Interleague Notes
By Chris David
The first round of Interleague action concludes Sunday and after the first two days, certain trends are already developing. Let’s take a closer look.
Sunday Sweeps?
Minnesota vs. Milwaukee: The Twins look to win their seventh in a row over the Brewers in Minneapolis when they battle on Sunday. Minnesota almost blew Saturday’s affair but held on for an 8-7 win in 12 innings over Milwaukee. On Friday, the Twins blasted the Brewers 15-3 in wire-to-wire fashion. Milwaukee has now lost 11 of 12 and the losses can be attributed to both the pitching and hitting.
Chicago White Sox vs. Florida: The White Sox have gone 26-12 in interleague play since 2008, which includes a pair of wins over the Marlins. The team has also won 14 of the last 17 games played against the NL at U.S. Cellular Field. Freddy Garcia (3-2, 4.50 ERA) will take the broom to the hill for the Sox, but the Marlins counter with Josh Johnson (4-1, 2.68 ERA). JJ went 2-0 in his four appearances against the AL last season, while Garcia (19-7, 2.57 ERA) owns the best interleague mark amongst active pitchers. The ‘under’ cashed yesterday but pushed Friday and all signs point towards another low-scoring affair today.
Oakland vs. San Francisco: The Giants had won seven straight against the A’s prior to this weekend. Sure enough, Oakland is one away from pulling off the Bay Area sweep. The A’s won Friday 6-1 and came back with a 1-0 win on Saturday afternoon behind Gio Gonzalez’s hot hand. Oakland beat Barry Zito and Matt Cain in the victories and now faces Jonathan Sanchez (2-3, 3.06 ERA) today. Sanchez has dropped two in a row but he’s getting no run support of late, just like the other starters. Ben Sheets (2-3, 5.66 ERA) has been up and down in Oakland this season but he has won four in a row over the Giants during his previous tenure as a Brewer.
Total Talk
Arizona continues to be an ‘over’ machine this year, posting an eye opening 31-13 mark. The Diamondbacks have put up 13, 8, 8 and 8-spots in their last four games, which has watched the ‘over’ easily cash in all four.
Prior to Saturday’s 6-4 loss to the Dodgers, the Tigers have watched the ‘under’ cash in five straight games. Even though that ‘over’ ticket hit, the ‘under’ is 9-2-1 in the last 12 games for Detroit.
ESPN Game of the Day – Yankees vs. Mets
The Yankees captured Friday’s affair by a score of 2-1, which was the first time they won all year by just one run. The Mets countered with a 5-3 decision on Saturday as plus-145 (Bet $100 to win $145) home underdogs.
Tonight’s affair pits C.C. Sabathia (4-2, 3.43 ERA) against Johan Santana (3-2, 3.72 ERA) in the rubber match. Both hurlers are coming off solid performances, with Sabathia dominating the Red Sox and Santana stifling the Braves.
Last year, C.C. went 1-0 against the Mets, while Santana was tattooed in his lone start.
VegasInsider.com