MLB Lines – Giants vs Diamondbacks
The Giants usually win a World Series in even-numbered years (2o1o, 2012) so we’ll see if a pattern continues and 2014 is pre-ordained for them. However, the D’backs are a hungry competitor in the Giants’s division, so they’ll have something to say about that.
Date/Time: Wednesday, April 2 2014, 9:40 pm EST
Venue: Chase Field, Phoenix AZ
(no odds yet)
MLB Odds
Pitching Match-up: Tim Hudson (0-0) vs. Trevor Cahill (0-1)
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Cahill, who will be on the bump for the Snakes on Wednesday night, will desperately want to atone for a rough outing experienced in Australia in the Opening Series against the L.A. Dodgers. The veteran right-hander has a respectable career to date, but with the news that ace Patrick Corbin has ligament damage and is shut down for the year, Cahill is one player that must shoulder more burden (pun-happy coincidence) in the Arizona rotation.
San Francisco counters with grizzled vet Hudson; the 38-year old relies on pitching to contact and guile at this stage of his career. Yet it works pretty well; when Hudson was healthy in Atlanta, he was a key component of an otherwise young starting five.
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Especially in a pitcher’s park like San Fran’s AT&T Park, Hudson should be crafty enough to get by, and maybe even thrive behind Matt Cain and Madison Bumgarner.
Neither of these clubs played to rave reviews last season, but there are some components that seem to be working in San Fran’s favor, and the opposite is true for the D-backs. Giants slugger Pablo Sandoval has lost a ton of weight and should be playing like a man who is auditioning for a fat new contract. He looks motivated.
Cain had a bit of a down year by his standards in 2013 (his ERA of 4.00 was his worst since 2006 and his WHIP of 1.40 his worst since ’09), but his track record suggests a re-emergence in ’14. Bumgarner has established himself as a top-of-the-rotation contributor; pitching is always generally San Fran’s hallmark.
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If the pitching is as good as predicted and the “Kung Fu Panda” Sandoval can mash along with the likes of Brandon Belt and Hunter Pence, the Giants will compete in the National League. For Arizona’s part, Corbin’s injury was pretty devastating. Having said that, the youngster himself emerged out of nowhere last season to be the staff ace – maybe someone else can come out of the reeds.
In 1B Paul Goldschmidt and C Miguel Montero, Arizona features two elite position players. The Snakes even added super-powerful Mark Trumbo in the offseason, and 2B Aaron Hill can hit. Yet, Diamondback pitching looks to be a little scarce in a division that features a laundry list of dangerous hitters on the Dodgers alone. That could be ‘Zona’s undoing.
Not to mention, the D-backs are off to a pretty gross 0-3 start to the season, thanks to a sweep Down Under. Arizona can take solace in the fact that if the pitching gets really gnarly, it has three good shortstops in Chris Owings, Didi Gregorius and Cliff Pennington, so it could flip one and a prospect to a team for pitching help.
In the Giants’ season opener, they squeaked past 9-8. They’ll roll out Cain Tuesday night and if that goes well, they could think about a sweep, or at least a series win. That would really put Arizona behind the eight ball to start this young regular season.
Even though Cahill wasn’t great a week ago, I could see Arizona’s sluggers getting to Hudson at hitter-friendly Chase Field Wednesday night. Look for Trumbo to go deep and the Snakes to pound themselves out a much-needed victory.
Arizona 7, San Francisco 2
