World Series Game 1 odds favor Texas Rangers at SF Giants
The Rangers and Giants open the 2010 World Series on Wednesday with Texas a -125 MLB odds favorite behind Cliff Lee against San Fran's Tim Lincecum.
"It's going to be a very happy World Series for Bengie Molina. I'm going to try to enjoy it as much as I can."
Texas Rangers catcher Bengie Molina is going to come out a winner one way or another having been guaranteed a World Series ring after spending the first half of the season with the San Francisco Giants. The rest of the two rosters aren't so lucky.
Whether Molina's eventual ring is from his current team or his previous employers will begin to be decided Wednesday night when the Rangers and Giants square off for Game 1 of the World Series. As SBR's Bob Harvey pointed out in his Series preview, a long wait is about to be over for one team or the other. The flip side is the wait will continue for the losing team.
But hey, at least the loser still has a 50-50 chance at this stage. FOX Sports is likely already lamenting its lost revenue having missed out on the Series including either the Yankees or Phillies. Or both.
Actually, San Francisco's and Texas' odds aren't 50-50, at least according to the sports books. TheGreek.com lists the Rangers as minus 135 favorites to take home the title in their first-ever trip to the Fall Classic. San Francisco is plus 115 at the same shop.
Texas is in the minus 125 area for Game 1 on Wednesday that will feature Aces Cliff Lee (9-9, 3.39) for the visitors and Tim Lincecum (23-13, 3.28) on his home mound at AT&T Park. The total started at 5½ runs almost universally, with some books still favoring the miniscule 'under' by a few pennies.
Both starting pitchers have enjoyed fantastic postseasons so far. Lincecum made three starts, all of the quality variety, and one relief appearance during the NLDS and NLCS. The Giants won two of his three starting assignments, with Lincecum owning a 1.93 ERA with 30 strikeouts in 23 1/3 innings.
Lee's three starts have all been Texas wins to add to his postseason legacy. His five starts in the '09 postseason all ended with Philadelphia victorious. Lee's 24 playoff innings have seen him allow just two earned runs (0.75 ERA) while striking out 34.
Lincecum's turn in the rotation didn't come up for the Giants when they hosted the Rangers in 2009. Lee will be making his fourth career start against San Francisco, and third at AT&T Park. The Phillies and Indians won all three of his previous outings versus the G-men, the last time on July 31, 2009, Lee's first start for Philadelphia after being dealt from Cleveland.
Closing as 180 MLB odds chalk in that contest, Lee went the distance allowing just a run in the Phils' 5-1 triumph. His career ERA against the Giants stands at 1.12 in 24 innings.
While the two teams match up well statistically on the mound, the two offenses are worlds apart. Texas ranked fifth in the majors during the regular season with a 4.86 RPG' San Francisco was 17th at 4.30. Rangers hitters have been very impressive this far in the postseason, scoring 59 times in 11 games with 17 homers and 15 steals. The Giants have scored a little more than half that many runs in 10 games (30) with six long balls and three thefts (against four times caught stealing).
It's been about 16 months since these two teams last met each other (June 19-21, 2009). Before that it was June 2006. Both of the most recent interleague matchups have been at AT&T Park, with the Giants sweeping each three-game set. San Francisco will start the Series with a 7-game win streak against the Rangers, and on an 11-1 run that dates back to the 2000 season.
Five of the last six have stayed 'under' the total.
The umpire crew will feature veteran John Hirschbeck as the chief, and he should be back of the dish for Game 1. Hirschbeck, probably best known for being the umpire that Roberto Alomar spit at, is working the third World Series of his career and second playoff series this October.
He headed up the crew for the NLDS between the Reds and Phils and had the plate for Roy Halladay's series-opening no-no. The 'under' is 18-13-1 overall in Hirschbeck's games this season, including the NLDS, and 8-5 when the number was eiht or less. He also saw Series action in 1995 and 2006.
His crew will be completed by Gary Darling, Mike Winters, Jeff Kellogg, Bill Miller and Sam Holbrook.
Wednesday's Bay Area weather looks good with mostly sunny skies in the current forecast. First pitch (7:57 p.m. ET) should find the thermometer right around 60ºF and not changing more than a few degrees after the game begins. Thursday's Game 2 could be in for some rain, however, with a 40 percent chance presently listed.
NOTE: W-L records displayed for starting pitchers are team records in games the pitchers start, including the postseason.
The Rangers and Giants open the 2010 World Series on Wednesday with Texas a -125 MLB odds favorite behind Cliff Lee against San Fran's Tim Lincecum.
"It's going to be a very happy World Series for Bengie Molina. I'm going to try to enjoy it as much as I can."
Texas Rangers catcher Bengie Molina is going to come out a winner one way or another having been guaranteed a World Series ring after spending the first half of the season with the San Francisco Giants. The rest of the two rosters aren't so lucky.
Whether Molina's eventual ring is from his current team or his previous employers will begin to be decided Wednesday night when the Rangers and Giants square off for Game 1 of the World Series. As SBR's Bob Harvey pointed out in his Series preview, a long wait is about to be over for one team or the other. The flip side is the wait will continue for the losing team.
But hey, at least the loser still has a 50-50 chance at this stage. FOX Sports is likely already lamenting its lost revenue having missed out on the Series including either the Yankees or Phillies. Or both.
Actually, San Francisco's and Texas' odds aren't 50-50, at least according to the sports books. TheGreek.com lists the Rangers as minus 135 favorites to take home the title in their first-ever trip to the Fall Classic. San Francisco is plus 115 at the same shop.
Texas is in the minus 125 area for Game 1 on Wednesday that will feature Aces Cliff Lee (9-9, 3.39) for the visitors and Tim Lincecum (23-13, 3.28) on his home mound at AT&T Park. The total started at 5½ runs almost universally, with some books still favoring the miniscule 'under' by a few pennies.
Both starting pitchers have enjoyed fantastic postseasons so far. Lincecum made three starts, all of the quality variety, and one relief appearance during the NLDS and NLCS. The Giants won two of his three starting assignments, with Lincecum owning a 1.93 ERA with 30 strikeouts in 23 1/3 innings.
Lee's three starts have all been Texas wins to add to his postseason legacy. His five starts in the '09 postseason all ended with Philadelphia victorious. Lee's 24 playoff innings have seen him allow just two earned runs (0.75 ERA) while striking out 34.
Lincecum's turn in the rotation didn't come up for the Giants when they hosted the Rangers in 2009. Lee will be making his fourth career start against San Francisco, and third at AT&T Park. The Phillies and Indians won all three of his previous outings versus the G-men, the last time on July 31, 2009, Lee's first start for Philadelphia after being dealt from Cleveland.
Closing as 180 MLB odds chalk in that contest, Lee went the distance allowing just a run in the Phils' 5-1 triumph. His career ERA against the Giants stands at 1.12 in 24 innings.
While the two teams match up well statistically on the mound, the two offenses are worlds apart. Texas ranked fifth in the majors during the regular season with a 4.86 RPG' San Francisco was 17th at 4.30. Rangers hitters have been very impressive this far in the postseason, scoring 59 times in 11 games with 17 homers and 15 steals. The Giants have scored a little more than half that many runs in 10 games (30) with six long balls and three thefts (against four times caught stealing).
It's been about 16 months since these two teams last met each other (June 19-21, 2009). Before that it was June 2006. Both of the most recent interleague matchups have been at AT&T Park, with the Giants sweeping each three-game set. San Francisco will start the Series with a 7-game win streak against the Rangers, and on an 11-1 run that dates back to the 2000 season.
Five of the last six have stayed 'under' the total.
The umpire crew will feature veteran John Hirschbeck as the chief, and he should be back of the dish for Game 1. Hirschbeck, probably best known for being the umpire that Roberto Alomar spit at, is working the third World Series of his career and second playoff series this October.
He headed up the crew for the NLDS between the Reds and Phils and had the plate for Roy Halladay's series-opening no-no. The 'under' is 18-13-1 overall in Hirschbeck's games this season, including the NLDS, and 8-5 when the number was eiht or less. He also saw Series action in 1995 and 2006.
His crew will be completed by Gary Darling, Mike Winters, Jeff Kellogg, Bill Miller and Sam Holbrook.
Wednesday's Bay Area weather looks good with mostly sunny skies in the current forecast. First pitch (7:57 p.m. ET) should find the thermometer right around 60ºF and not changing more than a few degrees after the game begins. Thursday's Game 2 could be in for some rain, however, with a 40 percent chance presently listed.
NOTE: W-L records displayed for starting pitchers are team records in games the pitchers start, including the postseason.