
Originally Posted by
Dan Druff
The SD/Arizona game tonight is interesting. It features Rich Hill, who hasn't gotten out of the 4th inning in his past 2 starts (and wasn't pitching well before that), and Zac Gallen, who was lights out for the first half of the season, and then became mediocre for five straight starts from early July to early August. Last time out, he looked back to his former self, and shut out the Padres for 6 innings.
The ploppies LOVE Arizona tonight. They get All-Star Zac Gallen against 43-year-old Rich Hill, who appears to finally be finished. And they get a small dog price! What a steal!
But this has trap written all over it. The money is more on the Padres, while the number of tickets are more on Arizona -- one of the indicators that the sharp bettors like SD and the ploppies like AZ.
Does this mean I like SD? Not really. There's no doubt that Rich Hill is bordering on useless. In his last 10 starts, the best he's done was give up 2 ER. In 8 of those 10 starts, he lasted fewer than 6 innings. In 3 of the past 4, he didn't make it through five innings. The only thing to his credit is that the only complete bombing was on August 6th against the Dodgers, which of course happens to a lot of pitchers these days. Additionally, Gallen shut down these same Padres last time out. So do I really like Hill at a small favorite line today? Nope.
I think the safer bet is a first-5 over. You'll notice that BOL has the strange O4 -145 line. That's indicative they're trying to push sharps away from betting on it, rather than simply moving it to 4.5. Good sign.
Don't bet it on BOL. Look elsewhere. I have a book taking 4.5 -110, and I see it elsewhere, as well.
San Diego (Hill) vs Arizona (Gallen) - OVER 4.5 -110 - FIRST 5 INNINGS