Thursday

[southbeach]

Plenty of games with playoff impact are still on the schedule for Thursday, with the tightly contested Rockies-Dodgers, White Sox-Red Sox and Yankees-Rangers series coming to an end. In fact, three of our top five pitching recommendations come from that trio of matchups. To find out which ones, as well as the rest of our rankings for the day, you need look no further than the chart below:

For starters
Starting pitcher rankings for Thursday, Aug. 27
Rk
Team
Name
T
W-L
ERA
WHIP
K/9
OPSA
Opp
OPS
CT%
1 Javier Vazquez R 10-9 3.14 1.07 9.91 .642 SD .696 78.3%
2 Chris Carpenter R 14-3 2.16 0.96 6.86 .582 HOU .733 82.6%
3 John Danks L 11-8 3.85 1.32 7.27 .707 @BOS .801 79.6%
4 A.J. Burnett R 10-7 4.08 1.40 8.00 .731 TEX .779 76.8%
5 Jorge De La Rosa L 12-8 4.76 1.40 9.21 .776 LAD .759 81.0%
6 Randy Wells R 9-6 2.84 1.20 5.53 .662 WAS .762 78.3%
7 J.A. Happ L 10-2 2.59 1.17 6.17 .656 @PIT .714 79.3%
8 Brian Moehler R 8-9 5.29 1.53 5.75 .840 @STL .745 81.2%
9 Clayton Richard L 7-3 4.42 1.49 6.67 .764 @ATL .749 81.5%
10 Ervin Santana R 7-6 6.13 1.57 7.12 .875 OAK .709 81.7%
11 Aaron Laffey L 7-3 3.42 1.42 4.59 .681 @BAL .750 82.2%
12 Trevor Cahill R 6-12 4.86 1.48 4.55 .839 @LAA .805 81.7%
13 Junichi Tazawa R 2-2 3.57 1.87 5.09 .952 CHW .755 81.0%
14 Vicente Padilla R 8-6 4.92 1.50 4.92 .779 @COL .787 77.0%
15 Anibal Sanchez R 2-4 4.97 1.61 7.56 .828 NYM .729 83.3%
16 Doug Fister R 1-0 2.21 1.08 5.75 .596 KC .714 80.5%
17 Tim Redding R 1-4 6.10 1.59 5.75 .848 @FLA .747 77.5%
18 Dave Bush R 3-4 5.67 1.35 6.56 .880 CIN .691 80.0%
19 Kyle Davies R 4-9 6.12 1.56 6.39 .812 @SEA .719 80.7%
20 Yusmeiro Petit R 2-8 6.06 1.53 7.44 .855 @SF .701 79.2%
21 Dustin Nippert R 4-2 3.95 1.34 7.48 .692 @NYY .838 82.4%
22 David Hernandez R 4-6 4.35 1.54 5.14 .844 CLE .772 78.1%
23 Charlie Morton R 3-6 5.21 1.58 5.84 .802 PHI .788 79.1%
24 J.D. Martin R 2-3 4.76 1.44 3.44 .864 @CHC .743 78.0%
25 Justin Lehr R 2-1 3.77 1.42 2.03 .719 @MIL .770 77.7%
26 Joe Martinez R 3-1 5.73 1.77 4.91 .856 ARI .743 77.4%
Rk.: The author's ranking of that pitcher for that day only. T: Pitcher throws left-handed or right-handed. W-L: Pitcher's win-loss record. ERA: Pitcher's earned run average. WHIP: Pitcher's average number of walks plus
Selected notes: Starting things off, we've got Javier Vazquez of the Braves. Not only does he have a 2.57 ERA in his past three outings against the Padres, but after San Diego hitters struck out 16 times Tuesday, we expect a lot of K's to show up on the scorecard. ? Chris Carpenter comes in a close second. He's a perfect 3-0 with a 1.64 ERA in his past three starts, and there's no reason to expect a letdown anytime soon, as he makes a legitimate charge for the Cy Young. ? John Danks has struggled against the Red Sox lately, with a 6.06 ERA in his past three starts, but he's 6-3 away from home and 3-1 so far in August. We're going to bat for him. ? A.J. Burnett has already beaten Texas twice this season, with 15 strikeouts and a 2.08 ERA in those two outings. He completes the triple Thursday. ? Jorge De La Rosa is 12-2 since June 5, so we're willing to overlook the career 0-7 and 7.89 ERA against the Dodgers, especially given the roll the Rockies have been on lately. Add to that Vicente Padilla's 6.00 ERA at Coors Field for his career, and the Silver Bullet Express should continue to cruise down the tracks. ? J.D. Martin's start was pushed back to Thursday with the Nationals' signing of Livan Hernandez. And so, we lift Randy Wells up to the No. 6 spot. Wells has a 2.82 ERA at Wrigley Field, while Martin has allowed seven dingers in 34 innings this season. ? J.A. Happ is making his fourth straight road start, and is 2-0 over the previous three away from Philadelphia. However, he has whiffed only seven in that stretch, which is why we've lowered him a touch, even against the Pirates and the pitiful Charlie Morton (9.49 ERA in his past three). ? Why is Brian Moehler so high? For one, nobody left to choose from has more wins on the season. For two, he's never lost to St. Louis, with a 5-0 record and a 3.84 ERA lifetime against the Cards. ? We're going to go "glass half-full" with Trevor Cahill. True, he has won only once in his past eight decisions. However, in his past three starts, he's lasted a total of 20 innings and posted an ERA of 3.15. Ervin Santana will still probably win, since he's 10-1 for his career against the Athletics, but it could be a closely contested game. ? Junichi Tazawa is 2-0 at Fenway Park with a 0.82 ERA, but that WHIP (1.45 at home, 1.87 overall) spells trouble, with a capital T. ? Anibal Sanchez is slightly favored over Tim Redding, since Sanchez gets to face the undead zombies that are the New York Mets, even though we are impressed somewhat by Redding's 3-1 lifetime mark at "The Shark."... The rest of our starters are in the lower half of the list for good reasons. Dave Bush is 0-2 with a 12.71 ERA in his past three, but we still have slightly more confidence in him than Kyle Davies, who is rocking a 19.64 ERA against Seattle this season. Yusmeiro Petit is 0-3 with a 7.07 ERA in his past three outings, only slightly better than Dustin Nippert's 5.82 -- but Nippert is facing the Yankees and we expect that number to rise. ? Rounding out our rankings, we can stomach neither Justin Lehr's 25 hits allowed in his past three starts, nor Joe Martinez's 6.43 ERA at home in AT&T Park. Throw out the winning records, gang. Nothing to see here!

Now batting
Hitters' count:

? Mark Teixeira, 1B, Yankees: An August OPS of 1.001 is but one reason to be in Tex's corner against Texas. The other is the .350 batting average against the Rangers so far this season.
? Brandon Phillips, 2B. Reds: Phillips has a .310 lifetime average against Dave Bush of the Brewers and five hits in his past three games.
? Prince Fielder, 1B, Brewers: Fielder has had 16 RBIs and a .313 batting average against the Reds this season. Expect him to add to his eight August home runs, against Justin Lehr.
? Derrek Lee, 1B, Cubs: Lee has a .909 OPS against the Nationals in 2009, and has hit .310 so far in August. Color us impressed.
? Kendry Morales, 1B, Angels: Morales has been streaking with a .341 August batting average and he's a perfect 3-for-3 against Trevor Cahill, including a home run.
? Jeremy Hermida, OF, Marlins: The Marlins outfielder has been rocking a .328 average since July was ripped off the calendar, and he's 10-for-17 (.588) with nine RBIs lifetime against Tim Redding.
? Daniel Murphy, 1B, Mets: Tuesday saw the end of Murphy's 10-game hitting streak, but he could start up a new one against Anibal Sanchez of the Marlins, against whom he's 2-for-4 with a double.
? Franklin Gutierrez, OF, Mariners: With multi-hit games in four of his past nine appearances, Gutierrez seems to have turned a corner. Plus, he's 6-for-10 in his career facing Kyle Davies -- expect at least two more hits Thursday.

Pitchers' count:

? Hank Blalock, 1B, Rangers: Chris Davis is back, and Blalock should be riding the bench, even more so due to the .143 average against A.J. Burnett.
? Ryan Doumit, C, Pirates: The dog days of summer have not been kind to Doumit: He's hitting only .182 in August. The .154 average against the current Phillies staff isn't going to help ease his pain.
? Kurt Suzuki, C, Athletics: We can't exactly recommend a guy who is 1-for-20 lifetime against Thursday's scheduled starter (Ervin Santana) with a straight face now, can we?
? Michael Bourn, OF, Astros: Bourn has been playing great lately, reaching base safely in 17 straight games. The pitcher who last kept him off the bases? Chris Carpenter.
? Victor Martinez, C/1B, Red Sox: John Danks brings out the best and the worst in V-Mart. Although he's hitting only .182 against him, all of Martinez's hits off Danks have been homers, but none so far this season.
? Ryan Ludwick, OF, Cardinals: Ludwick has never found a groove against Brian Moehler, batting only .143 for his career with five strikeouts.
? Ryan Zimmerman, 3B, Nationals: He's had oh-fers in every other start since Aug. 13, and Thursday is an "off day." Give him a rest.
? Adam Jones, OF, Orioles: A nagging back has kept Jones sidelined for a few days, and a .200 average against the Indians' current staff doesn't make us want to demand his speedy return.

If you're hard-core
? Everth Cabrera, SS, Padres: Cabrera had raised his average 14 points this month before Tuesday's 0-for-6 , so as long as strikeouts don't count against you, he might be worth a shot.
? Reid Gorecki, OF, Braves: He was batting .338 in August before his promotion to the Braves, and with Nate McLouth still on the DL, he should see many more at-bats this week.
? Josh Anderson, OF, Royals: Anderson is hitting .333 in four starts since Aug. 21, so why not give him a shot against Doug Fister and the Mariners?
? Juan Castro, SS, Dodgers: Castro has a .400 batting average against Jorge De La Rosa. Maybe he gets the call with the Dodgers' needing to shake things up a bit?
? Matt LaPorta, OF, Indians: He's hitting .318 this time around the Cleveland rodeo. Sure it's too little and too late for Rookie of the Year consideration, but to help your fantasy team ? right on time.
? Trent Oeltjen, OF, Diamondbacks: Not nearly as good as he was the first week of his call-up, when he smacked three homers in four games, and not nearly as bad as he's been since then. Perhaps he finds a happy medium against Joe Martinez of the Giants.
? Gaby Sanchez, 1B, Marlins: With Nick Johnson hurt, Sanchez should see plenty of action, and this might be the day he gets his first hit of the season. After all, he has three career hits, and one came off Tim Redding in 2008.

Triage
Injury list: Out

? Nick Johnson, 1B, Marlins (15-day DL, hamstring)
? Andruw Jones, DH, Rangers (15-day DL, hamstring)
? Johan Santana, P, Mets (15-day DL, elbow)
? Dexter Fowler, OF, Rockies (15-day DL, bruised knee)
? Freddy Sanchez, 2B, Giants (15-day DL, shoulder)

Injury list: Day-to-day

? Ichiro Suzuki, OF, Mariners (calf): He'll get back into the lineup eventually, but how soon depends on how quickly he can run with no discomfort.
? Carl Crawford, OF, Rays (back): Tampa Bay has Thursday off, so perhaps Crawford will be rested enough to back in the Rays lineup come Friday.
? Gary Sheffield, OF, Mets (back): He should be back in the lineup Thursday, but the way the Mets' season has gone, he'll probably spontaneously combust sometime in the third inning.
? John Baker, C, Marlins (back): A stiff back is not something a catcher can easily ignore. Expect more Ronny Paulino than usual this week.
? Ronny Cedeno, SS, Pirates (fractured finger): That hairline fracture in his pinky finger has rendered him useless to Pittsburgh. He'll likely give it a go soon, but that doesn't mean you should be in a hurry to get him back in your lineup.
? Joe Crede, 3B, Twins (back): An MRI has been ordered on Crede's ailing back, so it looks like Brendan Harris could be in the Minnesota lineup for a few more days.
? Alfonso Soriano, OF, Cubs (knee): It might be time for Soriano to suck it up and have knee surgery. As it stands, the outfielder is in tons of pain, and out of the Chicago lineup for the near future.

Weather concerns
? Thursday's two weatherproof games: Reds at Brewers and Royals at Mariners.
? Some possible rain in the forecast for the Southeast, with games in Atlanta, Florida and Baltimore all possible casualties.
? St. Louis and Pittsburgh also may see some isolated thunderstorms, but the riskiest locale for a complete nine-inning affair is Wrigley Field, where temperatures will dip into the 60s in addition to the expected raindrops.

 

[southbeach]

Thursday's Streaking and Slumping Starting Pitchers

Streaking

Chris Carpenter, St. Louis Cardinals

An overachieving starting staff is a big reason why the Cardinals have emerged as one of the best teams in baseball. But they wouldn't be running away with the National League Central without a bona fide ace.

They found it from a familiar face. The oft-injured Carpenter missed most of two seasons because of a career-threatening arm injury ? and even missed part of this year on the disabled list ? but he's returned to his Cy Young form of 2005.

Carpenter (14-3, 2.13 ERA) is 9-0 with one no-decision in his past 10 starts and has won his past six decisions. The 34-year-old righty has yielded just 16 earned runs over a 10-start span and just four over his past three outings.

Carpenter kept the San Diego Padres scoreless over seven innings in last outing, allowing just three hits in another St. Louis win.

Jorge De La Rosa, Colorado Rockies

De La Rosa has given the Rockies something they sorely need if they are to stay in contention; a starter who can keep the ball in the yard at Coors Field.

Ironically, De La Rosa (12-8, 4.76 ERA) has had his worst outings on the road, leading to his pedestrian earned-run average.

But along with ace Jason Marquis, he has given Colorado another dependable starter at home. The 27-year-old lefty has given up just 15 earned runs in his last seven home starts for the current NL wild-card leaders.

He is 6-1 in his past seven starts and has given up two or fewer earned runs in five of those outings.

Slumping

Kyle Davies, Kansas City Royals

In order to build toward respectability, the Royals need to find another solid starter to complement Zack Greinke. They haven?t found one in Davies.

The 25-year-old righty is 2-5 with one no-decision in his past eight starts. During that span, he has given up at least six earned runs three times.

Davies (4-6. 6.12 ERA) has also yielded 10 walks and five home runs in his past five trips to the hill. He was tagged for six earned runs in five-plus innings against the Minnesota Twins in his last start.

Trevor Cahill, Oakland A?s

Part of Oakland?s annual youth movement, the 21-year-old Cahill (6-12, 4.86) has taken plenty of lumps in his on-the-job training.

The right-hander is 1-4 with two no-decisions in his past seven starts, and has yielded five or more earned runs in three of those.

The good news for Oakland fans is that he appears to be making progress; in his past two starts, both no-decisions, he has give up just four earned runs over 13 innings

 

[southbeach]

Chicago White Sox (63-64) at Boston (73-53)

The Red Sox send rookie Junichi Tazawa (2-2, 3.57 ERA) to the mound at Fenway Park looking to complete a four-game sweep over the White Sox, who counter with lefty John Danks (11-8, 3.85).

Boston got two homers from David Ortiz on Wednesday, including a walk-off shot in the ninth that curled around Pesky Pole to give the Red Sox a 3-2 win. Boston has won eight of the last nine meetings with Chicago at Fenway Park and 14 of the last 17 clashes overall.

As a team, the White Sox are on slides of 5-16 on the road, 2-12 on the road against right-handed starters, 16-40 on the road against winning teams and 1-6 against A.L. East squads. Boston is riding streaks of 7-2 overall, 13-2 as a favorite, 46-16 against the A.L. Central, 38-16 as a home chalk and 36-15 on Thursdays.

Danks has been sharp lately, going 2-0 with a 1.66 ERA in his last three starts. On Saturday he held the Orioles to one run on three hits in 6 1/3 innings of a 4-1 victory, and over his last three outings he?s allowed just four runs in 21 2/3 innings. Chicago is 0-3 in his three career outings against Boston, including a 5-1 loss last year when he allowed two runs in seven innings. However, the White Sox are 6-1 in Danks? last seven outings against A.L. East opponents.

Tazawa is making just his fourth career start, but was magnificent on Saturday against the rival Yankees, blanking them through six innings as the Red Sox got the easy 14-1 win. He?s enjoyed Fenway so far, going 2-0 with a 0.82 ERA.

When Danks takes the hill, Chicago is on ?under? runs of 10-4 overall, 8-2 on Thursdays, 5-1 when he?s on the road and 5-2 when he?s a ?dog. As a team, the White Sox are on a plethora of ?under? streaks that include 12-4 on the road, 15-6-1 against winning teams, 5-1 against the A.L. East, 7-1 overall and 9-1 on the road against right-handers. On the opposite side, Boston is riding ?over? runs of 11-3 at home, 5-1 on Thursdays, 4-0 against southpaws, 14-4 as a favorite and 8-3 against teams with losing road records.

Finally, the under has been the play in this series in five of the last seven overall and 10 of the last 15 in Beantown.

ATS ADVANTAGE: BOSTON

Gametimepicks.com

 

[southbeach]

Baseball Today

SCOREBOARD

Thursday, Aug. 27

Texas at New York Yankees (1:05 p.m. EDT). The Rangers and Yankees finish off a three-game set with New York starter A.J. Burnett looking to bounce back from a poor outing in his last start in Boston.

STARS

Wednesday

-David Ortiz, Red Sox, hit his second homer of the game in the ninth inning to give Boston a 3-2 victory over the Chicago White Sox.

-Ryan Howard, Phillies, hit a three-run homer in the 10th inning to power Philadelphia to a 4-1 victory at Pittsburgh.

-Andy Pettitte, Yankees, pitched seven sharp innings to lead New York to a 9-2 win against Texas.

-Torii Hunter, Angels, hit a two-run homer to help Los Angeles to a 4-2 victory over Detroit.

-Andre Ethier, Dodgers, homered twice and drove in three runs in Los Angeles' 6-1 victory at Colorado.

-Joel Pineiro, Cardinals, worked eight strong innings to win his seventh straight decision and St. Louis beat Houston 3-2.

-Milton Bradley, Cubs, hit a two-run homer and drove in three runs to lead Chicago to a 9-4 win over Washington.

-Jeremy Guthrie, Orioles, allowed one run in seven innings and Baltimore beat Minnesota 5-1.

-Ronny Paulino, Marlins, hit a two-run homer in Florida's 5-3 win against the New York Mets.

-Kevin Kouzmanoff, Padres, hit a two-run homer and finished with three RBIs in San Diego's 12-5 victory at Atlanta.

FEELING MUCH BETTER

Red Sox knuckleballer Tim Wakefield and Angels left-hander Joe Saunders both had nice outings after coming off the disabled list. Wakefield allowed one run over seven innings in Boston's 3-2 victory against the Chicago White Sox and Saunders gave up two runs in five innings to help Los Angeles to a 4-2 victory over the Detroit Tigers. Wakefield had been sidelined with a several different injuries. Saunders had a sore shoulder.

UMPIRES INJURED

It was a tough night to be the home plate umpire in the Rays and Blue Jays game. Crew chief Jerry Crawford took a foul ball off his face mask and left after two innings with back spasms. His replacement, Tom Hallion, had to switch out after he was struck in the chest by a pitch from Tampa Bay lefty Scott Kazmir in the sixth. Brian O'Nora, the first base umpire, finished the game calling balls and strikes. Both umpires should be ready for their next game on Friday.

CAN'T CATCH

The Yankees could be without slugging catcher Jorge Posada for several games after he took a foul ball off his gloved hand during a 9-2 victory over Texas. Posada said he bruised the joint on the ring finger of his catching hand, the same finger he hurt earlier this season. X-rays were negative.

TYING LEFTY

Andy Pettitte earned his 189th win in pinstripes - 9-2 over Texas - tying Lefty Gomez for third on the franchise list and trailing only Hall of Famers Whitey Ford (236) and Red Ruffing (231).

TRIBUTE FOR TED

The Boston Red Sox honored the late U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy before their win over the White Sox, paying tribute to a lifelong fan. The U.S. flag flew at half-staff at Fenway Park, where Kennedy threw out the ceremonial first pitch on opening day, 97 years after his grandfather, Boston mayor John "Honey Fitz'' Fitzgerald christened the ballpark that is now the oldest in the major leagues.

OLLIE OUT

The New York Mets have lost their third pitcher for the season in two days. Left-hander Oliver Perez will require season-ending surgery to repair patella tendon tendinosis in his right knee. The injury ends a dismal season for Perez, who is expected to fully recover and be ready for spring training. On Tuesday, the Mets announced ace Johan Santana and reliever J.J. Putz are out for the season. Perez, who signed a $36 million, three-year contract last offseason, finished 3-4 in 14 starts.

METS BEATER

Florida's Josh Johnson gave up three runs and nine hits in six innings but improved to 7-0 with an ERA of 2.30 in nine career starts against New York with a 5-3 victory.

SEND HIM OUT THERE

The Cardinals have won Joel Pineiro's last 10 starts and 11 of the last 12. The right-hander is 7-0 with a 2.65 ERA in 10 outings since July 3, and walked none for the 13th start, a 3-2 win over Houston.

SPEAKING

"I feel love for me. I love me. I look in the mirror and I go out there and play. I feel the love from my teammates. I feel the love from the coaching staff and from myself. I go out there and try to do things. That's all I do.'' - Cubs outfielder Milton Bradley after homering and driving in three runs in a 9-4 win over Washington a day after saying he had felt hatred on a daily basis during his first disappointing season in Chicago.

 

[southbeach]

80% CLUB STATS

NY YANKEES: When ANY MLB Team played as a Home team - Vs. Right handed pitchers - Vs Non Division Opponent - 3rd game of a series - Coming off vs. Left handed pitcher - Coming off a 5 or more game over

* 23-5 SU
* 12-15-1 (O/U/P)

SAN DIEGO: When ANY MLB Team played as a Road team - Vs Conference Opponent - Vs NL EAST opponent - During the month of August - Coming off a Road win - Coming off a 7 run win

* 8-7 SU
* 12-2-1 (O/U/P)

CINCINNATI: When ANY MLB Team Played as Road team as a Underdog - Vs. Right handed pitchers - Coming off vs. National League opponent - During the month of August - Coming off a 5 Game Road Trip - Coming off a Win vs. NL CENTRAL opponent

* 8-12 SU
* 3-15-2 (O/U/P)

FLORIDA When ANY MLB Team Played as Home team as a Favorite - During the 2009 season - Vs Division Opponent - 3rd game of a series - Coming off 1 over - Coming off a Home win

* 13-8 SU
* 4-16-1 (O/U/P)

ST LOUIS: When ANY MLB team played As a -300 or more home Favorite - Total is between 7.5 to 8.0 - Vs Division Opponent

* 38-7 SU
* 17-26-2 (O/U/P)

 

[southbeach]

NY METS (57 - 70) at FLORIDA (67 - 59)
TIM REDDING (R) vs. ANIBAL SANCHEZ (R)
Top Trends for this game.
NY METS are 57-70 (-11.9 Units) against the money line in games played on a grass field this season.
NY METS are 57-70 (-11.9 Units) against the money line in all games this season.
NY METS are 52-69 (-30.9 Units) against the money line when the total is 9 to 9.5 over the last 2 seasons.
NY METS are 97-96 (-30.7 Units) against the money line against division opponents over the last 3 seasons.
FLORIDA is 45-36 (+15.9 Units) against the money line in day games over the last 2 seasons.
FLORIDA is 64-56 (+7.7 Units) against the money line in games played on a grass field this season.
FLORIDA is 103-98 (+11.1 Units) against the money line against right-handed starters over the last 2 seasons.
FLORIDA is 37-29 (+8.6 Units) against the money line after a win this season.
FLORIDA is 67-59 (+8.9 Units) against the money line in all games this season.
FLORIDA is 83-62 (+29.3 Units) against the money line when the total is 9 to 9.5 over the last 2 seasons.
FLORIDA is 27-19 (+11.0 Units) against the money line against division opponents this season.
REDDING is 23-20 (+9.9 Units) against the money line in all games over the last 2 seasons. (Team's Record)
REDDING is 15-10 (+10.0 Units) against the money line when the total is 9 to 9.5 over the last 2 seasons. (Team's Record)
REDDING is 23-20 (+9.9 Units) against the money line in games played on a grass field over the last 2 seasons. (Team's Record)

Head-to-Head Series History
FLORIDA is 7-4 (+3.8 Units) against NY METS this season
7 of 11 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL this season . (Under=+2.5 Units)

TIM REDDING vs. FLORIDA since 1997
REDDING is 4-5 when starting against FLORIDA with an ERA of 5.70 and a WHIP of 1.533.
His team's record is 5-7 (-2.6 units) in these starts. The OVER is 7-4. (+2.7 units)

ANIBAL SANCHEZ vs. NY METS since 1997
SANCHEZ is 2-2 when starting against NY METS with an ERA of 4.13 and a WHIP of 1.447.
His team's record is 3-2 (+1.5 units) in these starts. The OVER is 1-4. (-3.2 units)


CINCINNATI (54 - 71) at MILWAUKEE (61 - 65)
JUSTIN LEHR (R) vs. DAVE BUSH (R)
Top Trends for this game.
CINCINNATI is 85-112 (-26.6 Units) against the money line against right-handed starters over the last 2 seasons.
CINCINNATI is 19-34 (-12.2 Units) against the money line after a win this season.
CINCINNATI is 2-16 (-13.1 Units) against the money line in road games after 3 or more consecutive wins over the last 3 seasons.
CINCINNATI is 57-70 (-19.7 Units) against the money line when playing against a team with a losing record over the last 2 seasons.
BUSH is 37-17 (+17.7 Units) against the money line in home games in games played on a grass field since 1997. (Team's Record)
CINCINNATI is 477-559 (+42.3 Units) against the money line in road games since 1997.
MILWAUKEE is 15-25 (-13.0 Units) against the money line in day games this season.
MILWAUKEE is 61-62 (-7.3 Units) against the money line in games played on a grass field this season.
MILWAUKEE is 44-50 (-12.3 Units) against the money line against right-handed starters this season.
MILWAUKEE is 28-42 (-21.2 Units) against the money line when playing against a team with a losing record this season.
MILWAUKEE is 13-19 (-10.7 Units) against the money line when playing against a team with a losing record in the second half of the season this season.
MILWAUKEE is 61-65 (-10.3 Units) against the money line in all games this season.
MILWAUKEE is 30-31 (-10.6 Units) against the money line in home games this season.
MILWAUKEE is 11-17 (-10.6 Units) against the money line at home when the total is 9 to 9.5 this season.

Head-to-Head Series History
CINCINNATI is 7-7 (+1.4 Units) against MILWAUKEE this season
7 of 13 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL this season . (Over=+0.7 Units)

JUSTIN LEHR vs. MILWAUKEE since 1997
No recent starts.

DAVE BUSH vs. CINCINNATI since 1997
BUSH is 2-3 when starting against CINCINNATI with an ERA of 6.87 and a WHIP of 1.665.
His team's record is 4-7 (-3.9 units) in these starts. The UNDER is 0-10. (-11.4 units)


HOUSTON (61 - 65) at ST LOUIS (74 - 54)
BRIAN MOEHLER (R) vs. CHRIS CARPENTER (R)
Top Trends for this game.
ST LOUIS is 74-54 (+10.1 Units) against the money line in games played on a grass field this season.
ST LOUIS is 109-84 (+19.9 Units) against the money line against right-handed starters over the last 2 seasons.
ST LOUIS is 74-54 (+10.1 Units) against the money line in all games this season.
CARPENTER is 114-67 (+36.6 Units) against the money line in games played on a grass field since 1997. (Team's Record)
HOUSTON is 31-22 (+14.9 Units) against the money line in August games over the last 2 seasons.
HOUSTON is 43-39 (+11.2 Units) against the money line in day games over the last 2 seasons.
HOUSTON is 143-138 (+15.9 Units) against the money line in games played on a grass field over the last 2 seasons.
HOUSTON is 109-105 (+13.1 Units) against the money line against right-handed starters over the last 2 seasons.
HOUSTON is 69-75 (+9.8 Units) against the money line when playing against a team with a winning record over the last 2 seasons.
HOUSTON is 147-140 (+20.1 Units) against the money line in all games over the last 2 seasons.
MOEHLER is 27-21 (+10.8 Units) against the money line in all games over the last 2 seasons. (Team's Record)
MOEHLER is 60-60 (+18.1 Units) against the money line when playing against a team with a winning record since 1997. (Team's Record)

Head-to-Head Series History
ST LOUIS is 7-4 (+1.0 Units) against HOUSTON this season
9 of 11 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL this season . (Under=+6.8 Units)

BRIAN MOEHLER vs. ST LOUIS since 1997
MOEHLER is 5-0 when starting against ST LOUIS with an ERA of 3.29 and a WHIP of 1.250.
His team's record is 8-1 (+7.8 units) in these starts. The OVER is 3-6. (-3.7 units)

CHRIS CARPENTER vs. HOUSTON since 1997
CARPENTER is 7-3 when starting against HOUSTON with an ERA of 2.74 and a WHIP of 1.061.
His team's record is 10-5 (+4.0 units) in these starts. The OVER is 7-8. (-1.7 units)


WASHINGTON (45 - 82) at CHICAGO CUBS (63 - 61)
J.D. MARTIN (R) vs. RANDY WELLS (R)
Top Trends for this game.
WASHINGTON is 24-57 (-29.2 Units) against the money line after a loss this season.
WASHINGTON is 17-47 (-23.7 Units) against the money line when playing against a team with a winning record this season.
WASHINGTON is 12-39 (-20.4 Units) against the money line when playing against a team with a winning record in the second half of the season over the last 2 seasons.
WASHINGTON is 45-82 (-27.4 Units) against the money line in all games this season.
WASHINGTON is 43-99 (-32.1 Units) against the money line in road games over the last 2 seasons.
WASHINGTON is 45-79 (-24.4 Units) against the money line in games played on a grass field this season.
WASHINGTON is 35-64 (-20.6 Units) against the money line against right-handed starters this season.
WASHINGTON is 27-26 (+12.8 Units) against the money line in August games over the last 2 seasons.
CHICAGO CUBS are 497-522 (-120.7 Units) against the money line after a win since 1997.
CHICAGO CUBS are 509-476 (-99.2 Units) against the money line when playing against a team with a losing record since 1997.
CHICAGO CUBS are 63-61 (-10.3 Units) against the money line in all games this season.
CHICAGO CUBS are 549-493 (-106.2 Units) against the money line in home games since 1997.
CHICAGO CUBS are 159-205 (-65.7 Units) against the money line in August games since 1997.
CHICAGO CUBS are 63-61 (-10.3 Units) against the money line in games played on a grass field this season.
CHICAGO CUBS are 755-790 (-133.4 Units) against the money line against right-handed starters since 1997.

Head-to-Head Series History
CHICAGO CUBS is 5-1 (+2.7 Units) against WASHINGTON this season
4 of 6 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL this season . (Over=+1.9 Units)

J.D. MARTIN vs. CHICAGO CUBS since 1997
No recent starts.

RANDY WELLS vs. WASHINGTON since 1997
WELLS is 1-0 when starting against WASHINGTON with an ERA of 7.20 and a WHIP of 1.600.
His team's record is 1-0 (+1.0 units) in these starts. The UNDER is 0-1. (-1.2 units)


LA DODGERS (75 - 52) at COLORADO (72 - 55)
VICENTE PADILLA (R) vs. JORGE DE LA ROSA (L)
Top Trends for this game.
COLORADO is 50-35 (+13.3 Units) against the money line against right-handed starters this season.
COLORADO is 119-102 (+31.7 Units) against the money line when playing against a team with a winning record over the last 3 seasons.
COLORADO is 65-45 (+25.7 Units) against the money line when playing against a team with a winning record in the second half of the season over the last 3 seasons.
COLORADO is 72-55 (+14.1 Units) against the money line in all games this season.
COLORADO is 72-55 (+14.1 Units) against the money line in games played on a grass field this season.
LA DODGERS are 34-16 (+14.4 Units) against the money line against division opponents this season.
LA DODGERS are 75-52 (+12.3 Units) against the money line in games played on a grass field this season.
LA DODGERS are 75-52 (+12.3 Units) against the money line in all games this season.
LA DODGERS are 9-3 (+8.9 Units) against the money line as a road underdog of +125 to +150 this season.
LA DODGERS are 35-27 (+8.9 Units) against the money line in road games this season.
PADILLA is 30-17 (+17.0 Units) against the money line in all games over the last 2 seasons. (Team's Record)
PADILLA is 7-1 (+8.6 Units) against the money line as a road underdog of +125 to +150 over the last 2 seasons. (Team's Record)
PADILLA is 19-6 (+18.9 Units) against the money line in road games over the last 2 seasons. (Team's Record)
PADILLA is 13-5 (+10.4 Units) against the money line against division opponents over the last 2 seasons. (Team's Record)
PADILLA is 13-5 (+10.3 Units) against the money line in day games over the last 2 seasons. (Team's Record)
PADILLA is 26-17 (+11.7 Units) against the money line in games played on a grass field over the last 2 seasons. (Team's Record)
PADILLA is 17-5 (+14.2 Units) against the money line after a win over the last 2 seasons. (Team's Record)
PADILLA is 16-8 (+11.2 Units) against the money line when playing against a team with a winning record over the last 2 seasons. (Team's Record)
COLORADO is 54-68 (-21.4 Units) against the money line against division opponents over the last 2 seasons.

Head-to-Head Series History
LA DODGERS is 11-3 (+8.5 Units) against COLORADO this season
7 of 13 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL this season . (Under=+0.2 Units)

VICENTE PADILLA vs. COLORADO since 1997
PADILLA is 1-1 when starting against COLORADO with an ERA of 4.24 and a WHIP of 1.118.
His team's record is 1-2 (-1.8 units) in these starts. The UNDER is 2-1. (+0.9 units)

JORGE DE LA ROSA vs. LA DODGERS since 1997
DE LA ROSA is 0-4 when starting against LA DODGERS with an ERA of 7.99 and a WHIP of 1.944.
His team's record is 0-5 (-5.6 units) in these starts. The UNDER is 3-2. (+0.8 units)


PHILADELPHIA (73 - 51) at PITTSBURGH (52 - 72)
J.A. HAPP (L) vs. CHARLIE MORTON (R)
Top Trends for this game.
PITTSBURGH is 27-19 (+9.8 Units) against the money line in home games in night games this season.
PITTSBURGH is 262-275 (+32.4 Units) against the money line in home games when playing against a team with a winning record since 1997.
PHILADELPHIA is 70-48 (+9.7 Units) against the money line in games played on a grass field this season.
PHILADELPHIA is 28-17 (+11.1 Units) against the money line in road games in night games this season.
PHILADELPHIA is 28-15 (+12.6 Units) against the money line in road games against right-handed starters this season.
PHILADELPHIA is 46-26 (+15.1 Units) against the money line after a win this season.
PHILADELPHIA is 73-51 (+10.4 Units) against the money line in all games this season.
PHILADELPHIA is 41-22 (+19.1 Units) against the money line in road games this season.
PITTSBURGH is 19-53 (-26.6 Units) against the money line when playing against a team with a winning record in the second half of the season over the last 2 seasons.

Head-to-Head Series History
PHILADELPHIA is 4-1 (+2.4 Units) against PITTSBURGH this season
3 of 5 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL this season . (Under=+0.6 Units)

J.A. HAPP vs. PITTSBURGH since 1997
HAPP is 1-0 when starting against PITTSBURGH with an ERA of 1.29 and a WHIP of 0.857.
His team's record is 1-0 (+1.0 units) in these starts. The OVER is 0-1. (-1.0 units)

CHARLIE MORTON vs. PHILADELPHIA since 1997
MORTON is 0-1 when starting against PHILADELPHIA with an ERA of 22.50 and a WHIP of 4.500.
His team's record is 0-1 (-1.2 units) in these starts. The UNDER is 0-1. (-1.2 units)


SAN DIEGO (54 - 74) at ATLANTA (66 - 60)
CLAYTON RICHARD (L) vs. JAVIER VAZQUEZ (R)
Top Trends for this game.
SAN DIEGO is 117-172 (-47.0 Units) against the money line in games played on a grass field over the last 2 seasons.
SAN DIEGO is 85-124 (-31.3 Units) against the money line in night games over the last 2 seasons.
SAN DIEGO is 77-114 (-29.5 Units) against the money line against right-handed starters over the last 2 seasons.
SAN DIEGO is 45-83 (-30.0 Units) against the money line when playing against a team with a winning record over the last 2 seasons.
SAN DIEGO is 117-172 (-47.0 Units) against the money line in all games over the last 2 seasons.
SAN DIEGO is 49-93 (-30.4 Units) against the money line in road games over the last 2 seasons.
RICHARD is 10-3 (+9.0 Units) against the money line in night games this season. (Team's Record)
ATLANTA is 24-26 (-10.6 Units) against the money line when playing against a team with a losing record this season.
ATLANTA is 66-60 (-6.6 Units) against the money line in all games this season.
ATLANTA is 33-37 (-15.3 Units) against the money line when the total is 8 to 8.5 this season.
ATLANTA is 21-22 (-10.8 Units) against the money line at home when the total is 8 to 8.5 this season.
ATLANTA is 66-60 (-6.6 Units) against the money line in games played on a grass field this season.
ATLANTA is 95-103 (-22.5 Units) against the money line in night games over the last 2 seasons.

Head-to-Head Series History
SAN DIEGO is 3-2 (+3.0 Units) against ATLANTA this season
3 of 5 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL this season . (Over=+0.8 Units)

CLAYTON RICHARD vs. ATLANTA since 1997
No recent starts.

JAVIER VAZQUEZ vs. SAN DIEGO since 1997
VAZQUEZ is 4-4 when starting against SAN DIEGO with an ERA of 3.19 and a WHIP of 1.062.
His team's record is 7-9 (-2.4 units) in these starts. The UNDER is 10-5. (+4.5 units)


ARIZONA (55 - 72) at SAN FRANCISCO (69 - 58)
YUSMEIRO PETIT (R) vs. JOE MARTINEZ (R)
Top Trends for this game.
ARIZONA is 55-72 (-19.8 Units) against the money line in games played on a grass field this season.
ARIZONA is 41-51 (-10.6 Units) against the money line in night games this season.
ARIZONA is 98-108 (-24.4 Units) against the money line against right-handed starters over the last 2 seasons.
ARIZONA is 19-33 (-13.3 Units) against the money line when playing against a team with a winning record this season.
ARIZONA is 55-72 (-19.8 Units) against the money line in all games this season.
ARIZONA is 13-28 (-13.8 Units) against the money line as a road underdog of +100 to +125 over the last 2 seasons.
ARIZONA is 61-84 (-23.4 Units) against the money line in road games over the last 2 seasons.
SAN FRANCISCO is 69-58 (+11.2 Units) against the money line in games played on a grass field this season.
SAN FRANCISCO is 45-39 (+6.2 Units) against the money line in night games this season.
SAN FRANCISCO is 50-44 (+6.0 Units) against the money line against right-handed starters this season.
SAN FRANCISCO is 38-25 (+9.4 Units) against the money line when playing against a team with a losing record this season.
SAN FRANCISCO is 69-58 (+11.2 Units) against the money line in all games this season.
SAN FRANCISCO is 22-7 (+13.0 Units) against the money line as a home favorite of -125 to -150 over the last 2 seasons.
SAN FRANCISCO is 41-20 (+17.6 Units) against the money line in home games this season.

Head-to-Head Series History
SAN FRANCISCO is 8-3 (+5.4 Units) against ARIZONA this season
7 of 10 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL this season . (Under=+3.3 Units)

YUSMEIRO PETIT vs. SAN FRANCISCO since 1997
PETIT is 0-2 when starting against SAN FRANCISCO with an ERA of 6.51 and a WHIP of 1.551.
His team's record is 0-2 (-2.0 units) in these starts. The OVER is 1-1. (+0.1 units)

JOE MARTINEZ vs. ARIZONA since 1997
No recent starts.

 

[southbeach]

TEXAS (70 - 55) at NY YANKEES (79 - 47)
DUSTIN NIPPERT (R) vs. A.J. BURNETT (R)
Top Trends for this game.
NY YANKEES are 92-51 (+23.7 Units) against the money line when the total is 9 to 9.5 over the last 2 seasons.
NY YANKEES are 47-18 (+17.1 Units) against the money line at home when the total is 9 to 9.5 over the last 2 seasons.
TEXAS is 75-63 (+18.6 Units) against the money line after a loss over the last 2 seasons.
TEXAS is 39-36 (+8.2 Units) against the money line when playing against a team with a winning record this season.
TEXAS is 18-12 (+9.8 Units) against the money line when playing against a team with a winning record in the second half of the season this season.
TEXAS is 70-55 (+18.4 Units) against the money line in all games this season.
TEXAS is 68-73 (+14.9 Units) against the money line in road games over the last 2 seasons.
TEXAS is 68-51 (+19.1 Units) against the money line in games played on a grass field this season.
TEXAS is 44-35 (+12.2 Units) against the money line against right-handed starters this season.

Head-to-Head Series History
NY YANKEES is 5-3 (-0.0 Units) against TEXAS this season
5 of 7 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL this season . (Over=+2.9 Units)

DUSTIN NIPPERT vs. NY YANKEES since 1997
No recent starts.

A.J. BURNETT vs. TEXAS since 1997
BURNETT is 3-1 when starting against TEXAS with an ERA of 3.69 and a WHIP of 1.187.
His team's record is 5-2 (+2.6 units) in these starts. The OVER is 2-4. (-2.4 units)


CLEVELAND (56 - 70) at BALTIMORE (52 - 75)
AARON LAFFEY (L) vs. DAVID HERNANDEZ (R)
Top Trends for this game.
CLEVELAND is 19-36 (-16.7 Units) against the money line after a win this season.
CLEVELAND is 56-70 (-13.8 Units) against the money line in all games this season.
CLEVELAND is 49-62 (-14.2 Units) against the money line in games played on a grass field this season.
CLEVELAND is 34-45 (-13.4 Units) against the money line in night games this season.
CLEVELAND is 39-55 (-16.8 Units) against the money line against right-handed starters this season.
CLEVELAND is 18-7 (+13.8 Units) against the money line in road games when playing against a team with a losing record in the second half of the season over the last 2 seasons.
CLEVELAND is 31-20 (+16.5 Units) against the money line in August games over the last 2 seasons.
CLEVELAND is 11-5 (+9.2 Units) against the money line when playing on Thursday this season.
BALTIMORE is 19-34 (-16.3 Units) against the money line when playing against a team with a losing record this season.
BALTIMORE is 98-97 (-38.3 Units) against the money line in home games when playing against a team with a losing record in the second half of the season since 1997.
BALTIMORE is 496-541 (-113.4 Units) against the money line in home games since 1997.
BALTIMORE is 9-28 (-22.2 Units) against the money line in home games in August games over the last 3 seasons.
BALTIMORE is 496-541 (-113.4 Units) against the money line in home games in games played on a grass field since 1997.

Head-to-Head Series History
There were no past matchups in this series during this time period.

AARON LAFFEY vs. BALTIMORE since 1997
No recent starts.

DAVID HERNANDEZ vs. CLEVELAND since 1997
No recent starts.


CHI WHITE SOX (63 - 64) at BOSTON (73 - 53)
JOHN DANKS (L) vs. JUNICHI TAZAWA (R)
Top Trends for this game.
CHI WHITE SOX are 20-43 (-19.5 Units) against the money line in road games when playing against a team with a winning record over the last 2 seasons.
CHI WHITE SOX are 9-25 (-15.1 Units) against the money line in road games when playing against a team with a winning record in the second half of the season over the last 2 seasons.
CHI WHITE SOX are 38-63 (-21.7 Units) against the money line in road games against right-handed starters over the last 2 seasons.
BOSTON is 81-41 (+27.4 Units) against the money line when playing against a team with a losing record over the last 2 seasons.
BOSTON is 100-48 (+25.4 Units) against the money line in home games over the last 2 seasons.
BOSTON is 158-96 (+31.0 Units) against the money line in games played on a grass field over the last 2 seasons.
BOSTON is 72-33 (+20.6 Units) against the money line in home games in night games over the last 2 seasons.
CHI WHITE SOX are 145-112 (+22.2 Units) against the money line in games played on a grass field over the last 2 seasons.

Head-to-Head Series History
BOSTON is 3-0 (+3.0 Units) against CHI WHITE SOX this season
2 of 3 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL this season . (Under=+0.8 Units)

JOHN DANKS vs. BOSTON since 1997
DANKS is 0-3 when starting against BOSTON with an ERA of 6.06 and a WHIP of 1.286.
His team's record is 0-3 (-3.0 units) in these starts. The UNDER is 1-2. (-1.1 units)

JUNICHI TAZAWA vs. CHI WHITE SOX since 1997
No recent starts.


KANSAS CITY (48 - 78) at SEATTLE (66 - 61)
KYLE DAVIES (R) vs. DOUG FISTER (R)
Top Trends for this game.
KANSAS CITY is 42-68 (-27.0 Units) against the money line in games played on a grass field this season.
KANSAS CITY is 33-50 (-16.6 Units) against the money line in night games this season.
KANSAS CITY is 72-108 (-28.7 Units) against the money line against right-handed starters over the last 2 seasons.
KANSAS CITY is 29-48 (-16.2 Units) against the money line after a loss this season.
KANSAS CITY is 48-78 (-27.5 Units) against the money line in all games this season.
KANSAS CITY is 20-33 (-13.1 Units) against the money line when the total is 8 to 8.5 this season.
KANSAS CITY is 15-36 (-16.6 Units) against the money line in August games over the last 2 seasons.
SEATTLE is 63-57 (+8.5 Units) against the money line in games played on a grass field this season.
SEATTLE is 43-38 (+7.4 Units) against the money line against right-handed starters this season.
SEATTLE is 36-27 (+6.4 Units) against the money line when playing against a team with a losing record this season.
SEATTLE is 66-61 (+8.1 Units) against the money line in all games this season.
DAVIES is 8-2 (+9.7 Units) against the money line when the total is 8 to 8.5 over the last 2 seasons. (Team's Record)
SEATTLE is 84-114 (-28.0 Units) against the money line in night games over the last 2 seasons.
SEATTLE is 25-39 (-17.5 Units) against the money line in home games after a win over the last 2 seasons.
SEATTLE is 249-232 (-72.4 Units) against the money line when playing against a team with a losing record in the second half of the season since 1997.

Head-to-Head Series History
KANSAS CITY is 3-2 (+0.9 Units) against SEATTLE this season
3 of 5 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL this season . (Over=+0.9 Units)

KYLE DAVIES vs. SEATTLE since 1997
DAVIES is 1-1 when starting against SEATTLE with an ERA of 5.30 and a WHIP of 1.071.
His team's record is 1-2 (-1.2 units) in these starts. The UNDER is 2-1. (+0.9 units)

DOUG FISTER vs. KANSAS CITY since 1997
No recent starts.


OAKLAND (55 - 71) at LA ANGELS (75 - 50)
TREVOR CAHILL (R) vs. ERVIN SANTANA (R)
Top Trends for this game.
OAKLAND is 27-49 (-16.3 Units) against the money line when playing against a team with a winning record this season.
OAKLAND is 38-52 (-15.8 Units) against the money line against division opponents over the last 2 seasons.
LA ANGELS are 48-36 (+10.1 Units) against the money line against right-handed starters this season.
LA ANGELS are 45-29 (+13.4 Units) against the money line after a win this season.
LA ANGELS are 36-19 (+14.7 Units) against the money line when playing against a team with a losing record this season.
LA ANGELS are 75-50 (+22.1 Units) against the money line in all games this season.
LA ANGELS are 75-43 (+24.5 Units) against the money line when the total is 9 to 9.5 over the last 2 seasons.
LA ANGELS are 46-21 (+17.4 Units) against the money line at home when the total is 9 to 9.5 over the last 2 seasons.
LA ANGELS are 20-7 (+13.3 Units) against the money line when playing on Thursday over the last 2 seasons.
LA ANGELS are 68-42 (+22.1 Units) against the money line in games played on a grass field this season.
OAKLAND is 8-4 (+9.3 Units) against the money line as a road underdog of +150 to +175 this season.
OAKLAND is 24-22 (+21.9 Units) against the money line as a road underdog of +175 to +200 since 1997.
OAKLAND is 218-147 (+65.1 Units) against the money line in August games since 1997.

Head-to-Head Series History
LA ANGELS is 6-3 (+3.1 Units) against OAKLAND this season
5 of 9 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL this season . (Under=+0.3 Units)

TREVOR CAHILL vs. LA ANGELS since 1997
CAHILL is 0-0 when starting against LA ANGELS with an ERA of 4.65 and a WHIP of 2.068.
His team's record is 2-0 (+2.0 units) in these starts. The OVER is 2-0. (+2.0 units)

ERVIN SANTANA vs. OAKLAND since 1997
SANTANA is 10-1 when starting against OAKLAND with an ERA of 1.36 and a WHIP of 0.987.
His team's record is 11-3 (+8.3 units) in these starts. The OVER is 3-11. (-8.8 units)

 

[southbeach]

Game Preview : 8/27/2009 : MLB : New York Mets vs. Florida Marlins
owners of the league's best home record over the past two months
- have benefited from returning to Miami for 10 games.

Facing the slumping New York Mets has also helped.

The Marlins seek their first sweep in five years over the
injury-plagued Mets, who are trying to avoid dropping six
straight games for the first time in four seasons.

After losing four times on a six-game road trip, Florida (67-59)
has returned home to win the first two games of this series. The
Marlins, an NL-best 21-8 at home since June 20, defeated the
Mets 5-3 on Wednesday to pull within 4 1/2 games of wild
card-leading Colorado.

Florida, which hosts San Diego for three games beginning Friday
and Atlanta for four starting Monday, is led by an offense
batting a major league-best .306 in August. Ronny Paulino and
Cody Ross each stepped up Wednesday, when Paulino hit a two-run
homer and Ross had a two-run triple.

"That's what's nice about this team right now - everyone is
doing their part," said Ross, batting .444 with five RBIs in his
last seven home games.

Ross and the Marlins now have a chance to sweep the Mets for the
first time since winning four in a row Aug. 30-Sept. 2, 2004, at
Shea Stadium.

While Florida is making a push for the playoffs, New York
(57-70) is simply trying to finish the season with enough
healthy bodies to fill its roster.

Oliver Perez landed on the disabled list with a season-ending
knee injury Wednesday, becoming the 13th Mets player on the DL.
That news came one day after New York, which has not lost six in
a row since Sept. 5-10, 2005, announced staff ace Johan Santana
and reliever J.J. Putz would miss the remainder of the season.

"This is the year for this to happen," manager Jerry Manuel said
before Wednesday's loss. "We've got to get it done and move
forward, and hopefully we'll have some healthier days coming."

Manuel will give the ball to Tim Redding (1-4, 6.10 ERA), who is
coming off a solid return to a starting role.

The Mets, who had demoted Redding to the bullpen, re-inserted
him into the rotation following the release of Livan Hernandez.
In his first start since July 2, Redding gave up one hit and
three walks in five scoreless innings Saturday against
Philadelphia, though the right-hander didn't get a decision in
the 4-1 loss.

Redding was tagged for a season-high seven runs and eight hits
in four innings of a 7-3 loss to the Marlins on May 30. He is
1-5 with an 8.73 ERA in seven starts against them since the
start of last season.

Hanley Ramirez and Jeremy Hermida are the two Marlins who have
frustrated Redding the most.

Ramirez, who finished with three hits Wednesday, is 8 for 16
with three home runs and three doubles lifetime against Redding,
while Hermida is 10 for 17 with one homer and four doubles
against him.

Similarly to Redding, Anibal Sanchez (2-4, 4.97) takes the mound
for Florida seeking his second straight solid outing since
returning to his team's rotation.

After being activated from the 60-day DL to make his first start
since June 2, Sanchez allowed one run and two hits with seven
strikeouts in six innings of Friday's 5-3 win over Atlanta. The
right-hander, returning from a sprained right shoulder, held the
Braves hitless through 5 1-3 innings.

It was Sanchez's best start since he gave up four hits in five
shutout innings against the Mets on April 10. Things didn't go
as smoothly in New York on April 27, when he permitted six runs
and eight hits in six innings of a 7-1 loss.

 

[southbeach]

*Reds-Brewers Preview*
======================


By ANTHONY GIORNALISTA
STATS Senior Writer

Cincinnati (53-71) at Milwaukee (61-64), 2:05 p.m. EDT

Felipe Lopez is Milwaukee's hottest hitter, but has been walking
gingerly after suffering a toe injury. With or without their
second baseman in the lineup, the Brewers haven't been able to
find a way to beat the Cincinnati Reds.

Lopez may miss his second straight game Thursday afternoon as
the Brewers try to avoid being swept in a three-game series by
the Reds for the first time in more than six years.

Milwaukee (61-65) took Lopez out of Tuesday night's game after
he was injured rounding the bases in the ninth inning of an 8-6,
13-inning loss to Cincinnati (54-71). The Brewers came up short
even though Lopez went 4 for 5 with a homer.

Lopez didn't start in Wednesday's 4-3 loss in 10 innings, though
he grounded out as a pinch hitter in the ninth. He seemed
confident that his injury won't keep him out long, but his
status for Thursday's game is uncertain.

"I'm not too worried about it," Lopez told the Brewers' official
Web site. "This is something that I can play through. It's not
like a hamstring injury, where it's sore for a long while."

Lopez is hitting .360 with 10 doubles and 22 runs in 34 games
since being acquired in a July 19 trade with Arizona. He has 19
RBIs during that span despite hitting leadoff.

With Lopez out, Milwaukee stranded nine runners and is now in
danger of being swept by Cincinnati in a three-game set for the
first time since July 11-13, 2003, also at Miller Park.

The Brewers also suffered a two-game sweep at Cincinnati from
July 19-20, 2004.

Cincinnati, meanwhile, has won three straight after losing seven
of its previous eight, and can match its longest winning streak
of the season - a four-game run May 24-27 - with a victory
Thursday.

The Reds, who have a 2.53 staff ERA during the current winning
streak, will next send former Brewers reliever Justin Lehr (2-1,
3.77) to the mound. He endured the worst of his five starts this
season Saturday night, surrendering six runs and eight hits
while walking three in five innings of Cincinnati's 12-2 loss to
Pittsburgh.

The right-hander had been 2-0 with a 2.42 ERA in his previous
four outings.

This will be Lehr's first appearance against the Brewers, for
whom he made 39 relief appearances in the 2005 and 2006 seasons.

Milwaukee will counter with Dave Bush (3-4, 5.67 ERA), who is
coming back from a stint on the disabled list due to elbow
soreness. The right-hander, 0-4 with a 9.32 ERA in his final six
starts before being shut down, is making his first start since
June 20 at Detroit.

Bush is 2-3 with a 6.87 ERA in 11 starts versus the Reds.

Milwaukee's pitching staff is in desperate need of a boost,
having posted a 5.95 ERA while surrendering 45 homers over its
last 29 games.

Cincinnati, ranked 29th in the majors with 492 total runs, is
averaging 5.3 during its winning streak. Veteran third baseman
Scott Rolen is 6 for 12 in this series and batting .311 in 45
career games at Milwaukee.

 

[southbeach]

*Astros-Cardinals Preview*
==========================


By DAN PIERINGER
STATS Writer

Houston (61-64) at St. Louis (73-54), 2:15 p.m. EDT

Several key midseason acquisitions have helped the St. Louis
Cardinals emerge from an unspectacular start to take control of
the NL Central. Chris Carpenter's impact on the turnaround,
however, can't be discounted.

Carpenter looks to win his 10th straight decision - and seventh
consecutive start - as the Cardinals try to complete a
three-game sweep of the Houston Astros on Thursday at Busch
Stadium.

St. Louis (74-54) traded for Matt Holliday and Mark DeRosa in
July, and John Smoltz signed with the team last Wednesday.
Holliday is batting .386 as a Cardinal, DeRosa is hitting .321
over his last 18 games and Smoltz got a win with five shutout
innings in his debut with the team Sunday.

While those contributions have been valuable and Albert Pujols
is almost always involved in the Cardinals' success, Carpenter
(14-3, 2.16 ERA) may have been the most significant factor in
St. Louis' rise to the top of the division. He's 9-0 with a 1.92
ERA over his last 10 starts, going 6-0 with a 1.96 ERA in his
last six.

In second place at three games over .500 after Carpenter's last
defeat June 30, the Cardinals have gone 33-16 during the
right-hander's unbeaten streak to move nine games ahead of
second-place Chicago in the Central.

Carpenter held San Diego to three hits in seven innings of a 7-0
victory Saturday. In the NL, only teammate Adam Wainwright has
more wins with 15.

"I've seen it before," said Padres second baseman David
Eckstein, Carpenter's teammate for three years with St. Louis.
"When he's locked in, he's very tough to take good swings off
of."

Carpenter is 6-3 with a 2.70 ERA in 13 starts against the
Astros. He's 1-0 with a 1.59 ERA against them this year.

Houston first baseman Lance Berkman has hit .300 with six homers
and two doubles in 30 at-bats against Carpenter.

Berkman had two hits and an RBI on Wednesday night, but the
Astros (61-65) couldn't overcome a three-run first-inning
deficit in a 3-2 loss. Houston starter Roy Oswalt hasn't been
happy with the club's attitude lately.

"The atmosphere is dead," Oswalt said after Houston's third
straight defeat. "When you're dead, you come to the field hoping
to get by. The owner pays us money to come play, we've got to
play. You can't keep feeling sorry for yourself."

Holliday singled home a run and DeRosa doubled in two more as
the Cardinals improved to 7-1 at home against the Astros and
moved 20 games over .500 for the first time this year.

"(Twenty games over is) one of the magical numbers if you want
to have a chance to play in October," manager Tony La Russa told
the Cardinals' official Web site. "We have been talking about it
over and over again. We've played ourselves into the race and
now we have to work hard every series to get to the finish
line."

St. Louis, though, has never beaten Brian Moehler (8-9, 5.29),
who will start the finale for Houston. The right-hander is 5-0
with a 3.29 ERA in nine starts against the Cardinals, and his
teams are 8-1 in those games. Moehler is 1-0 with a 2.77 ERA in
two games against St. Louis this year.

Pujols has hit .474 with three homers, two doubles and four
walks lifetime against Moehler. Holliday is 4 for 9 against him.

 

[southbeach]

*Nationals-Cubs Preview*
========================


By JEFF MEZYDLO
STATS Senior Writer

Washington (45-81) at Chicago (62-61), 2:20 p.m. EDT

Milton Bradley might not be happy with the way he's been treated
by some disgruntled Chicago Cubs' fans, but he's going to do his
best to help the team make a serious push at earning a
postseason berth.

The veteran right fielder looks to stay hot while trying to help
the Cubs to a second straight victory and series win over the
visiting Washington Nationals on Thursday.

Bradley homered for the second straight game and drove in three
runs Wednesday as Chicago (63-61) evened the set with a 9-4 win.

The big night from Bradley came after he said he's been dealing
with hatred from booing fans during his disappointing first
season with the Cubs, who are 7 1/2 games out of the wild-card
lead and nine behind NL Central-leading St. Louis.

Bradley, who's batting .259 with 11 homers and 35 RBIs in the
first season of a three-year, $30 million contract, said it's
been difficult to get comfortable "when you don't get a hit and
get booed every time."

"It's nothing that just started when Milton Bradley came here,"
said Bradley, who doesn't regret signing with the club. "I don't
regret anything. I regret that there are idiots in the world,
that's what I regret."

Bradley - who joins Alfonso Soriano (.240) and Geovany Soto
(.218) as stars struggling at the plate for the Cubs - is 5 for
8 with two home runs and four RBIs in this series. He's batting
.350 against the Nationals, who were held in check after winning
15-6 in Tuesday's series opener.

"I feel love for me. I love me," Bradley said. "I look in the
mirror and I go out there and play. I feel the love from my
teammates. I feel the love from the coaching staff and from
myself. I go out there and try to do things. That's all I do."

Bradley and the Cubs - who scored six times in the eighth inning
Wednesday - hope for another big effort while facing
Washington's J.D. Martin (2-3, 4.76 ERA) for the first time.

The rookie right-hander was pushed back in order for
recently-acquired Livan Hernandez to start Wednesday. Martin
allowed four runs in 6 2-3 innings and took the loss as the
Nationals fell 7-3 to Milwaukee last Friday.

The Nationals signed the veteran Hernandez to pile up some
pitches down the stretch while they monitor the innings of their
young pitchers like Martin.

"We are running out of innings with some of our young guys, and
I refuse to push them past their limits," general manager Mike
Rizzo told the Nationals' official Web site.

Chicago counters with rookie Randy Wells (9-6, 2.84), who
allowed two runs in 6 2-3 innings of a 2-1 loss to the Los
Angeles Dodgers last Friday.

The right-hander gave up four runs in five innings but still
earned the victory in a 6-5 win at Washington on July 18.

Ryan Zimmerman and Willie Harris each had two hits Wednesday for
the Nationals (45-82), who have lost seven of nine. Zimmerman is
4 for 6 with two doubles in the series.

 

[southbeach]

*Dodgers-Rockies Preview*
=========================


By DAN PIERINGER
STATS Writer

Los Angeles (75-52) at Colorado (72-55), 3:10 p.m. EDT

Once an afterthought in the NL West, the Colorado Rockies have
turned around their season and pulled into contention. Momentum
in the playoff race may have shifted again, however, in
Colorado's last meeting with the first-place Los Angeles
Dodgers.

The Dodgers look to build on a key victory and continue their
season-long success against the Rockies as the clubs finish a
three-game series Thursday at Coors Field.

Colorado (72-55) was 12 games under .500 on June 3, but has gone
a major league-best 52-23 since then to put pressure on Los
Angeles. The Rockies' hot streak includes a 5-4, 10-inning win
in the opener of this series.

That disheartening defeat dropped the Dodgers (75-52) to 12-17
since July 26, but the division leaders rebounded with a 6-1
victory over the Rockies on Wednesday night. They pulled three
games ahead in the division by improving to 11-3 in the season
series.

"It gives us a chance going into tomorrow to distance ourselves
a game and give us a little bit a room," said outfielder Andre
Ethier, who homered twice and drove in three runs.

Though the victory was significant in the standings, Dodgers
manager Joe Torre claims that's not how he's evaluating his
club.

"I'm not really concerned about (the Rockies)," Torre said. "I
have a great deal of respect for them, but it's all about how we
play. If we're in the last week of the season, last 10 days of
the season, yes, you worry about that team. But right now we've
got to get into a mode of playing more consistently and winning
more games.

"That's my concern more so than who's running us down."

Regardless of whether Torre is worried about the Rockies,
Colorado manager Jim Tracy believes his team poses a threat.
It's gone 4-2 with two extra-innings wins on a crucial homestand
against Los Angeles and San Francisco - the club directly behind
Colorado in the wild-card race.

"We've already shown that (we can compete) over the course of
this entire homestand, with the magnitude of the games and what
was at stake in those situations," Tracy told the Rockies'
official Web site. "They're embracing it. They're relishing it.
It's a beautiful thing to watch."

Colorado will aim for its first series win over Los Angeles of
the season by handing the ball to Jorge De La Rosa (12-8, 4.76
ERA) on Thursday. The left-hander is 10-1 with a 3.55 ERA over
his last 11 starts. He gave up six runs in six innings against
San Francisco on Saturday, but still got credit for the 14-11
victory.

De La Rosa hasn't gotten any such breaks against the Dodgers.
He's 0-4 with a 7.99 ERA in five career starts against them,
including 0-1 with a 7.27 ERA in two this season - both Rockies
losses.

Los Angeles first baseman James Loney is 7 for 11 with a home
run and a double against De La Rosa, and outfielder Matt Kemp is
6 for 13 with a homer and two doubles off the Colorado southpaw.

The Dodgers will counter with Vicente Padilla, who signed a
minor league contract last Wednesday after getting released by
Texas. The right-hander was 8-6 with a 4.92 ERA in 18 starts
with the Rangers.

Padilla is 1-1 with a 4.24 ERA in three career starts against
Colorado, which he hasn't faced since June 25, 2006.

This is the last meeting between Los Angeles and Colorado before
the teams' regular season-ending three-game series at Dodger
Stadium from Oct. 2-4.

 

[southbeach]

*Rangers-Yankees Preview*
=========================


By JEFF MEZYDLO
STATS Senior Writer

Texas (70-54) at New York (78-47), 1:05 p.m. EDT

It's been a month since A.J. Burnett won a game. Facing the
Texas Rangers might help him end his rough stretch.

The right-hander looks to avoid a fourth straight loss while
trying to help the New York Yankees to a second straight win and
series victory over the visiting Rangers on Thursday.

Burnett (10-7, 4.08 ERA) hopes to close out a disappointing
August on a positive note and bounce back from his worst outing
of the season.

He allowed nine runs and nine hits - including three homers - in
five innings of a 14-1 loss at Boston on Saturday. Burnett fell
to 0-3 with a 6.32 ERA in his last five starts since going 5-0
with a 2.01 ERA in six outings from June 27-July 27.

Burnett once again disagreed with catcher Jorge Posada about
pitch selection in his last start, a matter manager Joe Girardi
feels has been blown out of proportion.

"I think people are trying to make this a bigger story than it
needs to be," Girardi told the Yankees' official Web site. "It
comes down to execution of the pitch, which is the most
important thing - more important than pitch selection or
anything else.

"We talk about the importance of A.J. and the location of his
fastball. When he throws his fastball where he wants, he's
really, really good."

Burnett's been good against Texas, going 3-1 with a 3.69 ERA in
seven starts lifetime, and 2-0 with a 2.08 ERA this season.

Posada hit a three-run homer and Andy Pettitte threw seven solid
innings Wednesday as the AL East-leading Yankees (79-47) evened
this series with a 9-2 victory.

"They're an explosive team and we knew that," said Rangers
manager Ron Washington, whose team was held in check after
winning 10-9 in Tuesday's opener. "All you can do is put this
game away and look towards (Thursday's) game."

Posada is 3 for 7 with two homers and six RBIs in the series,
but is day to day after leaving Wednesday's game with a bruised
finger.

Also uncertain is the status of slugger Alex Rodriguez, who left
in the eighth inning after fouling a ball off his foot.

"My biggest concern is always injuries," Girardi said, "and it's
something you can't control."

Hideki Matsui had two hits and is 6 for 12 in his last three
games for New York, which is six games ahead of second-place
Boston.

Matsui is batting .370 this season against the Rangers (70-55),
who are 2 1/2 games behind the wild-card leading Red Sox.

Josh Hamilton had three hits and Daniel Murphy added a homer
with two RBIs on Wednesday, but Texas lost for the fifth time in
eight games and fell to 2-3 on its nine-game road trip.

Hamilton is 7 for 10 in the series, and 4 for 9 with two doubles
and a homer against Burnett.

Rangers starter Dustin Nippert (4-2, 3.95) will make his first
appearance against New York.

The right-hander allowed five runs in five innings of a 5-3 loss
at Tampa Bay on Friday, falling to 0-2 with a 5.79 ERA in five
road starts.

 

[southbeach]

*Phillies-Pirates Preview*
==========================


By MATT BECKER
STATS Senior Writer

Philadelphia (72-51) at Pittsburgh (52-71), 7:05 p.m. EDT

J.A. Happ's name was mentioned in trade rumors at last month's
deadline, but the Philadelphia Phillies never pulled the trigger
on a deal involving their impressive rookie.

They have to be pleased with that decision.

Happ looks to win three straight starts for the first time and
lead the Phillies to their 13th victory in 16 games when they
conclude a three-game series against the Pittsburgh Pirates on
Thursday night at PNC Park.

Happ (10-2, 2.59 ERA) was rumored to be part of a potential
trade with Toronto for ace Roy Halladay, but that never
materialized. Instead, the NL East-leading Phillies (73-51)
traded four minor league prospects to Cleveland for Cliff Lee,
and the reigning AL Cy Young Award winner and Happ have created
a formidable top of the rotation in Philadelphia.

Happ is 3-0 with a 1.21 ERA in four starts since the July 31
trade deadline with the Phillies winning each time. He allowed
one run and eight hits in seven innings of a 4-1 win over the
New York Mets on Saturday to get within one victory of becoming
the first Philadelphia rookie to notch 11 wins since Bob Walk in
1980.

"He's a legit pitcher," manager Charlie Manuel told the
Phillies' official Web site. "He got accustomed to being in the
big leagues and he's performed very well."

The left-hander has been at his best away from Philadelphia,
going 5-1 with a 1.85 ERA in 10 road starts, yielding two runs
or fewer in nine of those outings. He has given up one run in
winning each of his last two starts - both on the road.

Like nearly every other opponent he has faced, Happ had little
trouble shutting down the Pirates on July 12, giving up one run
and four hits in seven innings of a 5-2 victory.

Philadelphia defeated Pittsburgh 4-1 on Wednesday behind Ryan
Howard's 10th inning, three-run homer.

The Phillies, winners of 12 of 15, led 1-0 entering the ninth
but the Pirates tied it on Brandon Moss' pinch-hit homer off
Ryan Madson. Philadelphia closer Brad Lidge had appeared in each
of the team's previous four games and surrendered Andrew
McCutchen's game-ending, two-run homer that finished off the
Pirates' 6-4 comeback victory Tuesday.

"I think he (Madson) can close, I know he can close," Manuel
said. "It's like Lidge, he needs to get in the groove and get
going."

The Pirates (52-72), who have lost two of three after winning
five in a row, went 0 for 7 with runners in scoring position and
left nine on base in Wednesday's loss.

"These guys are really fighting hard and good things are
happening now for us," manager John Russell told the Pirates'
official Web site.

Russell gives the ball to Charlie Morton (3-6, 5.21), who again
tries to put together two solid starts in a row.

After being knocked around for 10 runs and seven hits in one
inning of a 17-2 loss to the Chicago Cubs on Aug. 14, Morton
bounced back by allowing two runs and six hits in 6 1-3 innings
of Friday's 5-2 victory over Cincinnati. It was his first win
since July 18 over San Francisco.

While Morton looked solid against the Reds, he hasn't had much
luck with carrying success from one start to the next,
alternating good and bad performances over his last nine
outings. Since July 3, he is 3-2 with a 1.48 ERA in his five
stellar starts, but 0-3 with a 13.21 ERA in his four other
outings.

This will be Morton's first start against the Phillies since
July 1, 2008, when he was tagged for five runs and eight hits in
two innings of an 8-3 loss for Atlanta.

 

[southbeach]

*Padres-Braves Preview*
=======================


By DAN PIERINGER
STATS Writer

San Diego (53-74) at Atlanta (66-59), 7:10 p.m. EDT

A hot streak this month helped the Atlanta Braves emerge as
contenders for the NL wild card. Consecutive losses to a team
with one of the league's worst records have put a damper on that
success.

The Braves look to rebound from their first back-to-back losses
in more than three weeks and avoid a three-game sweep against
the San Diego Padres on Thursday night at Turner Field.

Atlanta didn't look like a potential playoff team when it went
into the All-Star break with a losing record. But the Braves
(66-60) started the second half strong and then won 13 of 18
from Aug. 4-23 to pull within four games of the wild-card lead.

That promising surge, however, has been partially negated with
consecutive losses to the Padres (54-74), who are in last place
in the NL West. The Braves fell 2-1 in 12 innings in the series
opener before giving up a double-digit run total for the first
time in two months in a 12-5 defeat Wednesday night.

"We're playing every game like we're desperate to win," third
baseman Chipper Jones said. "Sometimes when you play like that,
you don't play relaxed and things can snowball on you."

Jones' prolonged slump isn't helping the team's cause. The
six-time All-Star and 1999 NL MVP is 1 for 32 with nine
strikeouts over his last 10 games. Atlanta has fallen 5 1/2
behind Colorado in the wild-card race.

"It's very tough," reliever Eric O'Flaherty said. "We all
understand how important every game is. This was a big blow to
us. We've got to come back tomorrow and get ourselves back in
it."

Atlanta will try to do so behind starter Javier Vazquez (10-9,
3.14 ERA), who like the Braves has followed a string of success
with two subpar performances.

Vazquez went 5-0 with a 2.59 ERA in seven starts from July
2-Aug. 9, all Atlanta wins. His undefeated streak ended with a
4-1 loss to Philadelphia on Aug. 16, and Vazquez gave up five
runs and a season-high 10 hits in 6 2-3 innings to suffer a 5-3
loss to Florida on Friday.

Vazquez, who last lost three straight starts at the end of last
season with the Chicago White Sox, will try to rebound against a
Padres team he held to two runs and four hits in seven innings
Aug. 4, winning 9-2 to improve to 4-4 with a 3.19 ERA in 16
starts against San Diego.

The Padres are in position to complete their first three-game
sweep outside San Diego this season. Though they're 21-40 in
road games, they've averaged 6.4 runs and hit .325 while winning
seven of their last 11.

San Diego trailed 3-0 after the first inning Wednesday and
didn't score until the sixth but still pulled off the rout.

"What I liked about this game is that as crushing as that can be
in the first inning, our guys kept their chins up," manager Bud
Black said. "There was good energy in the dugout."

Black will hand the ball to Clayton Richard (3-0, 3.67) for the
finale. The rookie left-hander, part of the trade that sent Jake
Peavy to the White Sox, has won four straight decisions with a
3.09 ERA dating to his time with Chicago. He pitched six innings
in beating St. Louis 4-0 on Friday.

Richard has never faced Atlanta.

 

[southbeach]

*Diamondbacks-Giants Preview*
=============================


By JEFF MEZYDLO
STATS Senior Writer

Arizona (55-72) at San Francisco (69-58), 10:15 p.m. EDT

The San Francisco Giants have a chance to build some serious
momentum heading into a key weekend series against the NL
wild-card leaders.

They look for a third straight victory and series sweep of the
visiting Arizona Diamondbacks on Thursday night.

San Francisco (69-58) has managed to bounce back after losing
three of four at wild-card leading Colorado last weekend. One
night after holding on for a 5-4 victory in the series opener
against Arizona, Bengie Molina hit a three-run, pinch-hit homer
in the eighth inning to rally the Giants to a 4-3 win Wednesday.

"Bengie is our clean-up hitter," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said
of his catcher, who's batting .406 with three homers and 10 RBIs
against Arizona this season. "If he's not in the starting lineup
he's the guy I use when the game is on the line. It's hard to
get a bigger hit."

Though the Diamondbacks (55-72) have lost nine of 10, sweeping
them would still give the Giants a great deal of momentum and
confidence heading into their weekend home rematch with the
Rockies, who lead San Francisco by three games in the wild-card
standings.

Giants second baseman Juan Uribe homered Wednesday, and is
batting .318 with three home runs and four doubles against
Arizona this season.

The Giants, who have only 12 total hits through the first two
games of this series, hope to break out against Arizona's
scheduled starter Yusmeiro Petit (2-8, 6.06 ERA), looking to
avoid losing his fourth straight start.

Petit pitched well enough to end his skid at Houston on Friday,
giving up one run in six innings, but wound up on the short end
of a 1-0 loss. He's 0-3 with a 7.07 ERA since winning at
Pittsburgh on Aug. 4.

The right-hander is 0-2 with a 6.52 ERA as a starter versus the
Giants, who hope rookie Joe Martinez (3-1, 5.73) can bounce back
from his last start when he takes the mound in this contest.

Martinez allowed six runs and nine hits in five innings
Saturday, when he didn't receive a decision in a 14-11 loss at
Colorado.

"Obviously, I wasn't performing up to the standard that I
should," Martinez told the Giants' official Web site.

The right-hander, who is 2-1 in four starts since joining the
rotation Aug. 5, makes his first appearance against Arizona.

Ryan Roberts hit his sixth home run and Gerardo Parra had two
hits with an RBI in Wednesday's loss for the Diamondbacks, who
fell to 3-8 against the Giants this season.

"This one is pretty crushing because we had every opportunity,"
said Arizona manager A.J. Hinch, whose team is batting .210 and
averaging 2.8 runs in its last 10 contests. "Early in the game
we could have added a few runs and we didn't. They stayed close
enough and it came back to bite us."

Roberts is 9 for 16 with a home run and four RBIs in his last
four games.

 

[southbeach]

*Indians-Orioles Preview*
=========================


By ANTHONY GIORNALISTA
STATS Senior Writer

Cleveland (55-70) at Baltimore (51-75), 7:05 p.m. EDT

A minor accident has given Cleveland Indians starter Aaron
Laffey good reason to be hesitant about taking a bus to Camden
Yards. Opposing hitters, meanwhile, probably aren't very eager
to face the surging left-hander.

After watching his teammates shake off the collision, Laffey
looks to win his fourth straight decision as the Indians open a
four-game series with the Baltimore Orioles on Thursday night.

Laffey (7-3, 3.42 ERA) was one of nine Cleveland players on a
bus that was struck by a car in Kansas City on Wednesday. None
of the players were injured, and they were loaded onto another
bus that took them to Kauffman Stadium, where the Indians
(56-70) beat the Royals 4-2 that evening.

Though he was on the bus with Laffey, David Huff ended up
throwing six solid innings for Cleveland, which has won 14 of
its last 24 games.

Laffey has played a large role in the Indians' recent success,
going 3-0 with a 2.00 ERA in his last four starts. He gave up
three runs in seven innings of Cleveland's 4-3, 11-inning loss
to Seattle on Saturday night.

Laffey, a Maryland native, has never faced the Orioles.

Baltimore (52-75) will counter with David Hernandez (4-6, 4.35),
who is 1-4 with a 6.56 ERA in his last five starts. The rookie
right-hander allowed three runs and walked three in four innings
as Baltimore lost 4-1 to the Chicago White Sox on Saturday.

This will be Hernandez's first appearance against the Indians.

Hernandez will likely get his first chance to face veteran
Indians slugger Travis Hafner, who is expected to be back in the
lineup after getting a day off to rest his surgically repaired
right shoulder.

"At times, my swing feels like it's better than it was the last
two years, especially last year," Hafner told Cleveland's
official Web site. "But if you're playing every day, you get
into more of a good rhythm."

Hafner is hitting .352 with six homers and 32 RBIs in 33 games
against the Orioles.

Indians center fielder Grady Sizemore is batting .196 in 27
games versus Baltimore but has been playing well in recent
weeks.

Sizemore reached base four times - two hits, a walk and an error
- and scored three runs Wednesday. He's hitting .321 over his
last 21 games.

Baltimore avoided a three-game sweep with a 5-1 victory at
Minnesota on Wednesday despite the absence of All-Star center
fielder Adam Jones.

Jones, who has been a bright spot for an Orioles team that is
all but assured its 12th straight losing season, has missed
three straight games with a sore back. Baltimore manager Dave
Trembley, though, said Jones may be ready for this series'
opener.

"He feels much better and much improved. He said he wants to get
home and sleep on his own bed," Trembley said.

Jones has had a breakout season, hitting .283 with 19 homers and
70 RBIs.

Felix Pie, who has been starting in center field for Jones, hit
a solo home run to help Baltimore win for the fourth time in
seven games. Pie is batting .353 with three homers and seven
RBIs in his last 13 games.

Cleveland and Baltimore tied last season's series 4-4.

 

[southbeach]

*White Sox-Red Sox Preview*
===========================


By MATT BROWN
STATS Editor

Chicago (63-63) at Boston (72-53), 7:10 p.m. EDT

Even with a trip to the Bronx on the horizon, the Chicago White
Sox probably can't wait to get out of Boston.

The Red Sox probably wish the White Sox would never leave.

Boston looks to complete a four-game sweep of Chicago and earn
its eighth win in 10 games overall when the teams meet Thursday
night at Fenway Park.

The Red Sox (73-53) have come from behind to win all three games
against the White Sox (63-64) this week, with Wednesday night's
finish the most dramatic. David Ortiz curled his second homer of
the game around the Pesky Pole in the bottom of the ninth to
give Boston a 3-2 victory.

It was the sixth win in the last seven meetings with Chicago for
the Red Sox, who have taken 14 of 17 from the White Sox since
July 20, 2007, and will get four more chances to extend that
dominance when the clubs meet at U.S. Cellular Field over Labor
Day weekend.

Having Ortiz on the roster doesn't hurt. He's a .309 hitter
against the White Sox with 22 homers in 311 at-bats.

The Red Sox slugger is batting .227 and has slumped through much
of the season but appears to be rediscovering his power stroke
down the stretch. Ortiz has seven homers in his last 11 games,
equaling the total from his previous 40.

"You're getting late into August right now, and it's good to
have big hits like that, especially from him," said Boston
starter Tim Wakefield, who pitched seven strong innings in his
return from the disabled list. "We were able to scrap together
enough runs to get a win and hopefully we can carry that
momentum into (Thursday) and sweep this series."

While Boston extended its AL wild-card lead to 2 1/2 games over
Texas, the White Sox suffered their fourth straight loss and
fell below .500 for the first time since June 28. They'll now
try to avoid matching their longest losing streak of the season,
a five-game skid May 13-18.

Chicago is tied with Minnesota for second in the AL Central, 4
1/2 games behind Detroit.

"The way we're playing, it feels like we're playing 20 games
out," said manager Ozzie Guillen, whose club continues its
season-high 11-game road trip with three games against the
Yankees this weekend. "But I think this ballclub is better than
what it shows right now."

Ortiz has one home run in two career at-bats against John Danks
(11-8, 3.85 ERA), who will get the ball for Chicago in the
series finale.

Like the rest of his club, Danks has struggled against the Red
Sox, losing all three times he's started while compiling a 6.06
ERA. He's pitched well lately, going 2-0 with a 1.66 ERA in his
last three starts. With a win Thursday, he'll pass Mark Buehrle
for sole possession of the staff lead.

The left-hander issued six walks Saturday against Baltimore but
allowed one run and three hits over 6 1-3 innings to win 4-1.
The Orioles failed to get a hit in five at-bats against him with
runners in scoring position.

Danks will be opposed by Red Sox rookie Junichi Tazawa (2-2,
3.57), who has continually wiggled out of jams in his first
three major league starts. Opposing hitters are 2 for 22 against
the 23-year-old Japanese right-hander with runners in scoring
position and batting .436 in all other situations.

Tazawa threw six scoreless innings in Saturday's 14-1 win over
New York, giving up eight hits and two walks but holding the
Yankees hitless in eight at-bats in RBI situations.

 

[southbeach]

*Royals-Mariners Preview*
=========================


By MATT BECKER
STATS Senior Writer

Kansas City (48-78) at Seattle (66-61), 10:10 p.m. EDT

Although they're not considered one of the front-runners to make
the playoffs, the Seattle Mariners are still hanging around the
AL wild-card race.

Another sweep over a lowly opponent could make for an
interesting final month of the season.

Coming off their first sweep in two months, the Mariners look to
win four straight for the first time since the first week of the
season when they meet the sputtering Kansas City Royals on
Thursday night at Safeco Field.

Seattle (66-61) defeated last-place Oakland 5-3 on Wednesday to
complete a three-game sweep and remain 7 1/2 games back of wild
card-leading Boston. It was the Mariners' first sweep since June
19-21 against Arizona.

Jose Lopez hit his 19th homer and newly acquired Bill Hall drove
in two runs for the Mariners, who played the entire series
without nine-time All-Star Ichiro Suzuki, out with a tight right
calf. Manager Don Wakamatsu doesn't want to rush his leadoff
hitter back and is not putting a timetable on his return.

The Mariners are 9-2 this year without Suzuki, who is third in
the majors with a .359 batting average and 16 hits shy from
becoming the first major leaguer with nine consecutive 200-hit
seasons.

"It's not that we're playing better without him," said closer
David Aardsma, who recorded his 30th save in 34 chances
Wednesday. "But when he's out of the lineup, people think
they've got to pick it up a bit."

With players stepping up in Suzuki's absence, the Mariners have
a good chance of extending their winning streak as they open
this four-game series against the Royals, owners of the worst
record in the AL at 48-78. Seattle hasn't posted four straight
victories since reeling off six in a row April 9-15.

Kansas City arrives in Seattle following Wednesday's 4-2 loss to
Cleveland, its sixth defeat in seven games. The Royals have had
very little success lately, going a major league-worst 8-19
since July 29.

"It's a frustrating year," manager Trey Hillman said. "Losses
are tough to let go of."

Pitching continues to be the heart of Kansas City's woes.

The Royals have allowed 67 runs in 11 games since Aug. 15, tied
with the New York Mets for the third-most in the majors in that
span. They have two pitchers in their rotation with ERA's
greater than 5.00, including Thursday's scheduled starter Kyle
Davies (4-9, 6.12).

Davies yielded six runs, four hits and three walks in 5 2-3
innings of an 8-7 loss to Minnesota on Saturday in his fourth
start since being called up from Triple-A Omaha on Aug. 5. The
right-hander appeared to be turning things around, allowing
three runs in 11 innings over his previous two starts.

"We're working on some mechanical stuff that will put me in a
better position," Davies told the Royals' official Web site.

In his first start after being recalled, Davies was knocked
around for eight runs and eight hits in 3 2-3 innings of an 11-6
loss to the Mariners.

Seattle counters with rookie Doug Fister (1-0, 2.21), who looks
to continue a strong start to his career.

Fister allowed three runs and six hits in 6 1-3 innings of
Saturday's 4-3, 11-inning loss to Cleveland. It was the
right-hander's third quality start in as many major league
starts.

 

[southbeach]

*Athletics-Angels Preview*
==========================


By ANTHONY GIORNALISTA
STATS Senior Writer

Oakland (55-71) at Los Angeles (75-50), 10:25 p.m. EDT

Los Angeles Angels veteran Torii Hunter claims he talked to his
teammates in an attempt to end their slump. The Oakland
Athletics can certainly use some motivation of their own,
particularly against Ervin Santana.

The Angels, who got a big hit from Hunter that helped snap a
three-game losing streak, hope Santana can win his fifth
straight start and continue his dominance against the Athletics
on Thursday night.

Los Angeles (75-50) was in danger of losing four straight
entering this four-game series with Oakland (55-71) but got an
early two-run homer from Hunter to beat Detroit 4-2 on
Wednesday.

The AL West-leading Angels had lost five of six, prompting a
clubhouse tantrum from Hunter.

"I was just hoping the guys were upset, because I was upset,"
said Hunter, batting .412 with 11 RBIs during a 12-game hitting
streak.

The last-place Athletics, who are beyond the help of a fiery
team meeting, now have to face one of the majors' hottest
pitchers.

Santana (7-6, 6.13 ERA) has posted a 3.33 ERA in winning his
last four starts. In his last outing, the right-hander allowed
three runs in six innings of a 7-3 victory over Toronto on
Saturday.

"When he's hitting his spots at 93-94 (mph) with that power
breaking ball, that's a terrific combination and that's what
you're seeing on a consistent basis," Angels manager Mike
Scioscia said.

Santana has been outstanding against the A's, going 6-0 with a
0.96 ERA in his last eight starts and 10-1 with a 1.36 ERA in 14
career outings. He surrendered one run and three hits in eight
innings to beat Oakland 6-2 on July 16.

The Athletics will counter with Trevor Cahill (6-12, 4.86), who
has lost his last four decisions since beating Minnesota on July
22. The rookie right-hander has settled down over his last two
outings, though, allowing two runs in each contest after posting
a 7.71 ERA in losing his previous four starts.

"I don't worry about (my record) too much, it's all good,"
Cahill said. "My goal is to go out and pitch as many innings as
I can."

Cahill pitched seven strong innings in his last start but didn't
receive a decision in a 3-2 win over Detroit on Saturday night.
He is 0-0 with a 4.66 ERA in two starts against the Angels.

Oakland has been giving its pitchers little support, losing
seven of 11 and scoring three runs or fewer in 10 of those
contests. The Athletics went 0 for 8 with runners in scoring
position in a 5-3 loss to Seattle on Wednesday night.

Kurt Suzuki was a bright spot at the plate for Oakland, hitting
a two-run homer for his 11th of the season. The third-year
catcher has driven in four runs in his last four games.

Jack Cust added a solo shot for Oakland, giving him at least 20
homers for the third consecutive season. He has 79 in three
seasons with the A's after hitting five in 169 plate appearances
for four teams before San Diego traded him to Oakland for cash
in May 2007.

Cust is hitting .375 in eight games this year against the
Angels, who lead the season series 6-3.