A loss to the San Francisco Giants last Saturday didn’t appear to be too damaging at the time. However, it set in motion a series of events that dropped the Arizona Diamondbacks further down the NL West standings. That was the beginning of a season-long five-game losing streak that included a sweep by the San Diego Padres.
The D’backs had a day off to collect their thoughts before opening a three-game set against their division rivals. They’ll get a chance to avenge last week’s series loss when the teams get together on Saturday in the middle of a three-game set.
This MLB game between the Arizona Diamondbacks and San Francisco Giants will be held at Oracle Park in San Francisco, California, at 4:05 p.m. ET on Saturday, May 25, 2019. The game will be nationally televised on FS1
We'll have MLB Betting Odds at BookMaker.eu available for every game of the 2019 Major League Baseball season.
Odds Analysis
Where has all the offense gone? The D’backs looked a lot like the Giants over the last four games of their five-game losing streak scoring two runs or less in each outing. But the troubles go back further than that. On the first Saturday in May Arizona was 20-13, had the second-best record in the NL and was just a game behind the Dodgers. They are 5-12 since.
It doesn’t matter how good the pitching is if the offense can’t score runs. And that’s why the Giants are on their way to their second last-place finish in the NL West in three seasons. The Giants used a ninth inning rally to beat the Braves on Tuesday, but they reverted to form in Wednesday’s 9-2 loss. The Giants have scored three runs or fewer in 26 of their first 48 games and rank near the bottom of MLB with 3.79 runs per game.
Probable Pitchers
Thursday’s off day created a shifting in the Arizona rotation and Taylor Clarke ( 0-1, 2.00 ERA ) will get a crack at earning a spot. The young righty will be recalled from Triple-A in time to make his second start and third appearance this season. It’ll be his first time on a big league mound since the beginning of the month.
Clarke went 6.0 innings in his first start giving up seven hits and two earned in a loss to the Rays. “We love Taylor Clarke,” manager Torey Lovullo said of his young hurler. In his Major League debut on April 20, Clarke tossed three shutout innings in relief to finish up a 6-0 win over the Cubs.
The Giants also dipped into their minor league system and came up with Andrew Suarez ( 0-1, 4.50 ERA ), who makes his second start of the season. Suarez delivered a quality start holding the Braves to three runs over six innings on Monday. It was the team’s first quality outing from a starter not nicknamed MadBum in over a month, earning the lefty another spot.
Suarez started 29 games last season going 7-13 with a 4.49 ERA, however, that wasn’t enough to earn him a spot in the rotation. He returned with an attitude and isn’t about to give up his starting role again. He will have to throw better against the Diamondbacks, though. He was 1-2 with a 7.16 ERA in three starts against them last year.
Key Stat
The Giants rank near the bottom of MLB in just about every offensive statistical category and it doesn’t give their bullpen much of a chance to close out games. Following a 9-2 loss to the Braves in which they scratched out six hits, the Giants are 26th in runs per game, 27th in hitting and home runs, and 28th in OPS. They haven’t given
Five relievers with at least 17 innings pitched are sporting an ERA below 2.90 and the group as a whole has the sixth-best ERA. Will Smith has converted all 12 of his save chances and the pen has a league-low two blown opportunities. If the Giants have a lead late, look for the pen to close this one out.
Free MLB ATS Picks
The D’backs have put up some decent offensive numbers this season, which makes their recent slide a bit surprising. They don’t have Paul Goldschmidt to terrorize the Giants, but they have received solid production from David Peralta, Eduardo Escobar and Adam Jones. Arizona had Suarez’s number last year and he’s average at best, giving the D’backs the edge on offense to put this game over the closing total on the MLB betting lines.
MLB Pick: Arizona Diamondback 5, San Francisco Giants 4
BookMaker offers play-by-play betting odds for live sporting events every day! The user-friendly wagering interface on your smartphone provides an easy way to place bets on the go. Mobile betting lines are updated by the minute, so click here to start gambling on thrilling live action at BookMaker Sportsbook!
