MLB Odds: Reds, Giants tangle in San Fran

Francisco Cordero has converted 17 of his last 17 save opportunities.

A pair of National League playoff hopefuls open a critical three-game series Monday night at AT&T Park with the San Francisco Giants hosting the Cincinnati Reds.  The series will conclude a six-game West Coast roadie for Cincinnati while the Giants are coming off a six-game tour of Philadelphia and St. Louis.

It's the second series of the season between the two old NL clubs who split a four-game set in Cincinnati in early June.  Win one, lose one has been the story between the Giants and Reds the past two seasons with their last 10 games split down the middle at five wins apiece.  That same 5-5 record applies to the 'totals' in those 10 contests, though the 'over' was 3-1 at Great American Ball Park in June with all four games carrying 8-8½ scoreboard numbers.

Monday's opener, which will be aired on ESPN2, features a pair of right-handers with Matt Cain (12-13, 3.11) taking the ball from Giants manager Bruce Bochy while Reds field boss Dusty Baker counters with Edinson Volquez (6-1, 4.98).

Cincinnati entered Sunday's action with a 3½-game lead over the Cardinals in the NL Central after having a seven-game win streak stopped Saturday night in Los Angeles.  The Reds were 130 underdogs in their series finale against the Dodgers.

San Francisco was also a 130 'dog in its Sunday date at St. Louis.  The Giants were five games behind the Padres in the NL West heading into that game.

Volquez will be making just his eighth starts since coming back in mid-July from Tommy John surgery.  The Dominican has mixed strong and stinky outings so far, and is coming off a stinky one last Wednesday in Arizona.  Volquez worked into the fifth and allowed five runs, all earned, tossing a season-high 105 pitches along the way.  Cincinnati still pulled the game out, rallying with four-run frames in both the eighth and ninth for an 11-7 triumph as 130 favorites on the MLB odds board.

It has been about two years since he last faced the Giants, and a bit longer than that since his last start at AT&T Park. His only two battles against San Fran came in 2008 with Cincinnati winning both games.  In Volquez' lone appearance on this mound, he worked seven good innings, striking out 10 and allowing a single run in the Reds' 10-1 win over Barry Zito and the Giants.

Cain has often been the victim of San Francisco's light-hitting offense or its defense, or both, during 2010.  The Giants are 5-5 in his last 10 starting assignments, plating eight runs in the five defeats.  A costly Mike Fontenot error figured into Cain's most recent outing in Philadelphia last Wednesday, an 8-2 Phils win with San Francisco an even-money road underdog.  Cain was charged with five runs, but only two of them were earned.

He tossed a gem in Cincinnati when the teams got together in June.  Cain stymied the Reds lineup in a complete-game shutout, allowing just seven hits and a pair of free passes in the 3-0 victory.  San Francisco was a slight 115 money line favorite at the closing bell.

All signs point to a lovely day in store for San Francisco as far as the weather goes.  Afternoon temps should crawl up to 80ºF with sunny skies.  Expect the thermometer to be in the low-to-mid 70s for Monday's first pitch with a WNW breeze around 5-8 mph (out to right-center).

The three-game series continues Tuesday night with a battle of southpaws.  Cincinnati will send rookie Travis Wood (7-2, 2.51) to the mound opposite Jonathan Sanchez (15-10, 3.47) in the 7:15 p.m. PT start.

NOTE: W-L records displayed for starting pitchers are team records in games the pitchers start.