Thursday's Streaking and Slumping Starting Pitchers
Streaking
Paul Maholm, Pittsburgh Pirates
With the Pirates' tendency to send all their talent elsewhere, Paul Maholm could find himself on a contender in 2010 if he continues pitching this well.
The Bucs left-hander is 1-1 in his last three starts, posting a 2.14 ERA in 21 innings of work. Maholm's latest trip to the bump was a seven-inning effort in which he allowed just three earned runs on seven hits in a no-decision against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
He was bailed out a couple times by his defense and has struggled with his command on his sinker ball during recent starts.
Brett Anderson, Oakland Athletics
The A's southpaw has had a big part in his team's hot play down the home stretch of the season. Anderson has won four straight starts and posts an ERA of 2.28 with 26 strikeouts and just three walks.
Anderson lasted just under six innings in his most recent start, limiting the Rangers to just one earned run on six hits. He whiffed six batters in that game and broke the A's rookie pitching record for strikeouts held by Rick Langford.
Slumping
John Lackey, Los Angeles Angels
The Angels ace is not as sharp as he should be with October knocking at the door. In his last two starts, Lackey has given up 10 runs in just 11 innings of work. In his last outing, the Halos right-hander allowed six hits – two of which were home runs. Those were the first long balls Lackey had allowed in a month.
Dan Haren, Arizona Diamondbacks
Another ace hitting a snag late in the season is D-backs starter Dan Haren.
Arizona's righty has allowed a total of 10 runs in his last two starts. He was knocked around for five earned runs on nine hits in six innings against the San Diego Padres last weekend. He is 5-4 since the break with a 4.44 ERA.
Minnesota (82-75) at Detroit (85-73)
Scott Baker (14-9, 4.48 ERA) will try to keep the Twins’ playoff hopes alive when he opposes Tigers lefty Nate Robertson (2-2, 5.56) in the finale of a four-game series at Comerica Park.
These teams split a doubleheader Tuesday, then Detroit came back Wednesday and rolled to a 7-2 victory to push its A.L. Central lead to three games over Minnesota. Detroit can wrap up the division crown with a victory today.
The Twins have used a 12-4 surge to climb back into the playoff race, and they’re on additional runs of 6-3 on the road, 6-1 against left-handed starters and 17-7 in A.L. Central games. On the downside, Ron Gardenhire’s club has lost six straight games on Thursday and seven of eight in the fourth game of a series, and it is 16-38 in its last 54 road contests versus southpaw starters.
Detroit has followed a 3-9 slump by winning seven of its last 10 to keep the Twins at arm’s length. Jim Leyland’s squad is 35-16 in its last 51 home games.
Despite losing the last two games, the Twins remain 10-7 against Detroit this season, with the host taking 12 of the 17 meetings.
Baker has surrendered four runs in each of his last two starts over a total of 11 innings (6.55 ERA), losing 6-2 to the Tigers at home followed by Saturday’s 11-6 win at Kansas City. The good news is the right-hander hasn’t allowed more than four runs in any of his last nine starts, with the Twins going 7-2. Additionally, with Baker hurling, Minnesota is on runs of 7-3 on the road, 6-2 on Thursday, 9-2 against the A.L. Central and 9-4 versus teams with a winning record.
Baker is 8-4 with a 4.40 ERA in 15 road starts this year, 4-4 with a 5.65 ERA in day games and he’s 4-4 with a 4.57 ERA in 15 career starts against Detroit. However, in three games this year against the Tigers, Baker is 0-1 with a 9.00 ERA (15 runs allowed in 15 innings), with Minnesota losing the last two (8-7 on the road; 6-2 at home).
Robertson has pitched just 43 2/3 innings in 27 appearances this year, including only five starts, all since Aug. 29. In those five starts, the veteran southpaw is 1-2 with a 3.68 ERA. On Saturday, he squandered five runs (four earned) in 3 1/3 innings at the White Sox, but the Tigers cruised to a 12-5 victory. Prior to that, he beat Baker in Minnesota 6-2, allowing two runs in five innings, yet he’s still just 9-10 with a 4.21 ERA in 25 career appearances (23 starts) versus the Twins.
The Tigers are on a slew of negative runs behind Robertson, including 1-5 at home, 12-26 when he pitches on four days’ rest, 15-41 when he faces an opponent with a winning record and 3-6 against Minnesota. This year at Comerica, Robertson is 1-2 with a 3.70 ERA in 12 appearances (three starts).
The under is 5-1-2 in Baker’s last seven starts overall, but the over is 16-6-1 in his last 23 divisional starts, including 5-1 in his last six starts against the Tigers. Also, the over is 9-2 in Robertson’s last 11 against A.L. Central rivals, 4-1 in his last five outings versus Minnesota and 7-2-2 in his last 11 home outings against the Twins.
As a team, Minnesota is on “under” runs of 20-7-5 overall and 6-1-2 versus winning teams, though the Twins are 5-2-1 “over” in their last eight on the road (all within the division). Meanwhile, the Tigers are on “over” runs of 5-2-1 overall (all against the A.L. Central), 7-2-1 at home, 4-1 on Thursday and 7-3-2 against right-handed starters.
Finally, the under is 3-1-2 in the last six meetings overall, but the over is 4-1-1 in the last six series clashes at Comerica Park.
ATS ADVANTAGE: NONE
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Baseball Today
SCOREBOARD
Thursday, October 1
Milwaukee at Colorado (3:10 p.m. EDT). Hoping to wrap up the NL wild card, the Rockies will send Aaron Cook (10-6) to the mound against the Brewers' Manny Parra (11-10).
STARS
Wednesday
-Ricky Nolasco, Marlins, struck out nine straight Braves and finished with a club-record 16 strikeouts - the most by a major league pitcher in more than two years - during Florida's 5-4 victory over Atlanta.
-Roy Halladay, Blue Jays, pitched a three-hitter for his second consecutive shutout and Toronto sent Boston to its sixth straight loss, 12-0.
-Justin Maxwell, Nationals, hit a game-ending grand slam off All-Star closer Francisco Rodriguez with two outs in the ninth inning of Washington's 7-4 victory over the New York Mets.
-Clayton Richard, Padres, allowed one hit in seven innings of a 5-0 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers.
-Brad Penny, Giants, tossed a six-hitter for his first complete game in four years, leading San Francisco to a 4-1 win over Arizona.
-Ryan Doumit, Pirates, went 4 for 4 with a homer and four RBIs as Pittsburgh beat the Chicago Cubs 8-2 to complete its first doubleheader sweep at Wrigley Field since June 20, 1983.
-Bronson Arroyo, Reds, allowed one run and four hits in 8 1-3 innings to lift Cincinnati over St. Louis 6-1.
-Brandon Morrow, Mariners, yielded only an infield single in eight innings and struck out a career-high nine to lead Seattle past Oakland 7-0.
THEY'RE IN
Philadelphia can rest now and prepare to defend its World Series title. Kyle Kendrick pitched three scoreless innings in relief of Pedro Martinez and the Phillies beat Houston 10-3 to clinch their third straight NL East crown. Raul Ibanez hit his career-high 34th homer for Philadelphia, which is heading to the postseason for the third straight year for the first time since Mike Schmidt, Steve Carlton and crew won three consecutive division titles from 1976-78.
ALMOST THERE
Colorado moved closer to a playoff spot with a 10-6 win over Milwaukee. The Rockies lead the wild card by four games over Atlanta with four to play after the Braves lost 5-4 to Florida. Colorado also pulled within 2 1/2 games of NL West-leading Los Angeles, which is off Thursday before hosting Colorado for three games to finish the season.
TIGERTOWN
Magglio Ordonez hit a three-run double and Detroit beat the Minnesota Twins 7-2 to move closer to the AL Central title. Eddie Bonine pitched five effective innings after getting off to a rough start for the Tigers, who increased their lead to three games over the Twins. The Tigers had a chance to clinch their first division championship since 1987 with a victory in Thursday afternoon's series finale.
CHANGE IN CLEVELAND
Eric Wedge was fired as manager of the Indians, who are in the final days of a terrible season that began with high hopes. Despite being told he would not be back next season, Wedge planned to manage the last six games of his seventh year with Cleveland. Wedge led the club to one playoff appearance since taking over in 2003 and went through two rebuilding projects with the midmarket club. General manager Mark Shapiro said Cleveland's coaches were told Tuesday night that they would not be retained for the 2010 season. Wedge is under contract for 2010.
ONE ILL-TIMED SLIDE
The Dodgers need another win or a Rockies loss to clinch the NL West title. That final step is proving to be a tricky one. Los Angeles matched its season high with its fourth consecutive loss, managing just one hit in a 5-0 loss at San Diego. The Dodgers failed once again to secure their second consecutive division title for the first time since 1977-78. They beat Pittsburgh 8-4 on Saturday night to wrap up a playoff berth.
LOTS of Ks
Ricky Nolasco struck out nine straight Braves in Florida's 5-4 win and finished with 16 strikeouts, the most by a major league pitcher in more than two years. Nolasco's nine consecutive strikeouts in one game were one short of the big league record set by Hall of Famer Tom Seaver for the New York Mets on April 22, 1970, against San Diego.
STINGY STAFF
Matt Palmer combined with four relievers on a one-hitter and the Los Angeles Angels beat Texas 5-0, tying a club record for most runs in a season with 866. Palmer (11-2) gave up a leadoff single in the first inning to Julio Borbon, but that was it. Darren Oliver struck out the side in the sixth before Jose Arredondo, Kevin Jepsen and fellow rookie Rafael Rodriguez each pitched a hitless inning. It was the sixth combined one-hitter in Angels history and the first since July 24, 2004, also at home against the Rangers.
NOT ANOTHER ONE
All-Star closer Francisco Rodriguez gave up a game-ending grand slam for the second time this season when Justin Maxwell homered to give Washington a 7-4 victory over the New York Mets. Everth Cabrera also hit one off Rodriguez in the San Diego Padres' 6-2 win on Aug. 7.
LIMPING TO THE FINISH LINE
James Shields carried a shutout into the eighth inning, Ben Zobrist hit a three-run homer and Tampa Bay extended Baltimore's losing streak to 13 games with a 5-3 victory. The Orioles can tie the second-longest skid in franchise history, set in August 1954, with a loss in the series finale Thursday night.
SIDELINED
Phillies pitcher Jamie Moyer will have season-ending surgery after tearing muscles in his groin and lower abdomen Tuesday night against Houston. He's expected to be ready for spring training. The 46-year-old left-hander was 12-10 with a 4.94 ERA in 30 games, including 25 starts. He lost his spot in the starting rotation to Pedro Martinez in August and probably wasn't going to be on the team's postseason roster. ... Mets shortstop Jose Reyes has a new tear in the injured right hamstring that sidelined him for most of this season. New York manager Jerry Manuel said doctors were trying to decide whether Reyes needs surgery. ... San Francisco second baseman Freddy Sanchez had surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee. Giants manager Bruce Bochy said Sanchez should be ready for spring training.
SPEAKING
"I'll celebrate when we get to the big one.'' - Phillies manager Charlie Manuel, speaking from his office as his players doused each other with champagne and beer in the clubhouse after clinching their third consecutive NL East title.