2012 NLDS Preview – San Francisco Giants vs. Cincinnati Reds

Game Schedule

Game

Teams

Date

Time

TV

1 Reds @ Giants October 6, 2012 CIN 5 – SF 2
2 Reds @ Giants October 7, 2012 CIN 9 – SF 0
3 Giants @ Reds October 9, 2012 SF 2 – CIN 1 F/10
4 Giants @ Reds October 10, 2012 SF 8 – CIN 3
5 Giants @ Reds October 11, 2012 SF 6 – CIN 4

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

*UPDATE: San Francisco Defeats Cincinnati 3 Games to 2, Advances to NLCS.

Team Overview

Team

Record

Avg.

R

HR

ERA

BAA

 Cincinnati Reds 97-65 .251 669 172 3.34 .247
 San Francisco Giants 94-68 .269 718 103 3.68 .248

 

 

 

 

 

The Giants and the Reds enter their 2012 NLDS matchup with nearly identical records, but how the teams got here couldn’t be any different.  Despite playing in a bandbox of a stadium, the Reds pitching staff had a lower ERA than the highly touted Giants pitchers.  The Giants scored more runs than the Reds, during the regular season, but hit nearly 70 fewer homers than Cincinnati did.  This Giants team knows how to manufacture runs which is a crucial skill when it comes to October MLB Playoff baseball.

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Head to Head

Team

Record

Avg.

R

HR

ERA

BAA

 Cincinnati Reds 4-3 .254 28 8 2.63 .258
 San Francisco Giants 3-4 .258 21 4 3.69 .254

 

 

 

 

 

The Cincinnati Reds owned the head to head matchup between these two teams this year, by the narrowest of margins.  When facing off against each other, the Reds stats seemed more in line with their overall season stats, than the Giants showed.  The Reds hit .003 better, gave up .7 fewer runs per game, and allowed the Giants to hit .011 better than season average.  The Giants hit .011 lower, essentially produced the same ERA and allowed the Reds to hit .006 better than season averages.  Long story short, the Reds played a little bit better vs. the Giants than they did against the rest of the league, while the opposite seemed to happen for the Giants.  Head to head matchups, while valuable, represent a small sample size in the grand scheme of things, so we take them with a grain of salt when making our predictions.

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2012 NLDS Predictions

The Reds, on paper are a better team than the SF Giants, but the new 2-3 format can really throw a wrench in things, particularly if the lower seeded Giants can win their first two games at home.  They would then only have to win one out of the remaining three on the road to advance to the next round of the MLB playoffs.   It will be extremely important for the Reds to steal a game on the road if they want increase their chances of advancing.  The Giants style of play bodes well for them at home, but they are not built to mash homers with the Reds in Cincinnati.  This series will go the full 5 games, but the Cincinnati Reds will come away with it in the end.

13 comments

  1. I think that the 2-3 format definitely favors the lower seeded team. I think it’s crazy that the better team has to start a best of 5 series on the road. What was Bud Selig thinking?!

  2. The pressure is really on the Reds now as it comes down to a game 5. After looking dominant in SF, they have really faltered at home. They only had to win 1/3 games at home to clinch the series and they squandered their first two opportunities. I think the Reds should be very concerned.

  3. This Reds team is overrated. How does it feel to be on the verge of getting swept by the Giants in your rinky-dink home stadium?!?

  4. Man, it looked like SF was dead in the water, but they have come back to dominate the Reds. I’m looking forward to both game 5’s tonight!

  5. SF has been consistent all season long. Unfortunately in 5 game series, a quick momentum change can really damage a team. I think they match up well with either WSH or STL for the ALCS.

  6. Time to fire Dusty. What a shame for us fans here in Cincy to see the Giants waltz in and sweep us at home.

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