Sunday’s streaking and slumping pitchers
By JUSTIN BANKS
Streaking
Roy Halladay, Toronto Blue Jays (16-9, 2.69)
Halladay is 3-0 and has a 2.45 ERA in his last three starts and has not relinquished more than three earned runs in nine of his last 10 overall.
Halladay is 7-3 in his last 10 and is 4-1 in his last four road starts. He has also registered at least six strikeouts in nine his last 10 starts.
The Blue Jays are 5-2 in their last seven games on grass.
CC Sabathia, Milwaukee Brewers (14-8, 2.95)
Sabathia, who can improve his undefeated streak to 10 straight starts, is 2-0 in his past three outings with a solid 1.64 ERA.
In his last road start, a victory over the San Diego Padres, Sabathia relinquished one earned run and had eight strikeouts against one walk in seven IP. He is 2-0 and has a 1.64 career ERA against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
The Brewers are 6-1 in their last seven contests against the NL Central and are 20-7 in their last 27 against the Pirates.
Slumping
Jair Jurrjens, Atlanta Braves (11-9, 3.56)
Jurrjens has just three wins in his last 10 and is 0-2 in his last three with a 7.20 ERA. He has surrendered 12 earned runs and two homers in his last 15 IP.
Jurrjens, who is 1-2 in his last three on the road, is just 6-5 overall on the road this season. He is 0-1 and has a 4.05 career ERA against the Washington Nationals.
The Braves are 1-7 in their last eight road games and are 0-4 in their last four road games against the Nationals.
Weekend Outlook
By Josh Jacobs
What would the playoffs be like for baseball if both the Yankees and Red Sox where ousted from extended play? That scenario might not be far from the truth as New York remains six games out of the wild card spot and Boston is hanging by their finger tips with Minnesota only 2 ½-games behind.
Whichever teams will eventually be sealed up for October the fact remains that the regular season isn’t over just yet. Here’s what the weekend has in store for some money making ventures.
Philadelphia (Moyer) at Cubs (Zambrano) – 2:20 p.m. EDT
Not to rush the weekend, but taking a peak at Sunday’s anticipated throw down between Philadelphia and the Chicago Cubs should have bettors scrambling to take a side. So far this year both teams have racked up two wins apiece in the season series. Whenever either team has grabbed a victory, the bats have come alive over superior pitching.
For the Cubs, an 8-2 performance with a .284 BA and a starting pitching staff logging in a 3.05 ERA in the last 10 has worked wonders. While the race in the central is far from over, you can bet that Chicago is thankful for a 6½-game lead (Milwaukee is that second place squad).
Some players excelling in the month of August for the Cubs include starter Carlos Zambrano (five hits in 11 at bats, five RBIs with two homeruns), Mark DeRosa (.378 BA/24 RBIs/7 HRs) and Aramis Ramirez (.325/26/6).
Speaking of Zambrano (13-5, 3.53), gamblers prepare because the dominant right-handed slinger will be making his 27th start of the season. The seven-year vet has been shaky in three of his last four starts, giving up an average of 5.3 runs and six long balls (in those four outings). Four of those six homers came in a shellacking by St. Louis on Aug. 9 in which the Cubs dropped that contest by the final score of 12-3.
Coming back to Wrigley Field will be Phillies starter, Jamie Moyer (11-7, 3.81), who was drafted in the sixth round by the Cubs all the way back in 1984. In his career, the crafty lefty has faced Chicago for a grand total of five times, notching a 2-0 record with an ERA of 4.34 and a BAA of .292. Moyer has been exceptional on the road this season with a 7-3 record, a 2.79 ERA with a 1.17 WHIP.
With this being the fourth and final game of the series and the last time these two clubs meet in the regular season, Chicago has been red hot with a 5-1 record in these Game 4 situations.
The Cubs have gone ‘over’ nine times in the last 11 games played versus the NL East. Philadelphia is 2-6 in its last eight road games but is 13-7 in the last 20 meetings against Chicago.
L.A. Dodgers (Lowe) at Arizona (Webb) – 8:05 p.m. EDT
The final game to end the weekend (although Monday is Labor Day, so hope that weekend is extended for most of you reading) will, again pair the NL West leading clubs together in the desert.
Since you know a little about both clubs from the earlier preview in this piece let’s just cut right to the pitching duel.
The Dodgers’ starting hurler Derek Lowe (10-11, 3.81) has started in 15 games versus Arizona over the course of 11 years in the league. Those 15 games haven’t necessarily seen the righty excel against L.A.’s divisional rival. A 4-7 record with a 4.31 ERA and a .300 BAA have been the result of pairing up with Arizona and Lowe is hoping .317 BAA on the road this season will improve in Sunday’s contest. In 13 starts away from home, the Michigan native has been the victim of a 2-6 record with a 5.47 ERA.
For lights out starter Brandon Webb (19-5, 2.96) six straight wins in six starts were interrupted on Aug. 26 in a loss against San Diego (9-2). Webb surrendered more then two runs in that contest since last July, posting 4.2 innings of work, while giving up nine hits, six runs and one screamer over the fence.
Arizona’s Webb has seen opposite results then Lowe when pitching against each other’s clubs. In a total of 16 starts versus L.A., Webb has generated a 10-3 record accompanied by an effective 1.15 WHIP. In his last start against the Dodgers on Jul. 20, the six-foot-two starter was once again impressive, tossing eight innings and holding his opponent to just six hits with one run. But Arizona emerged the loser in that contest as a -135 favorite. The Dodgers piled on five runs in the ninth to take that July meeting by the final of 6-5.
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Baseball Today
SCOREBOARD
Sunday, Aug. 31
L.A. Dodgers at Arizona, 8:05 p.m. Arizona's Brandon Webb (19-5) tries to become the major's first 20-game winner when he faces the Diamondbacks' NL West-rival Dodgers.
STARS
Saturday
-Manny Ramirez, Dodgers, went 4-for-5 with two homers to lift his average to .419 since joining Los Angeles in a 6-2 win over Arizona.
-Dustin Pedroia, Red Sox, went 4-for-4 for the second straight day to take over the AL lead with a .327 batting average and Boston routed Chicago 8-2.
-Jayson Werth, Phillies, went 3-for-4 with a homer and four RBIs in Philadelphia's 5-2 win over Chicago.
-Billy Butler, Royals, had the first multihomer game of his career, driving in four runs to help Kansas City beat Detroit 13-3.
-Mike Cameron, Brewers, hit a home run and a double and drove in four runs to help Milwaukee beat Pittsburgh 11-3.
ALL MANNY
Manny Ramirez homered twice and the Dodgers ended an eight-game losing streak with a 6-2 victory over Dan Haren and the Diamondbacks. Ramirez had reached base in nine straight plate appearances before grounding out in the ninth. The slugger, who is hitting .419 since being acquired from Boston on July 31, is hitting .545 (18-of-33) in his career against Arizona with six doubles and seven RBIs.
SAVED
Francisco Rodriguez got three outs for his 53rd save in 58 chances in the Angels' 4-3 win over the Rangers, tying Mariano Rivera's 2004 total for the second-most saves in a season. K-Rod is now within four of the major league record set by Bobby Thigpen in 1990 with the Chicago White Sox.
STREAKING
The Nationals beat the Braves 9-8 for their season-high fifth straight win. Anderson Hernandez and Jesus Flores each drove in three runs for the Nationals, whose winning streak is their longest since a six-game run from July 31-Aug. 5, 2007. "They've been playing with a lot of confidence of late,'' manager Manny Acta said. "Right now, they're just flying high. They think they can come back and our offense is clicking.''
PEN OF INIQUITY
Before Saturday's game, Mets manager Jerry Manuel laughed about his team's beleaguered bullpen. "Woooo, lord,'' he said. "We can make an 8-1 game as exciting as anything in the world.'' Six hours later, Manuel could still manage a rueful smile after Aaron Heilman issued a bases-loaded walk to Josh Willingham in the ninth inning, giving the Marlins a 4-3 victory. The bullpen is second in the NL with 24 blown saves and has blown 11 of 26 save opportunities since the All-Star break.
AILING
Athletics designated hitter Frank Thomas was placed on the 15-day disabled list after aggravating a strained right quadriceps while taking batting practice. Thomas was in uniform and scheduled to bat fourth against the Minnesota Twins before the team made the announcement less than two hours before the start of the game. ... Orioles third baseman Melvin Mora is expected to be sidelined about a week with a strained left hamstring. ... The Rockies placed catcher Yorvit Torrealba on the 15-day disabled list because of a torn ligament in his left knee.
REHABBING
Joba Chamberlain says he's ready to rejoin the Yankees for the stretch run after breezing through 35 pitches while facing batters in a simulated game. On the disabled list with rotator cuff tendinitis, Chamberlain said he threw all of his pitches. He also threw 45 pitches off a mound on Thursday and reported no lingering problems between sessions. The 22-year-old right-hander, who was moved from the bullpen to the rotation earlier this year, said he doesn't know when he'll be activated but plans to return to relief duty.
DEBUTS
Josh Geer won his major league debut subbing for Jake Peavy in the Padres' 9-4 win over the Rockies. Geer pitched five innings for the victory, allowing two runs and five hits with three walks and five strikeouts. Geer needed 105 pitches to get through the minimum number of innings for the win. ... Ramon Ramirez of the Reds shook off Randy Winn's leadoff home run to pitch seven solid innings in his major league debut against the Giants. He got a no-decision in the Reds' 7-6 win. Ramirez, who was recalled from Triple-A Louisville on Saturday, didn't allow a hit in his last three innings and retired 10 of the last 11 batters he faced.
BENCHES CLEAR
The Mets and Marlins poured onto the field in the second inning after Mike Pelfrey hit Florida's Cody Ross on the arm with a pitch. Ross slammed his protective gear to the ground as he walked to first base, then shouted profanities at Pelfrey. When the players took a couple of steps toward each other, both benches emptied. No punches were thrown, and no one was ejected. Pelfrey picked off Ross to end the inning.
RARE MISCUE
Minnesota closer Joe Nathan's throwing error in the bottom of the ninth inning allowed two runs to score in a 3-2 loss to the Athletics. Bobby Crosby singled off Nathan leading off the ninth before the Minnesota right-hander hit Emil Brown to put runners on first and second. Ryan Sweeney then attempted a sacrifice bunt, and Nathan fielded the ball and tried to throw to third. The ball skipped past Twins' third baseman Brendan Harris and into foul territory and Crosby raced home, with Brown scoring behind him. Nathan had been successful on 36 of 40 save attempts before losing to Oakland.
TRADED
Veteran Matt Stairs joined the Phillies, eager to fill whatever role is needed as the defending NL East champs try to make a push back to the playoffs. Stairs was acquired from the Blue Jays for a player to be named later. With Geoff Jenkins on the disabled list with a strained hip flexor, the Phillies needed a left-handed bat. Stairs had been designated for assignment by the Blue Jays on Thursday night.
STATS
Aubrey Huff homered in the Orioles' 10-9 loss to the Rays, giving him 30 for the year. He's the first Baltimore player to have 30 homers in a season since Miguel Tejada (34) in 2004. ... Raul Ibanez of the Mariners upped his average for the month to .398 by singling in the go-ahead run to spark Seattle's two-run 10th inning in a 4-3 win over the Indians. This is not the first time he's come alive with a great August. Last season, he hit .374 with nine homers for the month.
SPEAKING
"I play the game, go have fun. I'm on vacation. I don't got nothing to lose. I got one more month left, you know, go to the house, relax and see what my situation is going to be.'' - Manny Ramirez after the Dodgers beat the Diamondbacks 6-2. Ramirez is a free agent after this season.