Saturday's Best Mound Matchup
By Covers.com
Joe Saunders (Los Angeles Angels) vs. A.J. Burnett (New York Yankees)
Joe Saunders (16-7, 4.60 ERA)
Joe Saunders doesn't strike out a lot of guys. And he's not a workhorse. And he gives up a lot of homers. And his ERA looks like a field-goal percentage.
But over the last two seasons, the only American League pitcher with more wins than Saunders' 33 is Roy Halladay, who is in the Cy Young conversation just about every year.
The Angels were 20-11 in the 31 games started by Saunders, who was 10th in starter money at $771. This will be the first time he gets the ball since the final day of the season and will be looking to pick up where he left off.
Over his last eight starts, Saunders was 7-0 with a 2.55 ERA. One of those was a 5-2 win over the Yankees on Sept. 21 in which he allowed two runs - both on homers - and seven hits in 8 1-3 innings, his second-longest outing of the season.
Saunders has made only one career postseason appearance, failing to last five innings a year ago vs. Boston in a game eventually won by Los Angeles in 12 innings. Yankee Stadium is a huge stage, and this is his first time on it since Aug. 6, 2006.
Although he is a southpaw, lefthanded hitters batted .257 with five homers in 191 at-bats vs. Saunders this season. The numbers jump to .287 with 24 homers in 534 at-bats vs. righthanders.
Saunders will have to be careful when facing Alex Rodriguez, who is 7-for-14 with two doubles and two homers against him, and Derek Jeter, who is 7-for-15 with a homer and two RBI.
A.J. Burnett (13-9, 4.04 ERA)
You can almost certainly anticipate two things from A.J. Burnett for the rest of the postseason: He will strike out a lot of batters, and he will need help from the bullpen.
Burnett had 195 strikeouts in 207 innings this season and 66 in 59 1-3 frames over his last 10 starts, a time when most pitchers are showing signs of fatigue. However, in that same stretch Burnett pitched seven innings just twice and less than six innings four times.
The righthander was sharp in his first career postseason start and will be on six days rest for just the second time this season. On June 27, he overwhelmed the New York Mets, allowing one hit with 10 strikeouts in seven scoreless innings.
Burnett limited lefthanded hitters to a .217 average and 11 homers in 420 at-bats. Righthanded hitters were much better at .282 with 14 homers in 362 at-bats.
In two starts vs. Anaheim this season, Burnett was 1-0 with a 4.26 ERA, fanning 16 in 12 2-3 innings. In his career, he has limited Torii Hunter and Vladimir Guerrero to a combined 11-for-65 with 18 strikeouts. He has to be careful with Bobby Abreu, who sports a .313 (20-for-64) average with 11 walks and 12 RBI vs. Burnett.
Tips and Trends
Los Angeles Angels at New York Yankees
Angels: Los Angeles had trouble with New York weather Friday night playing in 45 degree temperatures made colder by a 17 mph wind. Rain is the forecast for tonight’s Game 2. Angels starter Joe Saunders (16-7, 1.43 ERA) is 12-4 with a 4.31 ERA pitching in September and October. The lefty has been tougher on the road with a 25-10 mark and 3.97 ERA compared to 23-12 with a 4.43 ERA at Angel Stadium. Saunders has allowed two or fewer earned runs in seven of his last eight outings. However, Saunders last pitched on Oct. 4 when he went five innings against Oakland. The Angels have the best road mark in the American League at 49-34. They’ve also won 10 of their last 12 games. Los Angeles is 44-19 in Saunders’ last 63 starts. The under has cashed in six of the Angels’ last seven games.
The Angels are 11-4 in their last 15 Saturday games.
The Under is 10-2 in the Angels’ last 12 away contests versus a right-hander.
Key Injuries - None.
PROJECTED SCORE: 4
Yankees (-$1.80, O/U 8.5): New York has been near unstoppable at Yankee Stadium winning 41 of its last 53 home games. The Yankees have defeated the Angels in six of the past seven meetings at Yankee Stadium. Right-hander A.J. Burnett (13-9, 4.04 ERA) goes for New York. Burnett held Minnesota to one run on three hits in six innings on Friday during his first career postseason start. Burnett was 1-0 with a 4.26 ERA versus the Angels this season. He allowed 15 hits in 12 2/3 innings against Los Angeles, walking four and fanning 16. In 16 starts at home this season, Burnett was 5-3 with a 3.51 ERA. New York is 10-2 in Burnett’s last 12 outings at Yankee Stadium. Yankees closer Mariano Rivera entered this series with a postseason ERA of 0.74 allowing only two homers in 121 innings. The Angels and Yankees have gone over in 17 of their last 25 meetings.
The Under is 9-2-1 in the Yankees’ last 12 games.
The Under is 7-0-1 in New York’s past eight home contests.
Key Injuries - None.
PROJECTED SCORE: 5 (Side of the Day)