The Arizona Diamondbacks and San Francisco Giants face off in a four-game set at Oracle Park in San Francisco, so here’s the best D-backs vs. Giants MLB betting pick for the third contest of this NL West series set for Wednesday, June 16, with the first pitch at 9:45 PM ET.
Excluding Tuesday’s clash at Oracle Park, the Giants have won 11 of their previous 13 encounters with the Diamondbacks including the last six. San Francisco outlasted Arizona as a -172 home fave this past Monday, 5-2, and the Giants are -170 favorites for Wednesday’s game. The D-backs sit at +157 moneyline odds with a total of 8.0 runs on DraftKings Sportsbook.
The Diamondbacks’ free fall continues
The Arizona Diamondbacks fell to 20-47 on the season following that 5-2 loss to the Giants on Monday. It was their 11th defeat on the spin and 25th in their previous 27 games overall. The D-backs are undoubtedly the coldest team in the majors, sitting bottom of the NL West, 17.5 games behind the third-placed Padres.
With four starters on the injury list, the D-backs’ pitching staff has struggled mightily as of late. Arizona sports the highest ERA in baseball (5.10), and over the last 15 days, the Diamondbacks’ pitchers have recorded an awful 5.77 ERA. On the other side of the ball, their offense has recorded a poor .218/.277/.340 slash line in that span.
Merrill Kelly will take the hill Wednesday, and he’s 2-6 with a 5.14 ERA and 1.33 WHIP in 13 starts this season. The 32-year-old righty has already met the Giants this season, getting a no-decision after surrendering a couple of earned runs on five hits through six innings of work (Arizona lost 5-4). He’s 2-1 with a 2.57 ERA in five career starts against San Francisco.
The Giants keep racing with the Dodgers and Padres
The San Francisco Giants opened a seven-game homestand with a 5-2 victory over Arizona and improved to 41-25 on the season. They were topping the NL West on Tuesday, just one game ahead of the Dodgers and four games ahead of the Padres.
The Giants are enjoying a wonderful season, scoring 4.61 runs per game (10th in the MLB) and surrendering just 3.52 in a return (3rd). Over the last couple of weeks and 12 games played in that stretch, they’ve recorded a .243/.312/.401 slash line.
Anthony DeSclafani will toe the slab Wednesday, and the 31-year-old righty has been terrific so far this season. He’s had one really bad start against the Dodgers on May 23, and for the rest of the way, DeSclafani has been a true force for the Giants. The righty sports a 3.09 ERA, 1.02 WHIP, and 66/21 K/BB ratio across 75.2 frames of work.
Trends:
Arizona:
- 2-25 in the last 27 games overall
- 2-11 in the last 13 games against San Francisco
San Francisco:
- 11-5 in the last 16 games overall
- 7-1 in the last eight home contests against Arizona
Arizona Diamondbacks vs. San Francisco Giants Pick:
Last time out, Anthony DeSclafani needed 103 pitches to get his 27 outs and the third career shutout, as the Giants outlasted the Washington Nationals on the road, 1-0. It was his second straight victory, and DeSclafani will look to extend his streak in this one against the hapless Diamondbacks.
The current D-backs are batting only .106 against DeSclafani. On the other side, the current Giants are batting just .213 against Merrill Kelly, but that’s still way better than Arizona’s record. I’m expecting the Giants to extend their dominance over the Diamondbacks.
Arizona Diamondbacks vs. San Francisco Giants Total Pick:
I would stick with the hosts to win, as the totals could be a tricky wager. It won’t be strange if both lineups struggle against the starting pitchers, but the Diamondbacks’ relievers could easily allow a bunch of runs in no time.
The under is 11-2-1 in the last 14 meetings between the D-backs and Giants, so I’m sticking with this betting trend. Also, only one of the previous six produced more than eight runs in total.