It’s week 5 NFL picks and week 6 college football betting, plus MLB playoff action: Phillies vs. Reds radio broadcast and Giants vs. Braves tickets. Bodog.net previews tonight’s action.
The Braves and Giants will hook up on MLB playoffs odds this Friday, as they play Game 2 of the NLDS.
Pitching was expected to be a major factor in this series, and that proved to be the case in Game 1. San Francisco won the series opener 1-0 thanks to a complete-game shutout by Tim Lincecum. Cody Ross drove in the lone run for the Giants.
San Francisco will go with Matt Cain (13-11, 3.14 ERA). Cain has been excellent this season, though he lost focus a bit in his final start of the year, allowing six runs through four innings against the Padres. That’s particularly concerning since the Giants were battling San Diego for the division title, so Cain was pitching in a playoff-like atmosphere. The righty had been fantastic in the last few weeks before that, surrendering three or fewer runs over four outings (including a pair of shutouts).
Cain faced the Braves just once this season, losing after allowing three runs through five innings. He’s never been great against Atlanta, going 2-2 with a 4.03 ERA in five career starts.
Atlanta will counter with Tommy Hanson (10-11, 3.33 ERA). The righty was on fire heading into the playoffs but had little to show for it. Despite allowing just one run over his last three starts, Hanson didn’t get a single win. Run support — or lack thereof — plagued Hanson throughout the second half of the year, as he went 2-6 with a 2.51 ERA in 16 starts.
Hanson pitched against San Francisco once this season, and he threw a gem. The youngster allowed just three hits and one run over seven innings. He’s faced the Giants just one other time in his career and was fantastic in that game too, giving up three runs in seven innings while striking out 11 batters.
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MLB playoff odds continue Friday as the Reds visit the Phillies for Game 2 of their NLDS matchup. Philly is a -200 favorite at the sportsbooks
Philadelphia is coming off a 4-0 victory in Game 1. As you’ve probably heard, Roy Halladay was absolutely unconscious, pitching a no-hitter in his first ever playoff appearance. Doc also helped his cause by driving home a run. Shane Victorino chipped in with two hits and a pair of RBI.
On Friday, Philadelphia will start Roy Oswalt (13-13, 2.76 ERA), who obviously has a tough act to follow. The right-hander is no slouch, though. He’s been a quality ace in Houston for a decade, and he’s been lights-out since joining the Phillies mid-season: 7-1 with a 1.74 ERA in 13 appearances. Oswalt allowed a run during a tune-up inning against Atlanta in his final appearance of the regular season, but he’s allowed one run or less in six of his last seven starts.
Oswalt struggled against Cincy in two starts this year, though, going 0-2 with a 6.75 ERA. There’s not much cause for concern, as he normally dominates the Reds. In 34 career appearances (32 starts), he’s 23-3 with a 2.81 ERA.
Bronson Arroyo (17-10, 3.88 ERA) will get the nod for Cincinnati. The lanky right-hander enjoyed a nice season, and he’s pitching pretty well heading into the postseason. Arroyo has allowed just six runs in his past four starts, and three of those starts were wins. He’s prone to the home run ball, though — he allowed 29 this year — so the Phils will have a chance to go yard.
Arroyo has faced Philly eight times in his career, going 1-5 with a 5.51 ERA. It gets worse; in his lone career starts at Citizens Bank Park, Arroyo was torched for five runs and three homers.
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Friday night’s game between high-powered Oklahoma State and mid-major Louisiana-Lafayette looks like a potential trap game for the Cowboys, who are 24-point favorites on Bodog’s NCAA Football Odds.
How could the Cowboys get too jazzed up to face the Ragin’ Cajuns of the Sun Belt Conference? After all, OSU is ranked and enters off a thrilling Big 12 opening win over Texas A&M, 38-35, in which the Pokes both rallied from a 14-point deficit and let the Aggies do the same. Plus this is the team’s first road game of the season. OSU still hasn’t scored less than 38 points in a game this season and ranks second in scoring and third in passing in the nation. Cowboys QB Brandon Weeden (1,259 yards passing, 13 TDs) has made OSU fans forget about Zac Robinson and receiver Justin Blackmon, who leads the NCAA in scoring (60 points), receiving yards per game (139.5) and TD catches (9), has done the same about Dez Bryant.
Oklahoma State’s defense has struggled this year, including giving up 35 points to Troy, another Sun Belt team. But it seems like UL-Lafayette will have trouble scoring regardless. The Ragin’ Cajuns average only 2.8 yards per rush attempt, while quarterback Chris Masson has completed only 52 percent of his passes. Louisiana-Lafayette is 103rd nationally in rushing offense, 95th in total offense, 93rd in total defense and 103rd in pass defense. The Ragin’ Cajuns are 2-2, but during the second halves of their four games, they were outscored 68-14.
OSU is the first ranked team to visit Lafayette in 14 years, although Kansas State did make the trip last year and lost. UL-Lafayette traveled to then-ranked Georgia to open this season and was bombed 55-7.