3 Best Bets for Tuesday's Bay Bridge Series Matchup: A's at Giants (7/25/23)

With the Oakland Athletics (28-74) possibly headed to Southern Nevada in the coming years, 2023 may sadly be one of their final installments of the Bay Bridge Series versus the San Francisco Giants (54-47). As a native Northern Californian, this matchup always hits a little differently for me.

As it is now, the A's are still in the East Bay, and the regional rivalry can proceed.

On Tuesday night, the Athletics will make the short trip across the 8.5-mile span of the San Francisco Bay Bridge to visit the neighboring Giants at picturesque Oracle Park. For the season, this will be the first meeting of NorCal's two MLB teams.

Baseball has and always will be interwoven into the fabric of Bay Area culture. Don't forget: the one time these two sides met in the World Series (in their current cities), planet Earth simply could not handle the intensity. Things were shook up rather quickly ...

For those keeping track, Oakland leads the all-time series against San Francisco by a tally of 72-68 (not including the 1989 World Series). Of course, the current landscape is much more in favor of the Giants, who are still fighting for postseason contention in 2023.

To keep a strong week going, let's survey the markets at FanDuel Sportsbook to find the three best bets for Tuesday's Battle of the Bay.

All MLB odds via FanDuel Sportsbook

Under 8.0 Runs (-104)

To begin, Oracle Park -- on the banks of San Francisco's Mission Bay -- is one of the most pitcher-friendly venues ever created. Not only is the ballpark subjected to dense, cool air from the surrounding water, but it sits exactly at sea level. With little to no elevation coupled with large field dimensions, home runs at Oracle Park are always earned -- especially during night games.

Southpaw Ken Waldichuk will be the starting pitcher for Oakland while 2023 All-Star Alex Cobb gets the ball for the Giants. In his 12th MLB season, Cobb is having a career resurgence. Behind a jaw-dropping ground-ball rate (GB%) of 57%, Cobb has done extremely well to keep runs off the board; he currently holds a SIERA of 3.77 headed into Tuesday's tilt.

Lastly, I feel great about under 8.0 runs tonight because the Giants are depleted on offense right now (Brandon Crawford and Thairo Estrada are still out). Over SF's past six contests, they have combined to score grand total of nine runs. San Francisco is simply not hitting, and they certainly are not hitting well against left-handed pitching -- the Giants carry a wOBA of .299 against lefties in 2023.

Giants Run Line -1.5 (-118)

Despite recent struggles, the Giants are both at home -- where they are 26-22 -- and more talented than the Athletics at the moment.

Against the lefty Waldichuk, leadoff hitter Austin Slater will look to set the table for San Francisco; Slater has a .905 OPS in 68 plate appearances versus left-handed pitching this season. J.D. Davis and switch-hitting rookie catcher Patrick Bailey will also need to take quality at-bats for the Giants to come out of their offensive rut.

I mentioned San Francisco not faring well versus southpaws this season, but Waldichuk has had a rough campaign on the bump. The Oakland hurler is allowing a career-worst 1.80 home runs per nine innings.

Considering the A's have been a historically bad team in 2023 (scoring an MLB-bottom 3.57 per game so far), tonight seems like a favorable time to take Giants -1.5 (-118).

Ken Waldichuk Over 4.5 Strikeouts (-112)

I brought up the fact that San Francisco has major issues with left-handed pitching, so we may as well hone in there.

In 2023, the Giants team OPS versus lefties is .682 (compared to .761 against right-handed pitching). Additionally, San Francisco has struck out more than any other side in the National League this year, logging a whopping 957 punch outs (or 9.48 Ks per game). When they face southpaw pitching, the Giants strikeout percentage is an abysmal 24.5%.

Waldichuk may not be Randy Johnson, but he has gone over 4.5 strikeouts in each of his past two starts. With SF struggling to make contact right now, I like this pitching prop in a regional market rivalry.

Keep in mind: Waldichuk should have some support in the stands. Tuesday's "Battle of the Bay" should bring out more A's fans to San Francisco than is typically in attendance for a home game at the Oakland Coliseum.

The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.