Philadelphia Phillies (11-7) Roy Halladay, at San Francisco Giants
(10-8) Jonathan Sanchez, AT&T Park, San Francisco, Calif., 10:15 PM
EST, Monday, April 26th, 2010
by Badger of Predictem.com
Betting Line: Phillies -160/Giants +150
Total: 6.5
Bet on Philadelphia Phillies games at reduced odds when you place your MLB wagers at 5Dimes.
Philadelphia Phillies new ace Roy Halladay will try and remain
perfect and dominant this season when the defending National League
champions visit AT&T Park to face the San Francisco Giants and their young lefty Jonathan Sanchez in game one of a three-game series Monday.
Halladays turn in the rotation comes at the perfect time for the
Phillies since they lost the rubber match in their three-game set at
Arizona yesterday, blowing an early lead in an 8-6 Diamondbacks
victory. The loss drops the Phillies to 3-3 on their current nine-
game road trip and their lead in the NL East to 1.5 games over Florida.
The Giants must be feeling a little shell shocked right now because
after facing the St. Louis Cardinals twosome of Adam Wainwright and
Brad Penny over the weekend, now they have face Halladay and his
filth on Monday.
But the Giants starting pitching has proven their own worth and then some, as Tim Lincecum and Barry Zito both tossed gems and hard-luck
Matt Cain was one hanging curveball to Albert Pujols away from
fueling the sweep. Instead the Giants took two of three over the
Cards despite only scoring six runs in the series. Sanchez will try
and continue the Giants strong pitching ways in tonights marquee
pitching matchup on the Major Leagues short card.
Most of the offshore sportsbooks have installed Halladay and the
Phillies as early -160 favorites on the moneyline, but you can find
the number as low as -149 at Pinnacle (SportsInteraction) to +135 and
anywhere in between.
The total opened at 6.5 and has held firm for this pitching showdown, but you can get 7 at 5Dimes with additional juice attached.
Halladay has given up just four runs in four starts this season, has
thrown two complete games and has microscopic pitching stats (0.82
ERA, .240 OBP, 0.88 WHIP), so theres little doubt involved when
handicapping a start by the Cy Young winner.
The only issue with Halladay is that his career history against the
Giants is weak, which is surprising. In three starts against the
Giants in his Toronto days the righty was cuffed around (11.2 IP, 15
H, 10 R) with a 1.714 WHIP and .824 OPS, which are rare when talking
about Halladay. Former ALer Aubrey Huff has the best history with
Halladay going 16-for-63 over the years. Juan Uribe (he’s questionable for tonight’s game) also has a few
hits off of Doc Halladay (4-for-18), but the rest of the Giants
lineup has few at bats to call upon for help.
Sanchez has been just as impressive through his first three starts,
with only a loss in a 1-0 duel with Mat Latos of the Padres as his
only blemish. His ERA (1.86) on-base (.253) and WHIP (0.98) are all
exceptional and just percentage points below Halladays numbers, so
there likely will be very few solid at bats for either team tonight.
Sanchez has three starts against the Phillies, two last year, where
the Giants are 2-1 in those starts. His overall numbers are solid
(1.385 WHIP, .316 OBP, .694 OPS) against the Phillies lineup, but
ironically both Ryan Howard (2 2B, 3B) and Chase Utley (3-for-8, HR, .
583 OBP) have both done well against him despite the lefty-on-lefty
advantage for Sanchez.
San Francisco won three of the four games played at AT&T Park last
season, including a 7-2 decision in Sanchezs first start against
them in July.
The under has played as a solid betting trend too, going 5-1 in the
last six head-to-head meetings between these teams.
Badgers Pick: The under is the safe bet here tonight, but Im on the
favorite Halladay as well with the lower juice attached. Take Philly
at -155 or -150 if you can find it.
