Game 1 is tonight, and I doubt anyone saw this one coming. To the few who bet that Texas and San Francisco would make it to the world series, spend it wisely!
A lot has been made in the media about game one and how dominant that Cliff Lee has been. The most amazing stat are the splits between lefties and righties. San Francisco is almost exclusively right-handed hitting team. To add to it, the ballpark is not hitter-friendly so a guy like Lee will do well even if the hitters get a few good swings on him. Lincecum is a strikeout pitcher who has trouble locating at times. He often gets his body out in front of him and leaves pitches up. He gets by because of the incredible movement, but you can only hang so many pitches before someone hits you hard. Texas' lineup is too powerful, and it has extra-base hitters from top to bottom.
Game 1 Prediction:
Rangers win 5-0
Lee: 8IP 5h 10k
Lincecum: 5 1/3 IP 7h 4ER 8K
Interesting point by an ESPN analyist on Baseball Tonight.. he thinks SF should go with Jonathan Sanchez in game 1, followed by Lincecum and Cain. That's an interesting perspective, but think about it from the manager and players point of view. It's not as if Texas is a heavy left-handed team.. so it would be pretty obvious that the manager would be saying "hey guys, give up tonight and lets go at it tomorrow". Is it a good idea? Sure, it is Cliff Lee after all. However, pulling it off may not be the best idea.
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