NATIONAL LEAGUE
San Francisco (52-44) at Colorado (52-44)
The top two teams in the N.L. wild-card standings continue their weekend series at Coors Field, with the Rockies’ Jorge De La Rosa (7-7, 4.95 ERA) scheduled to face off against fellow southpaw Jonathan Sanchez (3-8, 4.68).
San Francisco followed up Thursday’s 5-1 victory in Atlanta with Friday’s 3-1 win over Colorado, getting seven strong innings from All-Star Matt Cain. Despite those two wins, the Giants remain just 3-6 in their last nine, including winning just three times through the first seven games of their current 10-game road trip, and they’re now 3-7 in their last 10 on the highway. On the bright side, Bruce Bochy’s squad has won seven of its last eight against left-handed starters and six of its last eight N.L. West contests.
Colorado is 6-3 in its last nine and has been one of the best teams in baseball over the past two months, recording runs of 32-12 overall and 16-7 at home. Additionally, the Rockies are on upticks of 8-3 against left-handed starters and 6-0 when facing southpaws at Coors Field.
The Giants own a 4-2 edge in the season series in 2009, but going back to last year, Colorado has won seven of the last 12 clashes.
Sanchez followed up his stunning no-hitter over the Padres on July 10 with a quality start at Atlanta on Monday, giving up three runs on four hits in six innings, but he got a no-decision as his team got blasted 11-3. With Sanchez starting, San Francisco is mired in funks of 6-21 overall (1-5 last six), 3-13 on the road (0-8 this season) and 0-4 on Saturday.
Including Monday’s effort against the Braves, Sanchez is 0-7 with a 6.02 ERA in his eight road start this year. He’s also 1-2 with a 7.47 ERA in 13 appearances (six starts) versus Colorado, but the Giants are 4-2 in those six starts.
De La Rosa is working on a personal five-game winning streak, and the Rockies are 8-1 in his last nine trips to the mound (including one relief appearance) and 5-0 in his last five outings (four starts) at home. On Monday, De La Rosa held the DBacks to a run on four hits in seven innings of a 10-6 road win, and he has a 1.98 ERA in his last four starts. Still, the lefty is just 4-5 with a 5.81 ERA at home.
In seven career appearances (four starts) against San Francisco, De La Rosa is a perfect 3-0 with a 2.33 ERA. His four starts versus the Giants all came last year, and he gave up a combined five runs (three earned) on 16 hits in 25 1/3 innings (1.07 ERA), and Colorado won all four games.
San Francisco carries “under” trends of 6-2 overall, 8-2 on the highway, 5-1 against winning teams and 18-8-3 in N.L. West contests. Also, the under is 5-1-1 in Sanchez’s last seven road starts and 5-0-1 in his last six outings against division rivals, and Colorado has stayed low in nine of De La Rosa’s last 12 starts against the N.L. West and three of his four starts against the Giants.
Conversely, four of the last five Giants-Rockies clashes at Coors Field have soared over the total, the lone “under” occurring Friday.
ATS ADVANTAGE: COLORADO and UNDER
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Chicago White Sox (50-47) at Detroit (51-44)
Fresh off Friday’s doubleheader sweep of the White Sox, the Tigers look to continue their mastery of their A.L. Central rivals when they send All-Star Edwin Jackson (7-5, 2.52) to the mound opposite Chicago’s Gavin Floyd (8-6, 4.40) at Comerica Park.
Detroit got a complete-game gem from Justin Verlander en route to a 5-1 victory in the first game of Friday’s twin bill, then came back and took the nightcap 4-3. Neither club is playing with much consistency, as the Tigers have lost 13 of their last 23 games while the White Sox are 8-9 in their last 17.
Chicago is in slumps of 1-6 on the road, 3-8 against right-handed starters and 1-5 in A.L. Central contests, but Ozzie Guillen’s squad is 8-1 in his last nine games on Saturday and 14-7 in its last 21 on grass. Meanwhile, Detroit carries positive streaks of 15-4 at home, 21-8 as a home chalk, 6-1 versus division foes and 6-2 as a chalk, but the Tigers have dropped four in a row on Saturday.
Detroit is 6-4 against the Pale Hose this year, and the host has won 14 of the last 21 meetings.
Floyd was sharp in his first post-All-Star break start, giving up three runs on three hits in seven innings of Monday’s 4-3 home win over Tampa Bay. With Floyd on the bump, the White Sox are on streaks of 7-2 overall, 4-1 as an underdog, 4-1 against division rivals, 7-3 on Saturday and 18-6 when he pitches on four days’ rest. However, they have lost six of Floyd’s last eight outings on the road, where the right-hander is 4-4 with a beefy 6.03 ERA in 10 starts this year.
Chicago is 10-1 in Floyd’s 11 career starts against the Tigers, including 4-1 in five games at Comerica Park. Personally, Floyd is 5-0 with a 3.55 ERA in those 11 starts against Detroit, with two of them coming this season. He got rocked for six runs in five innings at Comerica on April 13, but the Sox rallied for a 10-6 victory. Two months later at home, Floyd allowed just one run in eight innings of a 4-3 win.
Jackson is coming off a tough 2-1 loss at the Yankees as he gave up both runs in seven innings The right-hander, who ranks third in the American League in ERA, has surrendered three earned runs or less in 13 consecutive trips to the mound, including two earned or less nine times. However, the Tigers have only split Jackson’s last 10 starts, scoring three runs or fewer in seven of those contests.
The Tigers have won five in a row behind Jackson at home (all as a favorite), and they’re 7-2 in his last nine overall as a chalk. At home this year, the 25-year-old is 4-1 with a 2.73 ERA, but he’s 1-2 with a 5.93 ERA in five career starts against the White Sox, including a no-decision in a 4-3 Tigers loss in Chicago on June 11 in which he gave up two runs, five hits and four walks in five innings.
Chicago has stayed under the total in five straight games, but otherwise the team is on “over” runs of 4-1-1 on the road, 4-1 against the A.L. Central, 9-2 when Floyd works on the road, 15-5 when Floyd faced the A.L. Central and 4-1 when he pitches against Detroit. The Tigers sport a bevy of “under” streaks, including 40-18 overall, 6-2 at home, 8-3 as a favorite, 15-6 as a home chalk, 4-0 on Saturday, 10-1 overall with Jackson on the mound and 5-0 when Jackson works against division opponents.
Finally, both games yesterday stayed low, making the under is 8-2 in the 10 clashes between these teams in 2009 and 43-20-4 in the last 67 battles in Motown.
ATS ADVANTAGE: DETROIT and UNDER
Gametimepicks.com
Saturday's FOX Tip Sheet
By Brian Edwards
Once again, Fox will regionally televise three MLB games Saturday at 4:00 p.m. Eastern. A pair of first-place clubs will collide in the City of Brotherly Love, while a pair of squads battling for first place in the AL Central will square off in Motown. Also, the first-place Angels will host the Twins, who are chasing the Tigers and White Sox in the AL Central. To the games we go…
**Cardinals at Phillies**
--Las Vegas Sports Consultants opened Philadelphia as a minus-138 favorite with a total of 10 flat (minus-110 either way). The Phillies are plus-145 on the run line (minus 1 ½ runs).
--Charlie Manuel’s team had won 10 in a row before losing its series finale against the Cubs on Wednesday. The Phils promptly bounced back Thursday by spanking San Diego by a 9-4 count as extremely expensive favorites. Going into Friday’s series opener against the Cards, Philadelphia owned a 6 ½-game lead over the Marlins and Braves, both of whom are tied for second place in the NL East.
--Philadelphia will give the ball to Rodrigo Lopez (2-0, 2.60 ERA) in this spot. Lopez, who has made all three of his start this year at home, is 1-1 with a 7.36 ERA in two career appearances against St. Louis.
--Kyle Lohse (4-6, 4.21) has lost in each of his last three starts. In five road assignments this season, Lohse is 0-3 with a 5.59 ERA. The veteran right-hander is 2-2 with a 3.41 career ERA against the Phillies.
--St. Louis went into Friday’s series opener with just a one-half game advantage over the second-place Cubs in the NL Central. The Cards own a 26-25 record on the road.
--The Cards shipped three minor leaguers to Oakland on Friday in exchange for veteran hitter Matt Holliday, who was batting .286 with 11 homers and 54 RBI’s with the A’s this year.
--The ‘under’ is 45-42 overall for the Phillies, 27-19 in their home games.
--The ‘under’ is 50-40 overall for the Cardinals, but the ‘over’ is 23-22 in their road games.
**Twins at Angels**
--LVSC opened Los Angeles as a minus-115 ‘chalk’ with a total of 9 ½ ‘under’ (minus-115). Gamblers can take the Angels on the run line for a generous plus-175 payout (risk $100 to win $175).
--Going into Friday’s action, the Angels were 28-18 at home and held a 3 ½-game lead over Texas in the American League West.
--Minnesota has limped to a 20-28 record on the road. The Twins were 2 ½ games behind the AL Central co-leaders, Detroit and Chicago, before Friday’s results were in.
--Nick Blackburn (8-4, 3.44) is 3-4 with a 4.06 ERA in 11 road starts this season. The right-hander is 0-2 with a 4.00 ERA in three career starts against the Angels.
--Matt Palmer (7-1, 4.75) moves from out of the bullpen to become the Angels’ No. 5 starter. For the year, Palmer has made 20 appearances, nine out of the ‘pen and 11 as a starter. The right-hander is 4-1 with a 4.14 ERA at home in 11 appearances and six starts.
--The ‘under’ is 50-40 overall for the Twins and an ever more lucrative 32-12 in their road games.
--The ‘over’ is 51-37 overall for the Angels, 24-18 in their home outings.
--L.A.’s future odds to win the World Series are now 8/1 at Sportsbook.com, while Minnesota’s current number is 30/1.
**White Sox at Tigers**
--LVSC opened Detroit as a minus-148 favorite with a total of 8 ½ ‘over’ (minus-115). Bettors can back the Tigers on the run line for a plus-140 return (risk $100 to win $140).
--Gavin Floyd (8-6, 4.40) will get the nod for the White Sox in this situation. The righty is 4-4 with a bloated 6.03 ERA in 10 road assignments. Floyd is 5-0 with a 3.55 ERA in 11 lifetime appearances against Detroit.
--Detroit slugger Miguel Cabrera hasn’t homered off Floyd in 23 career at-bats. Cabrera has just five hits, albeit three doubles, for a .217 average against the veteran righty.
--Detroit RHP Edwin Jackson (7-5, 2.52) has been one of the most underrated off-season acquisitions in all of baseball in 2009. The right-hander is enjoying a career year, as evidenced by his 4-1 record and 2.73 ERA at home. Jackson is 1-2 with a 5.93 ERA in five career starts against the White Sox.
--These clubs went into Friday in a first-place tie in the AL Central, but the Tigers regained the advantage by winning the first game of a doubleheader by a 5-1 count as minus-190 favorites. Detroit’s Justin Verlander went the distance and didn’t allow an earned run to pick up his 11th win of the year. Placido Polanco went 3-for-3 and had a pair of RBI’s.
--Speaking of Polanco, he is 8-for-24 (.333) against Floyd with one double, one triple and one homer.
--With Game 1 of the twin bill going ‘under,’ the White Sox’s overall ‘under’ tally improved to a lucrative 56-39. However, the ‘over’ is 23-21 in their road games. As for the Tigers, they have seen the ‘under’ go 56-35 overall, 23-19 in their home outings.
**B.E.’s Bonus Nuggets**
--I saw several replays Friday on ESPN of Rickey Henderson’s speech after becoming MLB’s all-time steals leader. Typical and classic gem from Rickey (being Rickey). “Today, I’m the greatest of all-time. Thank you.”
--New York LHP Andy Pettitte is 11-5 with a 3.24 ERA in 20 lifetime starts against Saturday’s foe, the Oakland A’s.
--The Rays and Jays will throw a pair of lefties in David Price and Brian Tallet in Saturday’s 1:05 p.m. Eastern showdown in Toronto. Price is 1-0 with a 1.50 career ERA against the Jays, while Tallet is 2-0 with a 5.30 lifetime ERA against Tampa Bay. The Rays are 16-20 against southpaws, while the Jays are 15-18 versus left-handers.
--Baltimore hates facing Boston LHP Jon Lester, who is 8-0 with a 2.18 ERA in 10 career starts against the O’s.
vegasinsider.com
Saturday's streaking and slumping starting pitchers
By Covers.com
Streaking
Tommy Hanson (Atlanta Braves)
Think of the 22 year old’s recent, 10-day stint down in the Single-A Carolina League like taking a high performance car into the shop: a powerful engine sometimes needs a tuneup.
After racking up a record of 4-0 in his first six games, Hanson (5-0, 3.00 ERA) struggled in a 7-6 loss to Colorado, prompting a procedural move to demote him and help the team adjust its roster and add another reliever. During the time in the minors he faced no batters, but worked off the mound with pitching coach Roger McDowell at Turner Field.
And the move has helped Hanson get his mojo back. In his most recent start, an 11-3 win over San Francisco, he allowed just three runs on five hits over seven innings and struck out 11 batters.
"I think this is the best my arm's felt," Hanson told the Associated Press. "I felt like I was running out of gas but I wanted to battle through. I always want to stay in the game."
Edwin Jackson (Detroit Tigers)
The right-hander appears to finally be reaching his potential. The 25 year old entered the season with opponents batting better than .271 BA against him in more than 100 games. But as he's improved his command, his numbers have gotten dramatically better. Opponents are batting a miniscule .212 BA against him this year and Jackson is third in the AL with a 1.08 WHIP (walks + hits over innings pitched).
Jackson has yielded three or fewer earned runs in every start since May 5, including just six total in 20.1 innings this month. In his most recent outing, a 2-1 loss to the Yankees, Jackson went seven innings, allowing only a pair of solo home runs.
"Strikeouts will come, but you want quick outs all the time," Jackson told the Associated Press. "You have to pitch to contact."
Slumping
J.D. Martin (Washington Nationals)
The best news Martin had to take away from his first career start last week, was that there's plenty of room for improvement.
The 26 year old was hammered in his major league debut, yielding five runs on eight hits over just four innings. On the plus side, he did record his first major league strikeout. But only one.
The light-hitting Padres aren’t as talented as his first opponent – the Mets – but let’s just try to see if Martin can make it past the fourth.
"My cutter was spinning a little bit," Martin told the Washington Times. "But besides that, besides my balls being up a little bit, I felt OK.”
Gio Gonzalez (Oakland Athletics)
Things can’t get a whole lot worse for the left-hander.
The 23 year old was pitching so poorly that when he was demoted to the bullpen, yielding a run in only one inning was enough to get him put back in the rotation. But he should have stayed with the relievers.
Gonzalez (1-2, 9.33) was tagged for 11 earned runs on 11 hits in just 2 2-3 innings against the Twins. During that debacle, he also gave up four home runs and walked four.
Baseball Today
SCOREBOARD
Saturday, July 25
Atlanta at Milwaukee (7:05 p.m. EDT). A matchup of young budding stars as the Braves' Tommy Hanson (5-0, 3.00 ERA) faces the Brewers' Yovani Gallardo (8-7, 3.28).
STARS
Friday
-Matt Holliday, Cardinals, went 4 for 5 with an RBI hours after being acquired from Oakland to help St. Louis beat the Phillies 8-1.
-Matt Cain, Giants, became the major leagues' second 12-game winner, allowing three hits over seven innings to help San Francisco beat Colorado 3-1.
-Justin Verlander, Tigers, allowed one unearned run in a six-hitter as Detroit beat the Chicago White Sox 5-1 in the first game of a day-night doubleheader sweep.
-Scott Feldman, Rangers, outpitched Zack Greinke with eight scoreless innings and Texas extended its winning streak to five games with a 2-0 victory over the Kansas City Royals.
-Garrett Jones, Pirates, hit his major league-best 10th homer in July, leading Pittsburgh past the Arizona Diamondbacks 10-3.
-Aramis Ramirez, Cubs, homered to snap a sixth-inning tie and had a pair of two-out, run-producing hits in his most productive game since coming off the disabled list, leading Chicago to an 8-5 victory over the Cincinnati Reds.
-Aaron Laffey, Indians, had a career-high seven strikeouts in seven innings in Cleveland's 9-0 victory over the Seattle Mariners.
STREAKS & STATS
The New York Yankees' eight-game win streak against the Oakland A's is their longest since July 16, 1993-April 30, 1994. ... Boston beat Baltimore 3-1 and improved to 32-14 at Fenway, the best home record in the majors. The Red Sox have beaten the Orioles 10 straight times at Fenway, where they have sold out 515 games in a row. ... The Kansas City Royals have lost 10 straight overall, their longest skid since dropping 12 in a row in May 2008, and have a seven-game home losing streak for the first time in two years. ... The New York Mets finished with 13 hits in a 5-4 loss at Houston, but stranded 10 runners and scored fewer than five runs for the 15th time in 20 games.
MILESTONES
Derek Jeter drove in two runs and had three hits in the New York Yankees' 8-3 victory over Oakland on Friday night, passing Ted Williams on the career hits list with 2,655. Jeter is 68th on the list and needs five to tie Harry Heilmann and George Davis. ... Mat Latos (1-1) pitched into the sixth inning to notch his first career victory, helping the San Diego Padres snap a five-game skid with a 6-2 win over the Washington Nationals.
MAUER POWER
Minnesota's Joe Mauer, vying for his third league batting title in four seasons, was 2 for 4 with two homers in the Twins' 6-3 loss at Los Angeles on Friday night. He has nine hits in 20 career at-bats against John Lackey, but had never homered against him before Friday.
BASHING BRAVES
Chipper Jones hit a go-ahead homer in the sixth and Martin Prado and Nate McLouth also homered to pace a season-best 17-hit effort by Atlanta in a 9-4 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers on Friday night.
BACK IN BUSINESS
Carlos Guillen, just activated from the disabled list after spending most of the season on the DL with a sore shoulder, homered to help Detroit sweep Chicago on Friday night and increase its AL Central lead to two games over the White Sox.
POWER OUTAGE
The San Francisco Giants entered their game at Colorado on Friday night as the only team without a homer following the All-Star break. Nate Schierholtz ended that dubious distinction in the fourth inning of a 3-1 victory, connecting on a 93-mph fastball from Jason Hammel.
DOC ROCKS
With trade rumors swirling, Toronto's Roy Halladay allowed two runs, one earned, and four hits in nine innings, but took a no-decision as the Blue Jays lost to Tampa Bay in 10 innings. He walked three and struck out 10, the eighth 10-strikeout game of his career.
HOLLIDAY SHOPPING
The St. Louis Cardinals acquired three-time All-Star outfielder Matt Holliday and cash from the Oakland Athletics on Friday for three prospects, including power-hitting third baseman Brett Wallace, a top offensive player in the St. Louis farm system, outfielder Shane Peterson and right-hander Clayton Mortensen.
POWERFUL PITCHERS
Cincinnati pitcher Aaron Harang, a career .090 hitter who has struck out 178 times in 390 at-bats, hit his first homer but took the loss in the Reds' 8-5 defeat at Chicago on Friday. Harang said it was his first homer since high school. ... Mike Hampton hit a two-run homer off Johan Santana and the Houston Astros beat the New York Mets 5-4. Hampton has 16 career home runs, second to Carlos Zambrano (19) among active pitchers. He homered for the first time since May 8, 2005, when he played for Atlanta and hit one off Houston's Chad Harville.
IN A PINCH
Pinch-hitter Jeremy Hermida drove in the go-ahead run in the seventh inning, pinch-hitter Chris Coghlan homered in the eighth and the Marlins won their fourth straight game in California, 6-3 over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Friday night.
RECOVERING RANGER
Texas Rangers pitcher Vicente Padilla tested positive for swine flu, though his symptoms are subsiding and he's expected to make his next start. Padilla was scratched from his start Wednesday against Boston due to flulike symptoms, and lab reports Friday indicated he had H1N1 influenza A. He is thought to be the first athlete in U.S. major pro sports to be diagnosed with swine flu.
FREAK INJURY
Kansas City Royals right fielder Jose Guillen could miss up to 10 weeks due to a torn right knee ligament sustained while trying to put on a shin guard during a game. Guillen was injured in the second inning of Wednesday's 9-6 loss to the Los Angeles Angels, saying he felt his knee pop while bending over to put on a shin guard before his first at-bat. He was taken to the hospital during the game and test results showed a partially torn lateral collateral ligament.
AILING HURLERS
Mets right-hander John Maine will seek a second opinion on his ailing right shoulder after aggravating it this week. Maine threw 65 pitches in a simulated game Tuesday in Port St. Lucie, Fla., but said afterward that he was feeling discomfort. Mets spokesman Jay Horwitz said Maine will meet some time next week with orthopedic surgeon Dr. James Andrews in Birmingham, Ala. ... Chien-Ming Wang is awaiting a second opinion on his injured right throwing shoulder, and New York Yankees manager Joe Girardi didn't sound optimistic about getting the sinkerballer back this season. Wang went on the 15-day disabled list July 5 with a strained right shoulder.
SPEAKING
"If there was an urgency to be somewhere else and an urgency from the team to have me somewhere else, I think it would be different. I just don't get that feeling. At this point, I feel like I'm going to be here.'' - Toronto pitcher Roy Halladay, the most sought-after player on the trade market, who expects he will still be pitching for the Blue Jays when the trade deadline passes.