Tuesday's streaking starting pitchers
COVERS.com
Streaking
Kyle Lohse, St. Louis Cardinals (12-2, 3.35 ERA)
Ever since the Cards suffered a three-game losing streak in a stretch of Lohse’s starts back in early May, he’s been one of the biggest money trains in baseball.
St. Louis has reeled off 11 wins in Lohse’s 12 starts since then, and he’s been slated as either an underdog or a smaller favorite in all of them. Lohse has given up just four runs over his past four starts while going seven innings in all of those trips to the mound.
Jered Weaver, L.A. Angels (8-8, 4.03 ERA)
Weaver’s record doesn’t show it, but he’s been hot lately. He’s just 2-1 over his past four starts despite some incredible pitching that has seen him allow just four earned runs over that stretch.
His strikeouts have been plentiful (23) and he didn’t allow a home run over those four games, which helped the under prevail three times.
Weaver got hit hard in a loss last September in his most recent start against the Indians, so expect a better performance this time around.
Slumping
Garrett Olson, Baltimore Orioles (6-5, 5.79 ERA)
On a starting staff that is just plain struggling, Olson doesn’t look like he even belongs in the rotation. His ERA has ballooned to over 10 runs over his past three starts and the ‘over’ has cashed in his last six outings.
The O’s went 0-3 in those starts despite the fact the lefty was favored in two of them and he allowed 17 runs in total in just 15 innings of work.
The worst part is that Olson is getting a ton of run support lately and he still can’t manage a win. Baltimore has fed him 29 runs over his past four starts. The ‘over’ is worth a long look on Tuesday against the Jays.
Jose Contreras, Chicago White Sox (7-6, 4.60 ERA)
Over bettors are loving Chicago’s hefty righty following a string of five straight overs in his last five starts. He’s earned three no decisions in his last three outings thanks to a pile of hits against and a sizeable helping of earned runs.
Contreras hasn’t been striking out many batters lately with just three in his last two starts. He also gave up seven runs in four innings in a 12-11 loss to Texas last week, who is Tuesday’s opponent.
Chan's MLB money arms: Week of July 21
By DAVID CHAN
This column has produced a 16-5 record over the past five 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 several days.
Ubaldo Jimenez, Colorado Rockies, Tuesday vs. Los Angeles
Jimenez’s overall numbers will steer most bettors away on Tuesday, but I’m expecting a strong outing from the 24-year old right-hander.
As bad as the Rockies have been this season, they’ve been playing well behind Jimenez. They’ve been victorious in six of his last nine starts and now that he’s starting to regain his command, that record should only improve.
Over his last 20 innings pitched, Jimenez has given up only 15 hits and six earned runs. He’s also struck out 19 batters over that time. He owns a fine 4-2 record with a 2.80 ERA at Coors Field this season. Also helping his cause on Tuesday is his opponent, the Los Angeles Dodgers. He is undefeated in four career starts against them.
Tuesday's Tip Sheet
By Brian Edwards
Tonight’s main event will go down in Flushing, where Philadelphia and New York will collide with first place in the National League East at stake. Florida, which is just one game back of the loop’s co-leaders, will try to bounce back from last night’s 4-0 loss to Atlanta.
In the American League, the Yankees are hoping to stay hot when they host the Twins in the Bronx. Also, Boston will try to keep pace with the Rays as it continues its west-coast trip.
Let’s take a deeper look at Tuesday’s card.
**Mets at Phillies**
--Las Vegas Sports Consultants opened New York (53-46, -232) as a minus 175 favorite with a total of eight ‘over’ (minus 130). The Mets are plus 115 on the run line (minus 1½ runs).
--Johan Santana (8-7, 3.10 ERA) will get the ball for the Mets, who are 28-18 at home. Santana is 1-0 with a 2.75 ERA in three career starts against the Phillies. The southpaw has a 4-3 record and 2.64 ERA in nine home assignments.
--Philadelphia (53-46, -228) owns a 21-14 record against left-handed pitching. Charlie Manuel’s club is 26-23 on the road.
--Joe Blanton (5-12 4.96) will get his first start since the Phillies acquired him for three minor leaguers in a trade with Oakland last week. With Blanton now in the rotation, Adam Eaton was sent to the bullpen.
--Jimmy Rollins is hitless in seven career at-bats against Santana. Pat Burrell and Ryan Howard are 2-for-7 and 2-for-6, respectively, against the lefty. Neither slugger has taken Santana deep.
--The ‘over’ is 52-44 overall for the Mets, 23-23 in their home games. As for the Phillies, they have watched the ‘under’ go 53-50 overall, 26-23 in their road outings.
--Mets closer Billy Wagner is “questionable.”
**Twins at Yankees**
--LVSC opened New York (54-45, -695) as a minus 145 ‘chalk’ with a total of 9½ ‘over’ (minus 120). As of early this morning, most books had the Yankees in the minus 125-130 range, while the total was now shaded to the ‘under.’ Bettors can collect a monster plus 170 payout (risk $100 to win $170) by backing the Bronx Bombers on the run line.
--Joe Girardi’s squad has won four in a row, including last night’s 12-4 triumph over the Twins. The Yankees prevailed as minus 130 favorites, hooking up money-line backers with a plus 160 return.
--Minnesota (55-44, +1,639) remains the best money team in baseball despite back-to-back losses. Ron Gardenhire’s team has been less lucrative on the road, limping to a 21-25 record.
--Minnesota RHP Kevin Slowey (6-6, 4.26) is 3-3 with a 4.47 ERA in eight road starts.
--New York RHP Darrell Rasner (5-7 4.97) is 1-1 with a 3.97 ERA in a pair of lifetime starts against the Twins.
--The Yankees are in third place in the AL East, 4 ½ games back of the division-leading Rays. Meanwhile, the Twins are just one-half game back of the White Sox for the AL Central lead.
--The Yankees placed catcher Jorge Posada on the disabled list Monday. He might be looking at season-ending surgery.
--The Twins have seen the ‘over’ hit at a 58-46 overall clip, which is third-best in the majors. They have watched the ‘over’ go 30-19 in their road games.
--The ‘under’ is 59-42 overall for the Yankees, 31-21 in their home outings.
**B.E.’s Bonus Nuggets**
--San Diego RHP Jake Peavy owns a 5-0 record and 2.08 ERA in eight career starts against Cincinnati.
--Pittsburgh rallied from a 3-2 deficit to win a 9-3 decision Monday at Houston. The Pirates seven-run outburst in the ninth inning allowed the ‘over’ to improve to 34-14 in their road games.
--The ‘under’ is an MLB-best 57-36 in Oakland games. In the A’s 4-0 loss at Tampa Bay last night, the ‘under’ cashed for the sixth straight time.
--The ‘over’ had hit in four consecutive games before Atlanta won 4-0 Monday at Florida. The ‘under’ is now 33-13 for the Braves on the road.
vegasinsider.com.
Baseball Today
Philadelphia at New York Mets (7:10 p.m. EDT). Joe Blanton makes his first start for the Phillies after his trade from Oakland. He faces Johan Santana (8-7) in an NL East showdown.
STARS
- Josh Hamilton and Hank Blalock, Rangers. Hamilton hit a three-run homer and Blalock added a two-run shot in a 6-1 victory over the Chicago White Sox.
- Kevin Kouzmanoff, Padres, hit a two-run double against closer Francisco Cordero to complete a ninth-inning comeback in a 6-4 win at Cincinnati.
- Miguel Cabrera and Matt Joyce, Tigers. Cabrera had five hits and six RBIs and Joyce added four hits and five RBIs in a 19-4 victory at Kansas City.
- Evan Longoria, Rays, homered for the third consecutive game and drove in two runs in a 4-0 victory over Oakland.
- Randy Johnson, Diamondbacks, allowed two hits and one walk in seven innings of a 2-0 victory over the Chicago Cubs.
- Freddy Sanchez, Pirates, hit a three-run, inside-the-park homer to cap a seven-run ninth inning and lift Pittsburgh to a 9-3 win at Houston.
- Bill Hall, Brewers, homered leading off the top of the 10th in a 6-3 victory at St. Louis.
- Adam Jones, Orioles, hit a two-run homer in the third and had a key infield single in a three-run fifth to lead Baltimore to an 8-3 victory over Toronto.
- James Loney, Dodgers, had five RBIs - including a three-run double - in a 16-10 victory at Colorado.
RARE FEAT
The Tigers' 19-4 victory at Kansas City on Monday night marked the third time this season they scored 19 runs. The Boston Red Sox were the last team to accomplish that feat, scoring 19 or more four times in 1950 according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Detroit beat Texas 19-6 on April 23 and Minnesota 19-3 on May 24.
NINTH-INNING COMEBACK
Kevin Kouzmanoff's two-run double completed San Diego's ninth-inning comeback off Cincinnati closer Francisco Cordero, and gave Padres a 6-4 win Monday night. San Diego, which trailed 4-3 at the start of the inning, were 0-53 when trailing after eight.
STRONG PITCHING
Randy Johnson limited the Cubs to two hits and one walk, striking out four, over seven innings in Arizona's 2-0 victory Monday night. ... Jorge Campillo gave up two hits and one walk with six strikeouts in seven innings of Atlanta's 4-2 victory over Florida. ... Scott Kazmir allowed two hits and struck out nine in seven innings of Tampa Bay's 4-0 win over Oakland. ... Jon Lester gave up eight hits in 7 2-3 scoreless innings in Boston's 4-0 victory at Seattle.
JORGE HURTING AGAIN
Yankees catcher Jorge Posada went on the 15-day disabled list for the second time this season Monday, and could be headed for season-ending surgery on his injured throwing shoulder. Posada was scheduled to see New York Mets medical director David Altchek on Tuesday to have an MRI and his shoulder examined. He missed more than a month earlier this season with right rotator cuff tendinitis. Acknowledging there's more damage in the shoulder beyond a torn labrum, Posada could miss the start of next season if he puts off the necessary surgery.
CLOSE TO COMING BACK?
Red Sox slugger David Ortiz went 2-for-3 Monday night in his first of three rehab appearances for the Double-A Portland Sea Dogs. It was Ortiz's fourth minor league game since he was sidelined on May 30 because of a partial tear of the sheath that surrounds the tendon in his left wrist. Big Papi is expected to return to the Red Sox on Friday for the beginning of a nine-game home series with New York, Los Angeles and Oakland. ... Oakland designated hitter Frank Thomas, sidelined almost two months because of right quadriceps tendinitis, has been cleared to start a running program on Friday. Thomas resumed taking batting practice on the field before Monday night's game against Tampa Bay. He went on the 15-day disabled list on May 29.
CHECKING IT OUT
Mets closer Billy Wagner will have his tight shoulder re-evaluated on Tuesday to determine if there is an injury to his pitching arm. The left-hander felt the tightness while warming up Sunday, but struck out three consecutive Cincinnati Reds in the 10th inning to earn his 24th save in New York's 7-5 win. Team spokesman Jay Horwitz said Wagner will be examined at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York on Tuesday. He will undergo an MRI only if it is warranted after the exam.
SO LONG
Jerome Holtzman, a longtime baseball writer who made the Hall of Fame, created the saves rule and later became Major League Baseball's official historian died at 81 Saturday in Evanston, Ill. Holtzman won the J.G. Spink Award, given annually to the one baseball writer who has exhibited ``meritorious contributions'' to baseball writing, along with a spot in the Hall of Fame in 1989. Known as ``The Dean,'' Holtzman worked at the Chicago Sun-Times and the Daily Times, its predecessor, before joining the Chicago Tribune in 1981. He retired in 1999, when commissioner Bud Selig named him MLB's official historian.
HONORING HANK
The childhood home of former baseball home run king Hank Aaron in Mobile, Ala., will be donated to the city where he grew up and will become a museum operated by the city's minor-league team. The home is expected to be moved in October next to ``The Hank,'' or Hank Aaron Stadium, home of the Mobile BayBears. Aaron's family and team officials made the announcement Monday. The three-bedroom home, which is currently boarded up, could open as a museum in late March.
SPEAKING
``Yesterday those Little Leaguers from Columbus who won the World Series could have beat us. Today was as solid a game as we have played from first pitch to the end of the ninth inning.'' - Atlanta's Chipper Jones, after a 4-0 victory at Florida on Monday night. The previous day, the Braves lost 15-6 at home to Washington.
Tuesday's best MLB bets
COVERS.com
Minnesota at New York Yankees (-130, 9½)
There’s been a definite trend to the “under” in recent Yankees games. In fact, eight of their last 10 games have played under the total, but don’t let that influence your betting today. After all, the Yanks just went through three straight series against clubs all ranked among the top four pitching staffs in the major leagues.
Minnesota, as good as this club is, is only ranked No. 17 in pitching and they’ve trended to the over all season. Today’s Twins starter looks particularly apt to give up some runs to the Yankees. Kevin Slowey just had a start pushed back due to a finger infection and he’s started only two games since June 29. He gave up a combined 11 runs in those starts, both of which played over the total.
Pick: Over
Detroit at Kansas City (+105, 10)
The Royals aren’t a club that bounces back well from losses in general, but yesterday’s 19-4 beating should be even more debilitating. Overall, the Royals are 21-34 after a loss this season. However, on the few occasions that they’ve come out on the wrong side of a big blowout, they’ve taken the field the next day looking sheepish and uninspired.
On April 14, the Royals lost 13-2 in Oakland and then went on to lose their next five games. More recently, on July 5, they suffered through an 11-2 beatdown in the first game of a series in Tampa Bay and proceeded to get swept in the series.
They’ll have a tough opponent today against a Detroit club that has won nine of its last 10 games as a road favorite.
Pick: Tigers
Tuesday's MLB Research
By IndianCowboy
Toronto vs. Baltimore
Marcum's era of late was as follows: 1.23, 2.57, 1.29, 1.29 and a 6 era at Milwaukee. Thus, he is coming off a bounce-back here and had a 2.7 and a 1.29 era in about 14 innings against the Orioles this year, so keep in mind although he has had success against Baltimore, of course, the O's have seen him enough now, having said the last game Marcum pitched against the O's they won 5-6 eventually, Marcum has been giving up about a hit an inning of late though, 55% favor Toronto as the dog here, Toronto did get pounded 3-8 yesterday so they are on a bounce-back of sorts today, Olson has pitched 6 of 7 non-quality starts of late with era's of 8.44, 17.21 and his most recent era of 7.5 at home against Detroit. He faced Toronto earlier this year on the road and got rocked in less than 4 innings, for 7 runs which comes out to be about a 17+ era, so nearly everything favors Toronto right, especially considering a Marcum bounce-back? So, why the low line and even the dog price? Maybe it's the fact that Olson is 3-1 at home this year or Baltimore won convincingly yesterday and of course they are at home, but lean on the Jays here simply based on the numbers.
Minny vs. New York
Slowey goes up against Rasner today and Slowey is 4-0 over his last 6 starts and the Twins have won those last 6 starts as well, but he has also given up a 7.5 era and a 14+ era performance in his last 2 starts, but this came after 4 quality stats and he has a 4.47 era on the road, Rasner is giving up his fair share of hits as he has yielded 17 hits in his last 10 innings and gave up 8 hits in about 5 inns to the Twins earlier this year losing 1-5 to Blackburn on the road, so he does have a bit of revenge here, he also has a sound 3.48 era at Yankee stadium, lean on the over if anything here and a small lean on the Twins, but likely just staying away from this game. 5 of the last 6 have gone over for Rasnwer while 5 of the last 7 have gone over for Slowey.
Oakland vs. Tampa Bay
Oakland was limited to 2 hits yesterday and 0 runs and lost 0-4, they start Braden who had a 10+ era in his last start against tb last year, Sonn is on a bounce-back in this game after having a 10+ era at cleveland and he had a 10.50 era against Oakland on the road back in May. Thus, Sonn has revenge here given his bad start against oakland, also he is coming off a terrible road start at cleveland and is at home where he is 5-2 but Braden is looking to make an impression for his new ballclub, if anything a lean on the under here - but Oakland is also looking to bounce-back from 2 hits yesterday, likely just staying away.
Detroit vs. KC
Rogers was very fortunate to pick up a win in his last start giving up 11 hits in 6 inns, he has given up 20 hits in his last 2 starts in 13 inns, he is technically coming off a bounce-back given that he had a 6 era in his last start, he is 4-4 on the road and KC has rocked him both times they have faced him this year for 16 hits, 9 runs in 10 total inns, Detroit won 19-4 yesterday so obviously KC is not in a good mood, the total is set at 10 once again, Davies is hovering around a 4 era start at home and he wants to continue to pitch in KC in the rotation so I expect a similar start from him and Rogers today, notice that 66% ride the Tigers here and if anything this is likely to be a 6-5 or a 5-4 type of ballgame with it being a tossup on the side, the Royals aren't a bad play here for a dog price today on the bounce-back with the pitcher that is pitching better - not by much though.
Texas vs. Whitesox
Texas won 6-1 as nearly the +140 dog yesterday, Mendoza pitched very well in his last start but he hasnt' put together back to back quality starts of late yet, of course, he had a 1.5 era against the white sox in his last start at home and now the sox look to get revenge from him in chicago this time, Buehrle has had 5 of 7 quality starts and comes off a quality start against KC at home, this game all depends on Mendoza, frankly I don't think he shows up and Chicago likely gets their revenge on the kid, sox rl isn't a bad idea here imo.
Cleveland vs. Angels
I'm taking a leap of faith here and starting Ginter at the Angels on my fantasy team so we'll see how that goes, he had a great first start going 5 inns and 0 runs, of course these are the Angels he is pitching against and he is on the road and the Angels on the bounce-back after losing yesterday as huge favorites, Ginter did limit tampa bay to 0 runs at home last time out, Weaver has pitched great in his last 4 starts giving up 4 runs in 22 innings, he has a 3.57 era at home as compared to 4.04 overall, this game could go either way frankly, but if anything a lean on the under, but likely just staying away here as well.
Boston vs. Seattle
This was of course my pod yesterday and it totaled at 4 runs and it did indeed go under, give Dice-K some credit, the man is 10-1 on the year with a 2.65 era and on the road he is 4-0 with a 2.15 era, so all this talk about his arm not going to hold up and the red sox were wasting their time/money bringing him, throw that out the window, the Red Sox knew what they were doing and it was likely one of their best investments of this decade, seems New England knows how to invest including football and Boston as well, Dice did have a 4.5 era against the mariners who defeated him last time out at home, *ey had a 3.38 era against Boston on the road last time but his team lost 3-11 in the end, *ey had pitched a 4 hit shutout at Oakland his last time out and Dice-K hasn't yielded a run in his last 10 inns and remember he has revenge as does ****ey, if anything a lean on the under as it makes sense here, just wish it wasn't 8.5, but that is what it closed at yesterday as well and it totaled 4 runs.