L.A. Angels (32-29) at San Francisco (34-28)
The Angels head up the California coast to AT&T Park in San Francisco to open a three-game set with veteran John Lackey (1-2, 6.61 ERA) on the hill opposite Giants lefty Barry Zito (3-6, 4.09) in a rematch of the 2002 World Series.
Both teams completed interleague sweeps over the weekend against nearby rivals. Los Angeles wiped out the Padres three straight in Anaheim, outscoring San Diego 26-8, including Sunday’s 6-0 victory. Meanwhile, the Giants pummeled the A’s 7-1 Sunday to cap a three-game sweep in which they outscored their Bay Area rivals, 15-3.
The Angels are on runs of 7-1 against N.L. West squads, 10-4 in National League parks, 7-1 in interleague road games against lefty starters and 5-2 on Mondays. San Francisco is on streaks of 6-1 overall, 5-1 in series openers and 7-1 against teams with winning records, but despite sweeping Oakland over the weekend, it remains just 5-8 in its last 13 interleague home games.
These teams haven’t met since 2006, but the Giants are 4-1 against the Angels in their last five meetings in northern California.
Lackey is coming off his worst start of the season, allowing nine runs (eight earned) on 11 hits in five innings of Wednesday’s 9-5 loss in Tampa Bay. The Angels are just 2-7 in his last nine outings dating back to last September (playoffs included). In three career starts against the Giants, including two in the 2002 World Series, Lackey has allowed five earned runs in 17 innings of work (2.65 ERA).
With Lackey pitching, the Angels are on runs of 16-5 when against National League teams, 6-2 versus N.L. West opposition and 6-2 on Monday, but they are just 1-5 in his last six when opening a series and 1-6 in his last seven when facing a team with a winning record.
Zito got roughed up in Arizona on Wednesday, allowing four runs on seven hits in five innings, but his offense rallied for the 6-4 victory. Zito is 0-2 despite a strong 2.70 ERA at AT&T Park this season, though he’s made just two starts at home since May 4, allowing a combined seven runs on 18 hits in 13 innings in losses to the Cardinals and Nationals.
Zito is 12-9 with a 3.55 ERA in 28 career starts against the Angels, all when he was with the A’s. San Francisco is 7-3 in Zito’s last 10 Monday outings but just 2-7 in his last nine against teams with a winning record and 1-7 in his last eight interleague starts.
With Lackey on the hill, the Angels’ are on “under” runs of 13-3-3 in interleague games, 10-2 against the N.L. West, 8-2 on Mondays and 9-4 in the opener of a series. With Zito toeing the rubber, the Giants have stayed below the total in four of six at home and four of five interleague contests.
As a team, the Angels are on “over” streaks of 4-1 overall, 7-3-1 on the road 4-1 in interleague action and 5-1 against southpaws. San Francisco is on “under” runs that include 7-3-2 overall, 8-3-1 in interleague action, 5-2-2 in interleague home games, 5-2 against right-handed pitching and 21-9-3 against A.L. West opposition. Finally, in this rare California rivalry, the under is 8-3-1 in the last 12 meetings in San Francisco.
ATS ADVANTAGE: UNDER
Gametimepicks.com
Monday's Twin Bill
By Judd Hall
I always figured that Sunday was supposed to be the day of rest for everyone. That doesn’t come into play with Major League Baseball as there were 15 games on the schedule. Instead, 26 of the 30 big league clubs will take a much needed day off on Monday. So we’ve two tilts on slate to quench our betting thirst. Let’s break ‘em down.
Brewers at Indians – 7:05 p.m. EDT
The casual fan doesn’t know too much about Dave Bush (3-3, 4.58 ERA), but bettors have been able to cash in on him a lot this season. Milwaukee came away victorious in Bush’s first six starts of the season for a tidy profit of $660.
Bush’s last four starts, however, have left the gambling public wanting as the Brewers are 1-3. Normally you’d pin some blame on the pitcher, but he’s been putting in his usual five or six innings of work in for each start. Instead it has been Milwaukee’s offense that has been the culprit recently, only scoring around 3.8 runs per game during its recent 1-5 slump.
Ryan Braun has hit fairly well during the skid, batting .375 with three home runs and eight runs batted in. Prince Fielder, on the other hand, might need to stop with this vegan nonsense to get back on track. Fielder is hitting .217 with one RBI and seven strikeouts in his last six games.
Cleveland will turn the ball over to Carl Pavano (6-5, 5.40 ERA) on Monday. At the start of the season, Pavano looked like the professional masseuse he became in his tenure with the Yankees…going 0-4 with a 9.50 ERA in April. He became another hurler altogether in May by posting a 5-1 mark and ERA of 3.66.
Pavano will no doubt be looking to get back on track this Monday. He got tagged for three homers and nine earned runs in just 4.2 innings at home against the Royals on June 10.
This will be the first time that Cleveland’s starter will have ever faced off against the Brewers during his career. Bush is 0-1 with a 3.00 ERA in three career starts versus the Indians.
Despite Pavano’s lack of history against Milwaukee, the Tribe are listed as $1.25 home favorites with a total of 9 ½.
The Brew Crew pulled off a three-game sweep against Cleveland at Miller Park back in 2006, with the ‘under’ going 2-1. Milwaukee has played extremely well in Progressive Field over the years as evidenced by a 4-2 record in its last two trips there. The ‘under’ is 4-2 in that time.
Angels at Giants – 10:15 p.m. EDT
The Angels didn’t look like a team that could contend for much after dropping two of three in Tampa Bay at the end of last week. Yet the sportsbooks have installed Los Angeles as a $1.20 road “chalk” with a total of 8 ½.
That line probably has something to do with how LA is dismantling the Padres over the weekend. The Halos have swept this series by a total score of 26-7. A big part of that onslaught was outfielder Torii Hunter, who has hit four homers and seven RBI. The team has a .417 batting average against San Diego in their most recent series.
Los Angeles will send John Lackey (1-2, 6.61 ERA) out to get this series started. Lackey has yet to find his groove this season, giving up 15 earned runs on 28 hits over his last three starts. He only lasted just five innings and allowed eight earned runs at Tropicana Field on June 10.
San Francisco looks like it’s beginning to roll after winning five of its last six games. A big reason for the recent upswing is how well the pitching staff is performing…or more specifically, how much longer they’re staying in games.
Tim Lincecum tossed a complete game shutout on June 12 and Randy Johnson picked up win No. 301 after pitching seven innings the following night. Over the last five games, the Giants’ starters have averaged at least 6.2 innings. That means you have a happy and rested bullpen closing out ballgames.
The Giants’ closer Brian Wilson has benefitted a great deal from quality setup work this season as he’s saved eight straight games. And he didn’t pitch more than 1.1 innings in any of those opportunities.
San Fran will look to get another good outing out of Barry Zito (3-6, 4.09 ERA) on Monday night. The former Cy Young Award winner has lasted only five innings in his past two starts, but Zito gave up five earned runs in both games combined. That helped him pick up his first two start win streak since August 18 and 23 of last season.
Will Zito be able to win three-in-a-row for the first time Late May, Mid-June of 2007? The betting shops aren’t buying into it as they’ve made the Angels $1.20 road favorites with a total of 8 ½.
Bettors shouldn’t be so quick to back the Halos in this spot despite the low number on the faves. San Francisco has posted a 9-3 record at home against the Angels since 1999. Plus, Zito has a 12-9 record with a 3.55 ERA in 28 career starts against Los Angeles.
The ‘under’ has been a quality bet as it is 8-3-1 in the last 12 games played in San Francisco.
vegasinsider.com
Baseball Today
SCOREBOARD
Monday, June 15
Milwaukee at Cleveland (7:05 p.m. EDT). Carl Pavano(notes) (6-5) pitches for the Indians after giving up nine runs in his last outing. He had gone 6-1 in eight previous starts since May 1.
Los Angeles Angels at San Francisco (10:15 p.m. EDT). The Giants host their nemesis from the 2002 World Series.
STARS
Sunday
— Cliff Lee(notes), Indians, took a no-hitter into the eighth inning and finished with a three-hitter as Cleveland beat St. Louis 3-0.
— Jonathan Broxton(notes), Dodgers, earned his 16th save in 18 chances in Los Angeles’ 6-3 win over Texas. He’s pitched 32 innings this season, allowing only 11 hits while striking out 53.
— Jered Weaver(notes), Angels, pitched a five-hitter for his first career shutout, leading Los Angeles past San Diego 6-0.
— Matt Cain(notes), Giants, threw a four-hitter for his seventh straight victory in San Francisco’s 7-1 win over Oakland.
— Ronny Paulino(notes), Marlins, hit two home runs—his first career multihomer game—in Florida’s 11-3 win over Toronto.
— Brad Bergesen(notes), Orioles, pitched a five-hitter for his first career complete game in Baltimore’s 11-2 win over Atlanta.
— Ryan Theriot(notes), Cubs, hit a game-winning single in the bottom of the ninth inning to lift Chicago past Minnesota 3-2.
CLIFF’S EDGE
Cliff Lee took a no-hitter into the eighth inning against St. Louis before Yadier Molina(notes) doubled off the right-field wall to lead off the inning. Lee allowed just two more hits in Cleveland’s 3-0 win over the Cardinals.
WHAT’S WRONG?
New York Mets ace Johan Santana(notes) was battered in the worst start of his career, giving up nine runs in three-plus innings during a 15-0 loss at Yankee Stadium. The left-hander said he’s OK after back problems last month, and pitching coach Dan Warthen said Santana’s recent blister had healed. … The control problems for Detroit’s Dontrelle Willis(notes) continued when he walked eight in 3 2-3 innings at Pittsburgh. He has walked 18 in 11 innings.
PITCH-AND-HIT
Boston ace Josh Beckett(notes) hit his third career home run, connecting against Philadelphia. His last homer also came at Citizens Bank Park, on May 20, 2006. … Chicago White Sox starter Mark Buehrle(notes) hit his first career home run in a 5-4 win at Milwaukee.
SLUMPS
Toronto’s Vernon Wells(notes) has gone 137 at-bats without a home run, the longest drought of his career. … Atlanta’s Chipper Jones(notes) is hitless in 21 at-bats. His worst skid was an 0-for-23 rut in 2000. … Cincinnati’s Willy Taveras(notes) is hitless in his last 32 at-bats. That’s the longest drought by a Reds position player since Denis Menke went 0 for 33 in 1973.
SHUTOUTS
The Yankees’ 15-0 romp was their most-lopsided shutout at home since Aug. 4, 1953, when they beat Detroit by the same score.
SHUT DOWN
Angels reliever Scot Shields(notes) will have season-ending surgery Tuesday on his injured left knee. A solid setup man for the AL West champions in the past, he struggled this year before going on the disabled list May 27.
NIGHT AND DAY
Kansas City’s Brian Bannister(notes) is 3-0 with a 0.90 ERA in three afternoon starts this season. He is 15-4 in 26 career day games, but 13-25 at night.
SEEING STANLEY
Sidney Crosby and several members of the Pittsburgh Penguins brought the Stanley Cup to PNC Park on Sunday.
SPATS
Mets closer Francisco Rodriguez(notes) shouted at Yankees reliever Brian Bruney(notes) in left field during batting practice and the two were separated by teammates. The dispute came one day after they exchanged barbs through the media.
SPEAKING
“Today was a terrible day and that’s about it.”—Mets ace Johan Santana after a 15-0 loss to the New York Yankees.
Brewers and Indians – Just like the old days
By: Doug Upstone
Has it been this long already? The Milwaukee Brewers came into existence thanks to the failure of then Seattle Pilots and opened for business in 1970. Milwaukee at that time was an American League franchise, before moving to the National League in 1998, causing the imbalance of teams in each league. For many years, the Brew Crew and the Cleveland Indians were division rivals and they will renew acquaintances on ESPN near the shores of Lake Erie Monday night.
These teams also share bit of history, but only in the movies. The fictional movie "Major League" was about the Cleveland Indians, however, most of the stadium and game scenes were filmed in Milwaukee, at the old County Stadium (which is part of the parking lot for Miller Park), as were several other scenes shot at various locations around the city. Even long-time Brewers radio announcer Bob Uecker, was the infamous "Harry Doyle", the voice of the Wahoos.
These teams have not met since 2006, also in Cleveland and have faced one another just once since 2001. Dating back to 1998, when they started competing as interleague opponents, Milwaukee holds an 8-7 edge.
Milwaukee (34-29) has been slumping of late, losing six of seven and nine of last 13. The Brewer bats have been the reason for their failures, scoring more than four runs just once in those defeats. The Crew has lost their last four interleague road games and are +115 money line underdogs according to Betmania.com, thanks in part to starter Dave Bush (3-3, 4.58 ERA, 1.258 WHIP). Though 2-2 on the road this season (Milwaukee 2-3 in his starts), Bush is a notoriously dreadful road pitcher and has a laundry list of bad numbers.
* Bush is 8-25 in road games in the first half of the season. (Team's Record)
* Bush is 21-49 in road games. (Team's Record)
* Bush is 10-30 as a road underdog of +100 to +150. (Team's Record)
* Bush is 6-21 as a road underdog of +100 to +125. (Team's Record)
* Bush is 1-14 in road games vs. teams whose hitters strike out seven or more times a game. (Team's Record)
Those pathetic numbers would normally make one believe Milwaukee should be an even bigger underdog, but not against this Cleveland club. The Indians have started slow and kept right at the same pace. Mediocre starting pitching, wildly inconsistent offense and closer Kerry Wood blowing a number of saves early, have Cleveland (29-36) fighting to get back to .500.
Only Washington has surrendered as many runs as the Tribe and its not a mere coincidence no team has walked as many batters in the American League as have the Indians. (Harry Doyle- "Just a bit outside") Cleveland is 3-8 at Progressive Field against teams with winning records and 3-8 as favorites of -150 or less.
One of the brighter spots this season has been pitcher Carl Pavano (6-5, 5.40, 1.344). For the most part Pavano has exceed expectations, with two starts in which he allowed nine runs, directly relating to blowing up his ERA, including his last against Kansas City. With the total at Un9.5, Cleveland has won six of Pavano’s seven starts when the total is between 9 -10.5.
Milwaukee and Bush are 11-2 UNDER as visitors in night games over the last two seasons, while Cleveland is 17-5 UNDER vs. a starting pitcher who gives up one or more long balls a start during the same period.
Pavano should throw first pitch a little after 7 Eastern and the Tribe is 29-15 playing on Monday’s over the last three years.