Wednesday’s MLB streaking and slumping starters
COVERS.com
Streaking
Daisuke Matsuzaka, Red Sox (16-2, 2.82)
If we were really lazy and didn’t want to dig into MLB starters every day, we could just throw Dice-K up in the streaking section every time he takes the hill. And we wouldn’t even feel bad about it considering he’s lost just twice all season.
At the moment he’s riding a six-start winning streak to help the Red Sox move closer to nailing down a playoff spot. In his last outing, Dice-K held the White Sox scoreless over eight innings while striking out seven and walking only two batters.
Slumping
Jeremy Guthrie, Orioles (10-11, 3.57)
Guthrie’s numbers aren’t all that terrible when you factor in that he’s starting for the Orioles, but going against Dice-K won’t help him much on Wednesday.
Guthrie is working on a 7.56 ERA over his last three outings and was shelled in his last start when he allowed seven runs and walked six Tampa Rays in only three innings.
However, before his current three-game slide, Guthrie was a bright spot for the Orioles. He had won four straight outings, allowing only a single run in each.
Baseball Today
SCOREBOARD
Wednesday, Sept. 3
Houston at Chicago Cubs (8:05 p.m. EDT). Ryan Dempster looks for his 16th victory as the Cubs close out a three-game series with the Astros.
STARS
Tuesday
- Dustin Pedroia, Red Sox, went 3-for-5 with a home run and five RBIs in Boston's 14-2 rout of Baltimore. He's batting .600 over the last seven games to raise his AL-leading average to .330.
- Cole Hamels, Phillies, pitched 7 1-3 sharp innings, allowing five hits in Philadelphia's 4-0 victory over Washington.
- Alex Rios and Jose Bautista, Blue Jays, had four hits apiece and hit back-to-back homers in the fifth to help Toronto beat Minnesota 7-5.
- Kelly Johnson and Omar Infante, Braves, had four hits each and combined to drive in six runs in Atlanta's 16-14 win over Florida.
- Clayton Kershaw, Dodgers, allowed three runs and three hits in seven innings, striking out six to help Los Angeles defeat San Diego 8-4.
LONG TIME COMING
Victor Martinez hit his first home run in nearly a year to help Cleveland beat the Chicago White Sox 9-3. Martinez, activated Friday after having right elbow surgery in mid-June, connected off John Danks for his first homer in 57 games and 203 at-bats since Sept. 25. A power-hitting catcher with 87 career homers, Martinez said he was teased by teammates and enjoyed every minute of it. "I'd be lying if I said I wasn't thinking about (the drought),'' Martinez said. "This game is all about having fun and the guys made some fun of me. It was a great feeling.'' ... Brandon McCarthy pitched six innings for his first win in more than 13 months, leading Texas to a 6-4 victory over Seattle. McCarthy (1-0) allowed two runs and four hits in his third start of the season. The right-hander, whose last victory was on July 31, 2007, at Cleveland, went on the 60-day disabled list March 30 with right forearm inflammation after pitching an inning in a spring training game. He didn't begin throwing in the bullpen until June 21.
DEPENDABLE
Almost every time Cole Hamels has taken the mound this season, the Phillies have been able to count on him to pitch deep into the game. The left-hander pitched into the eighth inning and allowed five hits in a 4-0 victory that ended the Nationals' seven-game winning streak. In 29 starts this season, Hamels has pitched at least seven innings 23 times - the most in the majors. He has a 3.01 ERA in 203 innings.
FAST CLIMBER
Alex Rodriguez hit his 548th homer in the New York Yankees' 7-2 win at Tampa Bay, tying Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt for 12th place on the career list. The eighth-inning solo shot off Jason Hammel was his 30th of the year, giving A-Rod 11 consecutive seasons - and 12 overall - with 30 or more.
FOWL BALL
Orioles pitcher Radhames Liz, called up from Triple-A before the game, gave up nine runs and nine hits in 3 1-3 innings of a 14-2 loss at Boston. Baltimore lost for the 10th time in 11 games. The Orioles have allowed 55 runs and 42 walks in the last five games, all losses. "You hope you get it out of your system,'' manager Dave Trembley said. "You've hit rock bottom and you would think that sooner or later it's going to turn for you. That's the only approach I think you can take.''
HEAD HUNTING
Manny Ramirez homered for the Los Angeles Dodgers in an 8-4 win over San Diego. His 520th career home run put him one behind Ted Williams, Willie McCovey and injured Oakland DH Frank Thomas, who are tied for 17th place. The 12-time All-Star has 30 this season, 10 since the trade that sent him from Boston to Los Angeles on July 31. The next time Ramirez came up, Cha Seung Baek's first pitch to Ramirez sent him bailing out of the batter's box. Umpire Jerry Meals immediately issued a warning to both dugouts.
CLOSING IN
Francisco Rodriguez earned his 54th save in the Los Angeles Angels' 5-4 victory at Detroit, three shy of Bobby Thigpen's record set in 1990 with the Chicago White Sox. The Angels reduced their magic number for clinching the AL West to eight. ... Seeking his first 20-win season, Mike Mussina (17-7) allowed two runs and 10 hits in six-plus innings to help the New York Yankees beat Tampa Bay 7-2. The 39-year-old right-hander matched a season high with eight strikeouts, improving to 3-0 against the Rays, who had won five straight. Mussina got relief help from Joba Chamberlain, who came off the disabled list and pitched 1 1-3 scoreless innings.
TOUGH DEBUT
Mets lefty Jonathon Niese lasted three-plus innings in his big league debut. The 21-year-old Niese gave up five runs and seven hits to go with four walks and two strikeouts. Rickie Weeks hit Niese's second pitch for a home run to left. Niese then walked the next two batters but got out of the inning by stranding runners at second and third. The Mets won 6-5 in 10 innings.
STEALING HOME
Nationals catcher Jesus Flores was carted off the field with a sprained left ankle after Philadelphia's Chase Utley barreled into him on a play at the plate. The collision came as Utley was attempting to steal home with two outs in the third inning. With runners on first and third, John Lannan made a pickoff throw to first and Utley broke for home. Utley arrived at the plate just after the throw from first baseman Ronnie Belliard and crashed hard into Flores. After he tagged out Utley, Flores stayed on the ground near home plate for several minutes as his left leg was attended to by trainers and medical personnel.
ROYAL RELIEF
Billy Butler homered and drove in four runs to lead Kansas City over Oakland 5-2 in a game between teams that combined for 40 losses in August. Zack Greinke (10-9) allowed two runs in seven innings for his first win in five starts, walking one and striking out eight. Joakim Soria pitched the ninth for his 34th save, and his first since Aug. 15. It was the third victory in 15 games for the Royals, who were an AL-worst 7-20 in August.
THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT
Rookies Brandon Moss and Andy LaRoche, two of the players acquired by Pittsburgh in a six-player deal on July 31, hit back-to-back home runs to help the last-place Pirates snap a 10-game losing streak with a 3-2 win over the Reds. Moss and LaRoche were both acquired in a three-team trade on July 31 that sent slugger Manny Ramirez from the Red Sox to the Dodgers and left fielder Jason Bay from the Pirates to Boston. Moss had a career-high three hits and is batting .366 (15-for-41) with four home runs and six RBIs in his last 11 games.
SIDELINED
Braves third baseman Chipper Jones was scratched from the lineup against Florida because of a twisted right knee. He said he injured himself taking fielding practice, but should be fine in a few days. ... Boston's scheduled No. 4 hitter, first baseman Kevin Youkilis, was scratched with back spasms against the Orioles after the public address announcer had already gone through the lineups.
STREAKING
James Loney had two hits to extend his hitting streak to 13 games in the Dodgers' 8-4 win over the Padres. ... Yadier Molina of the Cardinals homered, extending his hitting streak to 13 games. ... The Astros won their seventh straight game, beating the Cubs 9-7 in 11 innings.
SPEAKING
"It's not old school, it's good school.'' - Phillies manager Charlie Manuel when asked about Chase Utley barreling into Nationals catcher Jesus Flores while trying to steal home on a pickoff throw to first. Utley was tagged out and Flores had to be taken off the field on a stretcher.
Postseason Chase
By Brad Young
The calendar has flipped to September, meaning the marathon baseball season has now become a sprint towards the end of the regular season. Only the Los Angeles Angels have a stranglehold on the postseason right now, leading the American League West standings by 17 ½ games over second-place Texas. The Angels entertain a 7/5 favored status to win the AL pennant, and a 14/5 ‘chalk’ status to capture the World Series.
Every other divisional race is separated by five games or less with around 25 games remaining. Three divisions are currently separated by 2 ½ games or less, highlighted by the AL Central race that has Chicago and Minnesota deadlocked with only four weeks until the playoffs.
Advancing to the baseball postseason through the wild-card slot has been advantageous for a couple teams, with the Florida Marlins (1997, 2003) Los Angeles Angels (2002) and Boston Red Sox (2004) winning the World Series as a wild card. This year’s wild-card chase is reduced to a three-team race in both divisions, while the Yankees have an upward climb to make it back to the postseason.
The New York Yankees might very well be on the outside looking in concerning the playoffs for the first time since 1993. There was no postseason during the 1994 campaign due to a players strike late in the year, but the Bombers have been a playoff mainstay since 1995. New York has won four World Series titles, six AL pennants and 10 AL East titles during that period.
Milwaukee appears to have a firm grip on the National League wild card, 4 ½ games ahead of the Philadelphia Phillies. The Brewers are 4 ½ games behind the Chicago Cubs in the NL Central standings despite being a solid 22 games over .500.
Milwaukee is also in the midst of a 10-game homestand, seven of which are against two teams (Cincinnati and San Diego) that are a combined 48 games under .500. The Brewers are currently a 5/2 selection to win the NL pennant, and 6/1 to win the World Series.
It appears that Boston will not catch Tampa Bay in the AL East standings, but the Red Sox remain atop the AL wild-card chase. The Red Sox have a three-game advantage over Chicago and Minnesota, two teams battling for the AL Central title and an automatic slot in October. Boston, the defending World Series champions, is 5/2 to return to the Fall Classic and a 9/2 selection to repeat as champions.
Tampa Bay opened as a 75/1 longshot to advance to the World Series, but has since been bet down to an 11/5 selection. The Rays have also seen their odds improve from 150/1 to 9/2 to win the Fall Classic. Things could be very interesting for a Tampa Bay team that has a stellar 52-20 home record and a pedestrian 32-32 road ledger, especially considering that the AL already has home-field advantage in the World Series.
Chicago and Minnesota continue their season-long struggle atop the AL Central standings that probably won’t be settled until the last few days of the season. This division might very well be decided when the White Sox visit the Twins September 23-25. Minnesota wraps up the regular season with a six-game homestand, while Chicago has 10 road games from Sept. 15-25.
The Twins opened as a 15/1 selection to win the AL pennant, but have since improved to 12/1. Minnesota has also seen its odds improve to win the World Series from 30/1 to 24/1. Chicago has also seen its odds move from 28/1 to 13/2 for the AL pennant, while its World Series championship odds have changed from 55/1 to 16/1.
The three National League divisional races are also tight, with Chicago enjoying the biggest lead of 4 ½ games compliments of the best record in baseball. The Cubs haven’t won the World Series in 100 years, but have one of the most loyal fan bases in the game. Chicago is the current favorite to advance to the World Series with 5/4 odds after opening at 9/2. The Cubs are the second favorite to win the Fall Classic behind the Los Angeles Angels at 3/1 after opening at 10/1.
The NL East race is down to two teams with New York enjoying a slim 1 ½-game lead over Philadelphia. The Mets led the Phillies late last season only to fold down the stretch. These two rivals meet in a three-game set at Shea Stadium Sept. 5-7.
New York opened as the 4/1 favorite to advance to the Fall Classic, but is now behind three NL teams at 11/2. The Mets are one of the few contenders that have seen their odds lengthen to win the World Series, going from 8/1 to 12/1. Philadelphia is in the same boat as New York, going from 6/1 to 10/1 to win the NL pennant and 14/1 to 22/1 to win the World Series.
Arizona (70-68) has the worst record of any divisional leader, and is now just 1 ½ games ahead of Los Angeles. These two teams meet for the last time Sept. 5-7 in California, but it appears that the winner of this division might finish a full 10 games behind the wild-card winner.
The Diamondbacks have seen their odds move from 12/1 to 4/1 to reach the Fall Classic, and 25/1 to 10/1 to capture their first World Series title since 2001. The Dodgers’ odds of winning the NL pennant have moved from 6/1 to 10/1, and 22/1 to 30/1 to win the World Series.
vegasinsider.com.
Sept/Oct. Pitchers Report
By Marc Lawrence
September/October Good Month And Bad Month Pitchers
In keeping with our game plan of acknowledging good pitchers and avoiding bad pitchers during their GOOD and BAD months of the season, below is the list of arms to watch throughout the month of September. Note that the W-L records are those of the team in which the listed pitcher started over the previous three seasons.
Thanks to my good friend Tom Freese, handicapper par excellence, I present a list of the BEST and WORST pitcher performance records during the months of September/October over the past three years. And, hey beer man, two more for the road. Enjoy...
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER PITCHERS
Josh Beckett - Boston: 14-5
Boof Bonser - Minnesota: 7-3
Jose Contreras - Chicago White Sox: 15-6
Rich Hill - Chicago Cubs: 10-3
Chuck James - Atlanta: 8-3
Cliff Lee - Cleveland: 8-3
Roy Oswalt - Houston: 16-5
Kenny Rogers - Detroit: 14-6
C.C. Sabathia - Milwaukee: 13-6
Jeff Suppan - Milwaukee: 15-7
Dontrelle Willis - Detroit: 13-6
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER BAD PITCHERS
Eric Bedard - Seattle: 3-9
Kyle Davies - Kansas City: 2-10
Tom Gorzelanny - Pittsburgh: 3-7
Edwin Jackson - Tampa Bay: 3-7
Noah Lowry - San Francisco: 3-8
Matt Morris - No Team: 5-13
Scott Olsen - Florida: 3-8