cubs have reached 50 wins prior to the All-Star Break. The others: 61 in 1969, 57 in 2008, 54 in 1977, 53 in 2016, 52 in 1973 and 51 in 2001. Kyle Schwarber’s 34 homers since last season’s Mid-Summer Classic are tied for third-most in the N.L., trailing only Colorado’s Nolan Arenado (42) and Arizona’s Paul Goldschmidt (36). It’s lefty Jose Quintana here. Quintana (7-6, 4.22) gave up two runs on five hits and three walks over six innings to record the win Wednesday against the Tigers. He struck out four. Quintana allowed solo home runs to Nicholas Castellanos and John Hicks but was otherwise in cruise control. It was positive that he was able to complete six innings, as he had failed to do so in his previous three outings. Quintana has gone 0-3 with a 5.82 ERA (11 ER/17.0 IP) in three-career starts vs. the Giants. He faced San Francisco May 26 of this season at Wrigley Field, allowing four runs on five hits in 4.1 innings and took the loss in the Cubs’ 5-4 setback. It will be his third start at AT&T Park.Expert MLB Betting Preview for Tuesday Night: Mariners vs Angels
Why Bet on San Francisco?
Couple of injuries to monitor with the Giants. Pablo Sandoval suffered a sprained left thumb while diving for a ball at third base during Sunday’s game against the Cardinals. Sandoval played through the injury and finished the game, but the Giants do have some concern over his ability to do so on a long-term basis. The 31-year-old is having a respectable season, hitting .257/.319/.414 with eight homers and 34 RBI in 210 plate appearances. He’s also playing a key role, filling in for the injured Evan Longoria at third. Outfielder Gorkys Hernandez was expected to miss Monday’s series opener. Hernandez was forced to exit Sunday’s game with a tight left calf. He should be OK to go on Tuesday. Hernandez has been extremely productive for the Giants this season, hitting .279/.327/.463 with 11 homers and 27 RBI in 262 plate appearances.
The Giants have played 47 games this year that have been decided by two runs or fewer, the fifth-most such games in the Majors. Only the Nationals (52), Mariners (51), Rays (48) and Tigers (48) have played more close games.
As of Monday, the Giants are 28-16 (.643) here at home this season, the third-best home record in the NL behind Philadelphia (30-16, .652) and Chicago (27-15, .643). The Giants have gone 9-0-1 (win-loss-split) in their last 10 home series. They haven’t lost a home set since dropping two of three to Arizona from April 8-10.
It’s Johnny Cueto on the mound. Cueto (3-1, 1.95) allowed five earned runs on 10 hits and two walks while striking out two across five innings to take the loss Thursday against the Cardinals. The final line wasn’t pretty for Cueto in his first start since April 28, but he allowed four hits, one walk and four of his five earned runs in his first inning of work. From there, his only blemish was a solo home run surrendered to Matt Carpenter in the second inning. His velocity needs monitoring as his fastball velocity was down nearly 1.5 mph from his season average.
“Everything was fine, except in the first inning, when I was trying to be too fine,” Cueto said. “Instead of just pitching, I was just trying to place the ball in the strike zone. I just have to continue working my way back to where I was.”
Cueto allowed three runs total before going on the disabled list April 22. He got off to a fast start for the Giants this season, going 3-0 with a 0.84 ERA, 26 strikeouts and six walks in 32 innings before being sidelined.
He is 9-9 with a 3.35 ERA in 25 lifetime starts against the Cubs.
Latest MLB Betting Trends
- Cubs are 2-5 in Quintana’s last 7 starts vs. National League West
- Cubs are 1-4 in Quintana’s last 5 starts following a Quality Start in his last appearance
- Giants are 26-6 in Cueto’s last 32 starts with 4 days of rest
- Giants are 4-1 in Cueto’s last 5 home starts
- Chicago is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games on the road
- Chicago is 8-2 SU in its last 10 games
- The total has gone OVER in 11 of Chi Cubs’s last 16 games
- San Francisco is 3-6 ATS in its last 9 games at home
- San Francisco is 17-6 SU in its last 23 games at home
- The total has gone UNDER in 6 of San Francisco’s last 8 games
