Giants Cardinals Betting – Giants Will Need To Get Offense Going Against Cardinals

There was only so much time before the magic wore off for the defending World Series champion San Francisco Giants, and after finishing the month of May with one of the weakest offenses in MLB betting, they find themselves looking up at the red-hot Arizona Diamondbacks in the wide-open National League West division. San Francisco will look to start the month of June off right and get the offense going on Wednesday against the Cardinals, but given the way that Jake Westbrook has pitched of late that could be easier said than done.

• San Francisco Giants @ St. Louis Cardinals
• Wednesday June 1, 2011 – 8:05 PM ET
• Busch Stadium, St. Louis, Missouri
• Online Sports Betting Odds: San Francisco

Westbrook has allowed just four runs through his past 20 innings of work, and although he has struggled with consistency at times this season he has to be looking forward to testing the defending champions. The Giants’ offense took another hit with the loss of 2010 NL Rookie of the Year Buster Posey for the season, and they will need all they can get out of their pitching staff the rest of the way.

MLB Betting Preview: San Francisco Giants

That staff has been outstanding again leading up to this year’s Belmont Stakes betting race, namely ace Tim Lincecum, who will get the call for San Francisco on Wednesday. Lincecum’s 5-4 record has more to do with a lack of run support than his own performance, and with a 2.22 ERA there should be more ticks in the win column at this point. The Giants rank 28th in the majors in terms of runs scored, and that number will need to be much better to have any chance at challenging for the division title. Andres Torres stepped up with his first career grand slam in a 7-3 win over St. Louis on Monday, but more hitters will need to follow his lead.

MLB Betting Preview: St. Louis Cardinals

The Cardinals know all about players stepping up with veterans Lance Berkman and Matt Holliday breaking through to compete among the top bats in the league through the first couple of months of the season. With Albert Pujols looking like a shadow of the player that tore apart the NL over the past few seasons, Berkman and Holliday have taken the offense on their back. St. Louis’ pitching staff has overachieved as well to this point, but Westbrook has been inconsistent all year and will need another couple of quality starts before he can be counted on.

While the Cardinals have been the more well-rounded team, it is hard to bet against Lincecum, especially with the sense of urgency in the San Francisco clubhouse after Posey went down and they conceded the division to Arizona. Look for Lincecum to get them into the eighth and the Giants’ offense to do just enough to pull this one out.