San Francisco Giants at Oakland Athletics Best Bet – 8/18/2024

• Date: August 18, 2024
• Venue: Oakland Coliseum
• Starting Pitchers:
  • Blake Snell - Giants
  • JP Sears - Athletics

Betting Odds

San Francisco Giants vs Oakland Athletics Win Probabilities

Implied Win % in sports betting represent the probability of an outcome as suggested by the betting odds. It's a way for bettors to gauge the likelihood of an event occurring based on the odds offered by sportsbooks.

Projected Win %, also known as projected win probability, is an estimate by ATS.io to determine the likelihood that a team will win a game or event. This projection is often based on various factors such as team performance, statistics, and historical data.

San Francisco Giants vs Oakland Athletics Betting Preview

The Oakland Athletics host the San Francisco Giants in what is shaping up to be an interesting Interleague matchup on August 18, 2024. The Athletics, with a record of 53-70, are struggling this season and currently sit at the bottom of the AL West. In contrast, the Giants, holding a record of 62-63, are positioned in the middle of the NL West standings but are looking to turn their fortunes around as they play for relevance. Both teams faced off yesterday, with the Athletics looking to build on an upset win over the Giants.

On the hill for the Athletics will be JP Sears, who has had a mixed season. While his 4.32 ERA is average, he ranks as the 168th best starting pitcher according to advanced-stat Power Rankings, which indicates he hasn't been particularly effective this year. His match-up against Blake Snell, projected as the starter for the Giants, presents a stark contrast. Snell boasts a much more impressive resume, ranking 14th among MLB starters and entering the game with a solid 3.91 ERA. Moreover, Snell has shown the ability to strike out hitters at an elite rate, which could spell trouble for an Athletics offense that ranks 2nd in strikeouts.

One area of strength for the Athletics lies in their power-hitting; they rank 4th in the league with 132 home runs despite being 27th in batting average. With Snell's propensity to give up fly balls, this aspect of the Athletics' game could be crucial. Conversely, the Giants have struggled to generate power, sitting 23rd in home runs.

The game total is set at a low 7.5 runs, reflecting the expectations for a tightly contested matchup. The Athletics are currently big underdogs with a moneyline of +155, while the Giants are favored at -175, which may speak to their better performance on the mound this season. As both teams aim to find momentum, this game could serve as a pivotal point in their respective seasons.

Quick Takes San Francisco Giants:

Blake Snell has utilized his curveball 7.1% more often this season (26.9%) than he did last year (19.8%).

• Because curveballs are one of the most effective pitches to use, a pitcher who alters his pitch mix to use more of them will often see more success as a result.

Tyler Fitzgerald has primarily hit in the back-half of the batting order this year (60% of the time), but he is projected to hit 1st in the batting order today.

• The higher in the order a player bats, the more plate appearances he will get and the more opportunities he will get to hit the Over for every market. A player who hits higher in the order than he normally does may provide extra value opportunity since the market may be based on him hitting lower.

According to the leading projection system (THE BAT), the San Francisco Giants' bullpen ranks as the 2nd-best out of all teams in Major League Baseball.

• Most bettors only consider the starting pitcher, but a strong bullpen sneakily creates a tougher matchup for the opposing offense and suppresses a game's runs.

Quick Takes Oakland Athletics:

JP Sears's 2100-rpm fastball spin rate this year ranks in the 10th percentile among all SPs.

• Spin rate is a key component to fastball success in generating strikeouts and preventing runs.

Brent Rooker has seen a notable gain in his exit velocity on flyballs this year; just compare his 97.3-mph average to last season's 94.9-mph figure.

• Most home runs are flyballs, and the harder those flyballs are hit, the more often they turn into home runs. This is a strong indicator of power.

Daz Cameron hits many of his flyballs to center field (40.4% — 100th percentile) and is a great match for the park considering he'll be hitting towards baseball's 11th-shallowest CF fences in today's game.

• This player's skill set matches up particularly well with the park he's in today, which may lead to better-than-usual performance.

Game Trends

• The Oakland Athletics have hit the Moneyline in 20 of their last 34 games (+11.25 Units / 30% ROI)
• The San Francisco Giants have hit the Team Total Under in 12 of their last 17 games (+6.15 Units / 29% ROI)
• Tyler Fitzgerald has hit the Hits Over in 28 of his last 34 games (+18.50 Units / 31% ROI)

San Francisco Giants vs Oakland Athletics Prediction

Final Score: San Francisco Giants 4.04 vs Oakland Athletics 3.4

For more on today's game check out the comprehensive statistics, betting odds, and trends below. Be sure to check out all our free MLB picks here.