THE SPORTS ADVISORS
INTERLEAGUE
Tampa Bay (44-31) at Florida (40-35)
Two in-state rivals on the cusp of taking over first place in their respective divisions open a three-game interleague series at Dolphin Stadium, with the Marlins and southpaw Scott Olsen (4-4, 3.51 ERA) set to host the Rays and Andy Sonnanstine (8-3, 4.92).
Both teams were idle Monday after suffering rare series losses, with Tampa Bay dropping two of three at home to the Astros and Florida losing two of three in Oakland. The Rays enter this contest as the hotter of the two teams, having won six of nine, while the Marlins are in a 4-6 funk, including two losses in a three-game series at Tampa Bay last week.
Going back to last June, the Rays are on a 4-1 run against Florida, but prior to this stretch, the Marlins had won 11 of 15 in this rivalry. Finally, the Marlins are 7-3 in the last 10 clashes at Dolphin Stadium, but the visitor is 6-3 in the last nine dating to last season.
Florida is on a 14-6 roll at home, but is just 1-4 in its last five interleague home contests. Meanwhile, the Rays have dominated at home this season (30-13), but they?re under .500 on the highway (14-18).
Tampa Bay is 11-4 when Sonnanstine takes the ball this year, including 4-0 in the last four overall and 5-1 in his six road outings. However, even though the right-hander has allowed three earned runs or fewer in five straight starts, he has only lasted between 5 and 5 2/3 innings in each contest. As a visitor, Sonnanstine is 4-1 with a 4.38 ERA.
Sonnanstine beat the Marlins 7-3 on June 13, allowing three runs on six hits in 5 1/3 innings. He also faced Florida last year at Dolphin Stadium and gave up just two runs on seven hits in seven innings en route to a 9-4 victory. In his 12 1/3 innings against the Fish, Sonnanstine has 15 strikeouts against zero walks.
After three straight quality starts in which he posted a 1.89 ERA, Olsen imploded in his most recent outing at Seattle, yielding five runs (four earned) on 11 hits in 4 1/3 innings, losing 5-4. Florida has lost five of Olsen?s last six starts. On the bright side, the Marlins are 7-3 in the lefty?s last 10 at home, where he is 3-3 with a 2.89 ERA this season.
Olsen faced Tampa Bay once in both 2005 and 2006, giving up a combined four runs (one earned) on eight hits over 11 2/3 innings. The Marlins split the two contests, winning 6-2 on the road in 2005 and losing 3-1 at home the following season.
The over is 6-1 in Olsen?s last seven starts (3-1 at home), but the under is 2-0 in his two career efforts against Tampa. With Sonnanstine on the hill, the over is on a 5-3-1 roll.
The over is 4-1-1 in the last five series meetings (1-1-1 last week). Also, for the Marlins, the over is on streaks of 20-6-4 overall and 13-3-4 in interleague play. Conversely, the under is 16-6-1 in the Rays? last 23 overall and 16-5 in its last 21 versus southpaw starters, but the over is 22-5-1 in the team?s last 28 interleague road games.
ATS ADVANTAGE: OVER
Philadelphia (42-35) at Oakland (41-34)
After getting swept at home by the Angels over the weekend, the Phillies head across the country hoping to have better luck against another A.L. West opponent when they open a three-game series against the A?s. Philadelphia will send veteran Jamie Moyer (7-4, 4.09) to the mound opposite Oakland?s Joe Blanton (3-10, 4.81).
The Phillies opened a six-game interleague homestand with an impressive 8-2 win over Boston, then proceeded to lose the next five games to the Red Sox and Angels by a combined tally of 26-9. In fact, Philadelphia?s potent lineup was held to two runs or fewer in four of the five defeats. Charlie Manuel?s club has followed up a 14-4 hot streak by losing seven of eight, and the team is 4-13 in its last 17 interleague contests on the highway. Two positives: At 20-17, the Phillies are one of just five teams in baseball with a winning road record, and they?ve also won four straight games as an underdog (all on the road).
Oakland took two of three against Florida over the weekend, but the A?s are just 2-3 in their last five games after going 10-4 in their previous 14. They?ve also alternated wins and losses in their last eight home contests. Oakland is on positive streaks of 20-8 as a favorite, 92-40 against lefty starters at home and 61-23 when hosting N.L. teams at McAfee Coliseum.
These teams last met in 2005 in Oakland, with the A?s taking two of three. The host is 4-1 in the last five head-to-head battles.
The 45-year-old Moyer has defied Father Time of late, allowing two earned runs or fewer in three straight starts and four of the last six. However, despite holding the Red Sox to just two runs on four hits and five walks in five innings in his most recent outing a week ago tonight, Moyer was dealt a 3-0 home loss. That ended Philly?s six-game winning streak with Moyer on the bump.
The Phillies are 10-5 in Moyer?s 15 starts this year, including 6-1 on the road where the lefty is 4-1 with a 2.76 ERA. Also, Moyer has a long history against the A?s, going 17-15 with a 4.46 ERA in 47 career games (43 starts), though he hasn?t faced them since June 2006.
Blanton is coming off his worst outing of the season, allowing eight runs on seven hits over three innings in Wednesday?s 11-1 loss at Arizona. The burly right-hander is 0-4 with a 7.94 ERA in his last four starts, and the A?s are just 4-12 when Blanton pitches this year, including 2-9 at home and 1-11 in night games.
Blanton has actually pitched decently at McAfee Coliseum this year (3.98 ERA), but he has just a 1-7 record to show for it. Also, his one career start against the Phillies came at home in 2005, and he allowed two runs over 7 2/3 innings, winning 5-2.
The under is 3-0 in Moyer?s last three starts overall, 8-3 in his last 11 road outings and 8-2 in his last 10 as an underdog. Also, the under is 36-17-2 in Blanton?s last 55 home starts (2-0 last two) and 9-3 in his last 12 against the National League.
Philadelphia enters this series on a bunch of under streaks, including 4-1 overall, 13-3 against the A.L. West, 5-1 on Tuesdays, 7-2 on the road, 10-4 against righty starters and 4-0 in interleague road games. Meanwhile, the under is 11-4-2 in Oakland?s last 17 against southpaw starters, but the over is 4-1-1 in its last six overall and 6-0-2 in its last eight as a home chalk.
ATS ADVANTAGE: UNDER