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Free MLB Pick: Cubs vs Giants Odds
Looking for Chicago Cubs vs. San Francisco Giants free picks? MLB betting sees the Cubs taking on the Giants on Monday, October 10th at AT&T Park in San Francisco, CA in Game 3 of the 2016 NLDS. Cappers Picks provides complimentary expert handicapping picks on all MLB baseball matchups all season long so stay tuned for more FREE daily MLB predictions.
(2-0) Chicago Cubs vs. San Francisco Giants (0-2)
Date: Monday, October 7, 2016
Time: 9:00 PM ET
Venue: AT&T Park in San Francisco, CA
Projected Pitchers: Jake Arrieta vs. Madison Bumgarner
MLB Moneyline Odds: Giants -125
MLB RunLine Betting Odds: Off
MLB Betting Total: 6.0
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Going into Game 3 on the road against Madison Bumgarner, the Cubs have to be feeling as good as any team could in that scenario.
Despite getting just three hits in Game 1 and having their starting pitcher in Game 2 forced out in the fourth inning after taking a line drive to the forearm, the Cubs are still up 2-0.
And, they will send the 2015 NL Cy Young Award winning in the potential clincher.
This will be one heck of a matchup as Bumgarner is one of the best postseason pitchers we may ever see.
Chicago Cubs
The Chicago Cubs pitchers proved to be the difference in Game 2 but not in the way you would expect.
Kyle Hendricks drove in 2 runs and Travis Wood hit a solo home run as the pitchers provided the difference in the 5-2 victory. The win in Game 2 was the type of win you need to get to compete for a World Series.
It won’t always be pretty in the playoffs but finding ways to win is all that matters and the Cubs did that in Game 2 despite committing three errors.
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They will now turn to Jake Arrieta in the potential clinching game on the road. Maddon’s plan to have Arrieta in this game could pay off as Arrieta seems to possess that clutch gene in a similar fashion to Bumgarner.
Arrieta delivered a complete game shutout in last year’s Wild Card game to start the Cubs run to the NLCS. However, he has struggled in the last couple of months giving up 5 or more runs on three occasions over his last 8 starts.
His numbers against the Giants are good though – he is 4-2 with a 1.82 ERA in 6 career starts against San Francisco. But, Arrieta will virtually need to be mistake free with Bumgarner on the other side.
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The Cubs will need to do what they can to get Bumgarner’s pitch count up because the only way they may beat him is by getting him out of the game. However, with this being Bumgarner’s only appearance in the series, you can bet Bruce Bochy will aim to send him the distance.
The only Cubs hitter with good numbers against Bumgarner is Ben Zobrist who has 6 hits in 12 at bats but only 2 extra base hits and 1 RBI.
As a team, the Cubs are hitting just .222 off of him with 3 home runs in 183 plate appearances. So it will be up to Arrieta to be as dominant as Bumgarner and up to Maddon and the Cubs lineup to find a way to manufacture a run or two.
San Francisco Giants
The Giants would be in an incredible position if they were just able to squeak out a win in either game in Chicago. With Bumgarner going in Game 3 and another home game in Game 4, the Giants could have had the Cubs on the ropes.
However, they couldn’t grab a win on the road and will now need to win three straight against the best team in baseball from this season.
The Cubs only lost 3 in a row 4 times this season and three of those came during a befuddling stretch where the Cubs lost 15 of 21 games.
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However, the experience on the Giants roster isn’t thinking about the fact that they need to win three straight. They are focused on Game 3 and Game 3 only. And, they likely feel very good knowing Bumgarner will be on the hill.
Bumgarner holds a career 8-3 record in the playoffs with a 1.94 ERA. He hasn’t given up a run in the playoffs in his last 23 innings. He is calm, cool, and collected under pressure and doesn’t back down from anything.
He won’t be afraid of the Cubs lineup and he will set foot on the rubber with the intention of pitching the entire game and not letting a single run cross the plate.
The emotion of a potential clincher is much more likely to affect the visiting young Cubs team than Bumgarner. After Conor Gillaspie hit the game winning home run against the Mets, Bumgarner approached him and simply said “Conor, I respect the hell out of that.”
The guy is so focused on pitching and winning that emotion will never come into play. You can imagine if the Giants are to reach a Game 5, Bumgarner will be begging Bochy to let him come in the game – similar to when he did in the last 5 innings of the World Series on two days rest in 2014.
The Giants are the team with their backs against the wall here and the confidence of having Bumgarner on the mound should carry over to the offense getting some production.
MLB Baseball Betting Trends:
- The Cubs are 6-3 against the Giants this season and postseason
- The 9 matchups between the teams this season averaged 5.3 total runs per game
- Bumgarner has a 1.94 career postseason ERA
- Bumgarner hasn’t given up a run in the postseason in his last 23 innings pitched.
- Cubs hitters have a .222 career batting average against Bumgarner.
- Giants hitters have a .198 career batting average against Bumgarner.
- Span, Belt and Posey (the Giants likely 1-2-3 hitters) have a career .111 batting average against Arrieta
Free Chicago Cubs vs. San Francisco Giants MLB Prediction:
There are a few guidelines to gamble by – and this pertains to everyone. One of them is you don’t get rich betting against Bumgarner in the playoffs. He has that killer instinct in him that cannot be ignored.
I think Arrieta will pitch a good game as well but it won’t be enough to outduel Bumgarner.
4* Free MLB Betting Pick: Giants -125
The most that the Cubs will get across against Bumgarner will be a run or two. I don’t see Arrieta giving up more than a couple either.
I like the Giants to win but also this game to go under the low total of 6.
BONUS Pick: Under 6.0 Runs
MLB Free Score Prediction: San Francisco Giants 3, Chicago Cubs 1
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