The San Francisco Giants are up to 51-44 on the season after winning eight of their last nine games. They've done so well that they have gotten above the breakeven line for the season for bettors as well at 2.34 units, and they might very well be a live bettors' dream on Saturday against the hated Oakland Athletics.
PITCHING MATCHUP
The big issue here for the A's is that they have a massively inexperienced pitcher on the mound on Saturday in Chris Bassitt. Has the Toledo native been terrible in his time in the majors? Not at all. But the signs are there that he is going to struggle in the future.
The righty might have a 2.93 ERA, but his FIP is a significantly higher 4.04, and his xFIP is 5.43. Live bettors should know that that is a perfect sign for struggles ahead for Bassitt. Keep in mind as well that his HR/9 is just 0.33, and his home run to fly ball ratio is just 2.7 percent, numbers which are absolutely unsustainable.
Meanwhile, the Mad Bum is set to come out of the other dugout.
Madison Bumgarner is just awesome for live bettors. Outside of that one odd game on July 4 against Washington, the southpaw has been excellent, allowing no more than two runs in any start since the beginning of June. You know that it is incredibly rare to see big innings against Bumgarner, and there are going to be a lot more zeroes than anything else on the board.
That 3.27 ERA and 10-5 record don't lie; Bumgarner is still one of the very best pitchers in baseball.
ADVANCED STATS
Oakland has been terrible against left-handed pitching this year, batting just .243 as a team. The club has an ISO of .127 against southpaws alongside a BABIP of .277. Granted, those last two numbers could be improved, but the big issue we see here is the fact that this isn't your average lefty on the mound. This is Madison Bumgarner, the man who single-handedly won the World Series for the Giants last year.
Of course, there is one man who can buck this trend. Stephen Vogt has just torn up lefties this year. He is batting .281 against them with an OPS of .848, and his ISO of .202 over 342 plate appearances is as good as it gets. What that says for the rest of the Oakland lineup, though? Clearly, live bettors need to stay away when Vogt isn't due up.
TALKING BULLPENS
Since his mini-meltdown against the Marlins back on July 1, Santiago Casilla has seemingly gotten his head on straight. He hasn't been getting a ton of strikeouts, but he has been a little more creative with his secondary pitches. The bottom line is that he is 4-for-4 in save chances and has allowed just one run in his last six trips to the mound.
Fortunately for Casilla, the rest of the San Francisco bullpen has put him into a lot of positions where he hasn't had to come into games. The Giants have allowed just four earned runs out of their bullpen in their last nine games, one of which was on the team's closer. The Giants' bullpen has had to throw a ton of innings of late, but with as well as this unit has been together, we see no reason to fade it if Bumgarner has an early trip to the showers.
The MLB lines for this Saturday contest will first be released by BookMaker Sportsbook. Gamble on the game between every half inning with BookMaker's live betting feature. Along with an adjusted in-game moneyline, you can wager on what will happen in the next at-bat or how many runs will be scored in the next inning. Live betting is the most exciting way to play!
Need to fund your account before the big game but don't have your computer? No problem! BookMaker Sportsbook now offers a mobile betting cashier so you can deposit money directly from your smartphone. Don't miss out on getting paid because you couldn't bet. Click here, and deposit at BookMaker now! The ballgame pitting the Oakland Athletics versus the San Francisco Giants will commence Saturday, July 25, 2015 at 4:05 p.m. ET at AT&T Park in San Francisco, CA. You can watch the contest live on FOX Sports 1.
