Even if you prefer NFL betting or mixed martial arts or NASCAR or whatever, it’s tough for any sports fan to deny the appeal of October baseball.
The crisp fall air, the drama of a one-on-one matchup between hitter and pitcher — ahhh, you have to love it.
Time to preview the National League Championship Series, which features a rematch of last year’s NLCS between the Phillies and Dodgers.
[Editor's note: Before we get to the pertinent betting info, listen to AJ Kaufman's appearance on the MSF podcast previewing the ALCS and NLCS.]
Midwest Sports Talk Podcast: ALCS & NLCS Preview
PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES VS LOS ANGELES DODGERS
Best-of-seven series starts Thursday, October 15, 8:07 p.m. ET
Sportsbook odds: Phillies +105, Dodgers -125
The Phillies may have baseball’s deepest roster in every regard.
Amazingly, Ryan Howard, Raul Ibanez, Jayson Werth and Jimmy Rollins gave the City of Brotherly love four of the NL’s top 15 home-run leaders this year. There are simply no easy outs in the lineup and, as Werth and Howard showed the Colorado Rockies, almost every batter is a game-changing hit waiting to happen.
Worse yet for the opposition, speedy Jimmy Rollins and Shane Victorino are usually on base when the big guys connect on a fastball.
The Phillies also have virtually unparalleled rotation depth. Cliff Lee and Cole Hamels give them a potent one-two punch but J.A. Happ and Joe Blanton are no slouches. If Philly needs a fifth starter, they have some guy named Pedro.
The Dodgers counter with a ragtag group.
Clayton Kershaw is outstanding but Randy Wolf is due to lay an egg after a remarkably consistent season. How much fairy dust does Vicente Padilla have left? He seemed finished before the Dodgers snagged him from the depths of hell in the summer and he hasn’t lost since. Whereas the Dodgers have to hope their overachievers will keep overachieving, the Phillies have reliable arms.
Offensively, the Dodgers’ lineup is nothing to sneeze at either; Andre Ethier and Manny Ramirez have a knack for clutch hits and Matt Kemp was a legit MVP candidate this season. Still, as good as the Dodger bats are, they can’t quite match the Phillies’ potent group.
The bullpen was a concern for the Phillies in the regular season, with Brad Lidge sporting an astronomical ERA and looking nothing like his champion self of a year ago. He quieted concerns with a two-save performance in the NLDS, so the Phillies may be OK in that regard, but they can’t hold a candle to the Dodgers’ pen. Los Angeles has strikeout machine Jonathan Broxton and reliable setup man George Sherrill anchoring what was baseball’s best group of relievers this season.
While betting services experts are leaning toward the Dodgers, I’d be careful if I were you.
Think about it; they should’ve been tied 1-1 with St. Louis but Matt Holliday dropped the final out. They would’ve faced Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright again in Games 4 and 5 and easily could’ve lost the series. They’re a good team, but they got some luck in the NLDS and they’re depending on a shaky rotation. In a best-of-seven series, the deeper team should persevere.
MLB pick: Phillies
