Reds-Giants
A look at the best-of-five National League division series between the Cincinnati Reds and San Francisco Giants:
Season Series: Reds won 4-3.
Projected Lineups:
Reds: 2B Brandon Phillips (.281, 18 HRs, 77 RBIs), SS Zack Cozart (.246, 15, 35), 1B Joey Votto (.337, 14, 56), LF Ryan Ludwick (.275, 26, 80), RF Jay Bruce (.252, 34, 99), 3B Scott Rolen (.245, 8, 39), CF Drew Stubbs (.213, 14, 40, team-high 30 steals), C Ryan Hanigan (.274, 2, 24).
Giants: CF Angel Pagan (.288, 8, 56, 29 SBs, 15 3Bs), 2B Marco Scutaro (.306, 7, 74 for Giants and Rockies), 3B Pablo Sandoval (.283, 12, 63), C Buster Posey (.336, 24, 103, 39 2Bs), RF Hunter Pence (.253, 24, 104 for Giants and Phillies), 1B Brandon Belt (.275, 7, 56), LF Gregor Blanco (.244, 5, 34, 26 SBs) or Xavier Nady (.184, 4, 13 for Giants and Nationals), SS Brandon Crawford (.248, 4, 45).
Projected Rotations:
Reds: RH Johnny Cueto (19-9, 2.78 ERA, 217 IP, 170 Ks, allowed only 15 HRs), RH Bronson Arroyo (12-10, 3.74, 202 IP, 129 Ks), RH Mat Latos (14-4, 3.48, 209 1-3 IP, team-high 185 Ks), RH Homer Bailey (13-10, 3.68, 208 IP, 168 Ks, highlighted career-best season with no-hitter at Pittsburgh in late September).
Giants: RH Matt Cain (16-5, 2.79, 193 Ks, 219 1-3 IP, first perfect game in franchise history June 13 vs. Astros), LH Madison Bumgarner (16-11, 3.37, 191 Ks), RH Tim Lincecum (10-15, 5.18, 186 IP, 190 Ks, matched career high with 17 wild pitches), LH Barry Zito (15-8, 4.15, 184 1-3 IP; most wins since joining Giants in '07, won final 5 starts and 7 straight decisions).
Matchups: Three of the seven games were decided by one run. The Giants were held to two runs or less in four of the games. ... The Reds hold a 20-13 lead in the series over the last five seasons. .... Votto hurt his left knee while sliding into third base in San Francisco on June 29. A cartilage tear wasn't detected until after the All-Star break, and he needed two operations and missed six weeks. The Reds went 36-12 in his absence, taking control in the NL Central. Votto batted .316 in 25 games after his return, but drove in only seven runs. He hasn't homered since June 24. ... Cain had the toughest time of anyone in the Giants' rotation against Cincinnati this season, losing both of his starts. He gave up three runs in 6 1-3 innings of a 9-2 loss on April 24 - the most lopsided of the season series - and five runs in five innings of a 5-1 defeat on June 29. ... Bruce batted .423 against the Giants this season with a homer and seven RBIs.
Athletics-Tigers
A look at the best-of-five American League division series between the Oakland Athletics and Detroit Tigers:
Season Series: Tigers won 4-3.
Projected Lineups:
Athletics: CF Coco Crisp (.259, 11 HRs, 46 RBIs, 39 SBs), SS Stephen Drew (.223, 7, 28 with Diamondbacks and A's), LF Yoenis Cespedes (.292, 23, 82, 16 SBs), 1B Brandon Moss (.291, 21, 52), RF Josh Reddick (.242, 32, 85, 15 assists), 3B Josh Donaldson (.241, 9, 33), DH Seth Smith (.240, 14, 52) or Jonny Gomes (.262, 18, 47), C George Kottaras (.212, 9, 31 with Brewers and A's) or Derek Norris (.201, 7, 34), 2B Cliff Pennington (.215, 6, 28) or Adam Rosales (.222, 2, 8).
Tigers: CF Austin Jackson (.300, 16, 66, 10 triples), LF Quintin Berry (.258, 2, 29, 21/21 SBs), 3B Miguel Cabrera (.330, 44, 139 for baseball's first Triple Crown since 1967), 1B Prince Fielder (.313, 30, 108), DH Delmon Young (.267, 18, 74), RF Andy Dirks (.322, 8, 35), SS Jhonny Peralta (.239, 13, 63), C Alex Avila (.243, 9, 48), 2B Omar Infante (.274, 12, 53 with Marlins and Tigers).
Projected Rotations:
Athletics: RH Jarrod Parker (13-8, 3.47 ERA), LH Tommy Milone (13-10, 3.74), LH Brett Anderson (4-2, 2.57 in 6 starts), RH A.J. Griffin (7-1, 3.06).
Tigers: RH Justin Verlander (17-8, 2.64, ML-leading 239 Ks), RH Doug Fister (10-10, 3.45), RH Anibal Sanchez (9-13, 3.86 with Marlins and Tigers), RH Max Scherzer (16-7, 3.74, 231 Ks).
Matchups: The A's were swept by Detroit in the 2006 ALCS, ending their last playoff trip. Detroit won the pennant on a home run by Magglio Ordonez. ... The teams split a four-game series in Oakland in May, and Detroit won two of three at home in September. ... Smith had good success against the Tigers this season, hitting .417 with 2 HRs and 6 RBIs. ... Reddick also homered twice vs. Detroit this season. ... Cespedes missed the series in May with an injury. ... Anderson allowed three runs in 2 1-3 innings in his one start vs. the Tigers before leaving with an oblique injury that sidelined him for the last two weeks of the regular season. ... Crisp is 8 for 22 in his career against Verlander. No other A's player has more than two hits against the Tigers ace. ... Verlander and Scherzer finished 1-2 in the majors in strikeouts, and they'll face an Oakland team that whiffed more than any other in baseball. ... Verlander won both his starts this year against Oakland, allowing one run in 13 innings. ... Detroit OF Avisail Garcia was called up late in the season and hit .326 in 22 games. He could be an option against left-handers in place of Berry or Dirks. Brennan Boesch can also add pop to the outfield, but he hit only .240 this season. ... Coke has been fairly effective against left-handed batters this year, but righties hit .396 off him.
