MLB's Final Four All Set

With the Texas Rangers' first ever postseason series victory on Tuesday night, both League Championship Series schedules are set. The Rangers, led by Cliff Lee's 11 strike out complete game effort and Ian Kinsler's 3rd homerun of the series, beat the Tampa Bay Rays 5-1 in the series' 5th game. Texas moves on to play the New York Yankees in the best-of-seven American League Championship series that begins on Friday.

Cliff Lee, of course, was a member of the Philadelphia Phillies team that reached the World Series against the Yankees last year. Lee won both of his starts against New York in that series. With his outstanding effort in the ALDS, Lee has improved to 6-0 with a 1.44 ERA and a .185 batting average against in 7 career postseason starts.

The Senior Circuit will feature the San Francisco Giants and the Phillies battling it out for the pennant. The big talk surrounding the National League Championship Series is the match up of exceptional pitching staffs. The Phillies' big three of Roy Halladay, Roy Oswalt and Cole Hamels will be pitted against the Giants' rotation that includes Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain and Jonathan Sanchez.

Matching up the teams' premiere trios...
Halladay, Oswalt & Hamels- 46-34 record, 671 innings, 2.74 ERA, 623 K's, 146 walks allowed.
Lincecum, Cain & Sanchez- 42-30 record, 629 innings, 3.22 ERA, 613 K's, 233 walks allowed.

Schedules for the League Championship Series look like this...

ALCS
Game 1- NYY @ TEX, Friday 10/15, 8:19pm
Game 2- NYY @ TEX, Saturday 10/16, 4:19pm
Game 3- TEX @ NYY, Monday 10/18, 8:19pm
Game 4- TEX @ NYY, Tuesday 10/19, 8:19pm
Game 5- TEX @ NYY (if necessary), Wednesday 10/20, 4:19pm
Game 6- NYY @ TEX (if necessary), Friday 10/22, 8:19pm
Game 7- NYY @ TEX (if necessary), Saturday 10/23, 8:19pm

NLCS
Game 1- SF @ PHI, Saturday 10/16, 7:57pm
Game 2- SF @ PHI, Sunday 10/17, 8:19pm
Game 3- PHI @ SF, Tuesday 10/19, 4:19pm
Game 4- PHI @ SF, Wednesday 10/20, 7:57pm
Game 5- PHI @ SF (if necessary), Thursday 10/21, 7:57pm
Game 6- SF @ PHI (if necessary), Saturday 10/23, 3:57pm or 7:57pm if ALCS does not reach game 7
Game 7- SF @ PHI (if necessary), Sunday 10/24, 7:57pm

Home field advantages did not prove very beneficial to most teams in the opening round of the 2010 playoffs. The Phillies at home in the divisional series were 2-0. All other home teams in the opening round of the MLB playoffs posted a combined 2-11 record.

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