Back The Under In Giants Vs Cardinals

Giants vs. Cardinals, 7:45 ET

We had a play in this series yesterday, and I figure we should have another one today. Why? Well, there is no reason in particular other than I like this specific matchup and the opportunity it presents. I’ve brought this up before, but my buddy Geoff Clark (fellow Outkick writer) said that our edge on the book is we can bet on what we want, even if it is the numbers they produce. This game between the Giants and Cardinals is the one I want.

This will be the sixth game between the Cardinals and Giants and thus far, it has been mostly Giants. In a season that has seen the Giants all over the map in terms of production and success, it can be hard to predict when the good Giants will come out, and when the bad Giants will play. On the other hand, the Cardinals have been basically nothing but bad this season, but in full disclosure, that has been hard for me to accept and wasn’t something I predicted. The Cardinals still are hitting the ball well enough to keep them in the game, but their pitching staff has been so brutal that the hitting just can’t overcome it. The Giants on the other hand go through spurts where they look like a playoff team, and then spurts where they look like a lottery team (if the MLB had a lottery, but you get my point). I don’t think anyone is necessarily panicking since it is mid-June, but things need to change. The Giants are playing with house money because no one expected anything from them. The Cardinals need to make some runs because they should have coasted to this division win, only really needing to battle the Brewers. That hasn’t been the case though.

Tonight, we see Alex Cobb taking on Jack Flaherty. Cobb has been solid for the Giants this season, and his best game of the year came against the Cardinals. His first 10 starts for the Giants this year saw him allow just 21 earned runs over 58 innings. Then things started to fall apart a bit against the Brewers as he allowed seven earned runs. Maybe it was just a blip because he went 7.2 shutout against the Orioles. But, now is he on the same roller coaster as the Giants? He allowed four earned over five innings in Colorado. Maybe I’ll give him a pass because he was playing in Colorado. Jack Flaherty is a guy that I’ve backed numerous times. I think he has a ton of talent and can pitch very well. Unlike Cobb, he started slow. Through his first seven starts, he allowed 24 earned runs over just 34.1 innings. Since a disaster start on May 4th, he has gone 35 innings and allowed just eight earned runs. I expect more of this Flaherty moving forward. He didn’t face the Cardinals in the first series against them.

I’m going to take the under in this game, specifically the first five. I like the way that both pitchers are pitching right now. I am a little concerned that Cobb could be coming out of his excellent start. He has never been the most dominant pitcher, but he has looked good. Flaherty seems to be in good form and I think both guys can hold the opponent under through five innings.

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