THE SPORTS ADVISORS
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Arizona (46-47) at Philadelphia (50-43)
The Phillies are looking for their fourth straight victory when they send veteran Adam Eaton (3-7, 5.20 ERA) to the mound to face Arizona southpaw Randy Johnson (5-7, 5.18) at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.
Philadelphia took Friday?s game 6-5 in 12 innings when Jayson Werth delivered the game-winning RBI after Shane Victorino had a two-run triple in the bottom of the eighth to tie the game at 5. Arizona is still 5-3 in the last eight series meetings and 5-3 in the last eight in Philadelphia.
The Phillies are 4-4 on their current 10-game homestand but have rebounded to win three in a row after a four-game losing streak. They are 12-5 against lefties and 11-4 against southpaws at home, but they are on slides of 5-12 as a favorite, 4-9 at home and 3-9 as a home favorite.
Arizona has been lousy on the road this season, going 19-28 away from home and 10-22 in their last 32 and 10-25 on the road against right-handed starters. The D-Backs are 8-22 against teams with a winning record and 5-22 on the road against winning teams.
Johnson is just 1-2 with a 5.62 ERA in his last three outings, while the D-Backs are 1-6 in his seven roadies. On Sunday, he limited the Padres to one run on three hits for 6 1/3 innings of a 3-2 victory. He faced the Phillies back on May 6 and gave up four runs on six hits in six innings of a 6-4 victory. For his career, Johnson is 10-3 in 19 starts against Philadelphia with a 2.61 ERA.
Eaton has been horrible lately, posting a 1-2 mark in his last three with a 6.75 ERA. The Phillies have lost four of his last five and he?s allowed three runs or more in five of his last six, including Monday when the Mets got to him for eight runs (six earned) on 10 hits in 2 2/3 innings of a 10-9 loss. In 14 career starts, Eaton is 3-5 with a 4.23 ERA against Arizona.
Arizona is on a 21-8 streak when Johnson faces the N.L. East and 10-2 when he goes up against the Phillies, but they are on slides of 0-7 with him on the road against a team with a inning record and 2-6 when he?s a ?dog. The Phillies are on slides of 0-6 when Eaton goes on Saturday and 2-6 when he pitches the second game of a series.
The D-Backs are on under runs of 14-2 with Johnson on the road and 28-12-2 in his last 42 overall. The Phillies are on under streaks of 10-1 in Eaton?s last 11 at home and 16-5 in his last 22 overall.
As a team, the under is on runs of 25-11 overall, 8-3 at home and 14-5 on Saturdays. Arizona is on under streaks of 13-4-2 overall, 38-19-3 on the road against teams with a winning record and 10-3-1 against right-handed starters.
ATS ADVANTAGE: UNDER
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Chicago White Sox (53-39) at Texas (49-45)
The Rangers try to make it two in a row over the White Sox when they send veteran Kevin Millwood (6-4, 4.93 ERA) to the mound to face Chicago lefty John Danks (6-4, 2.52) at the Ballpark at Arlington.
Texas has beaten the White Sox four straight times dating back to last season, including Friday?s 7-2 victory Friday thanks to a five-run third inning. The Rangers are 13-7 in their last 20 meetings with Chicago and have won four straight at home against the Pale Hose. Overall, Texas has won three of its last four and it is on a 16-5 run in the second game of a series.
The White Sox have now dropped two straight after a four-game winning streak. They are just 4-12 in their last 16 on the road, but they are on positive runs of 36-15 as a favorite, 21-11 against right-handed starters and 6-2 as a road favorite.
Danks has been outstanding in his last three starts, going 2-0 with a 1.33 ERA and he?s 3-1 with a 1.48 ERA in eight road starts. He?s had five straight outings where he?s allowed two runs or less, and the White Sox are 6-2 in his last eight trips to the hill. He faced the Rangers last season and gave up five runs (two earned) on seven hits in 5 2/3 innings of a 5-1 loss in the Lone Star state.
Millwood is a perfect 4-0 with a 4.86 ERA in seven starts at home. Texas is 7-2 in his last nine outings overall, but this is his first work in front of the home crowd since June 5, a streak of six straight starts on the road. He opposed Danks in that 5-1 win last season and gave up one run on six hits in seven innings. In seven career starts, he is 1-3 with a 2.15 ERA against Chicago.
The White Sox are on slides of 0-6 when Danks pitches on Saturdays, 2-5 when he faces an A.L. West squad, 2-5 against a winning team and 3-9 when he gets five days of rest. The Rangers are 20-7 in Millwood?s last 27 home starts, 7-1 when he?s an underdog and 4-0 against A.L. Central opposition.
With Danks is on the hill, the under is on streaks of 19-7 overall, 8-1 with him on the road, 18-6-1 against teams with a winning record and 4-0 on Saturdays. With Millwood toeing the rubber for the Rangers, the over is on runs of 9-3-2 overall, 4-1-1 at home, 7-3-1 on five days of rest and 4-0 against the A.L. Central.
As a team, Chicago is on under streaks of 13-5 on the road, 25-9 on the road against a winning home team, 11-5 on Saturdays and 36-16 against teams with a winning record. Meanwhile, Texas has topped the total in 20 of 30 against the A.L. Central and 11 of 17 as a home ?dog.
In this series, the under is 7-1-1 in the last nine overall and 6-0-1 in Texas.
ATS ADVANTAGE: TEXAS
L.A. Angels (55-38) at Oakland (51-42)
The A?s took the opener of this key A.L. West series last night and now try to make it two in a row with left-hander Dana Eveland (7-5, 3.50) taking on Angels All-Star pitcher Ervin Santana (10-3, 3.53) at McAfee Coliseum in Oakland.
Oakland scored a 9-2 win on Friday thanks to a six-run third inning and has now drawn to within four games of the division-leading Angels. These teams have already met 11 times this season with Los Angeles holding a slight 6-5 advantage.
The Angels have dropped three of their last four, but they are still on streaks of 13-7 on the road, 16-8 against the A.L. West, 16-5 against southpaws and 62-27 in the second game of a series. Oakland has won four of its last five, but is on slides of 8-15 as an underdog and 1-5 on Saturdays.
Santana is 7-1 on the road with a 3.77 ERA but he got hammered in his last outing, giving up six runs on 10 hits in seven innings in Monday?s 9-6 loss in Texas. He has dominated the A?s in his career, posting an 8-1 mark with a 1.48 ERA in 13 outings. He?s already seen them three times this season and has allowed a combined four runs in 20 innings as the Angels are 2-1.
Eveland has gone 2-0 with a 3.44 ERA in his last three starts and he?s 5-2 with a 3.03 ERA in front of the home fans. He?s held the opposition to three runs or less in seven straight outings, but he gave up three runs on four hits in 5 2/3 innings of a 7-4 loss to the Angels on July 2. Oakland is 0-2 in his two career starts against the Angels (both this year) as he?s allowed nine runs in 11 innings.
Los Angeles is 21-6 with Santana on the hill against A.L. West rivals, 20-8 when he?s a favorite and 11-4 when he goes on Saturdays. Oakland is 7-3 in Eveland?s last 10 home starts but 0-4 as a ?dog.
The over is 26-12-4 in Santana?s last 42 on the road and 10-4-1 when he?s a road favorite, while the under is 11-5-2 in Eveland?s last 18 and 6-1 when he?s a ?dog.
For the A?s overall, the under is on streaks of 20-8 as a ?dog, 9-3 against right-handed starters and 8-3 at home. Los Angeles is on under runs of 33-17-3 overall, 45-21-5 against left-handed starters and 23-10-2 on the highway.
In this rivalry, the under is a whopping 40-20-3 in the last 63, 9-3 with Santana on the hill and 5-2-2 in the last nine in Oakland.
ATS ADVANTAGE: L.A. ANGELS and UNDER
