Barry Zito, Giants take on Wandy, Astros
San Francisco's Barry Zito has a tough act to follow after Tim Lincecum blanked Houston over seven frames on Monday. Wandy Rodriguez hopes to get the Astros into the win column in Game 2 of the series.
A pair of left-handers who were money to bettors last season square off in Houston on Tuesday night in Game 2 of a three-game set between the Giants and Astros.
San Francisco opened the season and the series with a 5-2 win on Monday. Tim Lincecum picked up right where he has left off the last two Cy Young-winning seasons with seven innings of shutout ball to beat Roy Oswalt.
The Giants will trot out veteran Barry Zito tonight against Houston's Wandy Rodriguez. Books currently list the Astros as the -135 chalk, with the 'total' set at eight.
Zito (18-15, 4.03) was a nice money-maker in 2009 for anyone who followed him all season. The Giants only won three extra games than they lost with the left-hander on the hill, yet turned a profit over 5½-units in his starting assignments.
Some of that was due to Zito pitching a little better on the road than at home, to go against conventional wisdom about AT&T Park. And he was stronger as a small road underdog than any other wagering situation during his '09 starts. Sorta' like he is for Tuesday's game with the Giants early plus 125 dogs to Houston using the early lines released at TheGreek and Bookmaker.
Then again, Zito's lone career start at Minute Maid didn't go so well. In August 2008, Zito's lack of control cost him and San Fran in a 6-2 loss in Houston. Astros hitters were uncommonly patient against the southpaw, drawing five walks against Zito and bunching all six of their runs in one frame.
The Giants have won Zito's two starts against Houston in San Francisco the past three seasons.
Like his fellow lefty opponent for this game, Rodriguez (19-14, 3.02) also turned a profit for his followers in '09, finishing in the black by a little more than four units. He was especially strong in the early part of the season when Houston won seven of his first nine starts before going 12-12 the rest of the way.
With his steady improvement the past few seasons, Wandy is no longer under the sportsbooks' radar. Lines really tightened on him after the fast beginning to 2009, and the chalk for this one shows the oddsmakers are going to be tough on him to open this campaign despite his very shaky spring. Rodriguez made six spring starts for a total of 19 1/3 innings, and recorded a 12.10 ERA while surrendering five big flies. He gave up 21 homers in 33 regular season outings last season.
Another similarity Rodriguez shares with Zito is he took the loss in his only career start in Houston versus the Giants. Granted, this was back in 2006 before Wandy started to come around and find himself. Still, it was at home and San Francisco lit him up for 11 runs (six earned) and five walks in less than four innings of an eventual 14-3 Giants triumph. Five of those runs scored in the top of the first on a pair of walks and six singles.
San Francisco took four of the six battles in this series last year, including two of the three in Houston. In a twist, the Astros were a strong 'under' team during 2009, yet their half-dozen matchups with the Giants favored the 'over' by a 4-1-1 mark.
Houston figures to start former Giant Pedro Feliz at first against Zito, with Chris Johnson manning third. Both right-handed hitters had strong showings in Grapefruit League play with Feliz batting .406 with three taters and Johnson hitting .391 with eight home runs. Feliz has some regular season experience against Zito (3-for-14, 1 HR), but Johnson's never seen the San Fran left-hander.
Mark DeRosa has the most experience against Rodriguez among the Giants current roster. The new Giants left fielder saw Wandy often while DeRosa was with the Cubs, hitting .292 (7-for-24) with two long balls. Edgar Renteria, while in St. Louis, had very limited at bats against the Houston left-hander, but did some damage. Renteria has two homers and a single plus a walk in six plate appearances vs. Rodriguez.
NOTE: The W-L records shown for starting pitchers are their team's W-L mark when they started games in the 2009 season. Statistical sources for this article were Retrosheet.org, Baseball-Reference.com, ESPN.com and, of course, S-BEE-R-dot-com!
San Francisco's Barry Zito has a tough act to follow after Tim Lincecum blanked Houston over seven frames on Monday. Wandy Rodriguez hopes to get the Astros into the win column in Game 2 of the series.
A pair of left-handers who were money to bettors last season square off in Houston on Tuesday night in Game 2 of a three-game set between the Giants and Astros.
San Francisco opened the season and the series with a 5-2 win on Monday. Tim Lincecum picked up right where he has left off the last two Cy Young-winning seasons with seven innings of shutout ball to beat Roy Oswalt.
The Giants will trot out veteran Barry Zito tonight against Houston's Wandy Rodriguez. Books currently list the Astros as the -135 chalk, with the 'total' set at eight.
Zito (18-15, 4.03) was a nice money-maker in 2009 for anyone who followed him all season. The Giants only won three extra games than they lost with the left-hander on the hill, yet turned a profit over 5½-units in his starting assignments.
Some of that was due to Zito pitching a little better on the road than at home, to go against conventional wisdom about AT&T Park. And he was stronger as a small road underdog than any other wagering situation during his '09 starts. Sorta' like he is for Tuesday's game with the Giants early plus 125 dogs to Houston using the early lines released at TheGreek and Bookmaker.
Then again, Zito's lone career start at Minute Maid didn't go so well. In August 2008, Zito's lack of control cost him and San Fran in a 6-2 loss in Houston. Astros hitters were uncommonly patient against the southpaw, drawing five walks against Zito and bunching all six of their runs in one frame.
The Giants have won Zito's two starts against Houston in San Francisco the past three seasons.
Like his fellow lefty opponent for this game, Rodriguez (19-14, 3.02) also turned a profit for his followers in '09, finishing in the black by a little more than four units. He was especially strong in the early part of the season when Houston won seven of his first nine starts before going 12-12 the rest of the way.
With his steady improvement the past few seasons, Wandy is no longer under the sportsbooks' radar. Lines really tightened on him after the fast beginning to 2009, and the chalk for this one shows the oddsmakers are going to be tough on him to open this campaign despite his very shaky spring. Rodriguez made six spring starts for a total of 19 1/3 innings, and recorded a 12.10 ERA while surrendering five big flies. He gave up 21 homers in 33 regular season outings last season.
Another similarity Rodriguez shares with Zito is he took the loss in his only career start in Houston versus the Giants. Granted, this was back in 2006 before Wandy started to come around and find himself. Still, it was at home and San Francisco lit him up for 11 runs (six earned) and five walks in less than four innings of an eventual 14-3 Giants triumph. Five of those runs scored in the top of the first on a pair of walks and six singles.
San Francisco took four of the six battles in this series last year, including two of the three in Houston. In a twist, the Astros were a strong 'under' team during 2009, yet their half-dozen matchups with the Giants favored the 'over' by a 4-1-1 mark.
Houston figures to start former Giant Pedro Feliz at first against Zito, with Chris Johnson manning third. Both right-handed hitters had strong showings in Grapefruit League play with Feliz batting .406 with three taters and Johnson hitting .391 with eight home runs. Feliz has some regular season experience against Zito (3-for-14, 1 HR), but Johnson's never seen the San Fran left-hander.
Mark DeRosa has the most experience against Rodriguez among the Giants current roster. The new Giants left fielder saw Wandy often while DeRosa was with the Cubs, hitting .292 (7-for-24) with two long balls. Edgar Renteria, while in St. Louis, had very limited at bats against the Houston left-hander, but did some damage. Renteria has two homers and a single plus a walk in six plate appearances vs. Rodriguez.
NOTE: The W-L records shown for starting pitchers are their team's W-L mark when they started games in the 2009 season. Statistical sources for this article were Retrosheet.org, Baseball-Reference.com, ESPN.com and, of course, S-BEE-R-dot-com!
