NLCS Preview: San Francisco Giants vs. Philadelphia Phillies Odds

The NLCS gets underway Saturday when the Giants head east to take on the Phillies in Game 1. Sportsbook.com Series Price: Phillies -260, Giants +210

A stellar pitching matchup is scheduled with Tim Lincecum (17-10, 3.29 ERA) facing off against Roy Halladay (22-10, 2.36 ERA). Halladay comes in off his no-hit performance in Game 1 of the NLDS while Lincecum allowed only two hits in his complete-game shutout of the Braves in their division-series opener. The Phillies are currently -170 favorites at Sportsbook.com for Game 1.

Game 2 of the series on Sunday is scheduled to feature Matt Cain (13-11, 3.44 ERA) against Roy Oswalt (13-13, 2.76 ERA) while Tuesday’s Game 3 probable starters are Cole Hamels (12-11, 3.06) and Jonathan Sanchez (13-9, 3.07 ERA).

The Giants and Phillies split their six-game season series in 2010, with each team taking two-of-three at home. Lincecum earned a no-decision in his only start of the year against Philly back in April while Halladay took the loss earlier in that series when the Giants tagged him for five runs on 10 hits in seven innings. Lincecum has great career numbers against this Philadelphia lineup – Shane Victorino comes in 4-for-21, Chase Utley 2-for-20, Jimmy Rollins 3-for-18, Raul Ibanez 1-for-10. The lone bright spot is Ryan Howard, who is 6-19 lifetime against Lincecum with three HR and seven RBI. The sample size isn’t big for Halladay against the Giants, with Aubrey Huff 17-for-66 (.258), Cody Ross a dismal 3-for-16, and Juan Uribe 4-for-18.

Though he slumped a bit in the NLDS, Freddy Sanchez of the Giants might be a player to watch this series. He’s 1-for-3 lifetime against Halladay, 11-for-36 (.306) against Oswalt, and 5-for-12 (.417) against Hamels.

Here are some baseball betting trends that may impact the series:

SAN FRANCISCO is 54-33 (62.1%, +18.1 Units) against the money line vs. teams averaging 2.75 or less extra base hits per game in the second half of the season this season. The average score was SAN FRANCISCO 4.3, OPPONENT 3.4 - (Rating = 2*).

SAN FRANCISCO is 38-17 (69.1%, +20.7 Units) against the money line with an on base percentage of .310 or worse over their last 20 games this season.  The average score was SAN FRANCISCO 4.5, OPPONENT 2.6 - (Rating = 3*).

PHILADELPHIA is 35-9 (79.5%, +26.5 Units) against the money line when playing against a team with a winning record in the second half of the season this season. The average score was PHILADELPHIA 5.3, OPPONENT 3.5 - (Rating = 4*).

PHILADELPHIA is 13-2 (86.7%, +10.3 Units) against the money line vs. excellent fielding teams - averaging <=0.5 errors/game in the second half of the season this season. The average score was PHILADELPHIA 4.1, OPPONENT 1.9 - (Rating = 1*).

GAME 1 ONLY – ROY HALLADAY is 16-4 UNDER (80.0%, +11.8 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record in the second half of the season over the last 2 seasons. (Team's Record). The average score was HALLADAY 4.3, OPPONENT 2.8 - (Rating = 2*).

Now that you know the key numbers for the NLCS, head over to Sportsbook.com for all of your Giants vs. Phillies betting.