by
Perry, Linesmaker @ BetWWTS
MLB Feature October 12 2005
NLCS: Houston aces aim to stifle St. Louis sluggers
Thirteen. An unlucky number to be sure, especially for the Houston Astros.
Why? Because that?s the number of times they were beaten in their last 18 meetings with the St. Louis Cardinals dating back to last October when the Cards? eliminated Houston in the National League Championship Series (NLCS).
Eleven of those losses have come this year.
And now the Astros have to face the Cardinals, who finished with the best record in baseball during the regular season, once again in the NLCS which begins tonight in St. Louis (8 p.m. ET, FOX). The Cards enter the best-of-seven series having won six straight games including a three-game sweep of the overmatched San Diego Padres in their NL Division Series.
For the opener, the Cards send right-handed pitching ace Chris Carpenter to the mound. A leading candidate for the Cy Young Award, Carpenter was 21-5 on the season with a 2.83 ERA. Carpenter went 4-0 and posted a stellar 1.85 ERA versus the Astros this season. And to make matters worse, at least for the Astros, the Cards are 7-3 in his last 10 starts.
Behind Carpenter in the rotation, St. Louis has lefty Mark Mulder, who went 16-8 with a 3.64 ERA in the regular season. Mulder, who was 1-1 with a 2.48 ERA versus Houston this season, is coming off a gem in Game 2 versus San Diego when he allowed only one run over 7 2/3 innings. He is expected to get the start in Game 2.
At the plate, St. Louis is anchored by slugger Albert Pujols, a leading MVP candidate. Pujols hit .302 and belted four homers in 63 at-bats versus the Astros this season. Although he was walked four times in three games against the Padres, he still led the team at the dish with a .556 batting average.
Not surprisingly, the Cardinals are overwhelming favorites to win this series. We currently have St. Louis listed as a -200 chalk to advance to the World Series. The Astros, meanwhile, are +170. For the opener, the Cards are -162, compared to +152 for the Astros, who send veteran lefty Andy Pettitte to the hill.
Pettitte and the rest of the Houston pitching staff is really the only factor that stands between St. Louis and a second straight berth into the World Series. Pettitte is 17-9 with a 2.39 ERA on the season and the Astros are 8-2 in the 33-year-old?s last 10 starts.
The six-foot-five Louisiana native is coming off a solid start in Altanta, having given up only three runs over seven innings in Houston?s 10-5 victory over the Braves in Game 1. With the win, Pettitte briefly tied John Smoltz for the most postseason victories in playoff history at 14. (Smoltz subsequently took back the record a couple of days later in Game 2.)
Behind Pettitte in the rotation, the Astros have the ?Rocket? Roger Clemens. The 43-year-old future Hall of Famer was 13-8 with a microscopic 1.87 ERA this season. They also have righty Roy Oswalt (20-12, 2.94 ERA), who?s likely to get the start in Game 2 versus Mulder. And of course, they?ve got one of the most dominant closers in the game in Brad ?Lights Out? Lidge.
Lidge has 42 saves this season, and fanned 103 batters over 70 2/3 innings. And although the Astros have not had a lot of success against the Cardinals this year, Lidge has fared well. In seven appearances against St. Louis (7 2/3 innings), Lidge has not allowed a run and has notched four saves.
With both teams trotting their aces out to the mound for the opener, the total has been set relatively low at 7 1/2. To a degree, the total also reflects Houston?s trouble at the plate this season ? their offense is near the bottom of the major leagues in runs scored, batting average and on-base percentage.
More than 55 percent of Houston?s games went UNDER the total this season. Six of those games came in the last eight meetings with the Cards.
Regardless, there a couple of anomalies to consider: The Astros? past five games have gone OVER and seven of their last 10 road games have gone OVER.
Eight of the Cardinals? last 11 games have gone OVER as well.
Good luck with your bets!
Perry, Linesmaker @ BetWWTS
MLB Feature October 12 2005
NLCS: Houston aces aim to stifle St. Louis sluggers
Thirteen. An unlucky number to be sure, especially for the Houston Astros.
Why? Because that?s the number of times they were beaten in their last 18 meetings with the St. Louis Cardinals dating back to last October when the Cards? eliminated Houston in the National League Championship Series (NLCS).
Eleven of those losses have come this year.
And now the Astros have to face the Cardinals, who finished with the best record in baseball during the regular season, once again in the NLCS which begins tonight in St. Louis (8 p.m. ET, FOX). The Cards enter the best-of-seven series having won six straight games including a three-game sweep of the overmatched San Diego Padres in their NL Division Series.
For the opener, the Cards send right-handed pitching ace Chris Carpenter to the mound. A leading candidate for the Cy Young Award, Carpenter was 21-5 on the season with a 2.83 ERA. Carpenter went 4-0 and posted a stellar 1.85 ERA versus the Astros this season. And to make matters worse, at least for the Astros, the Cards are 7-3 in his last 10 starts.
Behind Carpenter in the rotation, St. Louis has lefty Mark Mulder, who went 16-8 with a 3.64 ERA in the regular season. Mulder, who was 1-1 with a 2.48 ERA versus Houston this season, is coming off a gem in Game 2 versus San Diego when he allowed only one run over 7 2/3 innings. He is expected to get the start in Game 2.
At the plate, St. Louis is anchored by slugger Albert Pujols, a leading MVP candidate. Pujols hit .302 and belted four homers in 63 at-bats versus the Astros this season. Although he was walked four times in three games against the Padres, he still led the team at the dish with a .556 batting average.
Not surprisingly, the Cardinals are overwhelming favorites to win this series. We currently have St. Louis listed as a -200 chalk to advance to the World Series. The Astros, meanwhile, are +170. For the opener, the Cards are -162, compared to +152 for the Astros, who send veteran lefty Andy Pettitte to the hill.
Pettitte and the rest of the Houston pitching staff is really the only factor that stands between St. Louis and a second straight berth into the World Series. Pettitte is 17-9 with a 2.39 ERA on the season and the Astros are 8-2 in the 33-year-old?s last 10 starts.
The six-foot-five Louisiana native is coming off a solid start in Altanta, having given up only three runs over seven innings in Houston?s 10-5 victory over the Braves in Game 1. With the win, Pettitte briefly tied John Smoltz for the most postseason victories in playoff history at 14. (Smoltz subsequently took back the record a couple of days later in Game 2.)
Behind Pettitte in the rotation, the Astros have the ?Rocket? Roger Clemens. The 43-year-old future Hall of Famer was 13-8 with a microscopic 1.87 ERA this season. They also have righty Roy Oswalt (20-12, 2.94 ERA), who?s likely to get the start in Game 2 versus Mulder. And of course, they?ve got one of the most dominant closers in the game in Brad ?Lights Out? Lidge.
Lidge has 42 saves this season, and fanned 103 batters over 70 2/3 innings. And although the Astros have not had a lot of success against the Cardinals this year, Lidge has fared well. In seven appearances against St. Louis (7 2/3 innings), Lidge has not allowed a run and has notched four saves.
With both teams trotting their aces out to the mound for the opener, the total has been set relatively low at 7 1/2. To a degree, the total also reflects Houston?s trouble at the plate this season ? their offense is near the bottom of the major leagues in runs scored, batting average and on-base percentage.
More than 55 percent of Houston?s games went UNDER the total this season. Six of those games came in the last eight meetings with the Cards.
Regardless, there a couple of anomalies to consider: The Astros? past five games have gone OVER and seven of their last 10 road games have gone OVER.
Eight of the Cardinals? last 11 games have gone OVER as well.
Good luck with your bets!
