posted May 15, 2008 at 17:11 in MLB Betting Trends
Bet On MLB Baseball – Giants Host Red-Hot Astros
by Eric Williams
The Houston Astros, (23-18, 27-14 RL) weren’t predicted to do much this season, other than field an average team that would likely end up in the middle of the pack in the National League Central this season.
Instead, the Astros have played solid baseball nearly all season and enter tonight’s online sports betting matchup against the San Francisco Giants, (17-24, 22-19 RL) as one of the hottest online betting go to teams in all of baseball, having won five of their last six sports betting contests in the BetUS Sportsbook and eight of ten overall, including a convincing 6-3 win over the Giants on Wednesday night.
San Francisco will have an excellent chance to end their four-game set with Houston with at least a split by sending overpowering right-hander Tim Lincecum, (5-1, 1.61 ERA) to the mound for the series finale.
Lincecum is second in the National League in ERA and third in strikeouts (53), and has given San Francisco a quality start in each of his seven outings this season.
Lincecum had his full arsenal of pitches on display in his last outing, limiting the Philadelphia Phillies to two runs on four hits while striking out eight in eight innings in Saturday’s 8-2 win over.
The Astros will counter with right-hander Chris Sampson (2-3, 6.27) who is also coming off a strong start in his last outing as he shut out the Los Angeles Dodgers for seven innings, allowing just three hits.
"That's the Chris Sampson we've been looking for," Astros manager Cecil Cooper said. "He was in command throughout. He was really efficient early, pitching down in the strike zone, mixing his pitches in and out, using his changeup and throwing his two-seamer to get the ball to sink and run. That was vintage Sampson tonight."
Here is a look at tonight’s key trends followed by my MLB Wagering Free Picks:
The Astros are 5-0 in Sampson’s last 5 road starts vs. a team with a losing record.
The Astros are 7-1 in Sampson’s last 8 starts vs. a team with a losing record.
The Giants are 6-1 in their last 7 games as a home favorite.
The Giants are 6-1 in their last 7 games as a favorite.
The Over is 7-1 in Sampson’s last 8 starts with 4 days of rest.
The Over is 6-1 in Giants last 7 games with the total set at 7.0-8.5.
The Under is 5-2-1 in the last 8 meetings.
The Astros are 18-41 in the last 59 meetings.
The Astros are 6-15 in the last 21 meetings in San Francisco.
Analysis: While Houston’s Chris Sampson is coming off a fine outing and first baseman Lance Berkman is almost literally knocking the cover off the ball right now, I’m going to take the Giants behind the overpowering Lincecum, to win this matchup.
MLB Free Picks: Giants 4 Astros 2
03:45 PM EST MLB Lines
Chris Sampson - R +1½ -160
Tim Lincecum - R -1½ +140
Over 8 -115
Under 8 -105
National League
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