Cole Hamels is set to take the mound for the Phillies tonight, but the big question is "who will the Giants Play?" Tim Lincecum failed to start last night due to an illness, but will he be fit to play tonight?
San Francisco Giants manager Bruce Bochy hopes to have a
healthy Tim Lincecum on the mound tonight when his club continues its series
with the Philadelphia Phillies. But just
in case Lincecum can't make it once again, Bochy has a better backup option
than he did for Tuesday's series opener.
Lincecum was scheduled to start Game 1 but was bumped due to
the flu. He will reportedly give it a go
Wednesday and if he's still feeling the effects of the illness, Matt Cain will
step up to replace him when the Giants battle Cole Hamels and the Phils on ESPN
(7:00 PM ET).
The pitching uncertainty has the game off the board at MLB
betting shops. Lincecum was originally a
+100 underdog to Vance Worley and the Phillies on Tuesday, so we can expect to
see him or Cain around +110 to +115 with the Phillies 120-130 chalk on the MLB odds boards.
Also expect a 6.5 to 7-run total once that's released.
Who will take the mound?
Barry Zito, who was supposed to start this game, replaced
Lincecum (8-8, 2.90) on Tuesday and immediately got into trouble. The Phillies plated four runs in the bottom
of the first and never looked back en route to a 7-2 win. The victory was Philadelphia's ninth in 11 Vance Worley
starts and left Charlie Manuel's club an MLB-best 38-16 in front of the home
crowd.
Assuming Lincecum is 100% tonight, Bochy can't go wrong
starting either him or Cain (8-6, 3.06). Lincecum has pitched really well his last seven assignments with a
sub-2.00 ERA in that span and only one home run allowed in 44 innings.
Unfortunately for Lincecum, that home run cost him his last
start in a 1-0 home loss to Clayton Kershaw and the Dodgers who were +110 on
the MLB money line. The Giants lineup
has failed to show up and support Lincecum during the recent stretch with the
club winning just three of the seven starts.
Thanks to Monday's day off that the team spent hobnobbing
with President Obama, Matt Cain will be pitching on his normal rest if he takes the
mound. The team's offensive struggles
have also cost him a few extra wins; like Lincecum's recent record, San Francisco is just 3-4
in Cain's last seven starts (1.95 ERA).
Hamels (12-5, 2.62) last saw action against the Padres,
shutting down the San Diego
lineup down with an 8-inning, 3-hit, 10-strikeout performance at home this past
Friday. A native of San Diego himself, Hamels was -185 chalk in
that game which marked his third win in four July starts. The Phillies are 14-7
with him on the hill this season.
Hamels saw the Giants three times last year, twice in the
regular season and once in the NLCS. The
Phillies lost the regular season start here at CBP, Hamels charged with five
runs in five innings. The postseason
defeat, 3-0, came against Cain as a -115 favorite in Game 3 of the National
League Championship Series at AT&T
Park.
Cody Ross, the MVP of last year's NLCS, has poked four
homers off Hamels with a .300 batting average (9-for-30), and the Giants are a
healthy 19-8 vs. southpaws in 2011.
The series draws to a close Thursday with Cain or possibly
Lincecum again scheduled to start for the Giants and the Phillies countering
with Kyle Kendrick. Warm and humid
weather is expected in Philadelphia each of the next two days with little or no
chance of rain.