NLCS preview
The Philadelphia Phillies will take on the San Francisco Giants in the National League Championship series, which begins on Saturday 16 October.
The Phillies and the Giants were able to work their way through their respective National League Divisional Series fairly easily. The Phillies made quick work of the Cincinnati Reds, sweeping them 3-0. In two of the match-ups the Reds were able to put a
run on the board, while in the first game they were unable to register a hit. Meanwhile, the Giants were able to put together a strong series against the Atlanta Braves defeating the club in four games. The series featured a tremendous game one from Giants
ace Tim Lincecum, with the all-star pitching a shutout.
The Phillies-Giants series is set to be a battle between pitchers, as both clubs boast a number of outstanding aces. Nevertheless, the experts are giving the edge to a more skilled Philadelphia side. The advantage for the Phillies comes on the offensive
side of the ball, where they are more capable than the Giants. Outside Buster Posey the Giants do not possess a sure-thing at the plate and therefore are forced to rely on small ball and defence. If the giants aces do not show up against the Phillies it will
be tough for San Francisco’s offence to make up for it.
Moreover, the Phillies’ pitching staff has been lights out through September and early October. The Giants will have to go up against three of the strongest pitchers in baseball in Roy Halladay, Roy Oswalt and Cole Hamels. Halladay is coming off a no-hitter
in game one of the NLDS, which was only the second play-off no-hitter in history. In addition, Hamels made quick work of the Reds in his start in game three, shutting them out on the way to a complete game victory.
Certainly the Giants have quality pitching of their own, which begins with reigning Cy Young winner Lincecum. In addition, the club also boasts Jonathan Sanchez, who finished off the season with 13 wins and Matt Cain, who also accounted for 13 wins. However,
the line-up they face in Philadelphia will be a difficult one to pitch around, as the reigning NL Champions are deep throughout their batting order.
Predicting who will win the series is made even more difficult by the fact that the two sides tied their season series 3-3. The Giants took the first two games of the year, followed by Philadelphia taking the next three and ending with a giants win on 19
August. Moreover, the clubs stat lines look very similar. The Phillies have the Giants beat in every major statistical category except for ERA. Nevertheless, the advantages are minimal. The Phillies won five more games than the Giants, and boast a .260 batting-average,
only .003 above the Giants. In addition, the Phillies runs-per-game is only .5 above that of the Giants, at 4.8.
Regardless, of all the factors heading into the NLCS, the one that may make the most difference is experience. The Phillies are a far more experienced club. They were in the World Series against the Yankees in 2009 and just a year before that won the pennant.
The club also owns the last two NLCS MVPs in Ryan Howard and Cole Hamels, while the Giants are still a young team, who failed to make the play-offs in 2008. Needless-to-say it will be an uphill battle for the Giants, as they try and dethrone the NL’s reigning
champions.
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