Tampa Bay (52-43) at Chicago White Sox (49-45)
In an early start on getaway day, the White Sox are scheduled to trot out left-hander Mark Buehrle (10-3, 3.52 ERA) to wrap up a four-game set at U.S. Cellular Field against the Rays, who will counter with fellow southpaw Scott Kazmir (4-5, 6.62).
The first three games of this series have been one-run affairs, with the White Sox winning Monday and Wednesday by identical 4-3 scores and Tampa Bay taking a 3-2 decision Tuesday. Chicago is on numerous positive runs, including 9-1 against lefty starters, 8-3 at home and 5-1 against winning teams, but it is just 4-7 in their last 11 outings against A.L. East foes.
The Rays are still 7-4 in their last 11 overall (4-2 on their current road trip), and they’ve still won seven of nine against the A.L. Central. But they are on a lengthy slide of 75-155 on the road against winning teams. Also, in this rivalry, the Sox have taken five of seven meetings so far this year and are 4-0 in Buehrle’s last four home starts against the Rays.
Chicago is 6-1 in Buehrle’s last seven outings, including a 4-3 home win over Baltimore last Saturday, when he threw 7 1/3 innings of one-run ball, scattering eight hits with no walks. Buehrle is 6-1 with a 2.81 ERA in 11 home starts this year, and he’s 7-2 with a 4.23 ERA in 11 career starts against Tampa. That includes an 8-3 road victory over the Rays on April 18, allowing three runs on eight hits and three walks in 6 2/3 innings.
The Sox are on further runs behind Buehrle of 48-20 at home and 8-1 at U.S. Cellular Field against teams with winning records.
Tampa Bay is 5-2 in Kazmir’s last seven starts, including back-to-back victories in his last two outings. On Saturday at Kansas City, he yielded one run on four hits and four walks in six innings, but got a no-decision in the Rays’ 4-2 victory --- rebounding from a 10-9 home loss to Toronto in which he allowed seven runs on nine hits and two walks in 6 1/3 innings.
Kazmir is 3-2 with a 3.38 ERA in six road outings this year, and he’s 3-2 with a 4.46 ERA in six career starts against Chicago. He took the loss in the aforementioned April 18 meeting versus Buehrle, giving up six runs on five hits and six walks in just four innings.
For Chicago, the “under” is on rolls of 36-16 at home and 15-7 with Buehrle hurling, and the under for Tampa is on streaks of 5-0 overall, 11-1-1 against A.L. Central opponents and 10-2 against winning teams. Finally, in this rivalry, the under is on surges of 19-7 overall, 5-0 in Chicago and 4-1 with Kazmir starting for the Rays.
ATS ADVANTAGE: CHICAGO WHITE SOX and UNDER
Minnesota (48-47) at L.A. Angels (55-38)
Right-hander Jered Weaver (10-3, 3.41 ERA) toes the slab when the surging Angels return home and open a four-game weekend set with the Twins, who are slated to hand the ball to Scott Baker (8-7, 5.10) in the seventh game of their 10-game road trip.
Los Angeles wrapped up a three-game sweep at Kansas City with Wednesday’s 9-6 come-from-behind victory, combining for seven runs in the seventh and eighth innings to erase a 6-2 deficit. The Halos have won five in a row and nine of their last 10, and they are on further hot streaks of 26-9 overall, 9-3 at home, 20-7 as a chalk and 12-1 in series openers.
The Twins won the first two games on their road trip at Texas, but they’ve gone 1-3 since then, losing Sunday’s finale at Texas in 12 innings and dropping two of three in Oakland. On Wednesday afternoon, Minnesota got pounded 16-1 by the Athletics, giving up 12 runs in the first two innings – two days after blowing a 12-2 lead against the A’s in a 14-13 loss. Minnesota is still 5-2 in its last seven roadies against winning teams and 10-5 in its last 15 as an underdog.
Minnesota swept a three-game home series from Los Angeles in April, and the Twins are 5-2 in the last seven clashes in this rivalry. However, the Angels are on a 20-8 spree in the last 28 meetings in Anaheim, and L.A. is 5-1 all-time when facing Baker.
Los Angeles has won three in a row and nine of 11 with Weaver on the mound, including an 11-6 victory Saturday at Oakland, despite the 26-year-old allowing five runs on eight hits and three walks in just 3 2/3 innings. Weaver has been sterling at home this year, going 7-1 with a 2.25 ERA in 10 starts, and he’s 2-1 with a 2.60 ERA in four career starts against the Twins, whom he hasn’t faced this season.
With Weaver pitching, the Angels are on rolls of 23-9 at home (8-2 this year), 4-0 in series openers and 5-1 against the A.L. Central.
Baker has gone 4-1 in his last five starts, despite allowing five runs in a 10-2 home loss to the Yankees three starts ago, followed by five more runs in a 13-7 home win over the White Sox. Most recently, the 27-year-old yielded just one run on six hits with two walks and eight strikeouts over eight innings en route to Saturday’s 4-1 win at Texas.
Baker is 4-3 with a 4.38 ERA in eight road starts this year, but he has no winning decisions against the Halos, going 0-4 with a 5.88 ERA in six career starts. All four losses came in Anaheim. Minnesota has lost six of seven with Baker as an underdog, but they’re 4-0 in his last four starts against the A.L. West and 6-0 in his last six on Thursday.
The under for Minnesota is on several runs, including 36-18-2 on the highway, 6-0 on the road against winning teams, 5-2 behind Baker on the road and 4-1 in Baker’s five starts at Angel Stadium. But the over is 21-10 overall in Baker’s last 31 starts and 9-2 in his last 11 outings against winning teams. For Los Angeles, the over is on tears of 5-1 overall, 7-1 at home, 19-6-2 as a favorite, 7-1 against winning teams and 6-0 with Weaver on the mound.
Finally, the over is 4-1-1 in the last six meetings between these two teams.
ATS ADVANTAGE: L.A. ANGELS
Gametimepicks.com
Southpaw Afternoon
By Judd Hall
A lot of teams are travelling in baseball on Thursday, but that doesn’t mean we’ll be sitting around doing nothing for the day. We’ve got plenty of afternoon action to fawn over…four games to be precise. And almost all of the early tilts are a battle of left-handers. Let’s take a look.
Indians at Blue Jays – 12:37 p.m. EDT
If there is anything good to say on behalf of the Indians it’s that their season will be over in just a matter of months. But before they receive the sweet release that death brings, they’ll send David Huff (4-4, 6.60 ERA) out to finish off this series.
Huff hasn’t been too bad recently in winning four of his last seven starts. But he will be looking to bounce back from a 6-2 loss at home to the Mariners on July 17. Huff lasted just five innings and gave up three earned runs on seven hits. His stamina must come into question here as he’s lasted past the six inning twice this season.
Toronto will send Marc Rzepczynksi (1-1, 2.50 ERA) to wrap up this troika. Bettors haven’t enjoyed backing the Blue Jays’ southpaw in his short time with the big club as they’re 1-2 when he starts. Yet, the club has been pleased with Rzepczynksi as those outings can all be labeled as quality starts. And he’s coming off of a four-hit, six inning winning performance at home against the Red Sox on July 18.
Las Vegas Sports Consultants have listed the Jays as $1.50 home favorites (risk $150 to win $100) with a total of nine.
That line thumbs its nose at recent head-to-head history that shows Cleveland is 26-10 in the last 36 meetings. Plus, the road team is 4-2 in this matchup during the 2009 campaign.
Mariners at Tigers – 1:05 p.m. EDT
It can’t be easy for teams to take to the field for a day game when they were in a primetime affair the night before. That’s what the M’s and Tigers are doing on Thursday.
Seattle is banking on Jarrod Washburn (7-6, 2.87 ERA) to close out this series on a high note. The numbers certainly say that Washburn will get it done in this spot as the Mariners are 5-1 in his last six starts this year. He’s allowed just two earned runs in his last three starts combined with nine total strikeouts to just two walks.
Detroit give Luke French (1-0, 1.89 ERA) the starting nod for this tilt. French’s numbers don’t look all that great because he’s been in four games that he didn’t receive a decision. However, the Tigers came away with wins in three of those four tilts. The only knock you can have against French is that he isn’t lasting too long on the mound, lasting at least five innings in his last two starts.
Most betting shops have opened this contest with the Tigers as $1.15 home faves with the total posting at 8 ½.
The numbers suggest that Detroit is the play in this instance. Washburn is 4-8 with a 5.51 earned run average in 14 career starts against the Motor City Kitties. And the Tigers are a spotless 5-0 against southpaws at home during the day this year.
Giants at Braves – 1:10 p.m. EDT
Is it me or does it seem like the Giants are getting ready to make their tumble back to reality? San Francisco has dropped five of its last six contests. I know that they’re only a ½ game behind the Rockies for the NL Wild Card, but that might as well be 10 games right now.
San Fran will try to plug the dam with uber-bust Barry Zito (5-10, 4.89 ERA). He’s dropped three of his last four decisions. And bettors backing Zito have gone 2-5 in his last seven starts. To be fair though, he did pitch well in his last game, allowing two earned runs on six hits in 6.1 innings of work. Just did get any support from his offense as the Pirates beat them 2-0 on July 18.
The Braves will send Kenshin Kawakami (5-7, 4.15 ERA) out to close out this series. This Japanese import has done well this year for Atlanta despite his overall record. Out of the 17 starts Kawakami has had, eight of them have been quality outings. What he could complain about is that he’s had shoddy run support though as evidenced by Atlanta scoring three or fewer runs in eight of those games.
LVSC has listed Atlanta as a $1.65 home “chalk” with a total of 8 ½.
Before you hit the betting window, you may want to know that Zito is 2-1 with a 2.84 ERA in three career starts against the Braves. However, the home team has won all five games in this year’s series.
Rays at White Sox – 2:05 p.m. EDT
A lot of people have touted the Rays as a team to watch out for in the second half of the season. Hard not to argue with that thinking on the defending AL champions. Tampa Bay has won three of its last four games and eight of its last 11.
Tampa Bay will look to keep up the pace with Scott Kazmir (4-5, 6.62 ERA) on the mound. The Rays’ staff ace has won three of his last four starts this season, but is rarely going past the sixth inning in any of those occasions. They haven’t needed Kazmir to go the distance much thanks to a bullpen that ranks third in the big leagues with a 3.39 ERA and a 1.27 WHIP.
The Pale Hose are hoping to stay on Detroit’s heels in the AL Central with Mark Buehrle (10-3, 3.52 ERA) taking the mound. Chicago has fared well with its ace toeing the slab as they’ve won six of his last seven starts, while Buehrle has an ERA of 4.07 in that stretch.
It’s no surprise that the White Sox are $1.20 home favorites with a total of nine by the sportsbooks.
Buehrle is 7-2 with a 4.23 ERA for his career against the Rays. Meanwhile, Kazmir is just 3-2 with an ERA of 4.46 in six career starts against Chicago. While those numbers seem to favor the ChiSox, the road team is 5-2 in the last seven head-to-head matchups.
vegasinsider.com
Thursday Night Pair
By Kevin Rogers
Two late games wrap up the Thursday night card, as the Twins and Angels begin a crucial four-game set in Anaheim. Down in Phoenix, the Diamondbacks try to plug away behind their ace, as they host the Pirates.
Twins at Angels (10:10 PM EST)
Minnesota tries to continue its quest at the AL Central division lead, heading south to Anaheim to battle the Angels. The Twins are coming off a series loss to the A's, while the Halos return home after a series sweep at Kansas City.
The Twins swept the Angels earlier this season at the Metrodome, with Minnesota tallying 23 runs in the three-game series. To be fair to the Angels, Mike Scioscia's team started Dustin Moseley, Darren Oliver, and Shane Loux in that series, all pitchers that are no longer in the rotation.
Scott Baker has had his ups and downs this season, but the Twins righty owns an 8-7 record. Baker was lit up throughout his career against the Halos, going 0-5 without a quality start. However, that changed last August when Baker silenced the Angels bats, allowing four hits and one run in eight innings of work (the Twins won the game in extra-innings, 2-1). Minnesota has captured four of Baker's last five road starts, while six of his last seven outings overall have gone 'over' the total.
Jered Weaver hasn't been as sharp recently as he was earlier in the season. The Angels righty has an ERA of 5.94 in his last three starts, but the Halos are 3-0, putting up 34 runs of support. Weaver has thrived at home, winning seven of eight decisions. The Halos are on a nice 'over' streak when Weaver takes the mound, hitting in six straight starts. The ex-Long Beach State star is 2-2 in four career starts against the Twins, but has delivered a quality outing each time.
The Angels are on a roll in series openers, winning 12 of their past 13. The Twins have struggled in Anaheim over the years, dropping 20 of the last 28 meetings out west.
Las Vegas Sports Consultants has installed the Angels as a $1.55 favorite, while the total is set at 8 ½.
Pirates at Diamondbacks (9:40 PM EST)
Two of the National League doormats meet up at Chase Field in the desert for a four-game series. Pittsburgh continues to deal away all of its remaining offensive power, by trading off first baseman Adam LaRoche on Wednesday to the Red Sox. LaRoche joins Nate McLouth, Nyjer Morgan, and Eric Hinske as Pirates position players who have been dealt since the beginning of June.
Dan Haren continues to impress despite being the ace of the disappointing Diamondbacks. The Arizona right-hander owns a league-leading ERA of 1.96, while possessing a 10-5 record. Haren has delivered a quality outing in all but one of his 18 starts, which coincidentally came against his former team, the anemic A's. Since losing to the Dodgers back in early June, the D-Backs are 7-1 in Haren's last eight starts. In this current stretch, Haren has struck out 59 batters, while walking just nine.
Former Brave Charlie Morton, who was acquired in the McLouth deal back in June, has had his share of moments with the Pirates. Morton has produced quality starts in two of his last three trips to the mound, beating the Giants and Marlins. Morton's highest pitch count this season has been 91, which came in the victory at Florida. As a member of the Braves last season, Morton shut down the D-Backs in Phoenix, holding Arizona to five hits in seven scoreless innings as Atlanta won 6-4.
Arizona captured four of seven meetings last season, with Haren winning twice. The 'under' was the right play in five of the matchups, while the Pirates have gone 'under' the total in seven of their past ten overall.
The D-Backs are a hefty $2.10 home favorite according to LVSC, with the total is listed at 7 ½.
vegasinsider.com
Thursday's streaking and slumping starting pitchers
By Covers.com
Streaking
Dan Haren (Arizona Diamondbacks)
The best pitcher in the National League is in the NL West. But it’s not Tim Lincecum of the Giants.
Haren (10-5, 1.96 ERA) has been hurt by poor run support this season, but he hasn’t let it affect his performance when he steps on the mound. He leads the league in innings pitched (138), ERA, complete games (3) and WHIP (0.80). He is also third in strikeouts (137) and has walked just 18 batters this season.
The 28 year old has allowed one or fewer runs in each of his past four starts and has gone at least seven innings in all but one of those outings. Haren hasn’t allowed more than two earned runs in a start since May 23.
"What I noticed is that he didn't throw a lot of balls over the heart of the plate," the Cardinals' Brendan Ryan told the Associated Press. "He never even used the splitter against me, and that's probably his best pitch."
Adam Wainwright (St. Louis Cardinals)
The 27 year old could be the key to the Cardinals hopes of an NL Central title. Wainwright has emerged as the team's most consistent starter since late June.
Wainwright (10-6, 3.01 ERA) has allowed two or fewer runs in each of his past five starts, lasting at least seven innings in those outings. The key for the right-hander has been his ability to not give up the long ball. He has yielded just one round tripper during his hot streak.
In his most recent start, Wainwright yielded only two runs on five hits over seven innings against the Diamondbacks.
Slumping
Vin Mazzaro (Oakland Athletics)
After an electric debut in the majors at the beginning of June, the rest of the league appears to have caught up to Mazzaro.
Mazzarro (2-6, 4.09 ERA) hasn’t lasted more than six innings in each of his past seven starts. In his most recent outing, an 11-6 loss to the Angles, he was shelled for eight runs on 10 hits in just three innings. Two starts before that, he was hit nearly as hard, giving up five runs on 10 hits over six innings.
The fly-ball pitcher must do a better job of keeping the ball down in the zone, as opponents have turned his starts into batting practice.
“That's going to happen,” Mazzaro told the Associated Press. “I left the ball up too many times. It was probably my approach."
David Huff (Cleveland Indians)
Don’t be deceived by Huff’s most recent start. The southpaw allowed just three runs in five innings but gave up seven hits and a walk and needed 108 pitches to get that far.
But even that performance was an improvement for Huff (4-4, 6.60). In his previous start against the White Sox he was tagged for eight runs on 11 hits in just 4 1-3 innings. In fact, Huff has allowed at least seven hits in each of his past four starts.
"The big thing was getting ahead of hitters," Huff told the Associated Press after a recent loss. "But I started nibbling a little. I had to go to the fastball for a strike and those guys were sitting dead-red on it."
Baseball Today
SCOREBOARD
Thursday, July 23
Oakland at N.Y. Yankees (7:05 p.m.EDT). CC Sabathia tries for his 10th win of the season as the surging Yankees seek their sixth straight victory when they host the fading Athletics.
STARS
Wednesday
-Manny Ramirez, Dodgers, hit his first-ever pinch-hit grand slam to lift Los Angeles to a 6-2 win over Cincinnati.
-Ricky Nolasco, Marlins, struck out 10 over 6 1-3 innings to lead Florida to a 5-0 win at San Diego.
-Todd Helton, Rockies, hit a go-ahead homer in the eighth inning and drove in a run with his 500th career double in Colorado's 4-3 victory over Arizona.
-Ryan Doumit, Pirates, homered twice to power Pittsburgh to an 8-7 win over Milwaukee.
-A.J. Burnett, Yankees, pitched seven solid innings to win his fourth straight decision, helping New York to a 6-4 win over Baltimore.
-Rajai Davis, Athletics, had two hits and four RBIs in Oakland's 16-1 rout of Minnesota.
-Marco Scutaro, Blue Jays, hit two of Toronto's season-high five home runs and matched a career-high with four RBIs in a 10-6 win over Cleveland.
-Russell Branyan, Mariners, hit a two-out, two-run homer in the eighth inning to give Seattle a 2-1 victory over Detroit.
-Jair Jurrjens, Braves, gave up a run and three hits in 7 2-3 innings and Atlanta beat San Francisco 4-2 to hand Cy Young winner Tim Lincecum his first loss in five weeks.
STOP RIGHT THERE
Philadelphia lost 10-5 to the Chicago Cubs, ending its longest winning streak in 18 years at 10 games. Aramis Ramirez and Jeff Baker each had a two-run double and Carlos Zambrano won his third straight start for the Cubs, who avoided their first three-game sweep in Philadelphia since 1999. The NL East-leading Phillies lost for only the second time in 16 games, failing to extend their longest winning streak since they won 13 in a row from July 30 to Aug. 12, 1991.
LET'S MAKE A DEAL
The Red Sox added some depth a day after they dropped out of first in the AL East, and got rid of shortstop Julio Lugo in the process. Boston traded Lugo and cash to St. Louis for outfielder Chris Duncan, announcing the swap hours after they acquired first baseman Adam LaRoche from Pittsburgh for two minor leaguers. Lugo, who signed a $36 million, four-year free-agent deal before the 2007 season, was designated for assignment Friday. General manager Theo Epstein has called Lugo's contract "a mistake'' and "a lesson learned.''
BOBBLEHEAD MANNY
Manny Ramirez hit his first-ever pinch-hit grand slam homer to lift the Dodgers to a 6-2 win over the Reds. Ramirez didn't start because of a sore left hand after being hit with a pitch in a game the night before. He snagged a bobblehead of himself from the trainer's room and proudly held it up in the clubhouse for inspection. It was the 21st career grand slam for Ramirez, who now trails Lou Gehrig's all-time slams record by two.
BABY STEPS
Washington beat the Mets 3-1, its second straight win and first winning streak under interim manager Jim Riggleman, who took over when Manny Acta was fired July 13. Washington lost its first five games under Riggleman before beating the Mets 4-0 on Tuesday night.
POWERING UP
Brandon Moss hit Pittsburgh's season-high fifth homer of the game leading off the ninth inning and the Pirates won a series against Milwaukee for the first time in nearly two years, rallying to beat the Brewers 8-7. Ryan Doumit homered twice and Garrett Jones and Andrew McCutchen also went deep - all three connected in the third inning - as every Pirates homer was a solo shot. ... Marco Scutaro hit two homers, and Aaron Hill, Alex Rios and Vernon Wells all hit solo home runs in a 10-6 win over Cleveland, Toronto's first five-homer game since July 23, 2006, against the New York Yankees, according to STATS LLC.
REVERSAL OF FORTUNE
The Red Sox have lost a season-high five straight, a streak that has knocked them out of first place in the AL East. After losing the division lead Tuesday, Boston is two games behind the New York Yankees, who have won six straight after beating Baltimore on Wednesday.
INJURED
The Rays' Chad Bradford left during warm-up tosses on the mound in the seventh inning of a 4-3 loss to the White Sox. He had a stiff lower back.
SPEAKING
"Just the way he was sort of stalking around the dugout, I had a real good feeling that if he had an opportunity, he'd be ready to do something.'' - Dodgers manager Joe Torre after Manny Ramirez hit his first-ever pinch-hit grand slam - on his own bobblehead night - to lift Los Angeles to a 6-2 win over the Cincinnati Reds.
Road Woes!!
By Sportspic
Struggling Padres swept by Marlins in their own back-yard completing a 1-6 home stand head on the road for eight games with a single game set for Thursday in Philadelphia. Padres a dismal 3-16 in July costing backers -$1256 at the betting window and owner's of the second worst road record in the Majors at 13-32 (-$1400) count on Kevin Correia (6-7, 4.34) who's six W's have all come following a Padre loss. However, it is well to note Correia lost to the Phillies back in June giving up 10 hits, 2 Yard Ball, 4 runs in 4 1/3 innings of work. Meanwhile, Phils taken behind the woodshed Wednesday getting whipped 10-5 by Cubbies snapping a 10-game winning streak look to start a new run handing the ball to southpaw Cole Hamels (5-5, 4.72) entering 1-0 (3-0 TSR) the past three on the hill, 3-2 (5-5 TSR) on the year at Citizens Bank Park. Phils a red-hot 14-2 (+$1169) the past sixteen on the diamond outscoring opponents 6.3 to 2.8 have been pegged a whopping -$2.50 favorites. If your hell bent on playing Phils might want to consider a run line (1.5, -$1.18), Phils are just 10-7 at home last four years with Hamels laying -$2.00 or more depleting betting accounts to the tune of -$567.
Twins, Halos ready to battle
By AllStar.com
Minnesota Twins (48-47) At Los Angeles Angels (55-38)
Date: Thursday July 23rd
Time: 10:05 PM ET
TV: Fox Sports West
Line: Angels -150 / Twins +140
Total: 8 ½ Over -105 / Under -115
Twins Road Record: 20-27
Angels Home Record: 27-18
Twins Last 10: 5-5
Angels Last 10: 9-1
Pitchers:
Scott Baker (MN) 8-7 / 5.10 ERA / 90 K’s / 1.20 WHIP
Jered Weaver (LAA) 10-3 / 3.48 ERA / 107 K’s / 1.18 WHIP
The Twins (48-47) are slumping to start the second half of the season, and now they have to head to Anaheim to face the ‘red-hot’ Angels. The Halos have won nine of their last 10 games and lead second-place Texas by three games in the AL West.
The Los Angeles Angels haven’t missed a beat without Vladimir Guerrero and Torii Hunter. Players once at the bottom of the order or buried on the bench have filled the gaps left by their injured leaders, keeping the Angels atop the AL West.
No one has elevated his game more then Erick Aybar he is hitting .490 this month, including 24-for-43 the past 11 games, lifting his average to .315 for the season—53 points higher than his career average.
Angel’s first baseman Kendry Morales has extended his career-high hitting streak to 19 games with two hits in the opener of the twin bill on Tuesday. Morales is batting .375 (27 for 72) with 13 runs, five homers and 16 RBIs during his run.
The Angels 1-3 (Figgins, Itzturis, Abreu) in the batting order are hitting over .300, all have scored over 40 runs and move runners along. Abreu reached 20 stolen bases for the 11th straight season.
Minnesota’s All Star Catcher Joe Mauer has been slumping since the All Star Break. On Sunday in Texas, Mauer went 0 for 6 for the first time in his career, and in the Twins' final game before the all-star break, he struck out four times, also a career first. Through Sunday his .264 July batting average (53 at-bats) dropped his season average to .353. In the three games at Texas, Mauer went 1 for 13 with three strikeouts. His 10 strikeouts and seven walks in July make for a 0.70 walk-to-strikeout ratio, well below his career ratio of 1.21. If the Twins want to keep contending, they will need for their former AL MVP to break out of his slump.
Justin Morneau has been red- hot all year hitting .333 with 24 HR’s, 79 RBI’s. and a startling .400 (on base percentage). Morneau has had a great road trip with 3 HR’s and 11 RBI’s, and is quietly having a phenomenal season.
The Twinkies are experiencing a huge power surge this year with 98 bombs; Minnesota didn’t hit their 98th team home run until Sept. 1st during the 2008 campaign.
Joe Crede's strained AC joint in his right shoulder will keep him out of the starting lineup for a few games.
Jason Kubel is having a great year, hitting .316, with 16 HR’s, and 52 RBI’s. He is 1-5 in his career against Jered Weaver.
Jered Weaver has had great success against the Twins having never given up a homerun to the Twins. Jered Weaver lasted only 3 2/3 innings Saturday against the Oakland A's, his shortest outing of the season. He gave up eight hits and five earned runs. But he had a good excuse for the poor performance. After the first inning, Weaver became "nauseous and woozy" because of what manager Mike Scioscia called a "viral" problem. Weaver is 10-3 overall with a 3.48 ERA, but he has not been as sharp lately as he was earlier in the season. In his past six starts he is 3-1, but he has a 7.29 ERA during that stretch.
Scott Baker delivered a gem of an outing to open the second half. The right-hander held the Rangers to just one run on six hits over eight innings. He kept an aggressive-swinging Texas ball club off balance by throwing a lot of first-pitch strikes and moving the ball in and out of the strike zone. The Twins hope to see more of that from Baker throughout the second half. He'll next face the Angels, a team he's gone 0-4 against with a 5.88 ERA in six career starts. Baker has won four of his last five starts.
Betting Trends:
Twins are 5-2 in their last seven games against the Angels
Twins are 4-1 in Scott Baker’s last five starts
The UNDER is 4-1 in the Twins last five games
Angels are 26-9 in the Angels last 35 games
Angels are 9-2 in Jered Weaver’s last 11 starts
The OVER is 6-0 in Jered Weaver’s last six starts