The Arizona Diamondbacks will look to hold onto their slim lead atop the AL West when they begin a series with the San Francisco Giants Monday night. The Diamondbacks have won four of the six head-to-head meetings between the two teams this season. However, the two sides are an even betting favorite for Monday’s game.
The Diamondbacks hit a rough patch for most of May, losing 15 of 17 at one point, dropping them back to .500. However, Arizona has managed to respond over the past week, winning five of their last six games. Of course, those wins have come against the Reds and Marlins, and they now face a tougher challenge when they visit the Giants.
San Francisco also endured a swoon at the end of May, although one that wasn’t quite as dramatic as Arizona’s. The Giants have started to right the ship, sweeping the Phillies over the weekend to pull within one game of .500. Despite the losing record, they are just 2.5 games behind the Diamondbacks in the NL West. The Arizona Diamondbacks are -115 over the San Francisco Giants on Monday.
Another Godley Effort
Zack Godley will start for the Diamondbacks on Monday. When he faced the Giants in April, he tossed seven shutout innings, allowing just four hits while striking out nine. However, his performances since then have been a little more uneven. He picked up a win in his last time out to break a string of five straight starts without a victory. On the season, he’s just 5-4 with a 4.38 ERA.
Despite Godley’s success the last time he faced the Giants, hitters like Andrew McCutchen, Hunter Pence, and Buster Posey all have good career numbers against him. McCutchen, Posey, and Evan Longoria are all red hot right now, so San Francisco’s lineup could present some challenges for Godley.
Keep the Ball Rolling
During their weekend sweep of the Phillies, San Francisco pitching allowed just one run. It’s now up to Derek Holland to keep that going. The lefty hasn’t been overly impressive this season, going 3-6 with a 4.94 ERA. But he’s been a viable back-end starter and actually had his best start of the season against the Diamondbacks back in April. In that outing, Holland allowed two runs over six innings while striking out eight, despite taking the loss.
After that outing, the hitters on Arizona’s roster are a combined 8 for 51 (.157) against Holland in their careers. The Diamondbacks are also missing A.J. Pollock and Steven Souza, making it difficult to find an Arizona hitter who’s having a good year outside of David Peralta. That being said, Paul Goldschmidt is finally showing signs of turning it around while Ketel Marte is hitting .421 over his last seven games, giving the Diamondbacks a spark during their winning streak.
The betting line on this game is even for good reason. Both teams enter coming off a sweep, so each has positive momentum. However, Godley is more likely to keep it going for his team than Holland. The Giants aren’t likely to get more than five innings from Holland, while the San Francisco bullpen is one of the worst in the National League. The Diamondbacks, on the other hand, have the best bullpen ERA in the National League. That’s enough of an advantage to lean toward Arizona. Take the Arizona Diamondbacks -115 over the San Francisco Giants on Monday.