Friday’s Streaking and Slumping Starting Pitchers
Streaking
Javier Vazquez, Atlanta Braves
The Braves right-hander is all about the goose egg in recent starts. In his last five trips to the hill, Vazquez has three shutout efforts including his most recent appearance.
Vazquez went seven innings, allowing only three hits in a 6-4 win over Philadelphia that was nearly spoiled by the bullpen. In his last three starts, he is 3-0 with a 0.78 ERA and has a strikeout-to-walk count of 23-to-7.
Jon Lester, Boston Red Sox
Lester has won four straight decisions and hasn’t tasted defeat since the middle of July.
After posting back-to-back shutouts, the youngster’s latest effort seems a little ho-hum. Lester lasted six innings, giving up just three earned runs for his ninth quality start in a row. During that span, the BoSox lefty has totaled 61 strikeouts to just 16 base-on balls.
Slumping
Fausto Carmona, Cleveland Indians
If you look up the definition of “Flash in the Pan”, there will be a picture of Carmona.
The Tribe’s right-hander is having his worst season in the majors since breaking out back in 2007 with 19 wins. Carmona’s most recent effort produced eight runs on 10 hits in just under six innings. That marked his third straight loss and dropped his season record to 3-12.
Carmona has been especially stinky in September. He is 0-3 with a ghastly 13.89 ERA in just under 12 innings of work.
Doug Fister, Seattle Mariners
The M’s struggling right-hander has been beat up bad in his last two times toeing the rubber.
Fister ran into the buzz saw known as the New York Yankees in his most recent start, allowing six runs on nine hits including two home runs in just four innings. The start before that, he got lit up by the Texas Rangers, who knocked Fister for five runs on 10 hits, two of which left the ballpark, in under five innings.
Fister doesn’t catch a break Friday, going up against the Toronto Blue Jays, who have been tearing the cover off the ball in their last three games. Fister has served up 10 home runs in his nine games this season. Toronto is sixth in the bigs with 185 big flys.
NATIONAL LEAGUE
St. Louis (89-64) at Colorado (86-66)
The Cardinals look to wrap up the N.L. Central title when they send ace Chris Carpenter (16-4, 2.34 ERA) to the mound at Coors Field, while the Rockies counter with Aaron Cook (10-6, 4.47).
St. Louis can claim its fourth division crown in the last six years with a victory tonight or a Cubs loss in San Francisco. The Redbirds failed to sweep the Astros in Houston on Wednesday, losing 3-0, but they’re still 4-2 in their last six games and are on additional runs of 36-16 overall, 16-5 on the road, 12-3 versus the N.L. West, 10-2 on Friday, 9-1 after an off day, 42-16 as a favorite and 19-8 against right-handed starters.
The Rockies finished off a three-game home series with the Padres on Thursday, losing 5-4, and dropping the final two games of that three-game set. Colorado now leads the Braves by 3 ½ games and the Giants by four in the race for the National League’s final playoff spot. The Rockies have dropped seven of 11 overall, 10 of 14 as an underdog, five of seven on Friday and seven of eight to teams with a winning record. On the plus side, Jim Tracy’s squad is on runs of 37-14 at home, 8-2 at home versus right-handed starters and 37-15 against the N.L. Central.
Colorado has won six straight games against the Cardinals, including a four-game sweep in St. Louis in early June.
Carpenter is coming off Saturday’s 2-1 home victory over the Cubs, tossing eight shutout innings while scattering eight hits and two walks. The veteran right-hander has allowed two runs or fewer in six of his last eight starts, including each of his last three on the road. For the season, Carpenter has given up two runs or fewer in 18 of 26 outings, yielding more than three runs just three times. He’s 8-2 with a 2.21 ERA in 14 road efforts.
With Carpenter on the hill, St. Louis is on impressive runs of 91-37 overall, 43-21 on the highway, 68-27 as a favorite, 21-5 against the N.L. West, 24-3 when he pitches on five days’ rest, 17-5 on Friday and 35-9 in series openers. Additionally, Carpenter is 3-0 with a 0.62 ERA in four career starts (all St. Louis wins) against the Rockies, surrendering two earned runs in 29 innings.
Cook has been sidelined with a shoulder injury since Aug. 21, when he suffered a 6-3 home loss to the Giants (four runs allowed in three innings). The right-hander went 0-3 with a 12.19 ERA in his last three starts before going on the disabled list. At home this year, Cook is 4-2 with a 4.71 ERA in 11 starts, with the Rookies going just 5-6.
Colorado is 7-2 in Cook’s last nine starts against the N.L. Central and 4-1 in the last five when Cook opens a series, but they’ve come up empty in six of Cook’s seven career starts against St. Louis, going 0-4 in his last four at home against the Cards. Cook has a 5.64 ERA in eight lifetime outings against the Redbirds.
For St. Louis, the under is on runs of 33-16-3 when they’re favored, 4-1 on Friday, 4-1 against the N.L. West, 9-4 behind Carpenter and 4-0 when Carpenter faces the Rockies. Likewise, Colorado carries “under” trends of 4-1-1 overall, 6-1 at home, 4-0 against the N.L. Central, 5-0 as a home pup and 3-1-1 in Cook’s last four starts. However, the over is 4-1 in the last five meetings between these teams overall, 5-2 in the last seven clashes at Coors Field and 5-1-1 the last six times Cook has faced the Cardinals.
ATS ADVANTAGE: ST. LOUIS
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Boston (91-61) at N.Y. Yankees (97-56)
The Red Sox make one final charge at the division-leading Yankees when they open a three-game series in the Bronx, with the red-hot Jon Lester (14-7, 3.33) scheduled to pitch against Joba Chamberlain (8-6, 4.72).
New York, which has already clinched a playoff spot, comes into this series with a six-game lead over Boston in the A.L. East. The Red Sox do have a healthy 7½-game edge on the Rangers in the wild-card race.
Boston ended a four-game series at Kansas City on Thursday with a 10-3 victory. The Red Sox are 5-2 on their current 10-game road trip and they’re on further upticks of 29-8 overall, 44-19 versus the A.L. East, 9-2 as a road favorite, 43-20 in series openers and 6-1 against winning clubs.
The Yankees took Thursday off after capping a six-game West Coast road trip with a pair of one-run wins over the Angels on Tuesday (6-5) and Wednesday (3-2). Although they’ve only managed to split their last eight games, the Yanks are still on incredible runs of 59-24 overall, 46-16 at home, 11-3 as an underdog, 39-17 versus southpaw starters and 37-14 against divisional foes.
The Red Sox won the first seven meetings in this rivalry this season, but the Yankees have come back to take six of the last seven, including a four-game home sweep in August when New York outscored Boston 25-8.
Lester has come up with nine consecutive quality starts since the beginning of August, going 5-0 with a 2.08 ERA during this stretch, and the Red Sox are 7-0 in his last seven starts (5-0 on the road), all of them multiple-run victories. Most recently, Lester is 3-0 with a 1.29 ERA in his last three trips to the mound (three runs allowed in 21 innings), as Boston pounded the White Sox (6-1 on the road), Rays (4-0 at home) and Orioles (11-5 on the road).
Not only have the Sox won seven straight behind Lester, but with the southpaw on the hill they’re on additional runs of 39-16 overall, 46-14 as a favorite and 4-0 against the A.L. East. Lester is 8-4 with a 3.53 ERA on the highway in 2009, and he’s faced the Yankees six times since the start of last season, and all six were quality starts, with the Washington native going 3-0 with a 1.90 ERA.
Chamberlain has been on a pitch count the entire second half of the season and hasn’t lasted more than four innings in any of his last six outings. Furthermore, he’s 0-4 in his last seven trips to the mound, including Saturday’s ugly 7-1 loss at Seattle in which he gave up all seven runs in just three innings. Chamberlain is 3-3 with a 5.24 ERA in 17 starts at Yankee Stadium, with his team winning all 11 of his no-decisions to make them 14-3 when Chamberlain pitches in the Bronx in 2009.
Chamberlain is 1-1 with a 5.06 ERA in three starts this season against Boston, against whom he’s 3-1 with a 4.05 ERA in nine lifetime appearances (five starts).
For Boston, the over is on runs of 5-1 overall (all on the road), 5-0 as a favorite, 12-5-1 in A.L. East play and 4-1 when Lester pitches on the road. However, the under is 12-5-3 in Boston’s last 20 Friday contests, 4-1-1 in Lester’s last six on Friday, 10-3-3 in Lester’s last 16 when opening a series and 3-0-1 when Lester faces New York.
New York is on “under” runs of 5-2 overall, 4-0-1 against southpaw starters, 5-2 on Friday and 7-2 versus winning teams. Yet the over is 3-1-1 both in its last five divisional contests and its last five as a home underdog. Finally, the over was the play in all three Red Sox-Yankees clashes at Fenway Park a month ago.
ATS ADVANTAGE: BOSTON
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SCOREBOARD
Friday, September 25
Boston at New York (7:05 p.m. EDT). The AL East rivals begin a weekend series in New York with the Yankees having already clinched a playoff berth after missing out last season for the first time in 14 years.
STARS
Thursday
-Felix Hernandez and Josh Wilson, Mariners. Hernandez had a season-high 11 strikeouts and Wilson hit a tiebreaking two-run triple in the eighth inning of a 5-4 win over the Blue Jays.
- Justin Verlander, Tigers, struck out 11 in seven innings while Detroit handed Cleveland its 11th straight loss, 6-5.
-David Ortiz, Red Sox, homered and drove in three runs, helping the Red Sox move closer to the postseason with a 10-3 win over the Royals.
-Rafael Furcal, Dodgers, hit a go-ahead homer in the eighth inning, and Los Angeles beat the Nationals 7-6.
-Jimmy Rollins, Phillies, capped a six-run fifth inning with a three-run homer to help Philadelphia beat Milwaukee 9-4.
-Nick Hundley, Padres, homered to start the comeback and drove in the tiebreaking run with an eighth-inning single, and San Diego dealt the NL wild card-leading Rockies a disheartening 5-4 loss.
-Jeff Baker, Cubs, hit a two-out, two-run home run in the top of the ninth inning and Chicago staved off elimination in the NL Central for a day by beating the Giants 3-2.
SECOND CENTURY MARK
Los Angeles beat Washington 7-6 to hand the Nationals their 100th loss of the season. The Nationals, who were 59-102 last season, are the first NL franchise to lose 100 games in consecutive seasons since the San Diego Padres, who dropped 102 in both 1973 and '74.
SEASON OVER
Rich Harden is done for the season. The Chicago Cubs right-hander requested that he not pitch again, manager Lou Piniella said. Harden, who has been limited to long toss after complaining of arm fatigue, has struggled with high pitch counts and failed to make it past the fifth inning in his last four starts. Eligible for free agency after the World Series, Harden is 9-9 with a 4.09 ERA in 26 starts.
LOSING LIKE IT WAS 1931
The Indians lost their 11th straight, 6-5 to Detroit. They haven't dropped 11 in a row since setting a club record with 12 consecutive losses in 1931. They can match that mark Friday when Baltimore, losers of seven straight, opens a weekend series at Progressive Field.
RECORD K
Oakland's Brett Anderson's strikeout of Craig Gentry to start the third inning of a 12-3 rout of Texas was his 142nd of the season, moving him past Rick Langford for most by a rookie in Oakland history. Langford struck out 141 in 1977.
REVERSAL OF FORTUNE
The Reds, who beat Pittsburgh 4-1, are 15 games ahead of the Pirates in the NL Central standings after falling behind them following a loss on Aug. 22. Since then, fourth-place Cincinnati is 21-10 - although it remains only one loss away from a ninth consecutive losing season - and Pittsburgh is 5-25. Five more losses by the Pirates will give them 100 on the year.
SPEAKING
"I was just hoping to make contact. I'm not sure I've ever made contact off him before. He's got great stuff.'' - Jeff Baker on hitting a two-run homer with two outs in the ninth inning off Brian Wilson to give the Cubs a 3-2 win over the host Giants. Baker was 0 for 3 against Wilson before the homer.
Tips and Trends
Boston Red Sox at New York Yankees
Red Sox (-$1.20, O/U 9.5 under -$1.20): The Red Sox have lost six of the last seven times they’ve faced New York, including the past four at Yankee Stadium. Jon Lester (14-7, 3.33 ERA) hopes to change that. Only once has the left-hander allowed more than three earned runs in his last 20 starts, going 11-2 during this time frame. This will be Lester’s fourth start this season versus the Yankees, a team he is 1-0 against with a 2.70 ERA. Boston is 39-16 in Lester’s past 55 starts, including winning in his last five road outings. Lester is 8-4 with a 3.53 ERA in his 17 away starts. Victor Martinez is riding a 23-game hitting streak with 16 RBIs during the streak. Dustin Pedroia has a 16-game hitting streak. The under is 15-6-1 in Lester’s last 22 starts versus a team with a winning record. Boston is 10-2 in its last 12 games as road chalk.
The Red Sox are 43-20 in their last 63 during the first game of a series.
Key Injuries - None
PROJECTED SCORE: 5 (Side of the Day)
Yankees: The Yankees have already clinched the American League East. They are 46-16 in their last 62 home contests. New York is 11-3 in its last 14 games as an underdog. The Yankees didn’t open the favorite because Jon Lester is an outstanding pitcher and Joba Chamberlain (8-6, 4.73 ERA) is going through a tough stretch. Chamberlain has made five starts since the Yankees started limiting his innings and the results haven’t been good. Chamberlain has allowed 14 earned runs on 23 hits during these abbreviated five starts spanning just 16 innings for a 7.87 ERA. He is 1-1 versus Boston with a 5.06 ERA in three starts this season. Unlike Boston, the Yankees were idle on Thursday after consecutive highly-satisfying one-run road victories against the Angels. The Yankees are hoping to get back catcher Jorge Posada, who suffered a bruised right foot on Tuesday.
The Under has cashed 7 of the past nine times the Yankees have faced an opponent with a winning record.
Key Injuries - Jorge Posada (foot) is questionable.
Nick Swisher (knee) is questionable.
PROJECTED SCORE: 4