Monday’s Streaking and Slumping Starting Pitchers
Streaking
Wandy Rodriguez (13-10, 2.77), Houston Astros
Rodriguez is a frequent visitor to the streaking section. And he’s making up for a subpar August. Wandy the Wonderful has a 1.35 ERA and his team is 2-1 in this three starts this month.
Of course total bettors know all about his brilliance. The under is 8-1-1 in his last 10 appearances and 19-10-1 for the season.
Barry Zito (10-12, 3.94), San Francisco Giants
OK, so what if Zito will never live up to that bloated contract? He’s still a quality arm with good value each time he takes the ball.
The Giants have won seven of his last 10 starts and the under is 6-3-1 over the same period. The soft-tossing lefty showed us something different in his last start against the Rockies. Nine Colorado batters struck out at Zito’s mercy.
The southpaw hurler got a curtain call from the home fans following that last performance, something Zito hasn’t received too often.
“It doesn’t happen much to pitchers,” he told the San Francisco Chronicle. “I definitely love the fans’ support. When they’re booing they just want the team to do well. I interpret it differently than I used to. It’s definitely fun to hear them involved.”
Slumping
Derek Lowe (14-9, 4.53 ERA), Atlanta Braves
This veteran sinker ball pitcher missed a start last week and left after just two innings in his previous appearance because of a blister on his right ring finger.
It’s been a rough few weeks for Lowe. He owns a lofty 6.83 ERA over his last six starts but the Braves are still 4-2 in those games. The over has been a better strategy – it’s 5-0-1 over the stretch.
“It’s been kind of a struggle for me,” Lowe told reporters following a poor outing against the Astros when he was tagged for five earned runs. “If it was a normal year, where you’re a lot more consistent, then you can kind of settle down. But this is kind of how I’ve been pitching for so long. It’s been a long season.”
Kevin Millwood (10-10, 3.94), Texas Rangers
It used to be that the only day the Rangers could expect a quality start was the day that his veteran righty took the bump. That isn’t the case anymore. The young kids have been delivering the goods while old man Millwood has looked tired.
He’s given up five runs in four of his last five starts (7.62 ERA) and Texas is just 1-6 over his last seven trips to the hill.
“It’s a little frustrating,” Millwood said after a surrendering five runs to the Mariners in under four innings of work. “I’m trying to do some things to get it straightened out. It’s not working.”
N.Y. Yankees (95-55) at L.A. Angels (89-60)
American League division leaders square off as the Yankees continue their West Coast road trip with veteran lefty Andy Pettitte (13-6, 4.14 ERA) going up against the Angels and southpaw Joe Saunders (13-7, 4.75) at Angel Stadium in Anaheim.
New York lost two of three in Seattle over the weekend, falling 7-1 Sunday. Even with the loss, Joe Girardi’s squad is 16-7 in its last 23 on the road, including 7-1 on the road against left-handed starters. The Yankees are on further runs of 57-23 overall, 4-0 on Mondays, 20-9 in series openers and 35-16 against teams with winning records. New York leads the A.L. East by five games over Boston.
Los Angeles clubbed the Rangers 10-5 on Sunday to take two of three from their nearest rival in the A.L. West standings and open a 7½-game lead over the Rangers. The Angels return home with a 6-1 mark in their last seven in Anaheim, and they’re on further positive runs of 5-2 in series openers, 5-0 at home against winning teams and 39-19 against southpaw starters.
These teams met a week ago for a single makeup game in New York with the Yankees getting a 5-3 victory, ending L.A.’s four-game winning streak in this rivalry. However, in California, the Angels have won 19 of the last 26 meetings, and they’re 4-1 the last five times they’ve faced Pettitte.
Pettitte has been tough on the road, going 8-2 with a 3.52 ERA, and he is 2-0 with a 3.79 ERA in his last three starts overall. New York has won seven of his last eight outings, with the lone loss coming on Sept. 11 versus the Orioles, when Pettitte allowed three runs on five hits in five innings of a 10-4 defeat. With the veteran on the hill, the Yankees are on positive streaks of 5-0 on the road, 18-6 on Mondays and 8-2 when he opens a series.
In two starts against the Angels this season, Pettitte has allowed a combined 11 runs on 16 hits in 10 innings with the teams splitting the two games, and he’s 12-9 with a 4.70 ERA in 27 career regular-season starts against Los Angeles.
Saunders is 2-0 with a 2.50 ERA in his last three outings. On Tuesday, he gave up five runs, but just two earned, in a 9-8 loss in Boston, snapping the Angels’ four-game winning streak behind the lefty. With Saunders pitching, the Angels are on streaks of 41-19 overall, 7-2 at home, 27-13 against winning teams, 9-3 against the A.L. East and 24-8 in series openers.
Saunders has an ugly 7.97 ERA in four career starts against the Yankees, but Los Angeles has taken three of those contests. That includes a 10-6 home win July 10, when Saunders gave up five runs on nine hits in five innings.
The Yankees have stayed below the total in 50 of Pettitte’s last 76 starts overall, 22 of 31 when he’s on the road and eight of his last 11 against A.L. West foes, while as a team, the Yankees have stayed under the mark in five of six against winning teams and five of six on Mondays.
With Saunders pitching, the Angels are on “over” runs of 16-5 overall, 7-2 at home, 18-7-1 against the A.L. East and 3-1 when he faces New York, but as a team, the Angels are on “under” streaks of 19-7-1 overall, 5-0-1 at home, 5-0 in series openers and 6-1 at home against left-handers. Finally, in this series, the “over” is on runs of 21-8 overall and 13-3 in California.
ATS ADVANTAGE: L.A. ANGELS
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SCOREBOARD
Monday, September 21
New York Yankees at Los Angeles Angels (10:05 p.m. EDT). New York can clinch a postseason spot with a victory or Texas loss.
STARS
Sunday
-Ken Griffey Jr., Mariners, homered and drove in four runs, putting the New York Yankees' playoff party on hold by leading Seattle to a 7-1 win.
-Jason Giambi, Rockies, homered for the second consecutive game to help Colorado tighten its grip on the NL wild card with a 5-1 victory over Arizona.
-John Maine, Mets, pitched five shutout innings to earn his first win since May 31, and New York beat Washington 6-2.
-Robinson Tejeda, Royals, won his third straight start and Kansas City beat Chicago 2-1.
-Adam Kennedy, Athletics, had three hits and drove in three runs to help Oakland beat the Indians and match its season-high seven-game win streak.
-Kevin Correia, Padres, added to his impressive September, pitching seven strong innings for San Diego against Pittsburgh in a 4-0 win.
SENT PACKING
The Chicago Cubs suspended volatile outfielder Milton Bradley for the rest of the season, one day after he criticized the team in a newspaper interview. Bradley was disciplined for conduct detrimental to the team. General manager Jim Hendry said he decided to send Bradley home after learning of the player's remarks in the (Arlington Heights, Ill.) Daily Herald. Bradley, scratched from Saturday's lineup due to left knee soreness, was quoted as saying "you understand why they haven't won in 100 years here.''
BEATING ROY
The Tampa Bay Rays beat Roy Halladay for the fourth time this season with a 3-1 victory. Tampa Bay is the first team to top Toronto's ace four times in one season. Halladay allowed two runs and 10 hits in seven innings and has now lost five of his last seven starts.
MONEYBALL
Texas right-hander Kevin Millwood expects to make his scheduled start Monday night and have a chance to pitch the 4 1-3 innings needed to guarantee a $12 million contract next season. The struggling starter last pitched Sept. 12, when he gave up five runs in 3 2-3 innings against Seattle. The Rangers then pushed back Millwood (10-10, 3.94 ERA) while they had him work on a mechanical flaw after going 2-5 with a 6.29 ERA his past 12 starts since July. Millwood, who has to reach 180 innings to guarantee the fifth and final season of his contract with Texas, said he expected to pitch "unless they change their mind.''
STATS
The Dodgers improved to 30 games over .500 for the first time since Oct, 2, 1985 (94-64). ... Milwaukee first baseman Prince Fielder set a club record in the fifth when he walked for the 100th time this season. He broke the Brewers record for RBIs in a season on Saturday. ... Tommy Hanson had his string of 15 scoreless innings snapped in a 4-2 loss to Philadelphia. He was only the third Atlanta rookie to pitch at least seven scoreless innings in back-to-back starts joining Pete Smith (1988) and Paul Marak (1990), according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
SPEAKING
"I didn't really pay attention. I think you all paid more attention to it than I did. Maybe younger I might have. Right now, I'm not. - Seattle's Ken Griffey Jr., who helped spoil the Yankees' first chance to clinch a playoff berth by homering in the Mariners' 7-1 win Sunday.