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Carrie Stroup here with your Giants vs. Cardinals betting line for August 17.
SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS (63-53) at ST LOUIS CARDINALS (75-41)
Sportsbook.ag Line: San Francisco +141, St. Louis -156, Total: 7.0
The Giants will be going for their fifth straight victory when they take on the Cardinals in St. Louis on Monday.
San Francisco is now only 2.5 games back in the NL West after sweeping the Nationals over the weekend. The Giants scored 25 runs in the past three games and will be looking to stay hot offensively against one of the best teams in baseball this season.
St. Louis has been a powerhouse all year long, holding the league’s best record by a significant margin. The team is coming off of a loss against the Marlins in its last game, but won the three-game set and is 7-3 in its past 10 games.
On the mound for the Giants in this game is RHP Chris Heston (11-7, 3.38 ERA, 106 K) and he’ll be going up against RHP Michael Wacha (14-4, 2.93 ERA, 119 K) for the Cardinals. This is the first time that these teams have met on the season, but the Giants are 5-4 against St. Louis over the past three seasons. The Giants are 25-18 against the money line as an underdog of +100 to +150 this season.
The Cardinals, meanwhile, are an incredible 62-23 against the money line as a favorite of -110 or higher this season. OFs Norichika Aoki (Concussion) and Angel Pagan (Knee) and 2B Joe Panik (Back) are out for San Francisco for the next week or so and OF Matt Holliday (Quad) continues to be out for St. Louis.
Chris Heston has been a pleasant surprise for the Giants this season, but he has really struggled in his past two road starts. In those appearances, Heston has pitched just 8.2 innings total and has allowed 12 hits and eight earned runs in that time on the mound. He’ll need to find his groove on Monday or it’ll be tough for San Francisco to come away with this win.
Only four players (Adrianza, Blanco, Pence, Sanchez) from this San Francisco team have faced Michael Wacha and those guys are a combined 1-for-9 against the Cardinals’ starter in this one. If San Francisco is going to beat this elite Cardinals team then 3B Matt Duffy (.306, 10 HRs, 59 RBIs), C Buster Posey (.327, 16 HRs, 78 RBIs) and OF Hunter Pence (.281, 9 HRs, 40 RBIs) will have to get something going at the plate. The three of these guys combined for 14 RBIs in the sweep over the Nationals in their last series.
RP Santiago Casilla (3.79 ERA, 28 SV) will also need to be ready to have his number called. He has been inconsistent as a closer this season and needs to be more reliable moving forward for this Giants team.
Michael Wacha has been an absolute stud for the Cardinals this season and has been in good form as of late, allowing just two earned runs over his past 20.0 innings of work. The Cardinals have earned victories in five of his past six starts and will be feeling confident with him on the mound in this one.
Offensively, OF Jason Heyward (.288, 11 HRs, 43 RBIs) has been one of the most consistent performers for this team on the year. He’s coming off of a game against the Marlins in which he had two homers and three RBIs and should be feeling extremely confident heading into this one. 3B Matt Carpenter (.271, 18 HRs, 62 RBIs) could provide his team with a huge spark if he is to get his bat going on Monday. Carpenter has gotten two hits in three of the past four games, so it is certainly possible.
OF Stephen Piscotty (.333, 1 HR, 11 RBIs) could be an x-factor in this one. He has played in just 24 games this season, but has four hits in the past two games and will be counted on to provide some offense for St. Louis in this game.
- Carrie Stroup, Gambling911.com Senior Reporter
