THE SPORTS ADVISORS
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Philadelphia (36-26) at Atlanta (32-29)
The streaking Phillies head south to Atlanta to open a three-game weekend series, with ageless Jamie Moyer (8-4, 4.65 ERA) set to oppose Braves ace Tim Hudson (7-4, 3.01).
Philadelphia capped an 8-2 homestand by blanking the Reds 5-0 on Thursday. The Phillies are 9-2 in their last 11, and they?ve given up two runs or fewer in three straight contests. Also, Charlie Manuel?s club has won four of its last six away from Philly and 16 of its last 21 on Fridays.
Atlanta wrapped up a four-game home series against Florida with Thursday?s come-from-behind 7-5 victory, taking three of four against the Marlins. The Braves are now 25-8 at Turner Field this season, the third best home mark in the majors. Also, they?re 7-1 in their last eight against the N.L. East and 20-8 in their last 28 against southpaw starters.
The Phillies have won four of the last five series meetings, including taking two of three at home in mid-May in the first series between the clubs this season. The host is 7-3 in the last 10 clashes.
Moyer is 4-0 with a 4.05 ERA in his last four starts, with the Phillies scoring a whopping 49 runs in those four contests. Their lowest run output during this stretch was in Sunday?s 7-5 win over the Marlins, as Moyer won despite allowing five runs on seven hits in seven innings.
The 45-year-old southpaw is 3-1 with a 3.41 ERA in five road starts this season, with the Phillies also winning his one no-decision. On the downside, Moyer is 3-8 with a 5.42 ERA in 12 appearances (11 starts) against Atlanta in his career. Last year, he faced the Braves four times, going 2-2 with a 5.55 ERA.
Hudson has logged three straight quality starts, allowing seven earned runs in 22 innings (2.86 ERA), but Atlanta lost the last two ? both on the road at Milwaukee (3-2 on May 27) and Cincinnati (6-2 on Sunday). However, at home this year, the right-hander is 5-1 with a 2.81 ERA in six starts. Going back to 2007, the Braves are 20-8 in Hudson?s last 28 starts at Turner Field.
Hudson has made 13 career starts against the Phillies, going 4-5 with a 4.02 ERA, including 0-2 with a 4.13 ERA in five contests last year.
The under is 6-1-1 in Hudson?s last eight starts overall, 4-0 in his last four Friday outings and 4-2 in his last six against the Phillies. On the flip side, the over is 6-0 in Moyer?s last six starts (3-0 on the road).
The under is on streaks of 36-17-3 for the Braves overall, 13-3-1 for the Braves on Fridays and 4-1 for the Phillies against right-handed starters. However, the over is 5-0-1 in the Braves? last six home games, 4-0 in Philly?s last four against the N.L. East, 6-1 in Philly?s last seven on Fridays and 12-3 in Philly?s last 15 series-openers.
ATS ADVANTAGE: NONE
AMERICAN LEAGUE
L.A. Angels (37-24) at Oakland (33-27)
The top two teams in the A.L. West kick off a weekend series at McAfee Coliseum, with John Lackey (1-1, 1.80) set to toe the rubber for the Angels against Joe Blanton (3-7, 4.27) in a battle of aces.
Both teams were idle on Thursday, and both come in riding winning streaks, with Los Angeles having won five in a row and Oakland taking four straight. The Angels are an impressive 19-11 on the road this season, while the A?s are 20-13 at McAfee, including 8-2 in the last 10.
The clubs split a four-game series in Los Angeles in the first clashes of 2008 between the clubs. However, the Angels have been very successful against Oakland with Lackey on the mound recently, going 7-1 in his last eight starts against the A?s overall, including 4-1 in his last five in Oakland. Additionally, the Halos are 4-0 in the last four Lackey vs. Blanton matchups.
Lackey, who missed the first six weeks of the season while recovering from an arm injury, has been outstanding in his first four starts, pitching seven innings in the first two contests and eight innings in the last two, yielding a total of six earned runs in those 30 innings. However, the Angels are just 2-2 with Lackey pitching, including 1-1 on the road, where the big right-hander sports a 2.40 ERA.
Not only is L.A. 7-1 in Lackey?s last eight starts against the A?s, but the veteran hurler has recorded a quality start in all eight of those games, going at least six innings and giving up three earned runs or fewer in each contest. For his career, Lackey is 12-3 with a 2.84 ERA versus the A?s, including 6-2 with a 3.07 ERA in Oakland.
Blanton is just 2-5 in his last nine starts, and he?s surrendered at least four runs in five of his last 10 outings. In fact, he?s coming off his worst start of the season, as he gave up six runs on 10 hits over six innings of an 8-4 loss at Texas on Saturday. Also, in nine starts at home this year, the burly right-hander is 1-5 with a 3.99 ERA, with the A?s losing seven of the nine contests.
Blanton has a decent 3.56 ERA in 14 career games (11 starts) versus Los Angeles, but he only has a 3-6 record to show for it. However, the A?s are 3-1 in Blanton?s last four efforts against the Angels.
With Lackey on the hill, the under is on streaks of 6-0 overall, 4-0 in series openers, 19-7-3 on the road and 6-1 against the A?s. Meanwhile, the over is 4-1 in Blanton?s last five starts overall and 4-1 in his last five at home, but the under is 11-5 in his last 16 Friday outings and 5-1 in his last six against L.A.
The under is 21-7 in L.A.?s last 28 games overall, 7-2 in its last nine on the road, 5-1 in its last six on Fridays and 16-5 in its last 21 against righty starters. For Oakland, the under streaks include 5-1 on Fridays, 7-2 as an underdog and 11-5 following a victory, though the A?s have hurdled the total in four of their last five overall.
Finally, the under is 38-16-2 in the past 56 series meetings between these rivals, including 4-0-1 in the last five battle sin Oakland.
ATS ADVANTAGE: L.A. ANGELS and UNDER
