Roy Halladay is one of the best pitchers in baseball and he’s one of the best pitchers in this postseason. You can say the same about San Francisco’s Tim Lincecum, but one of them will likely get the win and the other will get the lost.
The only other time the two have faced each other was in the 2009 All Star Game in St. Louis. Neither pitcher went more than two innings with Halladay allowing four hits and three runs and Lincecum only allowing two hits and one run.
This matchup is as good as it gets because these two pitchers are such opposites. Halladay is a serious, mature veteran pitcher who carries himself like the ultimate professional. He rarely smiles and comes across as all business.
Lincecum on the other hand is a young free spirit who likes to have a good time, is prone to drop “F” bombs during interviews and is liable to show up to the game wearing whatever he happened to grab out of closet.
Halladay is a big and strong specimen of a pitcher standing 6’6″ and weighing 240 pounds. Lincecum stands only 5’11 and weighs only 172 pounds.
They’re complete opposites but they both can take over a game and dominate.
In game one of the NLDS Halladay pitched the second no-hitter in the post-season in Major League Baseball history. Across the country Lincecum came pretty darn close to Halladay’s performance by striking out 14 players and allowing only two hits.
So with both teams having their aces on the mound there’s a very good chance that it will be a low scoring game.
Who, if anybody has the advantage?
Of course, the Phils have the home field advantage and the entire nation knows that Citizens Bank is quite a sight to see during a playoff game. They also have the experience on their side as well as the heavy bats.
On the other hand the Giants led the majors this year with a 3.36 ERA and beat the Braves in the NLDS with a 1.66 ERA over four games. You can’t get much better than that.
Still in game number one, I say the advantage goes to Halladay and the Phils in this one. You know Doc is going to be pumped. Halladay has waited his entire life for this moment and he’ll be doing his thing in the City of Brotherly Love in front of the fans that have stood behind him and chanted his name since the moment he was signed.
No one in the league works harder or is in better shape physically or mentally. Philly fans haven’t seen anyone with this amount of talent and concentration since Steve Carlton pitched the Phillies to a World Series Pennant back in 1980.
As for the rest of the series, it’s going to be a nail biter. The Giants are the underdogs but I wouldn’t be able to call myself a sports fan if I counted them out, just yet. These two teams have two of the best starting rotations in the majors.
On one end, you have Doc, Roy Oswalt, and Cole Hamels. Three aces with a combined 11 All-Star Game appearances, a NLCS MVP, a World Series MVP, a post season no-hitter, a Cy Young award winner, and oh, remember that perfect game? Scary right?
However San Francisco has Lincecum, Matt Cain, and Jonathan Sanchez. They have four All- Star games combined and not one but two Cy Young Awards.
So, pop the popcorn, get the beer in the fridge and get those rally towels ready. This series is going to be one for the ages. It all starts in a little over 24 hours from now, here in Philadelphia.
