MLB Betting Previews- Thursday, May 24 Parlay
The 2012 MLB regular season has been somewhat unpredictable in the early going with teams like Washington, Baltimore and Cleveland leading their respective division, while teams such as Philadelphia, Boston, and the New York Yankees continue to struggle.
This has made handicapping the games a bit more of a challenge, but after sifting through all the pertinent stats and information available for the pitching matchups on Thursday’s slate of games, we uncovered a two-team parlay that promises to jump-start your holiday weekend.
Game 1- San Francisco Giants vs. Miami Marlins
Money Line: San Francisco +110 Miami -115
Total Line: 7.5
San Francisco will kick-off its four-day stay in Miami with Ryan Vogelsong as its starter for Game 1. The right-hander is 2-2 on the year with an ERA of 2.27 and a 1.17 WHIP. He has given-up a total of three earned runs in his last four starts after allowing nine earned runs in his first three. Vogelsong is 1-3 against the Marlins but sporting a 1.97 ERA in 32 innings pitched.
Anibel Sanchez is slated to get the start for Miami in the series opener. He has gone at least seven innings in his last six starts and has not given-up more than two earned runs in any of his eight starts this season. The right-hander is 2-2 on the year with a 2.32 ERA. He is 3-0 against the Giants with an ERA of just 0.87.
The Giants are 5-1 in their last six games in Miami, but just 2-8 in the last 10 meetings overall. While a side bet on the ‘under’ would be a solid play considering both these pitchers current form along with the fact that the total has stayed ‘under’ in four of the last five meetings here, stick with Miami over the road-weary Giants in the front-end of this parlay. [dfads params=’groups=10&limit=1&return_javascript=0′]
Game 2- Philadelphia Phillies vs. St. Louis Cardinals
Money Line: Philadelphia +120 St. Louis -135
Total Line: 8
The extremely inconsistent Phillies will go with Joe Blanton as their starter in Game 1 of this four-game set. The right-hander has given-up 11 earned runs on 20 hits in his last three starts to fall to 4-4 on the year with an overall ERA of 3.74. He is 3-2 against the Cardinals with a 3.03 ERA.
St.Louis will counter with Jake Westbrook. This right-hander is 4-3 in eight previous starts with a 2.41 ERA. He has held his opponents to two or less earned runs in six of those games. Lifetime against the Phillies, Westbrook is 1-1 with an ERA of 3.52.
This will be the first meeting between the two teams this season, but Philadelphia is 2-5 in the last seven meetings overall and 1-2 in its last three games in St. Louis. This game could be another strong play for the ‘under’ considering that four of Blanton’s last five starts against the Cardinals have stayed ‘under’ the total, but stick with St. Louis to come through with the victory to round-out the back-end of this parlay.
