November 4th, 2009
Keys to Winning Game 6
NFL odds will be the only thing that matters in the City of Brotherly Love for a
while unless the Phillies can stay alive in Game 6 of the World Series.
In a matchup of World Series legends, Pedro Martinez gets the ball for
the Phillies and faces Andy Pettitte, Major League Baseball's all-time
playoff wins leader. Here are each team's keys to victory.
Phillies keys to victory
1. Score first. Everyone
knows the "Who's your daddy" story by now; Pedro Martinez continuously
struggles to beat the Yankees in the playoffs. In his last five starts
and six appearances against the Bronx Bombers in the postseason he's
winless. He also had a 5.66 road ERA this regular season versus 1.88 at
home. Even though he was decent at Yankee Stadium in Game 2, allowing
three runs over six innings, Mark Teixeira and Hideki Matsui each took
him deep. The Yankee faithful were just starting to get to him before
he got the hook. If New York scores first and the fans get inside
Pedro's head, the Phillies' sportsbook odds of rallying will take a huge hit.
2. Don't be afraid to use any pitcher at any moment. If
Cliff Lee wants to pitch, use him. If Cole Hamels wants to pitch, use
him. At any point in the game. Brad Lidge clearly can't be trusted
right now and the Phillies can't get cocky and "save" any starters for
Game 7 if they're losing in Game 6. They have to take things one game
at a time.
Yankee keys to victory
1. Pitch around Chase Utley. The
Yankees have lefty Andy Pettitte taking the hill and they know Ryan
Howard, who bats fourth, can't seem to solve lefties. He hit .207
against them in the regular season. There's thus no reason for the
Yanks to pitch to Utley and risk allowing a sixth homer to him in this
series -- which would set a new World Series record.
2. Let Mariano Rivera pitch as many innings as he wants. Like
the Phillies, the Yanks shouldn't take Game 6 for granted. Rivera has
allowed one earned run in 14.1 playoff innings this season -- none to
Philly in the World Series. The Phillies can't figure him out; if Andy
Pettitte pitches seven adequate innings, why bother giving the ball to
shaky Joba Chamberlain? New York should go right to Rivera and let him
pitch two innings.
Pick
Take the Yankees at -208 to win tonight. Andy Pettitte has pitched well at home this postseason so online betting fans should trust him -- and his run support -- with their MLB picks tonight.