Thursday's Short Hops
By Brian Edwards
There are only nine games on Thursday’s MLB card, including a trio of afternoon tilts in the National League. All three AL games will be played under the lights. Let’s touch on a few quick-hit topics regarding Thursday’s card.
--Pittsburgh will play host to the Mets at 12:35 p.m. Eastern. Las Vegas Sports Consultants opened the Pirates as minus-130 favorites. Going into Wednesday’s action, New York was 15-22 on the road, while Pittsburgh was 22-15 at home. The Pirates had seen the ‘under’ hit in six straight games prior to Wednesday’s showdown with the Mets.
--San Diego will take on Houston at 3:35 p.m. Eastern on Thursday. The Padres are short home underdogs at most books. They are 16-16 against lefties and will be squaring off against Astros’ LHP Wandy Rodriguez in this spot. Rodriguez (6-6, 3.35 ERA) has a 2-2 record and 5.47 lifetime ERA against the Padres.
--Atlanta will be trying to stay in the mix in the NL East when it hosts Philadelphia in their series finale Thursday night at Turner Field. LVSC installed the Braves as minus-135 home favorites. They will send Javier Vasquez (5-7, 3.04) to the bump. The right-hander has been extremely sharp recently, but he’s received little run support. Despite a 2.01 ERA, Vasquez is 1-2 in his last three outings. He has an 11-7 career record against the Phillies.
--Philadelphia SS Jimmy Rollins was given four games off by skipper Charlie Manuel before returning to the lineup in Tuesday’s extra-innings loss to Atlanta. In his return, Rollins went 0-for-5. He’s only 8-for-50 (.160) against the veteran Vasquez, but Rollins has popped a pair of homers versus the right-hander.
--Barry Zito (4-7, 4.55) will get the call for the Giants in their series finale at St. Louis. He is 0-3 with a 4.57 lifetime ERA against the Cardinals. Zito has a 6.61 ERA in his last three assignments.
--The Cards are 12-13 versus lefties.
--Even after Tuesday’s debacle in which the Red Sox let a 10-1 lead get away in the seventh inning of an 11-10 defeat, Boston maintains the best bullpen in the majors with a 3.24 ERA.
--Washington has the worst ‘pen in the majors with an abysmal 5.64 ERA. This group has just 12 saves in 29 chances.
--The Yankees are the most expensive favorites (minus-270) on Thursday’s board. They will take on Seattle at Yankee Stadium. LHP C.C. Sabathia (7-4, 3.55) will get the starting nod for the Bronx Bombers, while the Mariners will counter with LHP Jason Vargas (3-3, 3.79). The Yankees are 13-7 versus southpaws, while the M’s are 13-9 against lefties.
--Sabathia is 4-3 with a 2.95 career ERA against Seattle. Vargas has never faced the Yankees.
--After Wednesday’s 5-3 win over the Nats, the Marlins improved to 13-4 in RHP Josh Johnson’s starts. Florida also pulled to within one game of the Phillies for the NL East lead (pending Philly’s Wednesday result).
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Thursday's streaking and slumping starters
By Covers.com
Streaking
Doug Davis (Arizona Diamondbacks)
This snake is starting to have some bite.
Davis (3-8, 3.28 ERA) has been mediocre much of the season for the struggling Diamondbacks, but appears to finally be rounding into form. The left-hander lasted at least seven innings in each of his past two starts, giving up a combined one earned run.
The former Milwaukee Brewer and Toronto Blue Jay should have a better record, but has been plagued by bad run support. In his eight losses, the team has combined to score a meager 17 runs. But the way Davis is pitching, it won’t take much to get a win against the Reds.
"I feel like I'm giving the team a chance to win. Unfortunately, we haven't been doing that," Davis told the Associated Press. "The guys are battling every day. It's not like they are laying down and dying."
J.A. Happ (Philadelphia Phillies)
J.A. couldn’t be much happier.
Happ (5-0, 3.00 ERA) was once regarded as the top pitching prospect of the defending World Series champions. The young left-hander, however, struggled out of spring training and was in the bullpen until late May.
But the move to the rotation has yielded great results. Happ has failed to strike out at least four batters in only one start this season and has been dialed in his past two. He held the Orioles to just two runs over six innings on June 20, and followed that performance by tossing a complete-game shutout, yielding a meager five hits to the Blue Jays in a 10-0 win.
Slumping
Bruce Chen (Kansas City Royals)
Know who believes in the 32-year-old left-hander?
Apparently no one, because he isn’t owned by a single player in any ESPN fantasy league. You’d think his mother would at least start a team to pick him up.
But it’s hard to get behind the struggling veteran, who was beat up in his lone start of the season, a 6-2 loss to Pittsburgh. In that loss, he yielded four runs on seven hits in 6 1-3 innings after he was called up from Triple-A on June 27. Chen must do a better job of keeping hitters off balance if he is to do better against the White Sox.
"I didn't think Chen was that bad," Royals manager Trey Hillman told the Associated Press. "He left that pitch up for the home run, but I thought he pitched effectively on both sides of the plate."
Todd Wellemeyer (St. Louis Cardinals)
The former reliever’s job will be on the line against the Giants.
Wellemeyer (6-7, 5.68 ERA) had a June to forget, as he went 1-3 with a 6.89 ERA last month, including lasting just 2 1-3 innings in a 5-3 win over the Twins. The victory, however, had little to do with Wellemeyer, who allowed three earned runs on four hits with four walks.
"I just feel like if I hadn't gone to the pen and tried to change something, the guys would think this game isn't worth working for," Cardinals Manager Tony La Russa told the Associated Press. "He had it and lost it. He's searching."
San Francisco (42-35) at St. Louis (42-38)
The Giants send left-hander Barry Zito (4-7, 4.55 ERA) to the mound at Busch Stadium for the finale of a four-game series with the Cardinals, who will start right-hander Todd Wellemeyer (6-7, 5.68).
Last night, San Francisco’s Matt Cain and St. Louis’ Adam Wainwright engaged in a pitchers’ duel, with neither ultimately figuring in the decision as the Cardinals won 2-1 on a Colby Rasmus homer in the 10th inning. The Giants have still won five of their last eight games – all on the road – and are on further runs of 8-4 overall and 6-3 against winning teams.
Conversely, St. Louis is on a 2-6 slide and carries additional negative streaks of 1-7 against the N.L. West, 2-5 at home and 2-4 against winning teams.
San Francisco has owned this rivalry lately, taking six of the last eight overall, and the Giants have gone 6-3 in their last nine contests at Busch Stadium (4-1 in the last five).
Zito has followed a four-game losing streak by going 3-1 in his last five starts, with the no-decision coming in Saturday’s outing at Milwaukee. In that contest, he got through five innings unscathed and with the Giants leading 4-0, but he gave up back-to-back homers in the sixth inning and exited with two outs and the game tied, and San Fran ended up losing 7-6.
Zito is 3-4 with a 5.20 ERA in eight road starts this season, and he’s 0-3 with a 4.57 ERA in four career starts against St. Louis, including a 6-2 home loss in May in which he allowed three runs on 10 hits and two walks in 6 2/3 innings.
The Cards have won three of their last four behind Wellemeyer, but he got the early hook Saturday at home against the Twins, after allowing three runs on four hits and four walks in just 2 1/3 innings of a 5-3 victory. In fact, Wellemeyer has allowed 21 earned runs in 26 1/3 innings over his last five starts, for a 7.17 ERA.
Wellemeyer is 3-5 with a 5.74 ERA in 10 home outings this season, but he’s 2-0 with a much more solid 3.00 ERA in three career starts against the Giants.
The over has hit in four of the last five meetings between these rivals, and the over for the Giants is on runs of 36-18-1 against the N.L. Central, 5-2 behind Zito, 5-1 with the southpaw facing the N.L. Central and 7-3-2 in Zito’s last 12 road starts. On the flip side, the under for the Cardinals is on rolls of 4-1 against lefties, 22-10-1 at home against winning teams, 5-1 with Wellemeyer facing a winning squad and 4-1 behind Wellemeyer at home.
ATS ADVANTAGE: ST. LOUIS
Milwaukee (42-36) at Chicago Cubs (37-38)
The Cubs return from a rough 10-game road trip looking to make up some ground in the N.L. Central when they send right-hander Ryan Dempster (4-5, 4.09 ERA) against the Brewers and fellow righty Seth McClung (3-1, 3.55) at Wrigley Field.
Chicago wrapped up a three-game set in Pittsburgh on Wednesday with a 4-1 victory, getting seven solid innings from Randy Wells (one run on six hits and a walk) and homers from Derrek Lee and Kosuke Fukudome. The Cubs went 3-7 on the road swing, but on their home field, they are on positive runs of 4-0 overall, 6-2 against winning teams and 9-3 against right-handed starters.
Milwaukee got shut out by Mike Pelfrey and the Mets in a 1-0 home setback last night. The Brewers have still won four of their last six and are on further upswings of 16-5 in series openers and 40-19 in division play, but they are on skids against righties of 4-10 overall and 1-4 on the road.
The Cubs have lost five in a row with Dempster starting, mostly due to low run production. Dempster has allowed 11 runs in 30 2/3 innings in that stretch, for a solid 3.22 ERA, but in the first four games of the skid, Chicago totaled just five runs. On Saturday across town against the White Sox, the Cubs’ offense finally got going, but Dempster got roughed up for five runs on eight hits and three walks in five innings of an 8-7 loss.
Dempster is 3-1 with a 4.14 ERA in six home starts this season, and he has been strong against the Brew Crew over the course of his career, going 9-3 with a 2.79 ERA in 37 appearances (15 starts). He has split his two starts against the Brewers this year, both at Milwaukee.
McClung has been almost exclusively a reliever this season, with 29 appearances but just one start. That start came Saturday at home against San Francisco, and he allowed three runs on six hits and two walks in four innings, though Milwaukee rallied from a 3-0 deficit to win 7-6.
McClung is 1-0 with a 3.28 ERA in 14 home appearances this year, and he’s 0-1 with a 2.55 ERA in 10 career appearances against Chicago. This will mark his first start against the Cubs.
The under for the Cubs is on a bundle of runs, including 5-1 overall, 19-6-2 within the division and 11-4 against winning teams, and with Dempster starting, the under is on rolls of 5-1 overall and 4-1 in series openers. With McClung starting, the under for the Brewers is on streaks of 9-3-1 overall and 4-1-1 on the road, but the over for the Brewers is on stretches of 11-5 overall, 7-1 against losing teams and 6-1 on the highway.
Finally, in this rivalry, the over is on surges of 13-6-2 overall, 5-1-2 in Chicago and 5-1 with Dempster taking the ball.
ATS ADVANTAGE: CHICAGO CUBS
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Baseball Today
SCOREBOARD
Thursday, July 2
Milwaukee at Chicago Cubs (8:05 p.m.). The NL Central rivals open a four-game series at Wrigley Field. Seth McClung (3-1, 3.55 ERA) is scheduled to get the ball for the division-leading Brewers, while Ryan Dempster (4-5, 4.09 ERA) is expected to start for the Cubs.
STARS
Wednesday
-Alex Rodriguez, Yankees, hit a tiebreaking two-run homer in the sixth inning of New York's 4-2 victory over the Seattle Mariners.
-Jose Contreras, White Sox, pitched eight solid innings to help Chicago beat the Cleveland Indians 6-2 for its fifth consecutive victory.
-Derrek Lee and Kosuke Fukudome, Cubs, homered to power Chicago to a 4-1 win at Pittsburgh.
-Joe Mauer, Twins, went 3 for 3 to raise his batting average to .392 and help Minnesota win 5-1 at Kansas City.
-Jason Giambi and Jack Cust, Athletics, each hit a two-run homer in Oakland's 5-1 win over the Detroit Tigers.
-Mike Pelfrey, Mets, allowed six hits in 7 2-3 sharp innings and New York beat the Milwaukee Brewers 1-0 to end a five-game skid.
-Johnny Cueto, Reds, struck out eight in six sparkling innings, leading Cincinnati to a 1-0 win against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
-Jair Jurrjens, Braves, carried a no-hitter into the seventh and gave up an unearned run in seven innings, helping Atlanta to an 11-1 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies.
-Ricky Romero, Blue Jays, pitched four-hit ball over eight innings and Toronto blanked Tampa Bay 5-0 to end the Rays' seven-game winning streak.
-Brian Moehler, Astros, tossed six strong innings in Houston's 7-1 victory at San Diego.
MANNY HAPPY RETURNS
Rafael Furcal had a pinch-hit RBI single in the eighth inning Wednesday, helping the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Colorado Rockies 1-0 in the final game of Manny Ramirez's 50-game suspension for violating Major League Baseball's drug policy. The Dodgers were 29-21 during Ramirez's absence. The 12-time All-Star will return to the lineup Friday night for the start of a three-game series at San Diego.
AIN'T IT COOL
Three National League teams needed just one run to get a victory, the first time 33 years there were three 1-0 games in one league on the same day. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the last time there were three 1-0 games in one league was Sept. 1, 1976, in the NL. On that day, St. Louis beat Cincinnati in 11 innings; Houston defeated Philadelphia; and New York beat San Francisco. The home teams won all those games. On Wednesday, the Mets, Dodgers and Reds came away with 1-0 victories.
AIN'T IT COOL II
Alex Rodriguez hit a tiebreaking two-run shot for career homer No. 566 as the New York Yankees overcame Ken Griffey Jr.'s 621st home run in a 4-2 win against the Seattle Mariners. The last time two players with at least 550 career homers connected in the same game was May 8, 1971, when Hank Aaron and Willie Mays did it, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
A REAL WILD ONE
One day after succumbing to the greatest comeback in Orioles history, the Red Sox staged an improbable rally of their own. Boston used a four-run ninth inning to pull even, Julio Lugo singled in the tiebreaking run in the 11th and Jonathan Papelbon became the team's career saves leader by closing out a 6-5 victory. Papelbon got three outs for his 133rd save with the Red Sox, breaking the team record held by Bob Stanley. Less than 24 hours earlier, Papelbon yielded the key hit in the eighth inning of a game in which Boston blew a 10-1 lead before losing 11-10.
A REAL WILD ONE II
Hank Blalock's second homer of the game, a two-run shot with two outs in the ninth inning, gave Texas a 9-7 victory over Los Angeles on Wednesday night and moved the Rangers within a half game of the Angels in the AL West. Juan Rivera's three-run homer with two outs in the top of the ninth off Frank Francisco (2-1) tied it at 7 as the Angels erased a six-run deficit. Texas improved to 5-1 against Los Angeles this season.
SEIZING THE MOMENT
Colby Rasmus hit a leadoff homer in the 10th inning after rookie third baseman Pablo Sandoval dropped his foul pop earlier in the at-bat, giving the St. Louis Cardinals a 2-1 victory over the San Francisco Giants. Sandoval circled the rookie's foul ball off a 2-2 count against Bob Howry (0-4), arriving late and missing with what appeared to be a casual stab with his glove. Three pitches later, Rasmus homered to straightaway center for his first game-ending hit.
VERY IMPRESSIVE
Hanley Ramirez extended his RBI streak to 10 games in the Florida Marlins' 5-3 victory over the Washington Nationals. Ramirez hit a two-run double in the third inning to become the first shortstop in NL history with an RBI streak of double-digit games, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. He is batting .450 (19 for 40) with 24 RBIs since June 21.
ON THE REBOUND
Jose Contreras pitched eight innings to lead the Chicago White Sox to a 6-2 victory over the Cleveland Indians. He improved to 3-2 with a 2.17 ERA since being recalled from Triple-A Charlotte, a monthlong demotion prompted by the 37-year-old opening the season 0-5. The right-hander, who allowed two runs and five hits, was just 1-6 in his previous 10 road starts.
PLAY IN PITTSBURGH EVERY NIGHT
The Cubs beat the Pirates 4-1 and took two of three in Pittsburgh to avoid falling three games under .500 for the first time since they were 36-39 in 2007. The Cubs have won 21 of their last 27 overall against the Pirates, who trail the Cubs by 2 1/2 games despite having an 11-23 record in the NL Central.
Dempster loves home cooking
The Chicago Cubs have lost Ryan Dempster’s last five starts, but he is awfully tough to beat at home. Will it continue tonight?
Milwaukee Brewers (+125) at Chicago Cubs - 8:05 pm ET
Dempster (4-5, 4.09 ERA) pitched pretty well in June with a 3.23 ERA in five starts, four of them on the road. However, all he had to show for it was an 0-2 record while the Cubs lost all five games due to a lack of run support
For the season, Chicago is 1-9 when Dempster starts on the road and 4-2 at home. Dempster has an amazing 17-4 record at Wrigley over the last year and a half.
He is 1-1 with a 5.84 ERA in two starts at Milwaukee this season.
The pitcher for Milwaukee on Thursday is Seth McClung (3-1, 3.55 ERA). He made his first start of the season versus San Fran last Saturday and gave up three earned runs in four innings.
McClung does have experience starting and he pitched decent in that role last year with a 4-4 record (4.24 ERA) in 12 starts.
Cubs look for spark at Wrigley Field
The start of this four game series is vitally important for Chicago. The Cubs (37-38) sit 3.5 games out of first place in the NL Central behind Milwaukee (42-36).
The Cubs went 3-7 in their recent road trip although they did just take two of three at Pittsburgh. The Cubbies have cost bettors more money on the road than any team in baseball except for the lowly Washington Nationals.
Fortunately for Cubs backers, they return home to the friendly confines of Wrigley Field where they are 21-13 and where they won four straight before their recent road trip.
The big difference at home for Chicago is the bats, as they average almost a run more there (4.67) than on the road (3.70). The team still has to do without injured third baseman Aramis Ramirez who is out until next week, but Milton Bradley was reinserted yesterday after sitting out one game.
Milwaukee is one of the few NL teams to be above .500 on the road (20-18). They have been relying on their hitters of late with inconsistent starting pitching outside of Yovani Gallardo.
They certainly need a quality start out of McClung with Dempster so tough to beat at home.
Vegas Viewpoint
By Al DeMarco
Thursday’s Quick Hits
The Yankees have won seven in a row and are on an 10-0 tear in home games against Seattle, by a whopping total score of 84-29, as that series concludes today in the Bronx.
New York starter CC Sabathia is 6-1 with a 2.83 ERA in his last 10 starts, and he’s 4-1 in his last six starts against the Mariners, with a sturdy 1.71 ERA.
The Cubs went 3-7 on their just completed 10-game road trip, but they’re on runs at Wrigley of 4-0 overall and 6-2 against winning teams, as they open a home set with Milwaukee.
Along with their aforementioned 10-20 purge in their last 30 games, the Padres have lost seven of their last eight against Houston, as they conclude a home set with the Astros.
The Diamondbacks have lost six of their last seven, as their series at Cincinnati resumes, but starter Doug Davis is 6-3 with a 3.46 ERA in 15 career starts against the Reds.
Reds pitcher Aaron Harang has a solid 1.66 ERA in eight starts against Arizona, but he’s only got a 2-4 record to show for it.
The Phillies, visiting Atlanta, are on a 4-13 skid, and the Braves have won six of eight against Philadelphia this year, after going 4-14 against the reigning World Series champs last year.
The White Sox, visiting Kansas City, have won five in a row, and Chicago has won three straight behind Mark Beuhrle (7-2, 3.26 ERA). The ChiSox have also won in six of Beuhrle’s last eight starts at Kauffman Stadium.
The Angels open a 10-game homestand today against the Orioles, against whom they’ve gone 14-5 in the last 19 clashes in Anaheim.