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Carrie Stroup here with your NL Wild Card Game 1 betting line on the Giants vs. Panthers. Place your 1st bet here at Sportsbook.ag and received your 2nd bet FREE up to $100.
First pitch: Wednesday, 8:05 p.m. ET
Sportsbook.ag Line & Total: San Francisco -116, Pittsburgh +106, Total: 6.5
One game is all that separates the Giants and Pirates from moving on to the NLDS to face the Nationals, and the two 88-win clubs will meet Wednesday at PNC Park to determine which club extends its season.
San Francisco had a tough task in the NL West competing with the Dodgers, who have the highest salary in the majors, playing to their potential, but the Giants easily grabbed a Wild Card spot despite going 4-6 over their final 10 games. They did nearly equally as well on offense (665 runs, 12th in league) and in pitching (3.50 ERA, 10th in league) while finishing off the season on a high note with a 9-3 victory over San Diego. C Buster Posey (.311 BA) has been tremendous all year long and comes into this game after going 9-for-25 (.360) with a homer, 3 RBI and three runs over his final seven games. Pittsburgh once again earned its way into the postseason after finishing with a 17-6 kick since Sept. 5, in which pitching reigned supreme by allowing a meager 1.7 runs per game in the victories. The Pirates had no trouble getting on base this year with the fifth-best average (.259) and third-best on-base percentage (.330) in the league.
OF Andrew McCutchen (.314) has put together another phenomenal season and comes into this contest with an eight-game hitting streak in which he is 10-for-22 (.455) with two doubles, two home runs, 8 RBI and eight runs. The pitching matchup for this contest will peg LHP Madison Bumgarner (18-10, 2.98 ERA) of the Giants against RHP Edinson Volquez (13-7, 3.04 ERA) of the host Pirates. San Francisco was solid on the road this season, going 43-38 (.531), but could have a lot of trouble against a Pittsburgh team that was 51-30 (.630) in the confines of its home ballpark. The Pirates have an 11-8 edge in this matchup over the past three seasons while going 6-3 at home and coming away victorious in 4-of-6 games this year.
The Giants will be missing two of their veteran players for this one, as both 2B Marco Scutaro (back) and OF Angel Pagan (back) are out for the season, while Pittsburgh does not have any offensive players injured.
Madison Bumgarner has been extremely consistent over the past four years with at least 13 wins, 200 innings and an ERA below 3.40 each season. In 2014, he has struck out a career-high 9.1 batters per nine innings while posting a career-low walk-rate (1.8 BB/9) which has led to the most wins he’s had in a single season (18). The lanky left-hander has helped his team earn a win in six of his past seven starts, but did poorly his last time out against the Dodgers when he allowed four runs on six hits (3 HR) in 7.1 frames while striking out five (0 walks) in a losing effort.
Over his four career starts against the Pirates, Bumgarner is 1-3 with a 3.24 ERA and 1.20 WHIP, and did not pitch well in his one outing against them this season (4 IP, 6 H, 5 ER, 2 K's, 2 BB's). Both 2B Neil Walker (3-for-9) and OF Josh Harrison (4-for-5, 1 HR) have done well in this matchup over limited at-bats while stud OF Andrew McCutchen is a mere 2-for-10 with a couple of strikeouts against Bumgarner. The Giants’ bullpen has been outstanding this season, going 32-14 (.696) with a 3.01 ERA and 1.07 WHIP while converting 46-of-64 (72%) save chances. Santiago Casilla (1.70 ERA, 19 saves) has a low strikeout-rate (6.9 K/9) for a closer and is 19-for-23 (83%) in his save opportunities on the year.
Edinson Volquez was a welcome surprise for the Pirates’ rotation this season, as he recorded his most wins (13) since 2008 and had a career-best ERA of 3.04. To put into perspective how much of an improvement this was, consider that Volquez has had an ERA of 4.30 or worse in four of the past five seasons while walking at least 4.1 batters per nine innings each year. In 2014, he has allowed a career-low 3.3 BB/9, but may have benefited from some luck too, as batters hit a woeful .263 BABIP against him.
Volquez has been torched by the Giants in his 11 career starts, going 2-2 with a 5.72 ERA and 1.59 WHIP, while striking out an impressive 9.5 batters per nine innings. Both 1B Brandon Belt (8-for-18, 1 HR, 5 RBI) and 3B Pablo Sandoval (6-for-13, 3 doubles, 3 RBI) have done well in this matchup, while SS Brandon Crawford (3-for-20, 7 K's) has done poorly, and OF Hunter Pence (7-for-36, 2 doubles, 1 triple, 3 HR, 9 RBI, 16 K's) is all-or-nothing. Pittsburgh’s bullpen has been great this year, going 33-25 (.569) with a 3.28 ERA and 1.24 WHIP, but converting only 48-of-72 (67%) save chances.
Closer Mark Melancon (1.90 ERA, 33 saves) has struck out one batter per inning while showing amazing control (1.4 BB/9). He has surrendered just two homers all year in his 71 frames (0.25 HR/9).
- Carrie Stroup, Gambling911.com Senior Reporter
