The San Francisco Giants and St. Louis Cardinals are two of Major League Baseball’s most storied franchises. The two teams last met in the 2014 NLCS, but have enjoyed many great seasons since. That’s not the case in 2023. The Cardinals are flailing in the National League Central while the Giants are trying to stay afloat in the West. They’ll do battle in the second game of a three-game series on Wednesday afternoon. The Giants cruised in Game 1, but let’s see what stands out in the betting odds for Wednesday’s Giants-Cardinals game to make an MLB prediction and best bet using the OddsShopper model.
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Editor’s Note: Lines and projections are subject to change since this article was published at 9:30 p.m. on 6/13/2023.
Best MLB Giants-Cardinals Betting Pick & Prediction: Steady Arms Take the Hill
Giants-Cardinals Odds
Odds via BetRivers Sportsbook
Giants: +120 | Cardinals: -139
Over 8.5: -114 | Under 8.5: -106
One of the bright spots for the Giants this season has been Anthony DeSclafani. The veteran RHP has put in yeoman’s work, posting a 3.89 ERA in thirteen starts. Those numbers aren’t eye popping, but they are a big turnaround for DeSclafani who suffered a season ending injury in 2022, logging just five starts. His swing and miss stuff hasn’t been great, as he has put up just 53 strikeouts in 73 innings pitched so far in 2023. Nevertheless, DeSclafani is getting the job done and should continue to be a steady hand for the team.
Jordan Montgomery of the Cardinals has a very similar narrative to DeSclafani. Montgomery has a 3.88 ERA this year, and has struck out 66 batters in 72 innings. He has been remarkably consistent in his career. Montgomery had a 3.11 ERA in 2022 for the Cardinals and has not posted an ERA over 4.00 since 2020 when he pitched for the New York Yankees.
Montgomery’s success and the Cardinals slight home field advantage at Busch Stadium is partially why they are -139 favorites at BetRivers to win this game. However, the longer odds on the Giants moneyline at +120 is where the value lies. There’s about a 1% edge in that line according to the OddsShopper market-based model. It looks at the sharpest sportsbooks out there, and identified the true odds of this bet at +117. That’s not a huge edge, but you can certainly bet a small fraction of your bank roll for sustainable growth. Check out OddsShopper Premium to find more bets like this and more high expected value betting opportunities.
Best Giants-Cardinals MLB Pick: Giants Moneyline (+120) at BetRivers
