Right now the MLB betting odds on San Francisco pitcher Tim Lincecum to win the NL Cy Young this year are 3 to 1. Houston pitcher Roy Oswalt used to figure into those kinds of lists, but not this season. Lincecum is 7-2 this season with a 3.11 ERA. He is off to the worst start of his career in terms of winning versus starts and ERA, but he is still having a better season than any pitcher on the Astros rotation.
Roy Oswalt is still considered the ace of the Houston Astro's staff. With a record of 5-8 and an ERA of 3.12, it is safe to say that Oswalt is having a tough start to the 2010 season but it is hardly Oswalt's fault. He has 92.1 innings pitched, 89 strike outs, 24 walks, he has only given up 76 hits and 9 home runs. The problem with the Astros is pretty much everyone but Oswalt.
As a team the Astros have a .233 batting average which is good enough for dead last in the NL. They have the fewest home runs in the NL (40), the fewest doubles in the NL (98) and the fewest hits in the NL (540). To say that Oswalt and the rest of the Astro staff is suffering from a lack of run support would be an understatement.
When you are looking up your World Cup betting information online, take a look at the fielding stats for the Houston Astros as well. In almost every category including fielding percentage, errors and double plays the Astros fall right in the middle of the NL. So they are terrible at hitting and unspectacular at fielding. When you put those two elements together, you get a long night for any pitching staff.
The San Francisco Giants, on the other hand, are first in the NL in fielding percentage and second in stolen bases. The have the fewest errors in the NL, but they also have the fewest double plays as well. In those critical moments when a double play can get a team out of a jam, the Giants have problems getting the job done.
The Giants can hit the ball with a team batting average of .263, 602 hits and 132 doubles. They just cannot consistently hit for power with only 60 home runs this season. The Giants do rank near the bottom of the NL in at-bats, which means they tend to leave people on base.
In this game the feeble Astros hitting comes up against one of the best pitchers in the league in Lincecum. Oswalt may be enough to quiet the Giants' bats, but it won't be enough to propel the Astros over Lincecum and the Giants.
Pick: San Francisco Giants 4-1
