Two National League playoff contenders begin a three-game series on Tuesday as the Philadelphia Phillies are favored in MLB betting against the San Francisco Giants. It is the first game of a six-game road trip for the Giants and the first of a ten-game home stand for the Phillies. Philadelphia is expected to be favored in baseball betting odds with Roy Oswalt getting the start.
MLB betting odds favor the Phillies since they have Oswalt going and because they are at home. Another factor that could point to the Phillies is that this could be a letdown game for the Giants. San Francisco is coming off their biggest series of the season this past weekend when they hosted San Diego.
The Giants are set to send Barry Zito on Tuesday. He is 8-6 on the season with a 3.44 ERA. Zito has not gotten a decision in his last three outings but he has a good ERA of 3.10. He has had some success in the past ten years against the Phillies going 3-1 with a 3.38 ERA.
Oswalt is 7-13 on the season with a 3.34 ERA. He was excellent last time out against the Dodgers as he went seven innings and allowed just five hits and no runs. He is 1-1 with a 2.79 ERA in three starts with the Phillies. He has decent ERA in the past ten seasons against the Giants at 3.59 but his record is just 5-8.
The Giants have won 11 of the last 20 games against the Phillies. The teams played in San Francisco back in April and the Giants took two of three. Two of those games went under the total. When the teams play in Philadelphia last season it was the Phillies winning two of three and all three games were very low scoring. The Phillies won 1-0 and 2-1 while the Giants won the other game 4-0.
The Giants are just barely above .500 on the road at his season at 30-29. The Giants win with pitching as they have an ERA that is in the top five in the league. Their hitting is just 18th in the league but they did make a trade on Friday picking up Jose Guillen from Kansas City in hopes that he can provide some offense.
The Phillies are 36-19 at home this season and they are right on the heels of Atlanta for the lead in the National League East.