Phillies send Pedro Martinez to hill with 1-0 lead over Dodgers
That the Phillies and Dodgers are in the NLCS is no big surprise; the fact they are sending Pedro Martinez and Vicente Padilla to face each other for Game 2 is the shocker.
I've been sitting here thinking of what could have been a more unlikely starting pitching matchup for an NLCS game back in April, and there really isn't one that I can think of. You could throw out Ross Ohlendorf and the Pirates facing J.D. Martin and the Nationals perhaps and that would have been a wild bet.
But Pedro Martinez and Vicente Padilla? Really?
Pedro and Vicente will indeed lock horns in Game 2 after the Phils opened the final series to decide the 2009 NL Pennant with an 8-6 win on Thursday night. Cole Hamels and Philadelphia defied the betting odds in Game 1 as +125 dog; Martinez & Co. have virtually the same number to beat today with LA and Padilla listed as -140 favorites with the total set at 9.
Martinez was on again, off again for the NLDS against the Rockies and this will be his first start since Sep 30. He got banged around pretty good like facing what was then a very poor-closing Astros team, though the Phils won that game. This ain't his first rodeo though as he started a dozen postseason games for the Red Sox over the years with a nice little 3.40 playoff ERA.
This also won't be his first game at Dodger Stadium having starting his career with the organization before being dealt away to Les Expos for Delino DeShields. It has been a while since he pitched here, the last start coming as a member of the Mets in 2006. Pedro's stint on the mound wasn't pretty in an 8-6 loss that day.
Padilla pitching for the Dodgers is even stranger than Pedro going for the Phils. Here's a guy who was part of a decent team in Texas for most of the season, then just fell out of favor in early August with rangers GM Jon Daniels. Essentially he was deemed a "bad teammate" to quote a piece on Dallasnews.com. I have a sneaking suspension he pissed Nolan Ryan off more than anything and his final game with the Rangers (Aug 5) found him in disfavor with his own teammates when he beaned A's catcher Kurt Suzuki.
That's ancient history now and after he caught on with the Dodgers he did very well, just as Pedro with the Phils. And Like Martinez, Padilla is facing his former team after he spent over five seasons with the Phillies at the turn of the 2000's, coming to Philadelphia as compensation for the D-Backs getting Curt Schilling.
The righthander from Nicaragua was strong in LA's clinching win in St. Louis last Saturday, an effort that led Joe Torre to making him the No. 2 starter for this round. Still, both Torre and Philadelphia's Charlie Manuel are rolling the dice with their pitchers in this one. There could be eight runs scored the first three innings, or both could throw shutout ball through the sixth or seventh.
I like the Dodgers to even this up today, and to score a run or two late that helps run line tickets cash (-1½, +150).
STARTING PITCHERS
NLCS Game 2, Fri, 4:07 p.m. (ET): Pedro Martinez 8-1, 3.63; first postseason start) vs. Vicente Padilla (7-1, 3.20 with Dodgers, 11-7, 4.92 with Rangers, LDS 1-0, 0.00)
UMPIRE
Bruce Dreckman should have the plate for this one, and he's a relatively young guy (39) working just his third playoff series and game behind the plate. He doesn't really offer a wagering lean in my opinion either way, going 13-13 Home/Visitor and 14-10-2 O/U on the totals. Small home faves (up to -140) were 6-1.
He called balls and strikes on both the 2004 and 2005 NLDS round. Coincidentally the farm boy from Marcus, Iowa, called a pair of road wins for the Cardinals in those games. In 2004 St. Louis clinched their NLDS in Los Angeles with a 6-2 win in Game 4 and the very next year they finished off a sweep of the Padres in Game 3 by a 7-4 count.
WEATHER
Temps are supposed to climb into the 80s tomorrow under clear skies. Winds are listed from the NNW at 5-10 MPH (in from left-center towards the 1B on deck circle).
NOTE: The W-L records shown for starting pitchers are their team's W-L mark when they start games. Statistical sources for this article were Retrosheet.org, Baseball-Reference.com and ESPN.com and of course, S-BEE-R-dot-com!
That the Phillies and Dodgers are in the NLCS is no big surprise; the fact they are sending Pedro Martinez and Vicente Padilla to face each other for Game 2 is the shocker.
I've been sitting here thinking of what could have been a more unlikely starting pitching matchup for an NLCS game back in April, and there really isn't one that I can think of. You could throw out Ross Ohlendorf and the Pirates facing J.D. Martin and the Nationals perhaps and that would have been a wild bet.
But Pedro Martinez and Vicente Padilla? Really?
Pedro and Vicente will indeed lock horns in Game 2 after the Phils opened the final series to decide the 2009 NL Pennant with an 8-6 win on Thursday night. Cole Hamels and Philadelphia defied the betting odds in Game 1 as +125 dog; Martinez & Co. have virtually the same number to beat today with LA and Padilla listed as -140 favorites with the total set at 9.
Martinez was on again, off again for the NLDS against the Rockies and this will be his first start since Sep 30. He got banged around pretty good like facing what was then a very poor-closing Astros team, though the Phils won that game. This ain't his first rodeo though as he started a dozen postseason games for the Red Sox over the years with a nice little 3.40 playoff ERA.
This also won't be his first game at Dodger Stadium having starting his career with the organization before being dealt away to Les Expos for Delino DeShields. It has been a while since he pitched here, the last start coming as a member of the Mets in 2006. Pedro's stint on the mound wasn't pretty in an 8-6 loss that day.
Padilla pitching for the Dodgers is even stranger than Pedro going for the Phils. Here's a guy who was part of a decent team in Texas for most of the season, then just fell out of favor in early August with rangers GM Jon Daniels. Essentially he was deemed a "bad teammate" to quote a piece on Dallasnews.com. I have a sneaking suspension he pissed Nolan Ryan off more than anything and his final game with the Rangers (Aug 5) found him in disfavor with his own teammates when he beaned A's catcher Kurt Suzuki.
That's ancient history now and after he caught on with the Dodgers he did very well, just as Pedro with the Phils. And Like Martinez, Padilla is facing his former team after he spent over five seasons with the Phillies at the turn of the 2000's, coming to Philadelphia as compensation for the D-Backs getting Curt Schilling.
The righthander from Nicaragua was strong in LA's clinching win in St. Louis last Saturday, an effort that led Joe Torre to making him the No. 2 starter for this round. Still, both Torre and Philadelphia's Charlie Manuel are rolling the dice with their pitchers in this one. There could be eight runs scored the first three innings, or both could throw shutout ball through the sixth or seventh.
I like the Dodgers to even this up today, and to score a run or two late that helps run line tickets cash (-1½, +150).
STARTING PITCHERS
NLCS Game 2, Fri, 4:07 p.m. (ET): Pedro Martinez 8-1, 3.63; first postseason start) vs. Vicente Padilla (7-1, 3.20 with Dodgers, 11-7, 4.92 with Rangers, LDS 1-0, 0.00)
UMPIRE
Bruce Dreckman should have the plate for this one, and he's a relatively young guy (39) working just his third playoff series and game behind the plate. He doesn't really offer a wagering lean in my opinion either way, going 13-13 Home/Visitor and 14-10-2 O/U on the totals. Small home faves (up to -140) were 6-1.
He called balls and strikes on both the 2004 and 2005 NLDS round. Coincidentally the farm boy from Marcus, Iowa, called a pair of road wins for the Cardinals in those games. In 2004 St. Louis clinched their NLDS in Los Angeles with a 6-2 win in Game 4 and the very next year they finished off a sweep of the Padres in Game 3 by a 7-4 count.
WEATHER
Temps are supposed to climb into the 80s tomorrow under clear skies. Winds are listed from the NNW at 5-10 MPH (in from left-center towards the 1B on deck circle).
NOTE: The W-L records shown for starting pitchers are their team's W-L mark when they start games. Statistical sources for this article were Retrosheet.org, Baseball-Reference.com and ESPN.com and of course, S-BEE-R-dot-com!