[table][tr][td]Tim Lincecum is 4-0 with a 1.61 ERA career vs. Styouth MLB jersey. Louis. (AP Images)[/td][/tr][/table]It’s a likely playoff preview beginning Friday night in San Francisco as the NL Central-leading St. Louis Cardinals make their only visit to the Bay area of the season for a three-game set with the Giants ?C bet on the series with Bodog’s MLB odds.
With the rest of the NL Central looking very average, it would be a major upset if St. Louis didn’t win the division again. At 10-5, the Cards are tied with the Phillies for the best record in the NL, and St. Louis has begun the season with five straight series wins for the first time ever. Outfielder Colby Rasmus is on a roll[color=#800080]cheap MLB jersey, as he had two homers in Wednesday’s game against Arizona and is 7-for-16 with five extra-base hits and seven RBIS over his past four games after going 0-for-15 over the previous six. His average has jumped from .179 to .273. The Cardinals are tied for the MLB lead in homers with 23. Shortstop Felipe Lopez was mostly unavailable for the Cards’ final two games against the Diamondbacks with a sore elbow wholesale MLB jersey(after pitching in that 20-inning marathon last Saturday) but is expected to be OK for the Giants.[/color]
San Francisco is a game behind the surprising Padres in the NL West but has the second-best run differential in the National League. While the Giants remain one of the best pitching teams in baseball, last year’s offensive problems have begun to creep up again. They scored 68 runs in their first 100 innings but have scored just six in the past 37NBA jersey. San Francisco was just swept by San Diego to finish a 1-5 road trip. Giants pitchers rank behind only San Diego and the Cardinals in overall ERA at 3.13. Their starters are second in the NL with 83 strikeouts in 91 2/3 innings.
Here are the pitching probables for this series:
Friday ?C Cardinals LHP Jaime Garcia (1-0, 0.69) vs. Giants RHP Tim Lincecum (3-0, 0.90)
Saturday ?C Cardinals RHP Adam Wainwright (3-0, 1.50) vs. Giants LHP Barry Zito (2-0, 1.86)
Sunday ?C Cardinals RHP Brad Penny (2-0, 1.29) vsMLB jersey. Giants RHP Matt Cain (0-0, 3.86)
The Giants won four of seven games with St. Louis last year, including two of three at home.
Get your Cardinals-Giants odds and props at Bodog