Padres and Giants Battle for NL West Control
NL West rivals San Francisco and San Diego open a three-game betting series Friday night at AT&T Park with a pair of left-handers in Clayton Richard and Jonathan Sanchez.
The San Francisco Giants and San Diego Padres got to know each other pretty well the first six weeks of the season when they went head-to-head seven times. In the nearly three months since they last met on May 18, not much has really changed with the Padres still first in the NL West and the Giants directly behind them.
San Francisco is hoping one thing will change this weekend, however, after San Diego won seven of the first eight meetings. The two playoff contenders will convene at AT&T Park the next three days with the Padres ahead of the Giants by 2½ games after both teams won Thursday.
The Giants come in off an 8-7 win over the Cubs after nearly blowing a 7-3 lead as 185 favorites. Pinch-hitter Andres Torres delivered the winning RBI single in the bottom of the ninth with the bases full.
San Diego won 3-0 as minus 190 home favorites against the Pirates. Jon Garland and three relievers combined on the 4-hit shutout and Ryan Ludwick hit his third homer of the series to provide the bulk of the offense.
MLB oddsmakers favor San Fran to cut into San Diego's lead when the series opens Friday night. The Giants were listed as 125-130 at most offshore shops.
Bookmaker.com set its initial total at 7½ and were charging minus 125 for the 'under.' Considering only one of the first eight encounters saw more than seven runs scored, it's not surprising to see the 'under' juiced regardless of the total set. The game will feature a pair of left-handers in San Diego's Clayton Richard (12-11, 3.83) and Jonathan Sanchez (14-9, 3.55) of the Giants.
San Diego hitters will be seeing Sanchez for the fourth time in 2010. He dropped his first two starts against the Padres despite 15 innings of 2-run baseball. Padres young ace Mat Latos bested him in both games by 1-0 counts. Sanchez no-decisioned in his third go against the Pads, working six and allowing four at Petco Park in a 7-6 San Francisco win. That was the only time the Giants have beaten San Diego this year after it opened with seven straight wins in the season series.
Walks are Sanchez' biggest bugaboo, with 68 on the season in 132 innings. Still, he only allowed four in 21 innings to the Padres and the Giants are 7-4 in his 11 home starts, about a buck in the black at the window in those games.
Giants hitters will also be seeing Richard for the fourth time this season with the Padres a perfect 3-0 so far. All three outings came with Matt Cain on the hill for San Francisco.
One of those was a May 12 start at AT&T in which he worked seven and allowed a pair of runs on seven hits. San Diego and Richard were 150 underdogs in that one, one of only two games between the two teams this season that didn't go 'under' the closing MLB odds total. The 5-2 Padres win pushed on the seven.
He leads San Diego pitchers with 141 innings and the fewest homers allowed (10) among the regular starters. But while the Friars are 4-3 in his last seven starts, the former Michigan Wolverine really has only one good start in that span. Since June ended, Richard's ERA has ballooned more than a run. Some of it can be excused by the lineups he's faced in those starts; six of the seven came against teams that score above the NL norm: Arizona (twice), Dodgers (twice), Atlanta and Colorado.
It's been cooler than normal for the Bay Area all week, and that continues at least through Saturday and probably longer. The mid-50s is what we're looking at for game time with partly cloudy skies and a west wind 5-10 mph (home plate to center field).
The series continues Saturday with a late afternoon start in San Francisco. Latos (15-6, 2.36) is scheduled to take the mound for the Padres against Giants rookie lefty Madison Bumgarner (5-4, 3.36).
NOTE: W-L records displayed for starting pitchers are team records in games the pitchers start.
NL West rivals San Francisco and San Diego open a three-game betting series Friday night at AT&T Park with a pair of left-handers in Clayton Richard and Jonathan Sanchez.
The San Francisco Giants and San Diego Padres got to know each other pretty well the first six weeks of the season when they went head-to-head seven times. In the nearly three months since they last met on May 18, not much has really changed with the Padres still first in the NL West and the Giants directly behind them.
San Francisco is hoping one thing will change this weekend, however, after San Diego won seven of the first eight meetings. The two playoff contenders will convene at AT&T Park the next three days with the Padres ahead of the Giants by 2½ games after both teams won Thursday.
The Giants come in off an 8-7 win over the Cubs after nearly blowing a 7-3 lead as 185 favorites. Pinch-hitter Andres Torres delivered the winning RBI single in the bottom of the ninth with the bases full.
San Diego won 3-0 as minus 190 home favorites against the Pirates. Jon Garland and three relievers combined on the 4-hit shutout and Ryan Ludwick hit his third homer of the series to provide the bulk of the offense.
MLB oddsmakers favor San Fran to cut into San Diego's lead when the series opens Friday night. The Giants were listed as 125-130 at most offshore shops.
Bookmaker.com set its initial total at 7½ and were charging minus 125 for the 'under.' Considering only one of the first eight encounters saw more than seven runs scored, it's not surprising to see the 'under' juiced regardless of the total set. The game will feature a pair of left-handers in San Diego's Clayton Richard (12-11, 3.83) and Jonathan Sanchez (14-9, 3.55) of the Giants.
San Diego hitters will be seeing Sanchez for the fourth time in 2010. He dropped his first two starts against the Padres despite 15 innings of 2-run baseball. Padres young ace Mat Latos bested him in both games by 1-0 counts. Sanchez no-decisioned in his third go against the Pads, working six and allowing four at Petco Park in a 7-6 San Francisco win. That was the only time the Giants have beaten San Diego this year after it opened with seven straight wins in the season series.
Walks are Sanchez' biggest bugaboo, with 68 on the season in 132 innings. Still, he only allowed four in 21 innings to the Padres and the Giants are 7-4 in his 11 home starts, about a buck in the black at the window in those games.
Giants hitters will also be seeing Richard for the fourth time this season with the Padres a perfect 3-0 so far. All three outings came with Matt Cain on the hill for San Francisco.
One of those was a May 12 start at AT&T in which he worked seven and allowed a pair of runs on seven hits. San Diego and Richard were 150 underdogs in that one, one of only two games between the two teams this season that didn't go 'under' the closing MLB odds total. The 5-2 Padres win pushed on the seven.
He leads San Diego pitchers with 141 innings and the fewest homers allowed (10) among the regular starters. But while the Friars are 4-3 in his last seven starts, the former Michigan Wolverine really has only one good start in that span. Since June ended, Richard's ERA has ballooned more than a run. Some of it can be excused by the lineups he's faced in those starts; six of the seven came against teams that score above the NL norm: Arizona (twice), Dodgers (twice), Atlanta and Colorado.
It's been cooler than normal for the Bay Area all week, and that continues at least through Saturday and probably longer. The mid-50s is what we're looking at for game time with partly cloudy skies and a west wind 5-10 mph (home plate to center field).
The series continues Saturday with a late afternoon start in San Francisco. Latos (15-6, 2.36) is scheduled to take the mound for the Padres against Giants rookie lefty Madison Bumgarner (5-4, 3.36).
NOTE: W-L records displayed for starting pitchers are team records in games the pitchers start.
