Probable Pitchers For Game #3, NLCS: St. Louis Cardinals @ San Francisco Giants Tuesday, October 14, 4:00 PM EDT , AT&T Park John Lackey, RHP @ Tim Hudson, RHP ... • John Lackey: John Lackey, who helped the Angels take the 2002 World Series against San Francisco, will be on the mound for the Cardinals at AT&T Park. And it’s a good bet that the man catching him Tuesday will be A.J. Pierzynski. The trade from Boston paid an early dividend when Lackey beat the Brewers with seven solid innings in his NL debut before essentially pitching to his career norm in 10 regular-season starts for St. Louis, with a 4.30 ERA. True to form, he was better when the games mattered most. Lackey bounced back from a dead-arm phase to finish September with a pair of quality starts against the Reds and Cubs, a trend that continued into October against the Dodgers. Lackey owns a 2.92 ERA in 111 postseason innings - more than any active Major Leaguer, and many in critical games. Over his past three starts (21.1 IP), he has allowed four earned runs and 16 hits with 21 strikeouts. • Tim Hudson: Tim Hudson is starting for the San Francisco Giants, in Game Three of the National League Championship Series, Tuesday night at AT&T Park, the first time he has ever made an appearance in this event in his distinguished career. he posted a win/loss record this season, that is below the .500 mark for the first time over the course of an entire season. Hudson hopes to perform in like manner to his vintage start against Washington in the National League Division Series. Facing Jordan Zimmerman and the National League’s best team, the Washington Nationals, He pitched seven-and-a-third innings of one-run ball, allowing seven hits, and striking out eight. He did not walk a batter. When the 2014 season first opened, Hudson ran off a string of impressive starts that were noted for his impeccable control, but as the season wore on, his control wore down, and his hip flared up. He was in the midst of an 0-3 September, with a 9.92 ERA, when he threw a bullpen session on the sidelines with pitching coach, Dave Righetti. Righetti said the issue with Hudson is the sinker was not sinking because he was not finishing his pitches on a straight line to the plate. A sinkerballer who starts on the first-base side of the rubber and ‘pulls off’ his line will leave balls up and over the plate, and they will flatten rather than dive. It is safe to assume that the bullpen session with Righetti, was successful, based on Hudson’s start in Washington. One stellar start, does not guarantee anything, but it bodes well. It is also safe to assume that Tim Hudson still has a very strong desire to pitch on baseball’s greatest stage. Combine these two elements, along with everything else in the Giants’ chemistry beaker, and expect a reaction that produces a victory for the Giants, and satisfaction for Tim Hudson. Hell be pitching on nine days of rest. Before the NLDS, he had a 5.13 ERA in his last 18 starts. He threw seven scoreless innings against St. Louis this season. • There has to be something in this postseason as the Cardinals are having a sudden surge in power this October. The Cards were second to last in home run production at the end of the regular season with 105, but they tower over every other team that made the postseason with 11 homers. In their latest showcase of power at the plate, the Cardinals pumped in four homers in Game 2 of the NLCS as Matt Carpenter, Oscar Taveras, Matt Adams and Kolton Wong each went yard to help propel their team to a series-tying 5-4 victory. St. Louis looks to bring that kind of power in Game 3, but they’ll have to do it in the least power-hitter-friendly park in the majors. According to ESPN’s MLB Park Factors stat, AT&T Park is ranked lowest with a 0.677 HR. St. Louis, however, doesn’t have to rely too much on its muscle, as they can efficiently generate runs by hitting for contact instead of for power. • Carpenter, had a .318 BABIP during the regular season, which says a lot about his ability to put the ball in play. For all the power emanating from Adams’ bat, the hulking first baseman still managed to come up with a .318 BABIP. • Jon Jay, meanwhile, is the best in this department among Cards players with at least 400 plate appearances, finishing the regular season with a team-high .363 BABIP. Jay is also currently hitting 8-for-17 this October for a team-best .471 batting average. • Despite a 1.65 ERA in this postseason, the Giants have a problem in their pitching, one that can be found in their bullpen. San Francisco found it the hard way again last night when three different relievers gave up three crucial homers to the Cardinals. First, Jean Machi allowed the Cards to tie the game when Adams homered off him in the seventh inning. Then Hunter Strickland followed that up with another homer surrendered, this time against Taveras in the same inning. The last one was the most damning, when Kolton Wong hit a walk-off homer off Sergio Romo. • The three relievers have combined for an eyesore ERA of 6.30, with all of their earned runs coming off homers. That said, Tim Hudson (9-13, 3.57 ERA) must keep the Cards off the scoreboard before giving the ball to the now questionable Giants’ bullpen. The 39-year-old pitcher showed there’s a lot of gas left in his tank when he allowed just one run, while fanning eight batters in seven-plus innings of work in the Giants’ 2-1 win over the Washington Nationals in Game 2 of the LCS on October 4. • Going back to the bullpen, Bruce Bochy could use lights-out reliever Yusmeiro Petit (3.69 ERA, 1.02 WHIP), who hasn’t pitched since Game 2 of the LCS, where he pitched six scoreless innings of relief, while striking out seven Nats hitters. Tonight could also see an appearance of converted reliever Tim Lincecum (12-9, 4.74 ERA), who has yet to take the mound in this postseason. • On offense, Brandon Belt, Buster Posey, and Pablo Sandoval have been the three most consistent batters thus far in this postseason. Belt is hitting .360 (9-for-25), while Posey Sandoval each share an identical 10-for-32 hitting line for .313 BA. Posey, though, saw his hitting streak end at eight games when he went 0-for-4 last night.
Posted on: Tue, 14 Oct 2014 11:58:38 +0000
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