Giants Host Cards in NLCS Game 3

Tim Hudson will look to lead the Giants to victory and an NLCS edge.

With the National League Championship Series knotted at one game apiece, the San Francisco Giants return home to host the St. Louis Cardinals in Game 3 of the series Tuesday afternoon.

First pitch at AT&T Park in San Francisco is scheduled for 4:07 p.m. ET.

With the series switching to the Bay Area for three straight, San Francisco will look to prize an advantage in the series after allowing the Cardinals to come from behind to tie the series in Game 2 on Sunday.

The Giants allowed solo home runs in the seventh, eighth and ninth innings of Sunday’s game, the combination of which would prove enough to give the Cardinals a 5-4 victory. Had the Giants held on to a 3-2 seventh inning lead and moved to 2-0 in the series, their chances of advancing to the World Series would have looked almost unflappable. As it stands, we have a brand new series. Fortunately for Bruce Bochy’s side, the next three are at AT&T Park.

St. Louis won’t be put off by their trip to the Bay Area. The Cards won two of three at the ballpark during the regular season, bringing their tally to four wins in five on the road against the Giants. Will that trend follow through on Tuesday?

Pitching matchup

San Francisco will send Tim Hudson (9-13, 3.57 ERA) to the mound on Tuesday.

Hudson allowed one run on seven hits through 7 1/3 innings in Game 2 of the NLDS, striking out eight batters in the process. Despite the no decision, the Giants went on to win that game.

During his career, Hudson’s club is just 3-8 when he takes the mound in a postseason game.

• Hudson is 4-4 with a 5.26 ERA in 13 career games (13 starts) vs. St. Louis
• Hudson is 8-8 with a 3.89 ERA in 22 career games (22 starts) at AT&T Park
• Hudson is 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA in 1 games (1 start) vs. St. Louis this season
• Hudson is 5-5 with a 3.94 ERA in 14 games (14 starts) at AT&T Park this season
• Hudson is 1-3 with a 3.19 ERA in 11 career postseason games (10 starts)
• Hudson is 0-0 with a 1.23 ERA in 1 postseason game (1 start) this season

St. Louis will counter with John Lackey (14-10, 3.82 ERA).

Lackey went 3-3 with a 4.30 ERA in 10 starts after moving to St. Louis during the season, but picked up the win when he took the mound in Game 3 of the NLDS. Against the Dodgers he yielded one run on five hits through seven innings, walking one and striking out eight.

During his career, Lackey’s club is 12-8 when he takes the mound in a postseason game.

• Lackey is 1-1 with a 2.57 ERA in 2 career games (2 starts) vs. San Francisco
• Lackey is 1-1 with a 2.57 ERA in 2 career games (2 starts) at AT&T Park
• Lackey has not faced San Francisco this season
• Lackey has not appeared at AT&T Park this season
• Lackey is 7-5 with a 2.92 ERA in 20 career postseason games (17 starts)
• Lackey is 1-0 with a 1.29 ERA in 1 postseason game (1 start) this season

Injury report

The big news coming out of Game 2 was the oblique injury to St. Louis catcher Yadier Molina. Molina has started 83 consecutive postseason games dating back to Game 4 of the 2004 World Series. He is currently listed as day-to-day and is reported to have not ruled out playing in Game 3, but that would be a huge risk for the Cardinals to take.

San Francisco leftfielder Michael Morse continues to be listed as day-to-day with an oblique injury. The 32-year-old had one at bat in Sunday’s game.

After Sunday’s oblique injury, Yadier Molina’s status is uncertain heading forward.

Betting report

Below you’ll find significant trends and observations relating to this matchup.

St. Louis Cardinals vs. San Francisco Giants odds for 10/14/2014

With the series switching to the Bay Area, San Francisco (-117) opened as the favorite over St. Louis (+108) on the moneyline.

St. Louis has garnered success in its recent trips to San Francisco though, having won four of its last five games at AT&T Park. That being said, it was the Giants that won three of four meetings in the ballpark when the two sides met in the 2012 NLCS.

Some other trends to consider:

• St. Louis is 4-2 this postseason
• St. Louis is 1-1 on the road this postseason
• San Francisco is 5-2 this postseason
• San Francisco is 1-1 at home this postseason
• San Francisco was 4-3 vs. St. Louis during the regular season
• St. Louis was 2-1 on the road against San Francisco during the regular season

The total opened at 7, its highest mark so far this series.

The opening games of the series have split the over/under. The over paid out in Sunday’s Game 2.

The under has paid out in four of the Cardinals’ last five games, and four of the Giants’ last five at home. The last 10 head-to-head meetings between the two clubs have split the over/under evenly.

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Game 4 of the NLCS is scheduled to take place on Wednesday, with first pitch scheduled for 8:07 p.m. ET.

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