CLICK HERE TO GRAB OUR BEST Expert MLB Picks for 2010 MLB Betting! \u2014\u2013><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n San Francisco Giants @ Philadelphia Phillies \u2013 Tuesday, August 17 7:05 p.m.<\/strong> Baseball Gambling Lines:<\/strong><\/p>\n Line:<\/strong> San Francisco +125, Philadelphia -135 The San Francisco Giants head to the East Coast for a crucial three game series with the Phillies that has major playoff implications for both teams. Game 1 is scheduled for a 7:05 p.m. start tonight at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.<\/p>\n San Francisco lost two out of three games to San Diego over the weekend dropping them four games in back of the Padres in the NL West. At 67-52 the Giants are currently tied with Philadelphia for the wildcard spot in the playoffs. They are 30-29 straight up on the road and 22-26 against the spread as an underdog. Against the over\/under line they are 57-57-5 with seven of their last nine games against Philadelphia staying under the total.<\/p>\n Left hander Barry Zito will get the start tonight for San Francisco. He is currently 8-6 with a 3.44 ERA in 24 previous starts. Last time out he lasted 6.1 innings giving up 10 hits and four earned runs to the Cubs. Lifetime against the Phillies he is 3-1 with an ERA of 3.38.<\/p>\n The Giants are tied for fifth in the NL in hitting with a team batting average of .260. They are eighth in the league with 518 total runs scored, an average of 4.35 runs per game. Aubrey Huff leads the team with 124 hits, 68 RBI, and 20 HR\u2019s.<\/p>\n Philadelphia continues to find ways to win games to keep pace with Atlanta in the NL East. The Phillies are 7-3 in their last 10 and 66-51 overall, 2 \u00bd games out of the lead. They are 38-20 SU at home and 48-36 ATS as the favorite. Against the \u2018over\/under` line they are 56-59-2. Roy Oswalt will be making his third start of the season with Philadelphia, after coming over from Houston. On the year he is 7-13 with a 3.34 ERA. He got his first win as a Phillie in his last start after pitching seven strong innings, giving up five hits and no earned runs. In his career against San Francisco he is 5-8 with an ERA of 3.59.<\/p>\n The Phillies are hoping to have Ryan Howard back in the lineup tonight but it will be a game time decision. Howard, who has been on the DL with an ankle injury, still leads the team with 81 RBI and 23 HR\u2019s. The team is ranked fifth in the NL in hitting as they are tied with the Giants with a .260 batting average. They are ranked fourth in the league in runs scored with 552, an average of 4.72 per game.<\/p>\n Philadelphia is 4-6 SU in its last 10 games against the Giants. With Oswalt on the mound in front of the home town crowd, I like the Phillies chances of taking Game 1 of this series.<\/p>\n Gambling Trends:<\/strong><\/p>\n San Francisco is 14-6 SU in its last 20 games on the road
\nSan Francisco: 67-52 SU
\nPhiladelphia: 66-51 SU<\/p>\n
\nTotal<\/strong>: Over\/Under 8<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/media.partners.betus.com\/BANNERS\/baseball\/sportsbook_baseball_250x250_mybanner.gif\")
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\nPhiladelphia is 15-2 SU in its last 17 games at home
\nThe total has gone UNDER in 5 of Philadelphia’s last 6 games when playing San Francisco
\nPhiladelphia is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games
\nThe total has gone UNDER in 4 of Philadelphia’s last 5 games
\nThe total has gone UNDER in 5 of San Francisco’s last 6 games when playing Philadelphia
\nThe total has gone UNDER in 4 of San Francisco’s last 5 games on the road
\nThe total has gone UNDER in 4 of San Francisco’s last 5 games when playing on the road against Philadelphia<\/p>\n