Tuesday's Quick Picks
By Judd Hall
Major League Baseball isn’t taking a backseat to the Olympics with 15 games on the board for Tuesday. And there won’t be any make up games early today as the festivities get underway at 7:00 pm EDT.
Let’s look at a couple of the more interesting matches…
St. Louis Cardinals at Florida Marlins
There was a time that the Cardinals looked like they had a legitimate chance to make a run at the postseason. And it wasn’t too long ago at all, only a week. Yet in just seven days, St. Louis went 3-4…which isn’t bad. However, two of those defeats came in Chicago and pushed the Cards to seven games out of the NL Central lead and three games out of the wild card.
Florida is in much the same boat the Cards. The Marlins is coming off of losing two of three to the Mets in a series that had big implications on the NL East battle. The result is the Fish sitting 2½ games behind the first place Phillies, while sitting five back in the wild card race.
The Cardinals are sending out the surprising Kyle Lohse to the mound, who is 13-4 with a 3.80 earned run average. The right hander has gone 2-1 with a 4.26 ERA in three career matches against the Marlins. He is 6-2 with a 5.16 ERA away from Busch Stadium.
Meanwhile, the Marlins will be giving the ball to right handed pitcher Chris Volstad. The rookie has gone 3-2 with a 2.67 ERA in 2008. While most hurlers would be happy to be starting at home, Volstad might be cringing as he’s 0-2 with a 5.73 ERA in two starts at Dolphin Stadium.
It’s not much of an edge, but the ‘over’ is 30-25 for the Cardinals on the road this season. The Marlins have seen the ‘over’ hit in 33 of 60 home games.
Philadelphia Phillies at Los Angeles Dodgers
Is there anyone out there that can stop Manny Ramirez?
The Dodgers’ major acquisition has hit .459 with four home runs and 11 RBI. The result for Los Angeles is staying within 1½ games of the Diamondbacks for the NL West lead. Although the Bums have lost two straight in the last at bat against San Francisco, so maybe that should temper the hopes just a bit.
Philadelphia is feeling pretty good about itself right now after winning two of three against the Pirates at home. That’s given the Phillies a two game buffer in the NL East. The Phils have seen the ‘under’ hit in five straight matches.
The Phillies are expecting to keep on their winning ways with Cole Hamels toeing the slab. He’s gone 9-8 with a 3.35 ERA this season. However, he’s lost his past two starts with an ERA of 4.46 thanks to poor defense.
Joe Torre is sending out southpaw hurler Clayton Kershaw to take on a potent Philly offense. Kershaw is a rookie with just 12 career starts, but he’s one two of his last three starts with an ERA of 0.47 in this stretch.
The Phils have been fairly strong on the road this season, five of their last six away from Citizens Bank Park. Los Angeles is 7-3 in its past 10 home tilts with the ‘under’ hitting in eight of them.
vegasinsider.com
Diamondbacks acquire Adam Dunn from Reds
By ASSOCIATED PRESS
PHOENIX (AP) -The Arizona Diamondbacks acquired slugging outfielder Adam Dunn from the Cincinnati Reds for a minor-league pitcher and two players to be named later on Monday.
The 28-year-old Dunn was batting .233 this season for the Reds with 32 homers, tied for tops in the majors.
The trade gives the first-place Diamondbacks, who entered the day with a 1 1/2-game lead over the Dodgers in the NL West, a boost to an anemic offense. The Diamondbacks rank 20th in the majors in runs scored.
Arizona (60-58) tried to acquire Mark Teixeira from the Atlanta Braves at last month's trade deadline before he went to the Los Angeles Angels.
The Diamondbacks sent right-hander Dallas Buck to the Reds in Monday's trade.
Dunn has a career .247 batting average with 270 career homers and is eligible for free agency at the end of the season.
The Reds are last in the NL Central and on a six-game losing streak.
The Dunn trade comes after a July 31 deal that sent outfielder Ken Griffey Jr. to the Chicago White Sox for relief pitcher Nick Masset and a Triple-A player. On Sunday, the Reds designated veteran catcher David Ross for assignment and called up catcher Ryan Hanigan from Triple-A Louisville.
Rays place rookie Evan Longoria on 15-day DL
By ASSOCIATED PRESS
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) -The Tampa Bay Rays placed rookie All-Star third baseman Evan Longoria on the 15-day disabled list Monday because of a right wrist fracture.
The move was retroactive to Friday.
The team recalled outfielder Justin Ruggiano from Triple-A Durham to take his place.
Longoria was injured on Thursday, when he was hit by a pitch from Seattle closer J.J. Putz. The 22-year-old has missed the past three games.
Longoria is hitting .278 and leads the Rays with 22 home runs and 71 RBIs. His 22 homers rank sixth overall in the American League, first among rookies.
Longoria leads American League third basemen with a .971 fielding percentage. Before his injury, he had not missed a game after his contract was purchased from Triple-A Durham on April 12.
In July, Longoria became the youngest Rays position player ever to make the All-Star team. He also was the first Rays rookie to participate in the Home Run Derby.
Ruggiano will begin his fourth stint with the Rays this season. In 15 games, he has batted .290 with one home run and two RBIs while playing all three outfield positions.
Tuesday's streaking starting pitchers
COVERS.com
Streaking
Chris Volstad, Florida Marlins (2.67, 3-2)
The Marlins did good when they purchased the contract of this 21-year-old back on July 7 from Carolina of the Southern League (AA). Since then, Florida has won four of his six outings and the Marlins have added a competent pitcher as they gear up for their stretch run to make the playoffs.
Volstad is giving Florida around six innings of solid work in each of his efforts so far and he’s only given up one home run. He gets you anywhere from three to six strikeouts to boot and you can usually get him at pretty good odds because oddsmakers are just catching up with him.
Randy Johnson, Arizona Diamondbacks (9-8, 4.24 ERA)
You’ve likely heard the expression ‘angrier than a rattlesnake’ before and on Tuesday you just might see what that means.
Johnson had a five-game winning streak snapped in his latest outing last Wednesday in a 2-0 defeat to Pittsburgh at home. The towering lefty had another outstanding performance when he allowed just two runs through seven innings and struck out seven batters.
Don’t expect him to be happy with the effort, though. It marked the first time in four starts that Johnson surrendered a run and one of those runs came off a Freddy Sanchez homer. Expect him to be tossing some angry heat against the Rockies on the road on Tuesday.
Slumping
Jeremy Sowers, Cleveland Indians (1-5, 5.70 ERA)
Sowers spent the first part of the season bouncing up and down from the minors to the majors and he had to be feeling a little like yo-yo by the time June rolled around.
He’s been with the big boys since early June though and he is starting to pitch consistently. Unfortunately, when you play for Cleveland, ‘consistently’ just means you lose a lot. Cleveland has lost Sowers’ last three starters despite some respectable performances.
He has gone at least six innings in his last three outings and surrendered a decent nine earned runs during that span. The Indians owe him a win when he takes the mound against Baltimore Tuesday.
Chan's Money Arms: Week of August 11th
By DAVID CHAN
This column has produced a 23-8 record over the past seven weeks, proving that a little homework can go a long way when it comes to building baseball bankrolls.
It’s the start of another busy week on the diamond and here are four starters that could earn you some extra loot over the next four days.
Rich Harden, Chicago Cubs, Tuesday at Atlanta
This is an excellent time to back Rich Harden as he is coming off a rare poor start against the Astros last week. Rocky outings are few and far between for the young right-hander, and I expect him to bounce back strong. Thanks to some outstanding offensive support, Harden avoided the loss in that most recent start, a game the Cubs actually won 11-7. He has made two road starts since joining the Cubs, giving up only seven hits and two earned runs in 14 innings. He struck out 19 and walked only two in those two outings. So you can understand why I’m confident that he can help the Cubs earn a victory against the Braves on Tuesday night.
Jon Lester, Boston Red Sox, Wednesday vs. Texas
The think I like most about Jon Lester is his consistency. The guy has given the Red Sox at least seven innings in six straight, and nine of his last 10 starts. It seems rare nowadays that you see a pitcher that has given up fewer hits than innings pitched, but that’s the case with Lester. He is 6-1 with a 2.87 ERA at Fenway Park and while the Rangers certainly offer a significant challenge, I believe the left-hander is up to it. Since the beginning of June, Lester is 7-1, and since the All-Star break he is 3-1 with a 2.54 ERA in four starts. In one start against Texas this season, he pitched eight innings of one-hit, shutout ball. Needless to say, he gets my support on Wednesday.
Ricky Nolasco, Florida Marlins, Wednesday vs. St. Louis
I’ve given Nolasco a look on several occasions this season, with mixed results. I do like the way he’s pitched in recent starts, giving up three earned runs or less in each of his last three trips to the mound. He continues to show excellent command. Over his last three starts he has struck out 25 while walking just one. We should get some solid value with the Marlins in this spot due to Nolasco’s poor career numbers against the Cardinals. I’ll point out that he hasn’t faced them this season, and also that the Cards are in a letdown spot after their weekend series against the rival Cubs.
Roy Halladay, Toronto Blue Jays, Thursday at Detroit
Roy Halladay was extremely disappointed in himself after his last start, a 4-2 loss Saturday against Cleveland. That should be ample motivation for him to right the ship Thursday afternoon in Detroit. The Tigers have been one of his favorite teams to face. He is 11-2 with a 1.93 ERA in 15 career games against them. Halladay continues to pitch well on the road, winning three of his last four starts. As poorly as the Jays have performed this season, they’ve still managed to record wins in five of Halladay’s last eight starts overall. I’m hoping that we can get them at an underdog price on Thursday.
Gavin Floyd, Chicago White Sox, Friday at Oakland
Floyd will be happy to hit the road after turning in a pair of brutal efforts in his last two starts, both at home. While he is just 4-4 away from U.S. Cellular Field this season, he has shown some positive signs lately, going undefeated in his last two road starts in Detroit and Minnesota. One of his best starts of the season came against Oakland, as he held them scoreless and gave up just three hits over 7 1/3 innings. This will be only his second career start against the A’s, so I question whether they have much of a scouting report leading into this game. Helping matters is the fact that Oakland owns just one win in August at the time of writing.
Baseball Today
New York at Minnesota (8:10 p.m. EDT). Mike Mussina (15-7, 3.27 ERA) goes for his 16th win, something he hasn't achieved since winning 17 games in 2003. He'll face Nick Blackburn (9-6, 3.60) and the Twins, who are trying to beat out the Chicago White Sox in the AL Central.
STARS
- Glen Perkins, Twins, pitched eight innings of four-hit ball and Minnesota shut out the reeling Yankees 4-0.
- Josh Beckett, Red Sox, struck out eight and allowed a run and seven hits in eight innings as Boston beat the Chicago White Sox 5-1.
- Nick Markakis, Orioles, went 3-for-5 with a double, home run and four RBIs in Baltimore's 13-8 loss to Cleveland.
- Rod Barajas, Blue Jays, had a home run and three RBIs to help Toronto beat Detroit 7-2.
- Brandon Backe, Astros, allowed a run and four hits in seven innings with six strikeouts to help Houston beat San Francisco 3-1.
- Joel Pineiro, Cardinals, gave up one earned run and seven hits in seven innings, and St. Louis held off Florida 4-2.
PROUD PAPA
Brand new papa Glen Perkins pitched eight outstanding innings to help Minnesota beat reeling New York 4-0. Perkins allowed four hits and three walks while striking out four. The 25-year-old Perkins kept the veteran Yankees hitters on ice less than 24 hours after being in the hospital with his wife for the birth of their second daughter. Perkins wasn't even sure he was going to be able to make the start when he went to the hospital on Sunday to be with his wife, Alisha.
BULLPEN BREAKDOWN
Aaron Heilman and the Mets' shaky bullpen had another ninth-inning meltdown, losing 7-5 to the Pirates. The Mets led 5-1 when Pedro Martinez left after six innings, but five relievers couldn't preserve the edge. It marked the ninth time this season New York lost a game in which it led in the eighth inning or later. The Mets have struggled lately minus injured All-Star closer Billy Wagner. Heilman gave up three runs in the ninth, retiring only one batter for his third blown save in five opportunities.
TIGER TIFF
Gary Sheffield said he wants to play every day and the nine-time All-Star feels he's in a platoon for the Detroit Tigers. Manager Jim Leyland said he's ``flabbergasted'' by Sheffield's comments, which were published in a Boston Globe story and repeated Monday. Leyland said Sheffield played in 39 of 51 games before going on the disabled list in May and played in 36 of the last 43 games, entering Monday's series opener against the Toronto Blue Jays. ``Anybody that has a brain knows that's not a platoon,'' Leyland said. Sheffield stuck with his take on the situation after hearing Leyland's side of the story.
NO NO-NOS
White Sox pitcher John Danks and the Giants' Jonathan Sanchez both took no-hitters into the sixth inning, and lost. Danks didn't allow a hit against the Red Sox until Kevin Youkilis' broken-bat single with one out in the seventh, and then J.D. Drew doubled to give Boston a 2-1 lead. The Red Sox held on to win 5-1. Sanchez didn't allow a hit for five innings against the Astros, but again got no support from San Francisco's bats. The Giants have scored one run or less during 12 of his 24 appearances this season. Humberto Quintero led off the Houston sixth with a broken-bat single just over shortstop Ivan Ochoa. Backe beat out a bunt that got past Sanchez and Kaz Matsui advanced the runners with a sacrifice bunt. Ty Wigginton then singled to center field to give Houston a 2-1 lead, and the Astros won, 3-1.
WINNING TRADITION
Jonathan Broxton's four-out save secured the Los Angeles Dodgers' 8-6 win over Philadelphia. The victory was manager Joe Torre's 2,126th in the regular season, tying Joe McCarthy for seventh place on the career list. Torre managed the New York Yankees to six pennants and four World Series titles in 12 years. McCarthy guided the Yankees to eight pennants and seven world championships in 16 years.
FADING FAST
The Yankees fell 4-0 to the Twins and Glen Perkins, their fourth straight loss, tying the team's season-worst streak. New York dropped nine games back of first-place Tampa Bay in the AL East, and are five games behind Boston, which leads the wild-card standings. ``The problem is we're not winning. Not the teams in front of us,'' manager Joe Girardi said. ``Nothing says we can't turn things around and win eight in a row. It's happened before and I don't see why it couldn't happen again.''
ACQUIRED
The Arizona Diamondbacks acquired Adam Dunn from the Cincinnati Reds for minor league right-hander Dallas Buck and two players to be named. Dunn was batting .233 for the Reds with 32 home runs and 74 RBIs. He has a good eye at the plate (80 walks) but also strikes out a lot (120 Ks). He could boost an Arizona offense that was ranked 20th in the majors in runs scored. The Diamondbacks entered the day with a 1 1/2-game lead in the NL West over the Los Angeles Dodgers, who recently traded for Manny Ramirez.
CUT
The Blue Jays released outfielder Shannon Stewart, bringing his second stint with the team to a disappointing finish. Signed as a free agent during spring training, Stewart hit .240 with one homer and 14 RBIs in 52 games this season. The 34-year-old sprained his right ankle when he stumbled over first base while running out a grounder June 7 against Baltimore. He was placed on the 15-day disabled list the following day and has not played since.
INJURED
The Tampa Bay Rays placed rookie All-Star third baseman Evan Longoria on the 15-day disabled list because of a right wrist fracture, the second major blow to the team's surprising first-place run in as many days. Two-time All-Star and four-time AL stolen base champion Carl Crawford went on the DL with a right hand injury on Sunday, meaning the Rays face the challenge of staying on top of the division for at least two weeks without two of their best offensive and defensive players.
BOUNCING BACK
Derek Lowe rebounded from one of the worst outings of his career to pitch the Los Angeles Dodgers past Philadelphia 8-6. The right-hander held the Phillies to three runs and five hits over 6 1-3 innings after allowing eight runs and 13 hits over 3 1-3 innings in a 9-6 loss at St. Louis last Wednesday.
KNUCKLE SANDWICH
Charlie Zink will replace fellow knuckleballer Tim Wakefield in the Boston Red Sox rotation. Zink is scheduled to start against Texas on Tuesday. The team plans to purchase his contract from Triple-A Pawtucket that day and put the 42-year-old Wakefield on the disabled list with stiffness in his right shoulder. Zink, who will turn 29 later this month, is 13-4 with a 2.89 ERA in 25 starts with Pawtucket this year.
STRUGGLING
The Tigers' Justin Verlander lasted just 4 1-3 innings, giving up six runs and seven hits in a 7-2 loss to the Blue Jays. Verlander has given 24 earned runs over his last four starts - the most he's allowed over four games - losing each of them to equal the worst skid of his career. It's been a strange season for Verlander, who began the season 0-3 and fell to 1-7 after dropping four in a row. But then he seemed to turn things around, winning seven of nine and allowing two or fewer earned runs over eight starts. ``It's a funny game,'' Verlander said.
SPEAKING
``We can't continue to perform this way late in the game. We have to make some adjustments. I have to figure out what I have and who is willing to step up in those roles.'' - Mets manager Jerry Manuel, after his bullpen blew yet another late-inning lead in a 7-5 loss to the Pirates.
Tuesday's MLB Research
By Indiancowboy
Yankees vs. Minny
I rolled with Minny yesterday and they got it done 4-0 and they face the Yankees yet again today, once again they are a road favorite and considering the Twins are 40-21 at home while the Yankees are 27-30 on the road, this is a bit interesting, of course, the Yankees are on a bounce-back but the Twins pitchers do considerably better at home overall, Mussina has been on fire of late pitching 6 of 7 quality starts and he comes off giving up 8 hits in 7 inns on the road at Texas but no runs in a splendid performance, he has given up 1 just 1 run in his last 14 innings and is a remarkable 6-1 with a 2.94 era on the road. He has faced Minny twice this year and has gone 14 innings giving up just 2 runs, but the same principle applies here as it did for yesterday, it is very tough for a pitcher to beat a team 3 times in a row, and that is what Mussina tries to do today, he is due for a bad start in my opinion especially after a shutout performance, Blackburn beat the Yankees 5-1 at home in his first start and had a 16.27 era on the road against them in his last start losing 4-12 and he didn't have all that of a great start at Seattle despite winning giving up 9 hits in 6 inns, lean on the Twins here.
Texas vs. Boston
Feldman goes against Link today, Feldman pitched great against the Yankees in his last home start with a 2.57 era but still came away with the loss in an 0-3 ballgame as Mussina didn't yield a run to the potent Texas offense, he hasn't won a ballgame since July 21st, Boston puts a newbie on the mound today but his start has been much anticipated so the juice sits at -160, but I would likely take the Texas offense here given they can pound the ball, Feldman desperately needs a win here and has been pitching well and the new kid could have some nerves, remember, Feldman beat the Whitesox, Yankees and Baltimore all on the road in his last 3 road starts, so the Rangers could very well win this game - Feldman also went nearly 3 innings without yielding a run to this team last year.
KC vs. White Sox
Bannister is on a bounceback with a 6.75 era from his last start, he has had a rough go of it when facing the White Sox the last 2 times, the White Sox come off a 1-5 loss yesterday, Bannister had a 6.76 and 15era in his last 2 starts against the white sox and Vasquez too is on a bounceback after a 6 era performance in his last go around. If anything a lean on the whitesox rl here but I hate laying the rl on anything.
Seattle vs. Angels
Washburn has had a rough go of it in his last 2 road starts, but always remember, he faces his old ballclub today so the nerves and the fire will be there today, the Angels do have a 6 and a 6.75 era against him this year though defeating him both times 1-4 and 2-4, Garland rarely does not lose back to back games and had nearly a 4 era in his last start which he lost and Seattle roughed him up in Seattle last time getting 12 hits in 5 innings off of him - I remember, I was on Seattle in that game and if anything, Garland bounces back here - BUT wait, over 70% are riding the Angels, nearly 2:1 value here on Washburn, and remember what I always say, it is very, very tough for a team to defeat a pitcher 3 times in a row. I am tempted to take the Angels here just based on value as it is the biggest public fade today in mlb and that is with nearly 2:1 value.
Tampa Bay vs. Oakland
Kazmir is on the road at Oakland today, and he is 1-0 over his last 4 starts (albeit his team did win the other 3 but he picked up a ND for it), he has given up just 1 run to Oakland in the last 14 inns and simply been dominant, but it will be tough for him to defeat them 3 times in a row, but with Mike Gonzalez being such a newbie, and nerves being high, no thanks, likely rolling with 3 plays here which includes 2 dogs.
Toronto vs. Detroit
Burnett faces Miner here, he is 6-1 in his last 7 starts but do note Burnett has been getting some offensive help lately as the Bluejays have scored 12 runs in his last 2 ballgames despite Burnett having a 6.36 and a 6 era in his last 2 starts, that might catch up with him here, but he is a 14 game winner thus far and he beat Detroit earlier this year with a 5+ era and Miner has pitched 3 of 4 quality starts, only 38% are riding Toronto here as Detroit is favored but if the Bluejays get some offense look for this game to go the Bjays and the over but if this is a pitcher's duel I trust Detroit's offense to come to play more, no thanks, just staying away as the Bluejays seem to always put some offense on the table when Burnett is on the mound.
Baltimore vs. Cleveland
Baltimore lost 8-13 last night in a slugfest and they look to turn the corner here against Sowers. Olson was rocked in his last start for a 20.3 era and had back to back quality starts with a 3 era and a 3.24 era before that, it was just that he was rocked at the L.A. Angels. Sowers has lost his last 3 starts and for Sowers to be favored by this margin it's just simply silly given his track record of a 6.34 era with just 1 win on the year. Value here resides on Baltimore with Olson on the bounce-back and if I am not mistaken, Cleveland has not faced him this year or last year, and has yet to see him. Sowers is much better at home in general though although he lost to Baltimore both times last year, lean on Baltimore, just not sure if I want to pull the trigger.