The San Francisco Giants and St. Louis Cardinals kick off a three-game set at Busch Stadium in St. Louis on Monday evening.
The Giants finally got the lumber going on Sunday, pounding the Chicago Cubs 13-3 while making up for a pair of lackluster showings in the first two games of the series.
The Cardinals did the opposite, winning the series opener against the Cincinnati Reds before dropping two straight to lose the set.
Can the Giants carry over their offensive momentum over to the Gateway City? Or will the Cardinals remember how to win on their home field?
We’ll discuss in our free MLB picks and predictions for Giants vs. Cardinals on Monday, June 12.
Giants vs Cardinals odds
Giants vs Cardinals predictions
The San Francisco Giants racked up 13 runs and 15 hits during a rout of the Chicago Cubs on Sunday, salvaging at least a game after a pair of listless offensive showings in the first two contests of the series. The significant offensive showing masked some real problems on defense, as San Francisco committed four errors.
It was a homer-fest for the home side, too, as Thairo Estrada and Joc Pederson each notched two round-trippers, taking advantage of a jetstream blowing out to the left-center field power alley. San Francisco accumulated seven total extra-base hits too and all nine starters recorded at least one knock, with four players posting two-plus hits during the barrage.
Meanwhile, after scoring seven runs in the opener against the Cincinnati Reds, St. Louis managed just seven combined runs in the final two games of their series, both losses.
The Giants hand the ball to right-hander Logan Webb, who's looking to tally the team’s fifth win over the past seven tries. Webb is just 4-6 overall, but he's posted a stellar 3.09 ERA and 1.09 WHIP, and his losing record has been mostly the result of poor offensive support.
The St. Louis Cardinals counter with lefty Matthew Liberatore, who makes his fourth start and fifth appearance overall. He was tuned up in Texas last time out on Tuesday, allowing four earned runs and seven hits across just four innings. Liberatore has coughed up eight earned runs, 12 hits, and four walks across nine innings in his past two starts, both losses.
I really like the Giants to hit the road and pick up a victory in this series, as that's been a theme lately. San Francisco is 7-2 in the past nine during Game 1 of a series, while the team is 6-1 across the past seven on the road against a right-handed starter, too. Plus, I trust Webb a lot more than the youngster Liberatore.
My best bet: Giants ML (-130 at FanDuel)
Giants vs Cardinals same-game parlay
Giants Moneyline (-130)
Liberatore Over 4.5 Strikeouts (+104)
Arenado To Record a Hit (-230)
In addition to playing the Giants on the moneyline, I do like Liberatore in one sense: strikeouts. The 23-year-old southpaw has struck out just four batters over his past two starts. However, he did whiff six during his only previous home start over five innings against the Milwaukee Brewers on May 17.
Also, the Giants are quite the free-swinging club, leading the National League with 635 strikeouts, and they’re second behind only the Minnesota Twins (678) in the majors. Taking Liberatore to go Over 4.5 strikeouts at plus money (+104 through FanDuel) is certainly worth tossing into your SGP.
And keeping it rather simple, Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado has recorded a hit during six straight games. It’s rather pricey to bet Arenado to register another knock (-230 at FanDuel). But tossing that into an SGP with the Giants ML (-130) and Liberatore Over 4.5 strikeouts (+104) is good for +500.
The only part that concerns me is the Liberatore portion, as the other two ends should be locks. But Liberatore will get a good chance to cash the Over if he can last at least four innings since San Francisco is so free-swinging.
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Giants vs Cardinals moneyline and Over/Under analysis
In addition to being hot in series openers, San Francisco has rattled off eight victories over the team's past nine tries against left-handed starters, making me feel good about siding with the visitors.
The club is also 6-1 in its past seven games away at Oracle Park, while the Cardinals are just 1-5 in their previous six attempts against a winning team. St. Louis is 8-22 in its past 30 series openers too, while going 1-5 in its last six following a loss.
As far as totals are concerned, the Under is 11-3-1 in the past 15 games involving the Cards, and 9-2-1 in St. Louis' previous 12 against a righty. For the Giants, the total has gone low in four of their past five, while cashing at a 7-2-1 clip during San Francisco's previous 10 series openers.
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Trend to know
The Giants have scored five-plus runs in four of their last six games. Find more MLB betting trends for Giants vs. Cardinals
Giants vs Cardinals game info
| Location: | Busch Stadium, St. Louis, MO |
| Date: | Monday, June 12, 2023 |
| First pitch: | 7:45 p.m. ET |
| TV: | NBCSBA, BSMW |
Starting pitchers
Logan Webb (4-6, 3.09 ERA): The right-hander has posted a 5.11 ERA in two outings during June, but one of those starts was in the rarefied air of Coors Field, so it isn’t as bad as things look. Teams are still hitting just .244 against him in 44 2/3 innings across seven starts this season on the road.
Matthew Liberatore (1-2, 6.00 ERA): The southpaw doesn’t come with a giant sample size, but he's allowed just two runs across six innings in a start and relief appearance at home this season. Teams are hitting just .200 against him at Busch Stadium. Overall he's tough on lefties too, holding them to a .133 average and .556 OPS.
