NATIONAL LEAGUE
L.A. Dodgers (64-40) at Atlanta (53-51)
The Dodgers send right-hander Chad Billingsley (10-6, 3.96 ERA) to the mound opposite Braves righty Jair Jurrjens (9-7, 2.69) in the rubber match of a three-game set at Turner Field.
After losing 5-0 on Friday night, the Braves rallied to beat Los Angeles 4-3 on Saturday afternoon behind the stellar pitching of former Dodger Derek Lowe. Atlanta has won five of the last six meetings with the Dodgers in Atlanta and seven of the last 10 clashes overall.
Los Angeles is on positive streaks of 23-9 in the third game of a series, 5-2 on Sundays and 13-7 against N.L. East foes, but the Dodgers are just 3-5 in Billingsley’s last eight trips to the mound. Atlanta is on runs of 11-3 at home, 8-3 as a favorite, 7-1 against right-handed starters, 5-1 in the third game of a series and 5-0 when Jurrjens faces N.L. West opponents.
Billingsley has been a disaster lately, going 1-2 with a 9.45 ERA in his last three outings. On Tuesday in St. Louis, he allowed six runs in 5 2/3 innings of a 10-0 loss to the Cardinals, and over his last four starts he’s given up 19 runs in just 18 1/3 innings as the Dodgers have gone 2-2. Billingsley has only faced the Braves twice in his career – both last season – and he lost both contests, yielding a combined 10 runs (nine earned) on 12 hits in 10 1/3 innings.
Jurrjens has been magnificent in his three starts since the All-Star break, going 2-0 with a 1.37 ERA, giving up a total of three runs over 19 2/3 innings. In his last three at home, Jurrjens has surrendered a grand total of one earned run as the Braves went 3-0. Jurrjens beat the Dodgers twice last year, allowing a combined two runs on eight hits in 13 innings, prevailing 9-3 on the road (against Billingsley) and 6-1 at home.
With Billingsley on the mound, Los Angeles is on “over” streaks of 4-0-1 overall, 5-0 on the road, 5-1 on Sundays, 4-1-1 as a ‘dog and 4-1 against teams with winning records. As a team, the Dodgers have also topped the total in 11 of 15 Sunday games, but overall they are on “under” runs of 5-1 on the road, 5-1 against right-handed starters and 5-1 against teams with a winning record.
When Jurrjens throws for Atlanta, the under is on streaks of 4-1 overall and 5-2-1 as a home favorite. Like L.A., the Braves have gone over the number in 11 of 15 Sunday contests, but they’re otherwise on “under” streaks of 15-6-2 at home, 21-7-5 against right-handers, 13-4-2 as a home chalk and 7-2 in the third game of a series. Finally, the under is 7-1 in the last eight series clashes between these squads, including 5-0 in Atlanta.
ATS ADVANTAGE: ATLANTA and UNDER
AMERICAN LEAGUE
N.Y. Yankees (62-42) at Chicago White Sox (54-51)
The White Sox send red-hot southpaw Mark Buehrle (11-4, 3.45 ERA) to the hill at U.S. Cellular Field looking to complete a four-game sweep of the Yankees and ace left-hander C.C. Sabathia (10-7, 3.83).
Chicago crushed New York 14-4 on Saturday afternoon, using a pair of six-run innings to do the damage, after beating the Yankees 10-5 on Friday night. New York, which had entered this series on a 10-4 overall run against the White Sox, has now lost four straight in the Windy City.
The Yankees are on positive streaks of 24-10 overall, 8-1 in the fourth game of a series, 7-2 on the road against southpaws, 35-17 against the A.L. Central, 41-21 as a favorite and 37-18 on Sundays, but they are just 2-7 in their last nine roadies and they’ve lost seven in a row as road favorites. The White Sox are on runs of 5-0 at home, 11-3 against left-handed starters, 6-1 as a home ‘dog and 5-0 against the A.L. East.
Sabathia got beaten up in Tampa on Tuesday, allowing six runs (five earned) on nine hits in 5 2/3 innings of a 6-2 loss. The Yankees have split his last 10 outings and are just 2-4 in his last six on the highway. He faced the White Sox three times last season as a starter for Cleveland, giving up 11 runs on 19 hits in 20 1/3 innings (4.87 ERA) as the Indians went 1-2. During his career with Cleveland, though, Sabathia was 14-4 with a 3.65 ERA in 26 starts versus the Pale Hose.
After throwing his perfect game against the Rays on July 23, Buehrle went to the Metrodome Tuesday and retired the first 17 Twins hitters he faced before eventually allowing five runs in 6 1/3 innings of a 5-3 loss. Including the perfect game against Tampa Bay, Buehrle is 7-1 in front x with a 2.50 ERA in 12 starts in front of the home fans.
With Buehrle on the hill, Chicago is on runs of 7-2 overall, 10-3 on Sundays, 49-20 at home, 4-0 as a home ‘dog, 4-0 against the A.L. East and 9-1 at home against winning clubs. Also, Buehrle saw the Yankees just once last season and allowed two runs on six hits in six innings of a 4-2 loss, dropping to 1-5 with a 6.11 ERA in eight career starts against New York.
With Sabathia on the hill, the Yankees have topped the total in five of eight overall, four of five on the road and five of eight as a favorite. As a team, though, they are on “under” runs of 10-5-1 overall, 9-4-1 as a favorite and 4-2 against the A.L. Central. Meanwhile, with Buehrle pitching, the White Sox carry “under” streaks of 17-7 overall, 9-4 at home and 10-4 as a home underdog. As a team, the Sox are on “under” streaks of 13-4 overall, 38-18 at home, 23-10-2 as underdogs, 5-2 against the A.L. East and 5-0 against southpaws.
Finally, six of the last seven New York-Chicago meetings in the Windy City have topped the total, and the over is 5-3 in Buehrle’s eight lifetime starts against the Yanks.
ATS ADVANTAGE: CHICAGO WHITE SOX
Gametimepicks.com
Sunday's Slate
By Brian Edwards
Bettors have a full slate of games to wager on Sunday, including a pair of prime-time affairs on ESPN. Also, the Phillies are at San Francisco and the Cubs are in Florida to face the Marlins in late-afternoon affairs.
**Cubs at Marlins**
Las Vegas Sports Consultants opened this game as a pick ‘em (minus-110 either way) with a total of 8 ½ ‘over’ (minus-115).
Florida captured a 5-2 win as a plus-120 home underdog in Friday’s series opener at Landshark Stadium. John Baker broke a 2-2 tie with a two-out single in the bottom of the eighth and then pinch-hitter Wes Helms belted a two-run double. Leo Nunez threw a scoreless ninth for his ninth save, while Chris Volstad settled for a no-decision in spite of working 6 2/3 innings and giving up just a pair of earned runs.
Going into Saturday’s games, Chicago was one-half game behind St. Louis for the lead in the National League Central. Friday’s loss to the Marlins dropped the Cubs’ road record to a mediocre 21-28. Meanwhile, Florida’s home ledger improved to 28-25. The Fish are in the second place in the NL East, six games back of division-leading Philadelphia. They trail the wild-card co-leaders, Colorado and San Francisco, by a pair of games.
Ryan Dempster (5-5, 4.31 ERA) came up in the Marlins organization and was the franchise’s all-time wins leader when he was traded to Cincinnati in 2002. The 32-year-old righty is 1-4 with a 4.06 ERA in eight road assignments this year. Dempster came off the disabled list Tuesday and was rusty in a five-inning effort against the Astros. He gave up nine hits and five earned runs and took a no-decision. Dempster is 2-1 with a 2.57 career ERA against Florida.
Ricky Nolasco (7-7, 5.24) owns a 4-3 record and 4.34 ERA in nine home starts. The right-hander struggled mightily earlier this season but has been nothing short of sensational since coming off the disabled list. Nolasco posted a 3-1 record and 1.91 ERA in June and then went 2-1 with a 3.51 ERA in July. He is 2-1 with a 3.60 lifetime ERA against the Cubs.
The ‘over,’ 49-48 overall, has been much more prevalent for the Marlins at home (29-21). On the flip side, the ‘under’ is 54-44 overall for the Cubs, 27-19 in their road games.
Nolasco will throw the first pitch at 5:05 p.m. Eastern.
**Mariners at Rangers**
LVSC opened Texas as a minus-170 ‘chalk’ with a total of 10 ‘under’ (minus-115). Most spots have the Rangers at plus-120 on the run line (risk $100 to win $120).
Texas RHP Scott Feldman (9-4, 3.99) will be working on just three days of rest in this spot. Feldman is 3-3 with a 4.48 ERA in 12 home appearances (10 starts) this year.
Ian Snell (2-8, 5.36) will get the starting nod for the Mariners, who acquired the veteran right-hander on Wednesday. Snell is taking Jarrod Washburn’s spot in the rotation after he was traded. In his only career start against the Rangers, Snell threw a seven-hit shutout.
Texas slugger Josh Hamilton is 1-for-5 (.200) against Snell. Andruw Jones is 1-for-10 (.100) but the hit was a home run.
Going into Saturday games, Texas trailed the first-place Angels by three games in the AL West. Meanwhile, Seattle was in the third place in the loop, nine games behind the Halos.
The ‘under’ is an MLB-best 63-34 overall for Texas, 36-17 in its home games.
The ‘under’ is 62-40 overall for the Mariners, 35-19 in their road games.
**Dodgers at Braves**
Most books are listing Atlanta as a minus-120 favorite with a total of eight ‘under’ (minus-120). Gamblers can take the Braves on the run line for a generous plus-170 payout.
Bobby Cox’s team has played solid ball since the All-Star break, posting a 10-6 record to get right into the thick of the NL wild-card chase. The Braves captured a 4-3 win over the Dodgers as minus-125 favorites Saturday afternoon. Facing the Dodgers for the first time since signing with the Braves during the offseason, Derek Lowe pitched six strong innings en route to winning his fourth consecutive decision. Chipper Jones and newly acquired Adam LaRoche both had a pair of hits and Jones drove in two runs. Rafael Soriano worked a perfect ninth inning for his 16th save of the season.
With yesterday’s win, the Braves improved to 53-51 overall and 28-24 at home. They have watched the ‘under’ go 57-43 overall, 29-20 in their home outings.
Los Angeles has lost seven of its last 10 games but still maintains a comfortable 7 ½-game advantage over Colorado and San Francisco in the NL West (pending Saturday’s results for the Rockies and Giants).
Joe Torre’s team is 30-23 on the road. The Dodgers have seen the ‘over’ go 50-49 overall, 27-24 in their road assignments.
Jair Jurrjens (9-7, 2.69) has been dominant in his last three starts, compiling a 2-0 record and 1.37 ERA. Jurrjens is 5-4 with a 2.51 ERA in 11 home starts. The righty is 2-0 with a 1.38 ERA in a pair of career starts against the Dodgers.
Chad Billingsley (10-6, 3.96) has hit a rough stretch recently, posting a 1-2 record and 9.45 ERA his last three times out. For the season, the right-hander owns a 3-2 record and 3.86 ERA in 11 road starts. Billingsley is 0-2 with a 5.93 lifetime ERA against Atlanta.
After a couple of promising performances in rehab starts, Atlanta RHP Tim Hudson was scratched from Friday’s scheduled start. However, the good news is the scratch had nothing to do with his surgically repaired elbow. Hudson has a mild groin strain.
ESPN will provide television coverage at 8:00 p.m. Eastern.
VegasInsider.com
Sunday Night Baseball: Dodgers at Braves
By Marc Lawrence
Sunday Night Baseball: Los Angeles Dodgers at Atlanta Braves
A hot August night in Atlanta sets the scene for the ESPN Sunday night showdown between the Braves and the Dodgers at Turner Field.
Dodger All-Star Chad Billingsley (10-6 3.96 ERA) matches serve with Jair Jurrjens (9-7 2.69 ERA) in a battle of promising right-handers.
Second-half track
Coasting along with the biggest lead at the All-Star break, the Dodgers headed into Atlanta at 7-7 post-break, including 1-3 away from Chavez Ravine.
Meanwhile, the Braves’ 9-5 mark since the break, including 6-2 at home, has put them back in the in the National East chase, trailing the second place Florida Marlins by two games.
Leading the surge has been outfielder Garret Anderson. Heading into the series opener on Friday, Anderson was riding an MLB-best .465 batting average in 12 games since the All-Star break, including four home runs and eight RBIs.
Black-and-blue
Be sure to check out the status of outfielder Ryan Church, shortstop Yunel Escobar and second baseman Martin Prado. All three players were on the pine nursing injuries prior to the start of this series.
Church was scratched in favor of Matt Diaz. Diaz has been good against the Marlins historically, and Church is still experiencing some soreness in his hyper extended right elbow. He was not available to pinch-hit.
Escobar (sore right wrist) left Thursday’s game in Florida.
Prado took a Matt Diaz line drive off his left ankle during batting practice Thursday. He was not available off the bench because of swelling.
"He makes the lineup go,” said manager Bobby Cox on Prado, who has sparked the Braves' offense since becoming the starting second baseman and batting second in the order.
Missing pieces
Both teams made moves to bolster their roster before the non-waiver trade deadline.
L.A. acquired former All-Star closer George Sherrill from Baltimore on Thursday. Sherrill is most welcome considering the Dodgers bullpen had pitched a staggering 354 innings this season prior to the start of this series. The key is that Sherrill has pitched just 41 1-3 innings, far fewer than any of the relievers who have been in the Dodgers’ bullpen continuously since opening day.
However, the move didn’t please shortstop Rafael Furcal. He was hoping the Dodgers would add a main arm to the starting staff.
"Right now, this team is special, very special. It reminds me of some of those really good teams I played for in Atlanta,” Dodgers shortstop Rafael Furcal told reporters.
Meanwhile the Braves sent Casey Kotchman to the Red Sox for Andy LaRoche in a swap of first basemen.
LaRoche, who previously played for the Braves from 2004-06, has hit at least 20 homers each of the past four seasons, while Kotchman hit a total of eight in the 130 games he played for the Braves.
The arms have it
Jurrjens allowed two runs on seven hits, walked one and had five strikeouts Tuesday night against the Marlins in Florida. He settled for a no decision. Jurrjens, who could easily be 13-3 on the season with a little better run support, is 3-0 with a 0.44 ERA his last three home starts
Billingsley had a one-hitter through five innings before coming apart in a 10-6 loss at St. Louis on Tuesday. The game was delayed for nearly an hour and a half because of a threat of heavy rain that never came.
Billingsley was tagged for four hits, six runs and six walks in 5 2-3 innings. The All-Star has struggled of late on the road where he is 2-3 with a 6.37 ERA his last five road starts.
Courageous call
While the Dodgers have won six games in a row away from home on Sundays, they had dropped six of their previous seven games at Turner Field prior to the start of this series.
It’s hard to overlook a pitcher who has been perfect in his MLB career against tonight’s opponent (Jurrjens, 2-0 1.38 ERA) versus another that is winless lifetime (Billingsley, 0-2 7.86 ERA) against Atlanta. Be brave and back Atlanta.
Hot Ticket!!
By SportsPic
The Chicago White Sox will aim for a four game sweep of the New York Yankees Sunday at U. S. Cellular Field. Pale Hose taking the first three tests of this set by a combined 27-11 score will have Mark Buehrle (11-4, 3.45) toeing the rubber. Buehrle off a disappointing loss at Minnesota which followed his perfect performance against the Rays enters an awesome 7-1 in front of the home crowd with Chicago 9-3 (+$367) in his twelve starts. Sure makes underdog (+$1.20) White Sox a tempting proposition. However keep in mind White Sox are 3-9 last twelve as underdogs of +$1.10 to +$1.50 with Buehrle touching toe to rubber and that Pale Hose have had little success vs Yankees with their southpaw on the mound. Buehrle is 1-5 life-time vs Yankees with Chicago 1-7 over the eight game span including a dreadful 0-5 at home. Meanwhile, Sabathia with a 6-6 TSR on the highway costing backers -$275 at the betting window sports a 14-4 career mark vs Chicago with his team (CLE) 17-9 over the twenty-six games. It is well to note Sabathia has a 6-2 Team Start Record when hooked up against Buehrle.
Sunday's streaking and slumping starting pitchers
By Covers.com
Streaking
Jon Garland (Arizona Diamondbacks)
Garland’s record doesn’t show it, but he is becoming one of the most consistent pitchers in the National League.
The right-hander is 5-10 with a 4.42 ERA, numbers that won’t set the world on fire. But, he has turned in a quality start in five of his past six outings. His ability to eat up innings and hold opponents to three or fewer earned runs on a consistent basis gives his club a great chance to win every night.
In his most recent outing, he was his typical self, giving up just three earned runs over six innings while striking out two against the Phillies.
“I think over my last six or seven, I've gone out and given my team a pretty darn good chance to win the ball games," Garland told the Associated Press. "That's my job.”
Cole Hamels (Philadelphia Phillies)
The 25-year-old lefty is finally starting to look like the postseason star we saw last October.
Hamels (7-5, 4.42 ERA) has won three straight decisions and the Phillies have won his past five starts overall. In his previous three outings, he has allowed a combined five earned runs over 20 innings.
In his most recent start, a 4-3 win over Arizona, he yielded only one run on four hits over eight innings with nine strikeouts and no walks.
With an impressive 105:21 strikeout-to-walk ratio, look for his resurgence to continue.
"Hamels is getting there," Philadelphia manager Charlie Manuel said. "He's real close. I'm looking for him to throw shutouts and no-hitters."
Slumping
Jered Weaver (Los Angeles Angels)
Not many people are happier to see July end than this young right-hander.
Weaver (10-3, 3.71 ERA) finished the month with a brutal 6.38 ERA. He allowed no fewer than three runs in each of his starts during the month and never lasted past the seventh inning.
In each of his past three starts, Weaver allowed at least four runs and lasted an average of just over five innings. Weaver’s most recent outing saw him give up four runs on eight hits over five innings, including two walks and two home runs.
Carlos Villanueva (Milwaukee Brewers)
Milwaukee’s pitching situation has gotten so bad, that even a bad reliever seems like a good option.
With injuries to starting pitchers Jeff Suppan and Dave Bush, the struggling Villanueva was called on to make his first start of the year last week against the Nationals. And it wasn’t pretty.
He was tagged for five runs on eight hits in just four innings, including a pair of homers. Villanueva (2-8, 6.61 ERA) was just as bad in his previous two stints out of the bullpen, giving up a run in each of those appearances.
Dodgers, Braves meet on ESPN
By AllStar.com
Los Angeles Dodgers (64-40) At Atlanta Braves (53-51)
Date: Sunday August 2nd
Time: 8:05 PM ET
TV: ESPN
Line: Atlanta -127 / Dodgers +115
Total: 8 Under -115 / Over -105
Dodgers Road Record: 30-23
Braves Home Record: 28-24
Dodgers Last 10: 4-6
Braves Last 10: 5-5
Pitchers:
Chad Billingsley (LAD) 10-6/ 3.96 ERA / 131 K’s / 1.31 WHIP
Jair Jurrjens (ATL) 9-7 / 2.69 ERA / 93 K’s / 1.20 WHIP
The L.A. Dodgers with the best record in baseball roll in to Atlanta to face the Braves for the ESPN Sunday Night Game of The Week.
The Braves were shut down by Jason Schmidt in a 5-0 loss to the Dodgers on Friday night in the series opener. Atlanta rallied on Saturday afternoon to win the second game of the series behind outstanding pitching as 5 Braves pitchers held the Dodger bats to just 6 hits.
The Braves have lost five of their past eight games to take away some of the momentum from their recent surge in the standings. They have hit 30 points higher in July (.291) than their season average (.265), but they didn't exactly send that streaking lineup to the plate Friday night. The Braves were going without Martin Prado, Yunel Escobar, Ryan Church and Adam LaRoche who will arrive on Saturday after being re-acquired by the Braves on Friday. LaRoche spent his first three big-league seasons with the Braves from 2004-06 and established career highs of 32 home runs and 90 RBI in his final season with the club. LaRoche is known to be a second half player.
Atlanta is a major league-best 10-2 at home since June 28.
Brian McCann has been instrumental to the home surge, batting .368 (14 for 38) with two home runs and 12 RBIs in 10 games at Turner Field this month. McCann is hitting .301-12-52 year-to-date.
The Braves have been shut out 11 times and rank near the bottom of the majors with 91 homers.
Atlanta has lost three of its past four games following Friday's 5-0 setback to the Dodgers and trails Colorado and San Francisco by four games for the lead in the NL Wild Card race.
The Braves are 6-1 in their past seven home games against the Dodgers. They swept them at home last season.
Pitching is the least of the Braves' worries. They have a 3.74 staff ERA, which ranks 3rd overall in MLB. The Braves have given up only 70 Hr (#1 in MLB) in 2009 and opponents batting average against is .325
After returning from this season's suspension on July 3, Manny Ramirez quickly re-established his presence in the middle of the Dodgers' lineup, batting .347 with five home runs and 17 RBIs in 16 games. He has suddenly cooled since. The 12-time All-Star is 5 for 30 (.167) with no RBIs in his last seven games. On the season he is .327-11-37
Andre Either was moved from fourth to second in the lineup on Friday night and responded by going 2-for-5 with a double and a three-run homer and driving in four runs. Ethier will receive more protection by having Manny Ramirez hitting behind him. Either on the year is hitting .267-21-66
Matt Kemp, who drove in three runs Thursday and has batted .315 this season, is 9 for 26 (.364) with four RBIs during a six-game hitting streak. Kemp is hitting .315-13-59 year to date.
Rafael Furcal had two hits and extended his hitting streak to 11 games, during which he's hit .373
Andre Ethier leads the club with 21 homers and 66 RBIs, and is on pace to slug 33 home runs with 104 RBIs.
The Dodgers finished July 15-10.……..The Braves Finished July 16-11
Chad Billingsley is winless since June 14, and in his past six starts is 0-2 with a 6.55 ERA. Billingsley may be tired: His 2,131 pitches thrown so far in '09 are third-most in baseball, behind only Justin Verlander and Adam Wainwright. Billingsley has struggled in June and July and has seen his ERA jump from mid-two to almost four. In his last start against the Cardinals, Billingsley was cruising with a one-hitter. Then he imploded with a pair of walks and couldn't get out of the sixth inning, charged with six earned runs and six walks (two intentional). It was the second time in three starts that he's allowed six runs He has one win since June 14 and is 0-2 with a 5.93 ERA lifetime against the Braves with a 5.93
Jair Jurrjens continues to cruise having won his last three starts. He is 3-0 with a 1.75 ERA over his last four outings. Jair Jurrjens was denied his bid to win a fourth consecutive start on Tuesday night, when he allowed the Marlins two runs over six innings and was dealt a no-decision. The 23-year-old right-hander was burdened by a lack of run support in June. But while going 4-1 with a 2.09 ERA in his six July starts, he proved why he's quickly establishing himself as one of the game's top young pitchers. He went 2-0 with a 1.38 ERA in two starts against the Dodgers last year.
Betting Trends:
Dodgers are 1-5 in their last 6 games played in Atlanta
Braves are 11-3 in their last 14 home games
The OVER is 5-0 in Chad Billingsley’s last 5 road starts
The UNDER is 7-1 in the last 8 games played between the two teams
The UNDER is 4-1 in Jair Jurrjens last 5 starts