Saturday’s MLB schedule is highlighted by the Bay Bridge Series between the Oakland Athletics and San Francisco Giants, which takes on extra meaning this year because both teams are among the best in baseball. The Giants won the series opener Friday night 2-0 and are favored to win again on Saturday with a -125 moneyline. Meanwhile, the Oakland moneyline is set at +105.
With Friday’s win, the Giants have now won four in a row, helping them maintain their lead atop the NL West. In fact, San Francisco has now won nine of 10 and has the second-best run differential in the majors at +103. Even with the San Diego Padres winning eight in a row, the Giants hold a 4.5-game lead over both the Padres and Dodgers.
Meanwhile, the A’s have dropped into second place in the AL West amidst the Houston Astros’ 11-game winning streak. Oakland held onto first place in the division for most of May and June but is now playing catch-up. After starting the month of June 13-2, the A’s have now lost five of their last seven games, falling 2.5 games behind the Astros.
The Enigmatic Mr. Montas
The A’s need a win on Saturday, and they’ll look to Frankie Montas to help make it happen. Montas has been up and down all season, going 7-7 in 15 starts while pitching to a 4.79 ERA. Just when it looked like he was starting to figure things out, he bombed in his last start, giving up eight runs over 5.2 innings against the last-place Rangers.
The Giants will look for similar results, as they’ve been hot offensively lately despite managing just two runs on Friday. Over their last 10 games, San Francisco is averaging 7.5 runs per game. Wilmer Flores has emerged as the team’s hottest hitter over the past week, as both he and Mike Yastrzemski have three home runs each in their last five games, while Steven Duggar and Brandon Crawford are both swinging hot bats as well.
Chopping Wood
For San Francisco, it’s Alex Wood’s turn to take the mound on Saturday. Wood has made 12 starts this year, going 6-3 with a 4.09 ERA, bouncing back after a rough 2020 season. However, Wood has been far less reliable in June, getting knocked out early in two of his last four starts while posting an 8.50 ERA over those four starts.
The A’s are hoping to add to Wood’s recent struggles as they look to get back on track. Oakland has scored three runs or less in four of the team’s last seven games, which is one of the biggest team-wide slumps of the season. However, the trio of Matt Olson, Ramon Laureano, and Mark Canha has been able to carry the Oakland offense for most of the season, helping the A’s avoid prolonged slumps.
Trouble at the Top
The Giants are rightly favored in this game based on the way they’ve swung the bats in recent weeks. But Wood’s recent struggles make it difficult to trust San Francisco as a favorite. That means the value in this game is taking the A’s as underdogs knowing that Montas is at least capable of giving them a quality start.
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