In every sport, there are times when frustration can set on for a team, especially when you play a season as long as the 162-game MLB betting schedule. The San Francisco Giants and the Arizona Diamondbacks had more than their fair share of frustrations through the first half of the season, and they will be looking to shake them all off when they meet for a 3-game series in Arizona, the second game of which goes on Saturday night.
San Francisco Giants vs Arizona Diamondbacks MLB Betting Lines
Date/Time: Saturday, September 19, 2:05 PM Venue: AT&T Park, San Francisco, California TV: CSN-BA Radio: KNBR 680 Opening Line: San Francisco -112
#MadBum was voted “Most likely to hit the farm immediately after this photo was taken” http://t.co/jOuJgFlwIR pic.twitter.com/7I0jxu8d34
— San Francisco Giants (@SFGiants) July 16, 2015
It’s never easy to play the season as the defending champion, but the San Francisco Giants (46-43) have had things tougher than most, as they have had to deal with a slew of injuries to key players, especially at the pitcher position. Every time it looks as though they are getting back to full strength, someone else goes down.
It’s tough to find a high level of consistency when your starting rotation has to be tweaked like the Giants has. San Francisco finished the first half losing 8 of 12, but things got better right at the end after Hunter Pence came off the DL. With him back in the lineup, the Giants went 4-1, which may be a sign that they are ready to make a move in the second half. The Giants will start Jake Peavy (0-4, 4.71 ERA) on Saturday as he searches for his first win after coming off the DL.
The frustration for the Diamondbacks (42-45) during the first half was their inability to get back to .500. They had 12 attempts do so, failing each time, before finally getting there on the 13th attempt. That number proved to be unlucky, as they then went on to drop 3 in a row to the Mets to end the first half of the season. They are now going to have to find a way to pick up the pieces and once again try to get back to mediocrity. The good news is that they are still within sight of the division lead, as neither the Giants nor the Dodgers have been as dominant in the NL West as many expected they would be. Chase Anderson (4-3, 3.91 ERA) will get the start for Arizona, and will be hoping to finally get some run support from his team.