Lincecum Looks to Regain Form Against Astros Tonight

San Francisco pitcher Tim Lincecum hasn’t been as dominating as he usually is.  His ERA has risen from 1.76 on May 15th to 3.11 on June 16th.  His mastery over the baseball hasn’t been absolute.

That could all change on Tuesday night when Lincecum faces a team he’s dominated during his career, the Houston Astros.  The ‘Stros have never had success against Lincecum.  The San Francisco Cy Young winning pitcher has gone 4 and 0 with a 1.33 ERA in 7 starts against the Astros during his career.  This year, Lincecum has beaten the ‘Stros twice allowing only 1 run and 8 hits in 15 total innings.

Will Tim Lincecum dominate the Astros again?  Or, will the ‘Stros pitcher for this game, veteran Roy Oswalt, take Lincecum and the G-Men down?

San Francisco Giants vs. Houston Astros

Where:  Minute Maid Park, Houston, TX

When:  June 22nd, 2010 at 8:05 pm EST

TV:  San Francisco – CSN-BA HD
        Houston – FS-H HD

Radio:  San Francisco – KNBR 680
            Houston – KTRH 740, KLAT 1010

MLB Betting Odds

San Francisco Giants
Tim Lincecum – R                  -1 ½ +110        -145

Houston Astros
Roy Oswalt – R                      +1 ½ -110        +125

The baseball betting trends are all over Tim Lincecum and the G-Men in this game.

• The San Francisco Giants are 5 and 1 in Tim Lincecum’s last 6 starts on the road.

• The San Francisco Giants are 7 and 1 in Tim Lincecum’s last 8 starts after 5 days of rest.

• The Houston Astros are 1 and 4 in Roy Oswalt’s last 5 starts as an underdog at home.

• The Houston Astros are 7 and 16 in their last 23 games as an underdog at home.

The trends point to the Giants winning this game, Lincecum’s overall numbers and his numbers specifically against the Astros point to the Giants winning this game, and the baseball odds makers say that the G-Men will win this game.

At least, the baseball odds makers believe that the money will go in favor of the G-Men.  So, is there anything regarding Roy Oswalt or the Houston Astros that says they can upset San Francisco in this game?  Nope.

I love Roy Oswalt, how can anybody not?  But even though he’s been pitching very well lately, 2 and 0 in his last 2 starts while allowing only 2 runs and 10 hits in 14 innings pitched, his team is terrible offensively.

The Giants have a team ERA of 3.33.  Houston has a team batting average of .233 and score on average only 3.37 runs per game.  I believe that Oswalt could pitch a fantastic game tonight and that the Astros would still lose.

My money will be behind Tim Lincecum and the San Francisco Giants in this game. They’re the bet on the moneyline.

MLB Sportsbook Pick:  San Francisco Giants -145