Giants vs Cardinals Prediction and Odds for Friday, May 13 (Giants Stay Hot Behind Logan Webb)

The 19-12 San Francisco Giants have won five straight as they open a three-game series in St. Louis against the 17-14 Cardinals tonight at 8:15 PM EST.

St. Louis has lost four of five but hope to right the ship with Jordan Hicks set to pitch today. Hicks allowed two runs in 4.1 innings against the Giants last week, a game the Cardinals ultimately lost 3-2. He's averaging just 2.7 innings pitched per start, so St. Louis will rely heavily on their bullpen in this one.

Logan Webb gets the call for San Francisco and though he has a quality start in four of his six outings, his worst start of the season came against the Cardinals last week as he surrendered eight hits and four runs in five innings.

Can Webb get revenge or will St. Louis snap out of their slump behind Hicks?

Let's take a gander at the odds from WynnBET Sportsbook to help find some value in this Giants vs Cardinals matchup:

Giants vs. Cardinals Odds, Run Line and Total

Run Line:

• Giants: -1.5 (+140)
• Cardinals: +1.5 (-165)

Moneyline:

• Giants: -121
• Cardinals: +111

Total:

• 7.5 (Over -110/Under -110)

Giants vs. Cardinals Prediction and Pick

The Giants' lineup is rolling. Over their five-game winning streak, they're averaging 8.2 runs per game and now rank ninth in OPS on the season. Jordan Hicks has performed well this season but he's in the 12th percentile in barrel percentage and 10th in walk rate. His 4.50 FIP (Fielding Independent Pitching) also implies he's been a bit lucky to this point.

San Francisco averages the fifth-most walks per game and that patient approach should pay dividends against a pitcher lacking stamina. The Cardinals have one of the best bullpens in the league, but it's still a tall task to cover five or six innings in a single game.

On the other end, Logan Webb is one of my favorite young pitchers in MLB. He's in the 84th percentile in chase rate and 80th in walk rate, so he's adept at generating strikeouts while preventing free passes. Webb has a 3.82 ERA but just a 2.64 FIP, so he's due for some positive regression after giving up 19 hits combined in his last two starts.

St. Louis ranks 23rd in OPS against right-handed pitchers and have scored three or fewer runs in eight of their previous 13 contests. If you remove a poor outing against Washington, Webb is averaging 6.24 innings pitched per start, so he's able to lighten the load on a stout Giants bullpen.

These are teams and pitchers going in opposite directions right now. Hicks is due for negative regression while Webb is due for positive regression, and the Giants have won all six of their games as a road favorite this year. Every single win has come by multiple runs, and I expect more of the same against a Cardinals team that's lost five of seven as an underdog.

Pick: Giants -1.5 (+140)

Follow all of Joe Summers' betting picks here.