Oakland Athletics vs San Francisco Giants (4/27/22) Starting Lineup, Betting Odds, Prediction

Think about this: This is an interleague, cross-bay battle. When the Oakland Athletics and the San Francisco Giants meet up, it’s one of my favorite series of the season.

Sadly, it won’t be as fun this year.

The A’s have sold the farm and are actively heading downhill. Behind some Billy Beane magic, the A’s are still above .500 at the time of this writing, but I’m not expecting that to continue throughout the season.

The Giants are one of the four 10-win teams in the NL West, and it seems that San Francisco will give the Dodgers a race for the division title again. The Giants are such a well-run organization, and it seems they’re set up well for the future.

Let’s dive into the starting lineups, betting odds, and my prediction for this matchup.

Oakland Athletics vs San Francisco Giants Odds

The only reason Oakland is getting so much respect in the betting markets is the pitching matchup.

Paul Blackburn has been excellent, and he might be the only bright spot in Oakland this season.

Meanwhile, Jakob Junis should be as expected. He wasn’t all too good with Kansas City, and I’m not sure if San Francisco can fix him.

Or can this pitching staff do the impossible?

Let’s dig in more.

Oakland Athletics Starting Lineup

LF Tony Kemp L
3B Sheldon Neuse R
C Sean Murphy R
1B Seth Brown L
DH Christian Bethancourt R
RF Billy McKinney L
SS Elvis Andrus R
CF Christian Pache R
2B Nick Allen R

Oakland Athletics vs Jakob Junis

There’s nothing to like about the A’s lineup, which is in the bottom three in xwOBA and the bottom eight in wRC+ (88).

Jed Lowrie is also on the 10-day IL alongside starting LF Chad Pinder. So, the A’s are shorthanded alongside being untalented.

But maybe there’s something to like about Junis? In his first start as a Giant, he pitched five scoreless against the nationals with four strikeouts and no walks. And this A’s lineup is just as untalented as that Nationals lineup.

Junis’ xFIP that game was closer to 3.00 than 0.00, but that’s still a solid number. Again, you have to wonder if this Giants pitching staff is as good as advertised.

It’s far too early to tell. Projections have Junis finishing with an ERA in the mid-4.00s. But that’s based on the old Junis, not the one we’re maybe currently seeing on the West Coast.

San Francisco Giants Starting Lineup

RF Mike Yastrzemski L
1B Brandon Belt L
DH Darin Ruf R
LF Joc Pederson L
SS Brandon Crawford L
3B Wilmer Flores R
2B Thairo Estrada R
CF Steven Duggar L
C Joey Bart R

San Francisco Giants vs Paul Blackburn

Through three starts this season, Blackburn is proving all the haters wrong.

There’s a lot of baseball left to be played, but posting a 1.80 ERA and a 1.40 FIP over 15 innings and three starts is very promising.

Look for a sinker-heavy approach but with an overall solid mix of stuff. But he’s reshaped his arsenal to adjust to modern-day hitters, and it’s starting to show results.

Paul Blackburn reshaped his curve to pair better with his sinker. It's led to more effectiveness so far this year, but is it sustainable? pic.twitter.com/i8SRmTRBRn

— Eric Samulski (@SamskiNYC) April 20, 2022

Blackburn has also gotten his control under … err, control. He’s only walked one of the first 55 batters he’s faced, and that should come in handy against a very smart Giants lineup.

The Giants are off to a hot start. San Fran has posted a 109 wRC+ through the first stretch of the season, although the power numbers have dropped off a bit from last season.

If you are looking for a power guy on this roster, look no further than Brandon Belt. He’s slugging .500 so far this year and has hit four homers, a double, and a triple.

Oakland Athletics vs San Francisco Giants Pick & Prediction

My pick: San Francisco Giants ML (-145 at DraftKings)

Blackburn is overvaluing the A’s. The Giants are the better team in every other area, but they’re not laying more juice because of the starting pitching matchup.

But are we even sure that Blackburn is that much better than Junis? I think the jury is still out, and I’m willing to bet on him being undervalued by the betting public.

I’ll take the Giants to win the game at -150 or better.