NLDS Game 1: Reds battle Philadelphia Phillies
The top scoring lineups in the NL meet in the opening round of the postseason with the Philadelphia Phillies 2/1 betting favorites to take Game 1 from the Cincinnati Reds.
It's the baseball version of David versus Goliath, or so the MLB oddsmakers would suggest. In reality it's just one very damn good team coming together at the right time playing an surprise club from the 2010 season that has 'ant versus the rubber tree' attitude.
The Philadelphia Phillies will launch their quest for a rare third consecutive NL Pennant this Wednesday at home when they take on the Cincinnati Reds. First pitch for Game 1 is 5:07 p.m. ET at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia. The Phils are top chalk on the baseball betting board for the entire playoffs and are listed as minus 270 at TheGreek.com to win this best-of-five set.
Philadelphia will also carry a heavy minus 200 or higher money line into the series opener behind its big ace Roy Halladay (22-11, 2.44). He'll be opposed by Edinson Volquez (9-3, 4.31) for the Reds with the total set at seven ('under' -115).
There's a lot to like about Philadelphia in a three-game, er, I mean best-of-five series. Halladay will be tailed in the Phillies' pitching plans by Roy Oswalt (10-2, 1.74) and Cole Hamels (18-15, 3.06). In this, the year of the pitcher, no team enters the Fall Schedule with a better top-3 in its rotation. The Phillies are also relatively healthy for the first time this season, yet another reason to like them in this series.
And yet it's hard to take my eyes off this Reds team. Cincinnati winds up the biggest surprise team in the postseason, even more so than the Texas Rangers. The Reds weren't supposed to win the NL Central; a good season would have been them beating out the Cubs for second in the group if you asked most folks back in March.
The pitching matchup for Game 1 obviously favors the Phils. I can't think of any arm in the majors that would be a favorite over Halladay in his home park, and only a few that he might, might, be a small 'dog to on their own diamonds. The Phillies were 13-5 in his 18 starts at Citizens Bank, with Halladay owning a 2.21 home ERA. Halladay was 12-5 himself. The lone no-decision? How about July 10 against the Reds when the big righty worked nine scoreless in an eventual 1-0 Philadelphia win in the 11th as 215 betting favorites.
Volquez might sound like an odd choice for Dusty Baker to start the playoffs for the Reds. He's got no playoff experience, and while I know the same applies to Halladay, that's a tough argument to make. Volquez was one of the better pitchers for Cincinnati after making his midseason debut. Aside from three starts that he went less than four innings, he owns a 2.38 ERA and this will be the first time since June 2008 a lot of these Phillies batters will be seeing him. That was a seven scoreless innings job in a 2-0 Cincinnati win, by the way.
Bullpens are always a big concern, though not so much for the Phils with Halladay on the hill and penciled in for 8-9 frames. The two relief corps look pretty even on paper when glancing at season stats. If there's a difference, it's playoff experience.
The 'Big 5' for the Phillies – Lidge, Contreras, Madson, Romero and Durbin – have been on the mound 105 times in the postseason. The top 13 pitchers on the Reds staff in terms of innings pitched this year combine for 30 games of postseason experience. Ten of those belong to Bronson Arroyo who last took to a playoff mound for the Red Sox in 2005. The other 20 belong to Arthur Rhodes whose last trip to the hill this time of year came in 2001 while part of the Mariners bullpen.
That experience factor is the one thing that pops up time and again when looking at this series in general and this game specifically. I think it's just a case of the Phillies being a very strong team and playing very well at the end of the season. Everything seems to be going their way.
The two regular season series between the clubs were played before the All-Star break, so it's been a while since they squared off. Philadelphia won five of the seven played, including all four at Citizens Bank Park. Three of the four in Philly stayed 'under' the total while two of the three in Cincy jumped 'over.'
Reds fans and their backers can take some comfort in knowing this young Cincinnati group has proven it's not going to make it easy on the Phils. Four of Philadelphia's five wins in the regular season meetings went extra innings, and the fifth was a 1-0 battle.
All signs point to it being a little wet in Philadelphia on Wednesday. Forecasters are listing a 50 percent chance of rain in the afternoon and evening, and that follows a 70 percent chance of precip on Tuesday. Assuming they can dance between drops, look for the game to start in the upper-50s, with a 5-10 mph southerly wind (blowing straight out to center).
NOTE: W-L records displayed for starting pitchers are team records in games the pitchers start.
The top scoring lineups in the NL meet in the opening round of the postseason with the Philadelphia Phillies 2/1 betting favorites to take Game 1 from the Cincinnati Reds.
It's the baseball version of David versus Goliath, or so the MLB oddsmakers would suggest. In reality it's just one very damn good team coming together at the right time playing an surprise club from the 2010 season that has 'ant versus the rubber tree' attitude.
The Philadelphia Phillies will launch their quest for a rare third consecutive NL Pennant this Wednesday at home when they take on the Cincinnati Reds. First pitch for Game 1 is 5:07 p.m. ET at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia. The Phils are top chalk on the baseball betting board for the entire playoffs and are listed as minus 270 at TheGreek.com to win this best-of-five set.
Philadelphia will also carry a heavy minus 200 or higher money line into the series opener behind its big ace Roy Halladay (22-11, 2.44). He'll be opposed by Edinson Volquez (9-3, 4.31) for the Reds with the total set at seven ('under' -115).
There's a lot to like about Philadelphia in a three-game, er, I mean best-of-five series. Halladay will be tailed in the Phillies' pitching plans by Roy Oswalt (10-2, 1.74) and Cole Hamels (18-15, 3.06). In this, the year of the pitcher, no team enters the Fall Schedule with a better top-3 in its rotation. The Phillies are also relatively healthy for the first time this season, yet another reason to like them in this series.
And yet it's hard to take my eyes off this Reds team. Cincinnati winds up the biggest surprise team in the postseason, even more so than the Texas Rangers. The Reds weren't supposed to win the NL Central; a good season would have been them beating out the Cubs for second in the group if you asked most folks back in March.
The pitching matchup for Game 1 obviously favors the Phils. I can't think of any arm in the majors that would be a favorite over Halladay in his home park, and only a few that he might, might, be a small 'dog to on their own diamonds. The Phillies were 13-5 in his 18 starts at Citizens Bank, with Halladay owning a 2.21 home ERA. Halladay was 12-5 himself. The lone no-decision? How about July 10 against the Reds when the big righty worked nine scoreless in an eventual 1-0 Philadelphia win in the 11th as 215 betting favorites.
Volquez might sound like an odd choice for Dusty Baker to start the playoffs for the Reds. He's got no playoff experience, and while I know the same applies to Halladay, that's a tough argument to make. Volquez was one of the better pitchers for Cincinnati after making his midseason debut. Aside from three starts that he went less than four innings, he owns a 2.38 ERA and this will be the first time since June 2008 a lot of these Phillies batters will be seeing him. That was a seven scoreless innings job in a 2-0 Cincinnati win, by the way.
Bullpens are always a big concern, though not so much for the Phils with Halladay on the hill and penciled in for 8-9 frames. The two relief corps look pretty even on paper when glancing at season stats. If there's a difference, it's playoff experience.
The 'Big 5' for the Phillies – Lidge, Contreras, Madson, Romero and Durbin – have been on the mound 105 times in the postseason. The top 13 pitchers on the Reds staff in terms of innings pitched this year combine for 30 games of postseason experience. Ten of those belong to Bronson Arroyo who last took to a playoff mound for the Red Sox in 2005. The other 20 belong to Arthur Rhodes whose last trip to the hill this time of year came in 2001 while part of the Mariners bullpen.
That experience factor is the one thing that pops up time and again when looking at this series in general and this game specifically. I think it's just a case of the Phillies being a very strong team and playing very well at the end of the season. Everything seems to be going their way.
The two regular season series between the clubs were played before the All-Star break, so it's been a while since they squared off. Philadelphia won five of the seven played, including all four at Citizens Bank Park. Three of the four in Philly stayed 'under' the total while two of the three in Cincy jumped 'over.'
Reds fans and their backers can take some comfort in knowing this young Cincinnati group has proven it's not going to make it easy on the Phils. Four of Philadelphia's five wins in the regular season meetings went extra innings, and the fifth was a 1-0 battle.
All signs point to it being a little wet in Philadelphia on Wednesday. Forecasters are listing a 50 percent chance of rain in the afternoon and evening, and that follows a 70 percent chance of precip on Tuesday. Assuming they can dance between drops, look for the game to start in the upper-50s, with a 5-10 mph southerly wind (blowing straight out to center).
NOTE: W-L records displayed for starting pitchers are team records in games the pitchers start.
