Atlanta @ San Francisco preview
Oracle Park
Last Meeting ( Aug 8, 2010 ) San Francisco 3, Atlanta 6
Stellar pitching fueled the San Francisco Giants’ successful late-season run to the National League West title and also was a key ingredient for the Atlanta Braves.
So it’s safe to say baseball’s version of the arms race could be on display when the two teams clash in the best-of-5 NL Division Series.
Tim Lincecum will be on the mound for San Francisco and Derek Lowe takes the ball for Atlanta when the series between two of baseball’s top pitching teams begins Thursday night in San Francisco.
Lincecum and Lowe were both terrific down the stretch, going a combined 10-1 in September. Lincecum was 5-1 with a 1.94 earned-run average and Lowe was 5-0 with a 1.17 ERA.
Lincecum (16-10, 3.43 ERA) helped the Giants post a major league-leading 3.36 ERA. The two-time Cy Young Award winner led the NL with 231 strikeouts and was 1-1 against Atlanta this season.
Lowe (16-12, 4.00 ERA) finished with a flourish after enduring a stretch in which he lost eight of 11 decisions. He beat San Francisco in both of his regular-season starts.
Today’s start will be the 22nd postseason appearance of Lowe’s career. Lincecum is making his playoff debut.
Atlanta had a 3.56 ERA this season, tied for third best in the majors.
Both teams boast stellar closers. San Francisco’s Brian Wilson had a major league-best 48 saves while Atlanta’s Billy Wagner notched 37.
Any late-game matchups against Wilson should be interesting as Atlanta led the majors with 25 victories in its final at-bat.
The Braves produced a 91-71 record and clinched the wild card on the season’s final day, overcoming season-ending injuries to infielders Chipper Jones and Martin Prado.
Catcher Brian McCann and first baseman Derrek Lee have both fared well against Lincecum. McCann, who hit 21 homers this season, is 8-for-21 (.381) against him. Lee (19 homers with the Chicago Cubs and Braves) is a .375 hitter in 16 career at-bats.
San Francisco’s top two hitters have struggled against Atlanta. First baseman Aubrey Huff (26 homers) batted .087 in 23 at-bats against the Braves and catcher Buster Posey (.305) was just 1-for-11 (.091).
Giants outfielder Aaron Rowand, who lost his starting gig earlier this season, is 11-for-23 (.478) in his career against Lowe.
The Giants went 92-70 and overcame a 6 1/2-game deficit to overtake the San Diego Padres for their first playoff appearance since 1993.
Atlanta is back in the postseason for the first time since 2005. This is the Braves’ 15th postseason trip under manager Bobby Cox, who is retiring after the season.
Atlanta won the season series with San Francisco, 4-3.