Interleague Action - Round 1
By Kevin Rogers
It's Back
Interleague Play is like eating an entire birthday cake. It seems like a good idea when you start, but then you get sick of it near the end. This Friday begins the 13th installment of your favorite cake, as 28 teams go through the first round of interleague action, with the Cubs and Padres being the lone National League teams that won't participate against their American League counterparts.
The first weekend is usually "rivalry weekend," even though matchups like Colorado at Detroit and Toronto at Atlanta don't exude bitterness. The battles of Ohio, Florida, Missouri, Texas, the Beltway, and the Freeway all take center-stage, along with the premiere showdown of the weekend, as the Mets take on the Red Sox at Fenway Park.
Mets at Red Sox
By far the most exciting pitching matchup of this interleague weekend will take place Friday night at Fenway Park, when Johan Santana takes the hill against Daisuke Matsuzaka. This will be only the third start of the season for Dice-K, who has spent the last six weeks on the disabled list with a right shoulder strain. The Mets, meanwhile, are only 1-3 in Santana's interleague starts, but Santana's teams (Mets and Twins) are 15-4 in his career in IL action. The Mets will see right-handed pitching the entire weekend, as Josh Beckett is slated to pitch Saturday and knuckleballer Tim Wakefield will go on Sunday. The Red Sox are 9-3 when Beckett starts in IL play, but two of those losses have come at home as substantial favorites against Colorado in 2007 (-235) and Arizona in 2008 (-175). The Sox swept the Mets at home the last time these two teams met in 2006.
Phillies at Yankees
The Yankees are starting to heat up, after pulling off a four-game sweep of the Twins at home over the weekend. The Phillies have quietly risen from an early-season slumber, putting together the best road record in baseball. Brett Myers will start Friday night against A.J. Burnett, while Saturday's matchup will pit J.A. Happ against Andy Pettitte. The Sunday matinee battle has veterans Jamie Moyer and CC Sabathia on the hill. The Phillies are just 2-7 in Myers' last nine interleague games. Burnett and Pettitte each have had success in interleague action, with the Blue Jays going 6-2 in Burnett's IL starts, while the Yankees are 10-5 in Pettitte's last 15 IL outings. Sunday will be Sabathia's first look at the Phillies since the Game 2 loss of the NLDS last season, when CC had his shortest outing as a member of the Brewers, lasting 3.2 innings, allowing five earned runs in six hits.
L.A. Angels at L.A. Dodgers
The Freeway Series will try to find some offense, after the final two games last year were decided by 1-0 scores. The game everyone remembers (especially if you backed the Angels), was the Saturday night affair at Chavez Ravine in which Jered Weaver pitched eight hitless innings, but did not receive credit for a no-hitter, while losing the game to the Dodgers, 1-0. Weaver will get his second shot at the Manny-less Dodgers Friday night at Dodger Stadium against lefty Clayton Kershaw. The Halos will send ace John Lackey to the mound Saturday after the righty picked up his first victory of the season Monday night at Seattle. Lackey has been fantastic in IL play, as the Angels are 16-4 in his starts, while going 'under' the total in 14 of 20 games (including three pushes). Dodgers ace Chad Billingsley toes the rubber Sunday afternoon against the surprising Matt Palmer. The 30-year righty has started in five victories for the Halos, including wins over the Red Sox, Yankees, and Tigers.
Milwaukee at Minnesota
Old AL rivals meet up at the Metrodome, where the Twins have owned the Brewers over the years. Minnesota is 10-5 the last 15 meetings in this series, including a 6-3 mark the last nine at the Homerdome. The Twins captured four of the six meetings in '08, including two dominating starts by Friday's scheduled starter Kevin Slowey. The Minnesota right-hander is 11-1 in his last 14 starts at home, while shutting down the Brewers twice last season, allowing two earned runs in 17 IP. Sunday night's game will be televised nationally on ESPN, with Dave Bush and Scott Baker squaring off. Baker has hit the 'over' in 11 of his last 14 home starts, while the Brewers have won six of Bush's last nine interleague starts.
What Else to Look For:
The seven games below all include intriguing pitching matchups. Cliff Lee has pitched better recently, but in six career meetings against the Reds, the 'over' has hit five times, while the Indians are 4-2 against the Reds when Lee starts. Roy Halladay will go for his league-leading ninth victory against the Braves, although the Jays righty has never faced Atlanta in his career. Giants lefty Barry Zito is 1-6 since coming to San Francisco in IL play, but the lone victory did come at Cleveland last season as a 'dog of +165. We know about how dominating Rays righty James Shields is at home, but did you know the Rays have gone 'over' the total in six of Shields' seven road interleague starts.
VegasInsider.com
Baseball Today
SCOREBOARD
Friday, May 22
Chicago Cubs at San Diego (10:05 p.m. EDT). It's aces up at Petco Park, where the Cubs send Carlos Zambrano (3-1) up against the Padres' Jake Peavy (3-5).
STARS
Thursday
-Albert Pujols, Cardinals, hit a homer in the first inning that knocked out the "I'' on the Big Mac Land sign in left field as the Cardinals won 3-1.
-Joe Mauer, Twins, hit a grand slam, two doubles and drove in a career-high six runs as Minnesota routed the White Sox 20-1.
-Victor Martinez, Indians, drove in three runs and Cleveland got past Zack Greinke by getting to the Kansas City bullpen for an 8-3 victory.
-Robinson Cano, Yankees, hit an RBI double in a four-run first and a two-run shot in the second, helping New York beat the Orioles 7-4 for their ninth straight win.
-Chase Utley and Jimmy Rollins, Phillies. Utley homered and drove in four runs while Rollins had four hits, scored twice and drove in a run in Philadelphia's 12-5 win over Cincinnati.
-Aaron Cook, Rockies, pitched a four-hitter, retiring the final 16 batters for his second career shutout in Colorado's 9-0 win over Atlanta.
STAYING PUT
San Diego's Jake Peavy turned down a trade to the Chicago White Sox, choosing Thursday to remain with his longtime team. The Padres and White Sox had reached an agreement, but needed the 2007 Cy Young Award winner to waive his no-trade clause. "As of right now, this is the best place for us to be. We made that decision for the time being,'' Peavy said before Thursday night's game against San Francisco.
FATHER'S FOOTSTEPS
The Padres acquired outfielder Tony Gwynn Jr. in a trade that sent outfielder Jody Gerut to the Brewers. Gwynn, who has been with Triple-A Nashville, got the news of the trade in a call from his Hall of Fame father, who played for the Padres for 20 seasons and is now San Diego State's baseball coach. The younger Gwynn played parts of three seasons in the majors. He made his debut hours later, walking as a pinch hitter in the ninth inning of the Padres 3-2 victory over the Giants.
ALL IN THE FAMILY
Baseball approved new controlling owners for the Minnesota Twins and Toronto Blue Jays on Thursday - the sons of fathers who died within the last six months. Jim Pohlad succeeded his father as head of the Twins. Carl Pohlad died in January at 93. His father bought the Twins in 1984. Edward Rogers III replaces his father as head of the Blue Jays. Ted Rogers founded Rogers Communications Inc. and bought the Blue Jays in 2000. He died in December.
ALMOST READY
John Smoltz took a big step in his return from shoulder surgery, throwing three scoreless innings in his first rehabilitation outing. Pitching for the Boston Red Sox's Class A affiliate in Greenville, Smoltz struck out two with no walks and threw 29 pitches in his first game action in almost a year. The 42-year-old Smoltz opened the season on the disabled list following surgery last June to repair a torn labrum in his right shoulder.
FINALLY SOME RELIEF
Washington's bullpen - which had been 1-15 with 13 blown saves in 19 chances - came through for a change. Julian Tavarez (1-3) got the victory with 1 2-3 innings of scoreless relief and Joel Hanrahan got three outs for his fourth save in seven opportunities as the Nationals ended a seven-game skid.
CLOSE CALL
Yankees right-hander Joba Chamberlain was knocked out in the first inning of a 7-4 victory with a bruised right knee. Adam Jones' one-out liner in the first inning hit Chamberlain just above his right knee. After giving up hits to the next two batters, Chamberlain left the game. The Yankees said X-rays on Chamberlain's knee were negative, and he insisted he would make his next start.
SLAMS
Todd Helton hit his fifth career grand slam to help the Rockies win 9-0 over the Braves. It was his first since Sept. 10, 2006, and was the 10th time he's driven in five runs. ... Minnesota's Joe Mauer hit his second career grand slam in a 20-1 win over the White Sox.
CUB SLUMP
The Chicago bats fell asleep against the Cardinals. Alfonso Soriano was 1 for 12 with six strikeouts in the three-game set. Ryan Theriot was 1 for 11, and Mike Fontenot and Milton Bradley each went 1 for 10.
SNAPPED
Seattle third baseman Adrian Beltre snapped an 0-for-23 skid with a single leading off the sixth inning of the Mariners' 3-0 loss to the Angels.
SHOWER TIME
Houston Astros first baseman Lance Berkman and manager Cecil Cooper were ejected in the fifth inning against Milwaukee for arguing a close call at home plate. With the Astros leading 3-1, Berkman singled with two outs, advanced on Carlos Lee's walk, then raced home on Hunter Pence's single to left. Catcher Jason Kendall caught left fielder's Ryan Braun throw and tagged Berkman as he slid, touching the plate with his left hand.
NOT ENOUGH
Royals ace Zack Greinke's record stayed at 7-1 with his first no-decision in nine starts, an 8-3 loss to Cleveland. He went six innings, gave up a season-high eight hits and left with a 3-2 lead. His major league-leading ERA crept up to 0.82 from 0.60.
LIGHTS OUT
Tampa Bay's 6-5 win over Oakland was delayed 19 minutes in the first inning because of a light failure at Tropicana Field. The Rays said a lightning strike affected an electrical substation near the ballpark.
GOOD COMPANY
Jason Bay set a Red Sox record with his 11th straight homer with runners on base, hitting a two-run shot in a three-run first inning, and Boston beat Toronto 5-1.
SPEAKING
"He's turning into a cult figure,'' Rays manager Joe Maddon said of pinch-hitter Ben Zobrist, who hit a tying two-run homer in the ninth inning of Tampa Bay's 6-5 win over Oakland. Zobrist is 4 of 12 with three homers and nine RBIs coming off the bench this season.
INTERLEAGUE
Philadelphia (22-17) at N.Y. Yankees (24-17)
The streaking Yankees go for their 10th consecutive victory when they hand the ball to A.J. Burnett (2-1, 5.02 ERA) to open a weekend interleague series against the Phillies and Brett Myers (3-2, 4.50).
New York completed a three-game home sweep of the Orioles with Thursday’s 7-4 victory. The Yankees have won seven straight at home during their winning streak, which comes on the heels of a 2-7 overall slump and a five-game home slide. Joe Girardi’s club is on additional runs of 8-0 as a chalk, 5-0 against right-handed starters, 37-18 at home, 7-1 on Friday and 54-20 when hosting N.L. opponents.
Philadelphia improved to 6-1 on its current 10-game road trip with Thursday’s 12-5 rout of the Reds. The Phillies, who are a major league-best 14-5 on the highway, have scored 50 runs during their current trip. The defending champs are on additional streaks of 23-9 on the road dating to 2008, 4-1 against right-handed starters, 4-1 against the A.L. East, 7-3 as a road ‘dog and 38-16 against teams with a winning record, but they have dropped 18 of their last 25 interleague roadies.
These teams last met in 2006 with the Yankees taking two of three in Philadelphia, and New York has won four of the last five clashes, all in Philly.
Myers has delivered a quality start in five of his last six trips to the mound, giving up a total of three runs on eight hits with 11 strikeouts in his last two outings totaling 13 innings, including Saturday’s 8-5 win at Washington. Philadelphia has alternated wins and losses in Myers’ eight starts this season, but with the right-hander pitching, the Phillies are on positive runs of 4-0 on the road, 7-1 as an underdog and 5-2 on Friday. On the downside, they’ve lost Myers’ last four interleague starts and seven of his last eight against the A.L. East.
Myers is 3-0 with a 4.97 ERA on the highway, and in his only career outing against the Yankees in 2006, he gave up two runs in 6 2/3 innings en route to a 4-2 home win.
Burnett is coming off a solid effort against the Twins, yielding two runs in 6 2/3 innings, but he gave up six hits and six walks and got a no-decision as New York scored a 3-2 win in 10 innings. The veteran right-hander has given up three earned runs or fewer in five of his eight starts as a Yankee.
New York is 3-1 in Burnett’s first four home starts in the Bronx, with the hurler failing to get a decision in any of those contests while posting a 4.15 ERA. Burnett is also 5-7 with a 4.57 ERA in 16 career appearances (15 starts) versus the Phillies.
The over is 5-2 in Myers’ last seven starts overall, 4-0 in his last four as a visitor and 5-1 in his last six on Friday, and six of Burnett’s last seven starts against Philly have topped the total.
Philadelphia carries “over” streaks of 6-2-1 overall, 14-4-1 on the highway, 9-3 as an underdog, 8-0-1 on Friday, 6-2 in interleague road games and 12-5-1 against winning teams. The over is also 10-3-2 in New York’s last 15 at the new stadium (4-0 last four), but otherwise the Yanks sport “under” trends of 4-0 in interleague play and 12-5 on Friday. Finally, the under is 4-1 in the last five Phillies-Yankees clashes.
ATS ADVANTAGE: N.Y. YANKEES and OVER
N.Y. Mets (21-19) at Boston (25-16)
The Mets return to the East Coast carrying a four-game losing skid as they send ace Johan Santana (5-2, 1.36) to the hill at Fenway Park for a series opener against the Red Sox, who welcome back Daisuke Matsuzaka (0-1, 12.79) after a six-week stint on the disabled list.
New York took Thursday off after getting swept in a three-game series at Dodger Stadium, losing the three contests by a combined tally of 10-6. The Mets’ current 10-game road trip began with three straight wins in San Francisco and they scored a total of 24 runs, but they’ve since lost four in a row and managed just the six runs in Los Angeles. The team’s four-game slide follows an 11-2 overall run and a five-game road winning streak.
Boston capped a three-game home sweep of first-place Toronto with last night’s 5-1 victory. The Red Sox have won four of their last five, allowing a total of 10 runs during this five-game stretch. Additionally, Terry Francona’s pitching staff has given up three runs or fewer in five straight games overall and six of seven at home.
The Red Sox swept a three-game home series from the Mets in the most recent matchup back in 2006, with a scoring differential of 23-8. Going back to 1999, the home team is 9-2 in the last 11 head-to-head battles, with New York losing four straight at Fenway Park.
The Mets are 55-27 in their last 82 games after an off day and they’re on additional upticks of 5-0 on Friday, 8-2 as a favorite, 5-1 in interleague roadies and 7-2 in series openers. Boston is riding positive runs of 22-10 overall, 79-33 at Fenway Park, 4-0 as a home underdog, 9-2 versus lefty starters, 52-16 in interleague play, 43-12 when hosting N.L. squads and 26-5 against the N.L. East.
With Santana on the hill, New York is on surges of 16-5 overall, 14-4 as a favorite and 7-1 on the road. Meanwhile, the Red Sox are 35-17 in Matsuzaka’s last 52 starts overall, 24-9 in his last 33 at home, 5-1 in his last six interleague contests and 7-0 in his last seven on Friday.
Santana is coming off by far his worst start of the season as he gave up six runs (four earned) in seven innings at San Francisco on Saturday, but the former Cy Young winner finally got some run support and came away with a 9-6 victory, which was the last time the Mets won. Prior to Saturday, Santana had given up a total of four earned runs in his first seven starts of 2009 (0.79 ERA) and a total of six earned runs in his last 10 outings dating to last September (0.86 ERA).
Santana is 2-1 with a 2.29 ERA in three road efforts this season and going back to his days with the Twins, he’s 4-4 with a 3.40 ERA in 12 appearances (nine starts) against the Red Sox.
Matsuzaka has been on the disabled list with arm fatigue since leaving his April 14 start at Oakland after getting rocked for five runs in one inning of his team’s 6-5 loss. The veteran right-hander, has given up nine runs on 14 hits (three home runs) in 6 1/3 innings of big-league work this season, including a 4-3 home loss to Tampa in his season debut.
For his career, Matsuzaka is 17-8 with a 4.18 ERA in 31 starts at Fenway Park, and tonight marks his first-ever appearance against the Mets.
The under is 7-2 in Santana’s last nine starts overall, 4-0 in his last four on Friday, 6-2 in Dice-K’s last eight home starts and 5-2 in his last seven Interleague contests. Additionally, the “under” is on streaks of 4-1-1 for Boston overall, 40-19-7 for New York on Friday and 8-2-2 in this periodic rivalry. However, the Mets are on “over” stretches of 9-4-1 overall and 8-1 as a chalk.
ATS ADVANTAGE: UNDER
GAMETIMEPICKS.COM
MLB Weekend Cheat Sheet
Marc Lawrence
MLB begins its 13th year of interleague this weekend and with it we've dusted off the record books. It's a time of the season teams from the American League look forward to as evidenced by the Junior Circuit's dominating 702-571 record against the Senior Circuit the last five years.
In this week's edition of the MLB CHEAT SHEET, a guide designed to help you isolate a few key best bets, we focus on two rivalry series on this weekend's Interleague card. In addition, we've dug up the records of the best and worst performers in the history of interleague play. Keep in mind that all pitcher records are ‘team starts' unless noted otherwise.
Cleveland Indians at Cincinnati Reds
Most Recent Series Result: Reds 6-1 last seven games vs. Indians
Most Recent Series Result: at the Site: Reds 4-0 last four home games vs. Indians
Key Day/Month Stat: Reds 1-6 on Saturdays
Best Arm in the Series: Reds' Cueto 2-0 2.19 ERA lifetime vs. Indians
Worst Arm in the Series: Indians' Pavano 0-2 13.10 ERA lifetime vs. Reds
Tampa Bay Rays at Florida Marlins
Most Recent Series Result: Rays 7-1 last eight games vs. Marlins
Most Recent Series Result at the Site: Rays 5-0 last five away games vs. Marlins
Key Day/Month Stat: Rays 1-5 away on Saturdays
Best Arm in the Series: Rays' Sonnanstine 3-0 3.64 ERA lifetime vs. Marlins
Worst Arm in the Series: Rays' Kazmir 0-1 10.80 ERA away lifetime vs. Marlins
Best All-Time Interleague teams
1. NY Yankees 123-87 .586
2. Oakland A' 123-89 .580
3. Minnesota Twins 120-90 .571
4. Boston Red Sox116-95 .550
5. Chicago White Sox 116-95 .550
Worst All-Time Interleague teams
1. Pittsburgh Pirates 63-103 .380
2. Baltimore Orioles 90-121 .427
3. San Diego Padres 83-111 .428
4. Tampa Bay Rays 86-110 .439
5. Cincinnati Reds 77-95 .448
Best All-Time Hitters
1. Albert Pujols • Cardinals .350
2. Maglio Ordonez • White Sox .340
3. Derke Jeter • Yankees .335
4. Hideki Matsui • Yankees .333
5. Ichiro Suzuki • Mariners .331
Best All-Time Pitchers ERA's
1. Johan Santana • Mets 2.49
2. John Lackey • Angels 2.52
3. Dan Haren • Diamondbacks 2.68
4. Roy Halladay • Blue Jays 3.12
5. Aaron Harang • Reds 3.12
Interleague MLB Action- It's one-sided
Doug Upstone
Read a great article this week by Jayson Stark of ESPN.com, talking about 70-75 percent of all baseball players dislike interleague play. Among the reasons given are unfamiliarity of players, meaningless matchups (the Pittsburgh vs Washington series was a classic this week), dealing with the DH and unfair schedule for teams within same division. Excuse me while I wipe away the tears for these blockheads. Imagine the Pittsburgh Steelers whining about having to the play the toughest schedule before last season, how did that work out?
While we all share their pain, enough of us like it. Attendance typically runs ahead of the norm for these games (10 percent last season), suggesting we like the rivalry games and are curious enough to go to the park to see in person players and teams we would not ordinarily be able to. Taking it further, according to Stark's article, if you subtracted rivalry matchups in each of the last three seasons, interleague attendance was still 7.5 percent higher last year, 4.1 percent bigger in 2007 and 6.0 percent larger in 2006.
For sports bettors, interleague play has created a great deal of opportunity if you follow the K.I.S.S. method. The American League has been the dominant force for better than a decade and not many signs point to change.
To blindly play every American League teams since 2003, you would have a 709-565 record (55.7 percent) and netted +94.7 units or about +19 units per year, just betting interleague games. That's rather eye-opening.
Oddsmakers are doing their best to curtail the situation, by adding margin into AL teams to make them less attractive, however if the National League clubs can't win, no number is going to chase off enough action to make a big enough difference to those accepting wagers.
It is nothing short of amazing to review the numbers see in the last two years only the New York Mets (17-13, +2.4 units) and Chicago Cubs (14-13, -0.9) have winning records versus the junior circuit. With 14 NL teams having .500 or below records, this equates to 222-291 record, 43.3 percent. In just two years, betting the 16 NL clubs would have cost -57.45 units, meaning you had roughly 2,336 other games to wager on to get your money back for this folly.
Only the St. Louis Cardinals have winning record at 43-38 (+3) the last five years against the AL, showing how wide the differential is between the two leagues in head to head competition.
For the most part, the oddsmakers like those at Betmania.com have been in tune with the total, with only a handful of teams sticking out. Over the last couple of years, Atlanta (11-18), San Francisco (11-19) and the Dodgers (11-19) have managed to play UNDER, while Florida (20-10) and Baltimore (21-13) have gone the other direction and been OVER the number.
The Braves have been more consistent in the totals direction over a longer period of time, with 44-32 UNDER mark since 2003. The Cleveland Indians have kept pace with the Bravos in this category with 51-38 UNDER record in the same time frame.
On the other end of the spectrum is the Arizona at 43-33 OVER and the Kansas City Royals at even better 51-37 OVER the last five seasons.
The run line shows potential for interleague play, more so then regular league encounters. In the last two years, games decided by two or more runs were 62 of 83 played the opening weekend of interleague action, which is 74.6 percent. Though the number is small compared to all games played, it does show a trend towards games that are not as close, since normally one run games make up about 28-31 percent on any given year.
Over the last several seasons, a number of teams have shown potential as drawing worthy consideration for the run line; here is what teams matched up.
Boston won by 1.6 runs per game - L5Y
Detroit won by 2.1 RPG – L2Y
Kansas City won by 1.4 RPG - L2Y
L.A. Angels won by 1.6 RPG – L2Y
L.A. Dodgers lost by 1.6 RPG – L2Y
Minnesota won by 2.1 RPG – L2Y
Twins won by 1.6 RPG – L5Y
Pittsburgh lost by 2.1 RPG – L5Y
San Francisco lost by 1.5 RPG – L2Y
Freeway Series!!
By Sportspic
The Los Angeles Dodgers will play host to the Los Angeles Angels this weekend in what is commonly known as the Freeway Series.
Dodgers leading the Majors at 29-13, tops at home with an impressive 17-3 (+$1167) mark and more importantly #1 at the betting window stuffing betting accounts with +$1359 open the series with southpaw Clayton Kershaw (2-3, 4.60).
Kershaw off a gem Sunday against at Marlins allowing just one hit, one run over 7 innings brings to the mound an impressive 0.95 ERA in three home starts with Dodgers cashing all three contests.
Meanwhile, up-down Angels 21-19 (+$377) overall, 9-11 (-$16) on the highway counter with hard-luck Jered Weaver (3-2, 2.59). The righty off three quality starts allowing just 5 runs over 24 innings of work going 1-1 for his efforts. It is well to note Weaver has had great success vs Dodgers winning 3-of-4 career starts.
Dodgers were 10-20 (-$1051) the past two seasons of mixed-play including 4-8 (-$348) vs their neighbor from Anaheim. Halos on the other hand are a strong 24-12 (+$816) it's past thirty-six IL games including 10-8 (-$32) last season.
Friday's streaking and slumping starting pitchers
By Covers.com
Streaking
Roy Halladay (Toronto Blue Jays)
Roy Halladay certainly has a knack for picking up wins. It took him less than four innings of relief work to earn one in his only appearance against the Atlanta Braves.
Halladay, the major league's leader in wins, makes his first career start against the Braves as the Toronto Blue Jays open a three-game interleague series Friday night.
With wins in each of his last five starts, Halladay (8-1, 2.78 ERA) leads Kansas City right-hander Zack Greinke by one for the major league lead in that category.
Though he has a major league-best 121 wins in 215 starts since the start of the 2002 season, the veteran right-hander will be making just his second appearance against the Braves (20-20). Halladay faced Atlanta in relief July 20, 1999, yielding one run and two hits in 3 2-3 innings to earn a win in an 11-6 Blue Jays victory.
He's 17-8 with a 3.12 ERA in 29 starts and four relief appearances against the National League.
In his last outing, Halladay gave up two runs - one earned - and seven hits while striking out eight in seven innings as Toronto (27-17) beat the Chicago White Sox 8-2 on Sunday.
"I just have to continue to make pitches, regardless of the count, and getting ahead is always key," Halladay said.
Halladay has worked seven innings or more in all nine of his starts and leads the majors with 68 innings pitched.
Manny Parra (Milwaukee Brewers)
Milwaukee's Manny Parra (3-4, 4.57) looks to win his fourth straight start Friday.
After posting a 6.52 ERA in losing his first four starts, Parra is 3-0 with a 3.00 ERA in four outings this month. On Sunday, the left-hander gave up two runs, five hits and four walks in six innings of an 8-2 victory over St. Louis to win his third start in a row.
Parra also has been strong in interleague play. He recorded a 1.42 ERA in winning all three starts against AL opponents last season and on June 28 at Minnesota, he allowed two hits while striking out six in seven scoreless innings of a 5-1 victory.
Ubaldo Jimenez (Colorado Rockies)
The Rockies give the ball to Ubaldo Jimenez (3-4, 4.30), who's 2-0 with a 1.35 ERA in his last three starts.
The right-hander was impressive again Sunday, allowing one run and five hits with seven strikeouts in six innings. But the bullpen wasted the three-run lead by surrendering 10 runs in the seventh in an 11-4 at Pittsburgh.
"It is hard, not for me not getting the win - it was hard for the team," Jimenez said.
He's 0-2 with a 5.73 ERA in two career interleague starts. One of those defeats came at Detroit on June 27, when he gave up four runs and nine hits in four innings of a 7-1 loss.
Slumping
Gavin Floyd (Chicago White Sox)
Chicago will turn to Gavin Floyd (2-4, 7.71), who is 0-3 with a 9.95 ERA in his last five starts.
The right-hander was hit hard again Sunday, surrendering six runs and seven hits - including two homers - in five innings of an 8-2 loss at Toronto.
"I felt like I had better focus this outing, like I was more aggressive, but I made some poor pitches when it counted and got hurt," said Floyd, who is 2-0 with a 1.46 ERA in two career starts against Pittsburgh.
Randy Johnson (San Francisco Giants)
The Seattle Mariners saw potential in a struggling rookie pitcher when they traded for Randy Johnson 20 years ago. His latest rut as he approaches a milestone certainly can't be blamed on inexperience.
Two wins shy of 300, Johnson returns to the city where his career took off as the San Francisco Giants open a three-game interleague series with the Mariners on Friday night.
Seattle thought highly enough of Johnson to send then-ace Mark Langston to the Montreal Expos to acquire him in 1989. Johnson was 0-4 with a 6.67 ERA prior to the trade, but went 130-74 with a 3.42 ERA in 274 appearances - 266 starts - in his career with the Mariners, winning the AL Cy Young Award in 1995.
Having spent the majority of his last 11 seasons in the NL - and winning four straight Cy Youngs from 1999-2002 with Arizona - Johnson (3-4, 6.86 ERA) almost assuredly will become the 24th pitcher to reach 300 later this season.
"It will be neat for us to face him," designated hitter Mike Sweeney told the Mariners' official Web site, "and for him to come home to a place where he pitched for so many years. It will be good for the fans, too."
The Big Unit, though, has struggled with a troublesome back and stints on the disabled list in recent years, and is 1-2 with an 11.05 ERA in his last three appearances.
The 45-year-old left-hander gave up seven runs and 11 hits in four innings during a 9-6 loss to the New York Mets on Saturday. It was only the fifth time since 2000 that Johnson has given up 11 hits in a game.
"I'm not too happy with my last three starts. I'm not happy where I'm at," said Johnson, who's 3-2 with a 2.03 ERA in five starts - including two complete games - versus the Mariners (19-23), but hasn't faced them since August 2006 while with the New York Yankees.
Returning
Daisuke Matsuzaka (Boston Red Sox)
Sweeping the first-place team in the AL East has moved the Boston Red Sox within one game of the top spot. They hope Daisuke Matsuzaka's return can help them get atop the division.
Matsuzaka will return to the mound for his first start in five weeks Friday night, when he starts opposite Johan Santana in the opener of a three-game interleague series between the Red Sox and the struggling New York Mets at Fenway Park.
Boston is expected to activate Matsuzaka (0-1, 12.79 ERA) from the disabled list in order for him to make his first start against the Mets. The right-hander has been on the DL with right arm fatigue since April 15, one day after he was tagged for five runs and five hits in one inning of a 6-5, 12-inning loss at Oakland.
Matsuzaka wasn't very effective in his only other start of the season either, allowing four runs and nine hits, including three homers, in 5 1-3 innings of a 4-3 loss to Tampa Bay.
He showed improvement during three rehabilitation starts with Triple-A Pawtucket, going 0-1 with a 1.54 ERA and 14 strikeouts in 11 2-3 innings.
Debuting
Derek Holland (Texas Rangers)
The Rangers hope the offense can heat up long enough to take some pressure off Derek Holland (1-1, 4.85 ERA), who will make his first career start Friday.
The rookie left-hander takes the place of the injured Vicente Padilla, who is expected to be placed on the disabled list Friday with a strained shoulder muscle. The 22-year-old Holland, the team's minor league pitcher of the year last season, will be making his eighth major league appearance.
"We were prepared to put him in the rotation if there was a spot," general manager Jon Daniels said. "The hiccup here with Padilla provides that opportunity."
Billy Buckner (Arizona Diamondbacks)
The Diamondbacks are expected to recall Billy Buckner (0-0, 15.75) from Triple-A Reno before Friday's game to give the right-hander his first start since a road loss with Kansas City against the Chicago White Sox on Sept. 27, 2007.
Buckner is 1-2 with a 6.49 ERA in five career starts. He hasn't been good out of the bullpen this season, allowing seven runs and seven hits in four innings over three relief appearances before Arizona sent him to Reno on April 14.
Buckner, who has never faced Oakland (15-23), showed some improvement in the minors, going 2-2 with a 3.81 ERA in seven games - five starts.
Inter League Research
By Indiancowboy
Baltimore vs. Washington
Baltimore obviously is in a foul mood after getting spanked by the Yankees. The Os were swept by the fellas from the Bronx in 3 games. Hill pitched great for his new ballclub at KC helping his team win 3-2 in the last contest. Something interesting is that manager Trembly called Hill's performance one of the best this year, if not the best, go figure Trembley is kissing up already to one of his new additions. Zimmerman has given up 16 runs in 17 innings of late as he has been struggling. The line on the game makes it a bit worrisome, as the oddsmakers are figuring in my opinion that Zimmerman has to have a decent performance at home here. Rumor mill has it that he might be headed back to the minors given his 3 straight shaky starts. A small lean on the under here and the Os as its hard not to back Hill despite the fact he might be in for a small let down; of course, he is still with his new team so he will look to pitch well for them again.
Philadelphia vs. NY Yankees
What a series this should be. The Phillies have won 6 of 7 and sit atop the NL East and give credit to my Bravos, they are not that far behind either. Myers has pitched back to back quality starts, and something about Brett is that he usually goes 3:1 - 3 quality starts to after non-quality start. Burnett has not picked up a win in 6 starts, but he has been pitching well of late giving up just 2 runs on more than 6 innings against the Twins. But, he has struggled to put together back to back quality starts of late. There is some value here on the Phillies imo as I think Myers will likely pitch well again and Burnett might give up around 4-5 runs today.
NY Mets vs. Boston
Santana still picked up the win but oddly enough he got shelled in San Fran in his last start. The effort brought his era up to 1.36 - notice I say "up to" in quotations as that is still a remarkable era effort. That was the first non-quality effort for Santana in the season. Dice-K finally makes his much awaited reppearance for the Sox today. Santana has actually struggled at Fenway with over a 6era there, but having said that, you know he is ticked at having his era lifted in his prior start due to poor defense. Dice-K has looked sound in his minor league stints as he is back up in the majors, so I can see this game going either way. It is tempting to take the over on a 8.5 line at Fenway though.
Toronto vs. Atlanta
The Jays come off getting swept at Boston in a 3 game series and look to bounce-back at Atlanta. The Braves got spanked 0-9 yesterday after winning 12-4 against the Rockies in the game before. Halladay is an unbelievable 8-1 with a 2.78era as he has given up 3 runs in 24 innings. Kawakami hasn't pitched all that bad for the Braves but he has been the tough luck loser in several games; granted, last game despite him giving up 3 earned runs in 5 innings, the Braves lost 0-12. No lean one way or another as the Jays are ticked coming off getting swept and the Braves will look to bounce-back after losing 0-12 - who knows, this game might even go over despite Halladay on the mound.
KC vs. St. Louis
Davies has given up just 3 runs over the last 13 innings, but he usually struggles to put together 3 straight quality starts. The Cards are hot right now as they just recently took it to the Cubs but Davies split 2 decisions against the Cards last year when he was with the Royals as he had a 2.7era against them. Well continues to struggle giving up 11 runs over the last 10 innings as the Cardinals hope that he breaks out of his slump. After all, he had a huge year last year and they wanted him to have a successfull sophomore season of sorts - but that has just not been the case. Well needs a good start today given the lack of starts in the last 2 games and I think Davies shows up today as well. A lean on the Under here.
Cleveland vs. Cincinatti
Arroyo pitched well in his last start as he gave up 3 runs in 7 innings but Jake Peavy got the better of him. Cleveland has won back to back games while Cincy has lost 5 of their last 6. Reyes gave up 3 runs in 5 innings in his last start and he is simply a lackluster pitcher that tries to allow 3 runs or less in 5 innings or less. I never trust Arroyo though as after a quality start he usually struggles and has a non-quality start. The Indians are obviously quite familiar with his stuff having seen him in Boston in the AL so they are likely to do well against his pitching today imo. Having said that, Arroyo is on a W,L,W,L,W,L trend as he usually helps his team after a previos loss. So, some conflicting information here so just staying away.