Thursday's Streaking and Slumping Starting Pitchers
Streaking
John Danks (12-9, 3.71 ERA), Chicago White Sox
This lefty is as dependable as they come. Danks has delivered quality starts in seven straight outings. The Sox have only won four of those games, but they were dogged or short faves each time.
Danks solid performances could be tied in with his giving up chewing tobacco. He complained of not being able to grip the ball as well early in the year and trainers believed his tobacco intake was affecting his blood circulation.
“I think it’s something that it probably didn’t help, but I’m over a month now without a dip and it was something I wanted to do even before the finger problem,” Danks told MLB.com. “But definitely it’s a battle for me to quit, but I fell like I’m past the worst, and it really is a big accomplishment for me to be able to quit.”
Zack Greinke (13-8, 2.19), Kansas City Royals
The Royals are finally starting to take advantage of Greinke’s brilliance. Kansas City has won three of his last four starts and, because of his long winless streak before, his odds have been much more reasonable. He hasn’t been priced higher than -142 since the first week of August.
He owns a sparkling 0.38 ERA over his last three starts and he’s pitched at least seven innings in each of his last seven trips to the mound.
The under is also 5-0-1 in his last six appearances.
Slumping
Edwin Jackson (12-6, 3.22), Detroit Tigers
It’s not that Jackson is pitching awful, it’s just bettors expect much more from him because of how well he’s pitched this season.
The fireball righty has just one quality start in his last four appearances, but the Tigers are still 2-2 those games.
The Jays knocked him around for five runs and three dingers in his last trip to the bump.
“They were ready for the fastball all night,” Jackson said following the 8-6 loss.
Baseball Today
SCOREBOARD
Thursday, September 17
Kansas City at Detroit (1:05 p.m. EDT). Royals ace Zack Greinke (13-8, 2.19 ERA) faces Edwin Jackson (12-6, 3.22) in a matchup of All-Star right-handers. Greinke is 2-0 with a sparkling 0.84 ERA in his last four starts.
STARS
Wednesday
-Matt Kemp, Dodgers, hit a go-ahead, two-run homer in the sixth inning of Los Angeles' 3-1 victory against Pittsburgh.
-Jayson Werth, Phillies, hit his third career grand slam to lead Philadelphia to a 6-1 win over Washington.
-Hideki Matsui, Yankees, hit a tying two-run homer in the eighth inning of New York's 5-4 victory over Toronto.
-Justin Upton, Diamondbacks, had a career-high five hits in Arizona's 6-5 loss at San Diego in 10 innings.
-Francisco Cordero, Reds, worked the ninth inning of Cincinnati's 6-5 win against Houston to pick up his 37th save.
-Jorge De La Rosa, Rockies, pitched eight scoreless innings for Colorado to win his sixth straight start against San Francisco, 4-3.
-Josh Johnson, Marlins, pitched six effective innings in Florida's 5-2 win at St. Louis.
-Trevor Cahill, Athletics, allowed one hit in seven innings to help Oakland to a 4-0 win at Texas.
-Matt Wieters, Orioles, hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth off Russ Springer, giving Baltimore a 4-2 victory over Tampa Bay.
-Michael Cuddyer, Twins, homered, doubled and drove in three runs in Minnesota's 7-3 victory that completed a three-game sweep of Cleveland.
-Everth Cabrera, Padres, hit an RBI single in the 10th inning to give San Diego a 6-5 victory against Arizona.
STINGY
Joe Blanton tossed six scoreless innings in the Philadelphia Phillies' 6-1 victory over the Washington Nationals on Wednesday night. The Phillies were one out away from recording three consecutive shutouts for the first time in 40 years when Willie Harris singled in a run off Tyler Walker. Philadelphia beat the Mets 1-0 Sunday night behind eight innings from Pedro Martinez and one from Ryan Madson. Cliff Lee tossed a six-hitter in a 5-0 win against the Nationals on Tuesday.
SIT DOWN
Yankees catcher Jorge Posada and Toronto pitcher Jesse Carlson each were suspended for three games and fined by Major League Baseball for their roles in a bench-clearing brawl Tuesday. They were cited for "aggressive and inappropriate actions'' by Bob Watson, MLB's vice president for discipline, and started serving the penalties immediately, a day after they tangled. Yankees utilityman Shelley Duncan was suspended for three games and appealed, delaying the start of any discipline.
GOING SOLO
Houston hit five solo homers off Reds starter Justin Lehr but it wasn't enough to keep the Astros from their fourth consecutive loss. Jeff Keppinger went deep twice against his former team, and Kaz Matsui, Carlos Lee and Geoff Blum also connected for Houston in a 6-5 loss at Cincinnati.
HONORING HARWELL
The Tigers honored longtime Detroit radio broadcaster Ernie Harwell, who recently said he has inoperable cancer, during the third inning of their 4-3 win over the Royals. The Tigers showed a 3-minute video tribute, then the Hall of Fame announcer gave a thank you speech. The 91-year-old Harwell was in the booth from 1960 to 2002.
FRUSTRATION BUILDS
Tampa Bay outfielder Carl Crawford angrily shouted at teammate Pat Burrell in the clubhouse before a game against Baltimore, the latest breakdown in a lost season for the Rays. It was not clear what caused the dispute shortly before the Rays took the field for pregame stretching. Burrell did not respond. The AL champion Rays have lost 13 of 14 to fall out of playoff contention.
WORTH NOTING
Mark Reynolds struck out four times in Arizona's 6-5 loss in 10 innings at San Diego, reaching 200 for the second straight season. Reynolds set the major league record with 204 strikeouts last year. ... The Yankees came away with their 14th walkoff win - 5-4 over Toronto - their most since setting a team record with 17 in 1943.
SPEAKING
"On the biggest stage of his career, in the biggest game of his career, he pitched the best game of his career. That's exactly what took place tonight. That was as good a game as he has pitched I'll guarantee you in his career. And there have been some good ones.'' - Colorado manager Jim Tracy on Jorge De La Rosa, who pitched eight shutout innings to help the Rockies beat the Giants 4-3 and avoid a three-game sweep.
L.A. Angels (86-59) at Boston (86-58)
Josh Beckett (15-6, 3.82 ERA) gets the ball for the Red Sox, who go for a three-game series sweep of the Angels, who will counter with Ervin Santana (7-8, 5.52) at Fenway Park.
The Red Sox improved to 7-0 on their current homestand with last night’s 8-7, come-from-behind victory, scoring two runs in the bottom of the ninth to win it. Boston has built up a 6½-game lead on Texas in the wild-card race, and Terry Francona’s club enters tonight on positive streaks of 51-19 at Fenway Park, 37-16 on Thursday, 21-8 versus right-handed starters and 5-0 in the third game of a series.
Los Angeles has now dropped three in a row and four of five, coming the heels of a four-game winning streak. The Angels are still on impressive runs of 57-30 overall, 27-15 on the road, 47-26 against the A.L. East (12-6 last 18), 39-14 in the third game of a series and 28-10 on Thursday.
The season series is now tied at 4-4 between these teams, but Los Angeles is still 13-7 in the last 20 meetings overall (6-4 at Fenway).
Santana has allowed three earned runs or fewer and pitched at least six innings in six of his last seven trips to the mound. That includes Saturday’s home start against the White Sox when the right-hander allowed three runs (two earned) in seven innings, but failed to get a decision in Los Angeles’ 4-3 loss. The Angels have lost four straight games behind Santana, scoring a total of seven runs.
On the bright side, the Angels are 6-2 in Santana’s last eight outings on the highway, where the 26-year-old is 6-3 with a 4.39 ERA in 11 outings this season. Santana is 1-2 with a 5.67 ERA in five regular-season starts against the Red Sox, and he also got knocked around in a home playoff start against Boston last October, allowing five runs in 5 1/3 innings, with L.A. falling 7-5.
Beckett gave up one run on four hits in five innings of Saturday’s 9-1 rout of Tampa Bay, the right-hander’s first win in exactly a month. After an ugly four-start stretch in which he gave up 25 runs (24 earned), including 12 home runs, in 24 1/3 innings (8.88 ERA), Beckett has settled down in his last two outings, giving up four runs (no homers) in 12 innings (3.00 ERA). The former Cy Young winner is 9-1 with a 3.42 ERA in 14 starts at Fenway this season.
Behind Beckett, Boston is on runs of 17-7 overall, 12-2 at home and 4-1 on Thursday. However, he’s 0-3 with a 7.03 ERA in his last four starts against the Angels (all Boston losses, including one in the playoffs), after going 2-0 with a 1.59 ERA in his first five starts versus L.A. (with the Red Sox going 4-1).
With Beckett pitching, the over is on runs of 6-1 overall, 5-0 at home and 3-1-2 when facing the Angels at Fenway. The over is also 5-2 in Santana’s last seven road starts and 3-1-1 in his last five against the A.L. East, but Santana’s last four starts overall have stayed low and the under is 6-2-1 in his last nine Thursday outings.
L.A. is riding “under” streaks of 16-4-1 overall, 7-1 on the road and 12-4-1 against right-handed starters, but the over is 13-5-1 in the Halos’ last 19 against the A.L. East. Also, the over is 17-8 in Boston’s last 25 at Fenway and 6-1-1 in its last eight on Thursday.
ATS ADVANTAGE: BOSTON
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Tips and Trends
Los Angeles Angels at Boston Red Sox
Angels: The Angels have had their problems with Boston in the playoffs, but they’ve won 12 of their 16 regular-season games versus the Red Sox, including six of the last nine at Fenway Park even after a tough loss Wednesday. The Angels are second to the Yankees in runs scored and lead the majors in batting average. Ervin Santana has had his difficulties this season with a 7-8 mark and 5.52 ERA. But he’s been better on the road with a 6-3 record and 4.39 ERA compared to 1-5 and a 7.24 ERA at Angel Stadium. Santana has allowed two earned runs or less in three of his past four starts. He was solid in his last outing on Saturday, giving up two earned runs on seven hits to the White Sox in seven innings. The right-hander is 1-2 with a 5.67 ERA in five career starts against the Red Sox.
The Under is 19-8-1 in the Angels’ last 28 games, including 7-1 during the past eight road contests.
Key injuries - Vladimir Guerrero (ribcage) is questionable.
PROJECTED SCORE: 4
Red Sox (-$1.60, O/U 9.5 under -$1.15): : The Red Sox are hot again winning seven in a row. They’ve won 10 straight at Fenway Park. Boston has won 51 of its past 70 home games. The Red Sox are especially strong at home with Josh Beckett (15-6, 3.82 ERA) on the mound. Beckett is 9-1 with a 3.42 ERA in 94 2/3 innings at Fenway Park this season. The Red Sox have won 12 of the past 14 times at home when Beckett has been the starter. The 29-year-old righty hurled one-run ball for five innings in his last start on Saturday in a rain-shortened home win against the Rays. Beckett, though, is 2-3 with a 4.26 ERA in seven career starts versus the Angels. Boston is 0-4 in Beckett’s past four starts against Los Angeles. The Red Sox are expecting catcher Victor Martinez to be back in the lineup today.
The Over is 14-5 the past 20 times Boston has been a home favorite.
Key Injuries - Kevin Youkilis (back) is doubtful.
PROJECTED SCORE: 5 (UNDER - Total of the Day)