The San Francisco Giants secured a 3-1 lead over the Philadelphia Phillies in last night’s game.  They’ll look to put an end to the 2010 NLCS and get their ticket to the World Series and get the Phillies a one-way ticket back home.  If they are unable to succeed tonight then the Giants will travel to Philadelphia for a game on Sunday.

The Giants will put starting pitcher Tim Lincecum on the mound for Game 5 tonight.  Linecum has already achieved one win in the NLCS and will hope to achieve another postseason win.  In Game 1, he did allow two home runs in an inning that isn’t even worth talking about; however, he played well enough to get the Giants the first win of the NLCS.  He fanned eight over seven innings and walked three.  In the postseason, he is now 2-0 and has an ERA of 1.69 as well as a 3.86 ERA in the NLCS.

The Phillies will counter with Roy Halladay, who also pitched Game 1.  The right-handed pitcher was able to strike out seven batters during seven innings but allowed two home runs – both of which came from Giants’ Cody Ross.  Halladay’s ERA for the NLCS is 5.14 and 2.25 for the postseason in which he is 1-1.

The Phillies currently have a batting average of 2.16 with 40 strikeouts and 2 home runs.  Ryan Howard is who the Giants need to look for as he has three home runs in his career against Lincecum.  The Giants have a batting average of .223 and 3 home runs.  Cody Ross has an outstanding postseason that the Phillies need to continue to look for.

It’s going to be a good match-up tonight.  Will the Phillies be able to pull together and secure tonight’s win to keep their heads above water in the NLCS?  The New York Yankees did it last night against the Texas Rangers but we’ll have to see as the game begins….

Odds from two top online sportsbooks:

Bodog Sportsbook
Moneyline:  Phillies -127, Giants +117
Runline:  Phillies -1 ½ +130, Giants +1 ½ -150
Total:  Phillies Over-125, Giants Under +105 (5 ½)

BetUs Sportsbook
Moneyline:  Phillies -125, Giants +105
Runline:  Phillies -1 ½ +135, Giants +1 ½ -155
Total:  Phillies Over-125, Giants Under +105 (5 ½)

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