MLB Battle By the Bay – Athletics vs Giants

It’ll be a battle by the Bay for baseball bettors on Saturday night. That’s when the San Francisco Giants play host to their next door neighbors, the Oakland A’s.

Oakland Athletics (32-30 SU, 30-32 R/L, 27-33-2 O/U) at San Francisco Giants (32-27 SU, 28-31 R/L, 27-28-4 O/U)
Saturday, June 12: 9:05 p.m.

Oakland:
(Ben Sheets-R)

San Francisco:
(Barry Zito-L)

While this interleague rivalry doesn’t get the play that Mets-Yankees or Cubs-White Sox does, it’s as intense as any. And San Francisco will send their best pitcher to the mound to do battle Saturday.

No we’re not talking about 2009 Cy Young Award winner Tim Lincecum, but the re-born and rejuvenated Barry Zito. After a few tough years early in San Francisco, it appears Zito is back, as he’s pitching like an All-Star early in the season. The lefty enters this game with a 6-2 record, and 3.15 ERA. His last start was one of his worst, as he gave up five earned runs in 5.1 innings against Cincinnati a week ago. Expect a better outing Saturday.

Zito will be opposed on the mound by another pitcher in the midst of a bounce back year, Ben Sheets. Sheets spent his whole career in Milwaukee before sitting out the 2009 campaign, but is back in Oakland in 2010. Early on the results have left a lot to be desired, as Sheets enters the weekend’s mlb betting odds with a disappointing 2-5 record, and 4.96 ERA. He has given up a combined 10 earned runs in his last three starts.

Offensively, neither team could be considered a juggernaut, but it’s Oakland’s lineup that’s a bit deeper. The return of catcher Kurt Suzuki from a recent injury has helped, as the catcher leads this team with eight home runs, including four since June 2. Outfielder Ryan Sweeney leads this team with a .320 batting average, and utility man Kevin Kouzmanoff has 32 runs batted in.

As for San Fran, they don’t have quite the balance in their lineup that Oakland does. Out of all of the Giants regulars, only Aubrey Huff has a batting average at .300 or above (.300 exactly), and it’s utility man Juan Uribe who leads this team in both home runs (nine) and RBI (38). Other than that, this lineup is filled out with a bunch of aging veterans and disappointing youngsters.

So with all that in mind, who should be your Saturday night baseball bet? Take the Giants.

While their offense is no doubt a work in progress, if there is one pitcher that they should be able to rough up it is Sheets. Sheets was a quality starter a few years back, but seems to have lost his ability to get guys out in his year away from the game.

Expect lots of runs for the Giants, and for Zito to pitch deep into this game. And expect a Giants win.

Aaron’s Pick: Giants Money Line