Pirates, Giants (-235) both head into AT&T on two-game slides
Pirates, Giants (-235) both head into AT&T on two-game slides
Tim Lincecum looks to avenge a loss in Pittsburgh 10 days ago he and the Giants take on Paul Maholm and the Pirates at AT&T Park to begin a three-game set in San Francisco.
It's an interesting matchup to open the season's 17th week. On one hand, the home team Giants are clearly the better team this season. Yet it's the Pirates who are closer to the lead in their division.
Both teams come into this one on two-game losing streaks. San Francisco has been on the road since the break, starting in Pittsburgh and then traveling to Atlanta and Colorado where they took a split in their four-game set with the Rockies after winning the first two games. Pittsburgh was in Arizona over the weekend where they dropped three of four in their series with the Diamondbacks.
With the two offenses ranked down near the bottom of the NL in scoring, this should be a series that features the pitchers at AT&T Park, beginning with Game 1 on Monday when Paul Maholm (12-8, 4.63) faces Tim Lincecum (12-8, 2.45).
Maholm pitched a whale of a game against the Giants just after the All-Star break against Lincecum and San Fran in what was eventually a 2-1 Pittsburgh win in 14 innings. The Pittsburgh port-sider tossed eight innings, allowing just four hits (all singles) and a single unearned run while striking out seven.
The Pirates have won four of Maholm's last five starts with their offense ramping things up in that span scoring an average of six runs per contest compared to the 4.20 they're averaging overall this season. The Bucs are 4-1 the last five times it was Maholm's turn in the rotation, the loss coming in San Fran late last season when the lefty worked six innings and allowed just one run. His ERA over those five goes against the Giants is a very nice 2.57 (35 innings).
Lincecum also pitched well in the game he started opposite Maholm on July 17, striking out 10 in seven innings with the only run he surrendered coming plateward on a Garrett Jones homer. Jones accounted for all of the Pirates' offense in that game with a second solo shot in the bottom of the 14th for the walk-off win. That was just the second time in his short career that Lincecum has faced Pitt, both of them SF defeats and both at home.
San Francisco has dropped both of Lincecum's post-ASG starts, though with a little extra offense they could've won both of them. But then, that has been the case for him and the rest of the Giants mound a lot of the times with the team scoring just under four runs per game on average on the season. In five of the eight losses Lincecum has had the ball to start a game, the lineup has managed to score two runs or less five times.
Looks like a cool, humid night in the general San Francisco area, maybe in the low-60s by game time but with little shot of rain being a factor. Winds are listed at 10-15 MPH out of the West (out to center).
In Game 2 on Tuesday, Charlie Morton (3-4, 3.86) is on for Pittsburgh while Barry Zito (9-11) takes the mound for San Francisco. The Wednesday matinee finds Zach Duke (9-11, 3.42) facing Matt Cain (15-5, 2.27) in another dandy matchup of arms.
Lincecum is drawing -230 to -240 chalk even as high as -250 at a few shops, with the total set at 7 for the series opener. The Giants are even bigger chalk at TheGreek to win the series, with San Fran priced at -270 and Pittsburgh at +220. I personally think Cain will be the safest arm to back in this series when he should be a smaller favorite against Duke than Lincecum is against Maholm today. As for today, a small play on both the Giants in the series and Lincecum are my picks even though I hate all that chalk.
Tim Lincecum looks to avenge a loss in Pittsburgh 10 days ago he and the Giants take on Paul Maholm and the Pirates at AT&T Park to begin a three-game set in San Francisco.
It's an interesting matchup to open the season's 17th week. On one hand, the home team Giants are clearly the better team this season. Yet it's the Pirates who are closer to the lead in their division.
Both teams come into this one on two-game losing streaks. San Francisco has been on the road since the break, starting in Pittsburgh and then traveling to Atlanta and Colorado where they took a split in their four-game set with the Rockies after winning the first two games. Pittsburgh was in Arizona over the weekend where they dropped three of four in their series with the Diamondbacks.
With the two offenses ranked down near the bottom of the NL in scoring, this should be a series that features the pitchers at AT&T Park, beginning with Game 1 on Monday when Paul Maholm (12-8, 4.63) faces Tim Lincecum (12-8, 2.45).
Maholm pitched a whale of a game against the Giants just after the All-Star break against Lincecum and San Fran in what was eventually a 2-1 Pittsburgh win in 14 innings. The Pittsburgh port-sider tossed eight innings, allowing just four hits (all singles) and a single unearned run while striking out seven.
The Pirates have won four of Maholm's last five starts with their offense ramping things up in that span scoring an average of six runs per contest compared to the 4.20 they're averaging overall this season. The Bucs are 4-1 the last five times it was Maholm's turn in the rotation, the loss coming in San Fran late last season when the lefty worked six innings and allowed just one run. His ERA over those five goes against the Giants is a very nice 2.57 (35 innings).
Lincecum also pitched well in the game he started opposite Maholm on July 17, striking out 10 in seven innings with the only run he surrendered coming plateward on a Garrett Jones homer. Jones accounted for all of the Pirates' offense in that game with a second solo shot in the bottom of the 14th for the walk-off win. That was just the second time in his short career that Lincecum has faced Pitt, both of them SF defeats and both at home.
San Francisco has dropped both of Lincecum's post-ASG starts, though with a little extra offense they could've won both of them. But then, that has been the case for him and the rest of the Giants mound a lot of the times with the team scoring just under four runs per game on average on the season. In five of the eight losses Lincecum has had the ball to start a game, the lineup has managed to score two runs or less five times.
Looks like a cool, humid night in the general San Francisco area, maybe in the low-60s by game time but with little shot of rain being a factor. Winds are listed at 10-15 MPH out of the West (out to center).
In Game 2 on Tuesday, Charlie Morton (3-4, 3.86) is on for Pittsburgh while Barry Zito (9-11) takes the mound for San Francisco. The Wednesday matinee finds Zach Duke (9-11, 3.42) facing Matt Cain (15-5, 2.27) in another dandy matchup of arms.
Lincecum is drawing -230 to -240 chalk even as high as -250 at a few shops, with the total set at 7 for the series opener. The Giants are even bigger chalk at TheGreek to win the series, with San Fran priced at -270 and Pittsburgh at +220. I personally think Cain will be the safest arm to back in this series when he should be a smaller favorite against Duke than Lincecum is against Maholm today. As for today, a small play on both the Giants in the series and Lincecum are my picks even though I hate all that chalk.
