MLB Preview: Phils, Giants Play to Face Rangers in World Series

With the Texas Rangers punching their ticket to the annual Fall Classic, all eyes now turn to the NLCS where the Philadelphia Phillies will look to once again stave off elimination as they take on the San Francisco Giants.

The Giants lead the series three games to two, but have to be a touch nervous at what lies ahead. Having already squandered a chance to close out the series in Game 5 — ace Roy Halladay out-dueled San Fran’s Tim Lincecum — they now must muster enough offense to beat Roy Oswalt.

Oswalt is a seasoned veteran with plenty of big-game experience. The 33-year-old chucker starred with the Houston Astros during the 2005 playoffs and — even with his tough Game 4 relief outing included — Oswalt is 5-1 with a 3.58 ERA in 11 postseason appearances. He has been even better in the NLCS, going 3-1 with a 2.93 ERA in six games. He was the 2005 NLCS MVP, and his team has never lost a game he has started in this round.

If getting to Oswalt sounds like a tough task, consider what the Giants have to do in facing him at Citizen’s Bank park. Simply put, Oswalt has been lights-out pitching in front of the Philly faithful this year: Oswalt made six starts at home since joining Philadelphia, winning five of them and posting a 1.76 ERA. And that’s not exactly a new development. In his career, Oswalt is 9-0 at the stadium with a 2.10 ERA in 10 starts. His team has never lost a game he’s started in this park.

This isn’t to say, though, that the Giants don’t have the bats to get after Oswalt. Several unheralded-but-dynamic postseason performers have been ripping the cover off the ball lately — most notably, Cody Ross.

Ross leads all Giants in each significant batting category. He’s hitting .333, has four HR (remarkably impressive because only one other San Francisco hitter, Pat Burrell, has gone yard) and eight RBI. You could make the case that Ross has been the entire Giant offense — while others have managed to hit for average, he’s the main producer — but to be fair, others have stepped up when necessary. Rookie catcher Buster Posey is showing the postseason stage isn’t too big for him; he’s hitting .314 although he does lead the team with 11 strikeouts.  Aubrey Huff, who supplied most of the Giants’ offense during the regular season, has struggled at times but seems to be coming around — in Game 4 he went 3-for-5 while driving in a run in a 6-5 Phillies win.

Finally, we can’t mention this game without discussing San Fran’s pitcher for Game 6: Jonathan Sanchez. The hard-throwing lefty has been solid this preseason, winning his lone start against Atlanta in the NLDS before pitching six good innings against Philly at the start of this series. While the Giants lost that game 6-1, Sanchez did strike out seven and allowed just two earned runs — a big reason why his postseason ERA is a stingy 2.02.

Should be a great game tomorrow night.