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As World Cup betting marches on, the battle in the NL West has quietly become interesting. The San Diego Padres are starting to put some distance between themselves and the rest of the pack, but it is the Los Angeles Dodgers who are now nipping at the Padres’ heals instead of the San Francisco Giants.

During the pre-season, the sports betting money was on San Francisco or Los Angeles to win the NL West. The Padres and the Colorado Rockies were considered upstart, but not given much of a chance to be a threat. Now that the Padres are in first place and the Rockies have climbed into third ahead of San Francisco, everything is different.

If you bet on MLB then you know that, even in a 162 game season, every game counts. Pitching staffs need momentum to carry them and hitting is all about staying focused. If a team takes off one game, all of that is lost and needs to be re-established. The San Francisco Giants have been taking games off for a better part of June, and now it is really starting to show.

The Giants have lost seven of their last 10 including their last five in a row. A Tim Lincecum start was mixed in there, which means the Cy Young winner is no longer an automatic win for the Giants. The Giants are struggling, and they need to pull out of their tailspin immediately.

The Rockies are like a World Cup final betting underdog country. No one expects them to be where they are, but yet they keep on moving. Lately, the Rockies change in the standings has had more to do with the slumping Giants than anything the Rockies have done. Colorado has gone .500 in their last 10 games, and they will have to improve that if they want to catch the Dodgers who are on a three game winning streak.

For this game the Rockies send Jhoulys Chacin. He has a 4-7 record with a 3.51 ERA. In his last outing he lost, but he struck out 12 batters. If he can get some defensive help and avoid giving up the long ball, he could be a much improved pitcher.

Tim Lincecum takes the mound for the Giants, and he is struggling. He has an 8-3 record along with a 3.13 ERA, but his last start was only three innings against the Red Sox. In that game he threw nearly 80 pitches and gave up four earned runs. He has been struggling for the month of June, and he would like to turn it around in July.

Playing in Colorado has always been a challenge. Even though the Giants have played their before, the thin and colder mountain air can be difficult to adjust to. With a struggling pitcher on the mound trying to regain his confidence, the Giants could be in trouble in this game.

Pick: Colorado Rockies 4-1

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