Baseball Today
SCOREBOARD
Tuesday, May 19
Toronto at Boston (7:10 p.m. EDT). Red Sox slugger David Ortiz(notes) is expected to return to the lineup after sitting out the team’s weekend series at Seattle. Big Papi is hitting just .208 with no homers in 158 plate appearances this season.
STARS
Monday
— Mark Teixeira(notes), Yankees, homered from both sides of the plate and New York extended its winning streak to a season-high six by finishing a four-game sweep of Minnesota with a 7-6 victory.
— Mat Gamel(notes), Brewers, hit a three-run homer in his first career start as Milwaukee won its sixth straight, completing a three-game sweep with an 8-4 victory at St. Louis.
— Jason Bartlett(notes), Rays, had a career-high five RBIs, going 3 for 3 with a walk to raise his batting average to .384 in a 13-4 rout of Oakland.
— Jason Marquis(notes), Rockies, allowed one run and five hits in eight innings, outpitching Derek Lowe(notes) for a 5-1 victory at Atlanta.
— Torii Hunter(notes) and Kendry Morales(notes), Angels. Hunter hit a three-run double and Morales homered twice, rallying Los Angeles to a 10-6 victory at Seattle.
NEW SCHEDULE
Following record-low ratings for last year’s World Series between Philadelphia and Tampa Bay, Major League Baseball and Fox are moving up the start times this year. Weeknight games in the World Series and AL championship series will begin at 7:57 p.m. EDT, more than a half-hour before last year’s first-pitch times, Fox said.
KEY INJURIES
Milwaukee second baseman Rickie Weeks(notes) will miss the rest of the season because of a tear in his left wrist, a severe setback for the NL Central leaders. … Mets slugger Carlos Delgado(notes) was scheduled for arthroscopic surgery Tuesday on his right hip, and there was no immediate word on when he might return to the lineup. … Twins pitcher Glen Perkins(notes) was slated for an MRI on Tuesday. The team said it will put him on the disabled list with left elbow inflammation.
POWER COMPANY
Jim Thome(notes) hit his 548th home run, tying Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt for 13th on the career list. Thome’s two-run shot pulled the Chicago White Sox even at 2 in the eighth inning against Toronto, but the Blue Jays rallied against Octavio Dotel(notes) to win 3-2.
PITCHING HELP, PLEASE
The Oakland Athletics have been outscored 47-13 during a four-game losing streak in which their starting pitchers have yielded 31 runs (23 earned) in 13 innings.
EMPTY SEATS
Colorado beat Atlanta 5-1 in front of 15,364, the smallest paid crowd at Turner Field since the stadium opened in 1997. The Braves dropped to 6-11 at home this season.
MEET THE MESS
Errors by Gold Glove center fielder Carlos Beltran(notes) and fill-in first baseman Jeremy Reed(notes) in the 11th inning cost the Mets, moments after they had the go-ahead run taken away on an appeal play after Ryan Church(notes) missed third base. New York committed a total of five errors in the Los Angeles Dodgers’ 3-2 victory.
BACK AGAIN
John Lackey(notes) made his second start in three days and earned his first victory of the year. The Los Angeles Angels ace returned from a strained forearm Saturday for his season debut only to get ejected after two pitches for throwing behind and then hitting Texas’ Ian Kinsler(notes). Lackey went five innings Monday night and allowed five runs—four earned—as the Angels ended a three-game skid with a 10-6 win at Seattle.
TROUBLE UP NORTH
Alex Rios(notes) hit a go-ahead triple in the eighth inning and the Blue Jays completed a four-game sweep of the Chicago White Sox with a 3-2 victory. The White Sox lost their season-high fifth straight and have dropped 10 in a row at Toronto.
HOMER HAPPY
At least one home run has been hit in every game this season at Yankee Stadium, Detroit’s Comerica Park and Tampa Bay’s Tropicana Field. … Alex Rodriguez(notes) homered for the third straight game in the Yankees’ 7-6 victory over Minnesota.
CAPITAL COLLAPSE
Washington made four errors—all on routine plays—and the bullpen blew another lead in a 12-7 loss to Pittsburgh, which won its third straight and ended an eight-game road losing streak. The Nationals have lost five straight despite scoring at least five runs in every game. They entered with 37 errors, five more than any team in the majors.
STATS
Minnesota was 4 for 38 with runners in scoring position during the New York Yankees’ four-game sweep, which included three one-run victories and a 6-4 win in 11 innings. … Milwaukee’s Jason Kendall(notes) became the eighth full-time catcher to reach 2,000 hits. … Washington leadoff hitter Cristian Guzman(notes) drew his first walk of the season in his 122nd plate appearance. He had two hits in a 12-7 loss to Pittsburgh, raising his average to .385. … Mark Teixeira is batting .342 with five homers and 14 RBIs since Alex Rodriguez returned to the Yankees’ lineup on May 8. … Ryan Zimmerman(notes) homered for the Nationals, extending his streak of reaching base safely to 36 games.
SPEAKING
“I can’t wait to get out of here. Not just the stadium, but the whole city.”—Minnesota outfielder Denard Span(notes) after the New York Yankees completed a four-game sweep, dropping the Twins to 3-23 in the Bronx during the regular season since the start of 2002.
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Chicago Cubs (21-15) at St. Louis (21-17)
Ted Lilly (5-2, 3.27 ERA) guns for his fourth consecutive victory when he leads the Cubs against the slumping Cardinals and Joel Pineiro (4-3, 4.17) in the opener a three-game series between N.L. Central rivals at Busch Stadium.
Chicago took Monday off after dropping a 6-5 home decision to Houston on Sunday, snapping the team’s five-game winning streak. Still, the Cubs have won 11 of their last 15, going 3-2 on the road during this stretch. They’ve also won five of their last six against right-handed starters.
St. Louis wrapped up a weather-delayed three-game home series against the Brewers on Monday with an 8-4 loss. The Cardinals were swept in the series and have now also lost five of their last six, seven of 10 and 10 of 14, going 2-5 at home along the way and 1-5 in their last six against divisional opponents. Additionally, Tony LaRussa’s squad is in ruts of 1-4 on Tuesday, 1-7 against winning teams and 1-4 in series openers.
This is the third series of the year between these hated rivals, with the squads splitting the first six games and the home team winning four of those six contests.
Lilly is 3-0 with a 2.66 ERA in his last three trips to the mound, and he’s been the beneficiary of great offensive support, with the Cubs scoring an average of 6.7 runs per game during this stretch. In his most recent effort Wednesday against the Padres, Lilly allowed three runs in 6 1/3 innings, winning 6-4 in a rain-shortened game. The veteran southpaw is 2-1 on the road despite a hefty 6.75 ERA.
Chicago is 25-10 the last 35 times Lilly has pitched, including 5-1 in his last six on the road, 6-1 in his last seven versus divisional foes, 10-3 in series openers and 13-3 against teams with a winning record. The Cubs are also 6-1 in Lilly’s last seven starts against the Cardinals and 4-1 in his five lifetime outings in St. Louis. For his career, the 33-year-old is 6-2 with a 2.99 ERA in 11 starts against the Redbirds (3-0 with a 2.38 ERA at Busch Stadium).
Pineiro is coming off a 5-2 loss at Pittsburgh as he gave up five runs on 11 hits in six innings. The right-hander is 0-3 with a 4.74 ERA in his last three outings after starting the season 4-0 with a 3.76 ERA in his first four starts.
Pineiro, whose last four appearances have come on the road, has pitched just twice in Busch Stadium this season, going 2-0 with a 2.45 ERA, and he’s 8-2 with a 3.61 ERA in his career at Busch. Additionally, he’s 2-3 with a 5.28 ERA in five career starts against Chicago.
The over is 4-1-1 this year when these teams meet, but the under is still 5-1-1 in the last seven battles at Busch Stadium. For Chicago, the over is on streaks of 6-2-1 on the road, 11-4 on Tuesday and 4-0 when Lilly works on the highway. Conversely, the Cardinals carry “under” trends of 4-2 overall (all against the N.L. Central and 4-1 in series openers.
ATS ADVANTAGE: CHICAGO CUBS
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Toronto (27-14) at Boston (22-16)
The smoldering Blue Jays take a four-game winning streak to Fenway Park, where they begin a nine-game road trip with lefty Brian Tallet (2-1, 4.68) matched up against veteran Red Sox knuckleballer Tim Wakefield (4-2, 4.03) in the first meeting of the season between these A.L. East foes.
Toronto capped off a four-game series sweep of the White Sox on Monday afternoon with a 3-2 victory. The Blue Jays have given up three runs or fewer in seven of their last eight games, including the last five in a row. In addition to its four-game winning streak, Cito Gaston’s crew is on solid surges of 12-5 overall, 5-2 against the A.L. East, 4-0 against right-handed starters and 11-4 on Tuesday. However, they are just 5-6 in their last 11 road games and 1-4 in their last five as an underdog.
Boston returns home after a disappointing 2-4 road trip that ended with Sunday’s 3-2, walk-off loss at Seattle. The Red Sox offense has been pedestrian of late, producing four runs or fewer in six of the last seven games, and they’ve gone eight straight contests without tallying more than five runs. Still, Boston carries positive trends of 77-33 at home, 16-7 as a favorite, 7-2 against southpaw starters, 20-7 in series openers, 47-18 after a day off, 4-1 in divisional contests and 22-10 on Tuesday.
These teams split their 18-game season series last year, but Boston won four of the final five and six of the last eight clashes.
Since surrendering 10 runs (all earned) in just four innings an 11-3 loss at Kansas City on April 29, Tallet has been outstanding in his last three starts, yielding a combined six runs and 10 hits in 19 innings (2.70 ERA). However, he has just one win to show for it as the Blue Jays are 1-3 in his last four starts. Tallet has pitched into the sixth inning in five of his six starts this season, giving up a total of just seven earned runs in those five outings covering 31 innings (2.03 ERA).
Tallet has made five road appearances (three starts), going 2-1 with a 6.55 ERA. Also, he’s faced the Red Sox 16 times – but only one start – going 1-1 with a 4.22 ERA in 21 1/3 innings. The one start came way back in September 2002 when Tallet was with the Indians.
Wakefield is coming off his worst effort of the season, as he got tagged for seven runs on 11 hits in 4 2/3 innings in Anaheim on Wednesday, losing 8-4 to the Angels. That snapped Boston’s five-game winning streak with Wakefield on the mound. Still, the Red Sox are 36-16 in his last 52 home starts and 23-11 in his last 34 on Tuesday, but they’ve lost 11 of his last 15 against A.L. East rivals.
Wakefield is 2-0 with a 2.08 ERA in his first two starts at Fenway Park in 2009, beating the Twins 10-1 and the Indians 13-3. He’s got a long history against Toronto, too, going 16-11 with a 3.76 ERA in 48 appearances (38 starts), including 1-1 with a 2.57 ERA in three starts last season.
The over is 4-1 in Tallet’s last five starts, while Boston is on “over” streaks with Wakefield pitching of 8-1-1 overall, 4-0 at home, 6-1 against the A.L. East and 19-7-1 when favored. However, the under is 13-3-2 in Wakefield’s last 18 starts against Toronto and 5-1-1 in his last seven against Toronto at Fenway Park.
Toronto is on “over” stretches of 10-4 as an underdog, 14-6 on the road and 4-1 against the A.L. East. Boston is 5-1-1 “under” in its last seven overall, but otherwise the Sox are riding “over” streaks of 7-3-1 at home, 17-7-2 as a chalk, 11-4 versus southpaw starters and 10-3-1 on Tuesday.
ATS ADVANTAGE: NONE
Gametimepicks.com
Tuesday's streaking and slumping starting pitchers
By Covers.com
Streaking
Josh Johnson, Florida Marlins
The Diamondbacks will likely be in for a challenge against Florida's Josh Johnson (3-0, 2.50 ERA), who is coming off his shortest outing of 2009.
Johnson allowed three runs - two earned - and three hits while walking five in four innings of a 5-3 loss at Milwaukee on Thursday.
The right-hander said his shoulder area felt tired prompting manager Fredi Gonzalez to remove him as a precaution. Last season, Johnson went 7-1 with a 3.61 ERA in 14 starts after missing the first three months while recovering from elbow surgery.
"Maybe it was just one of those days," said Johnson, who is 5-0 with a 2.98 ERA in his last 10 home starts since losing there on June 29, 2007. "I just have to go back out there and do what I've been doing."
Johnson makes his second career start against Arizona after giving up two hits in seven scoreless innings of a 4-1 win on Aug. 11, 2006.
The under has also cashed in three of the right-hander's last four outings.
Mark Buehrle, Chicago White Sox
Mark Buehrle (5-1, 3.00 ERA) will take the mound for the White Sox after he allowed a season-high four runs and seven hits over seven innings of a 4-0 loss to Cleveland last Wednesday.
The left-hander is 22-13 with a 3.79 ERA against the Twins, including 12-6 at home. He faced Minnesota on April 12, allowing one run and two hits over 6 1-3 innings of a 6-1 victory.
While the White Sox are off to a disappointing start to the 2009 season, their luck has been much better with Buehrle on the bump. Chicago is 6-1 with the ball in the southpaw's hand with the under cashing in five of those seven games.
Johnny Cueto, Cincinnati Reds
An old-fashioned pitchers' duel could result today with the Phillies Cole Hamels squaring off against Cueto (4-1, 1.93). The 23-year-old right-hander has delivered five quality starts in a row, going 4-0 with a 1.25 ERA.
His least effective outing in that stretch came Wednesday, when he allowed three runs and four hits over seven innings in Arizona. He still got credit for a 10-3 win, though, and other than allowing two homers manager Dusty Baker described Cueto as "masterful."
"I'm very happy," Cueto told the Reds' official Web site through an interpreter. "The same time I'm pitching well, the team is coming out and scoring runs and making some plays on defense."
Cueto has never faced the Phillies, and his first experience against Philadelphia may not be coming at the best time. The Phillies won all four games in Washington over the weekend, totaling 33 runs.
Slumping
Jon Garland, Arizona Diamondbacks
Garland (3-2, 5.18) matched his shortest outing of the season after allowing seven runs and 10 hits in 3 2-3 innings of a 13-5 loss to Cincinnati on May 11. He also gave up seven runs in 3 2-3 innings of a 12-7 loss to St. Louis on April 15.
"Everything was at the belt," Garland told the Diamondbacks' official Web site. "If you continue to throw pitches there, you're going to get hurt."
The right-hander is 0-1 with a 3.29 ERA in two starts against the Marlins. Opponents are hitting .353 off the former 18-game winner and he's issued just as many walks (16) as strikeouts in 41 2-3 innings pitched this season.
Tuesday's Short Hops
By Brian Edwards
--Pittsburgh has been horrible on the road all season, as evidenced by its 6-12 record. Nevertheless, I backed the Pirates for a winner last night in their 12-7 win over the miserable Nationals. For gamblers riding the fade train against Washington, it’s been a nice run here lately. The Nats have lost eight of their last nine games. The ‘over’ has also been cashing at a frenetic clip for Manny Acta’s club, going 8-0-1 its last nine times out. With that said, should bettors give fading the Nats a rest tonight? Probably, considering the fact that staff stopper Shairon Martis is going to be on the mound. Martis is 3-0 with a 2.11 ERA in six home assignments.
--Texas will put its big-league best seven-game winning streak on the line tonight at Detroit. The Tigers will give the starting nod to Dontrelle Willis, who will take the ball for just the second time this year. The left-hander threw 87 pitches and gave up four earned runs in 4 2/3 innings of work.
--Detroit slugger Magglio Ordonez is out for at least the first two games of this three-game series against the Rangers. Ordonez is attending a funeral.
--New York Yankees’ LHP C.C. Sabathia owns a 6-1 record and 2.67 career ERA against Baltimore. The Bronx Bombers, who have won six in a row, open a three-game home set against the O’s tonight. They are minus-290 favorites on the straight price, but bettors can back the ‘chalk’ on the run line for a more moderate minus-135 risk (risk $135 to win $100 but Yankees have to win by two runs or more).
--Tampa Bay will put its four-game winning streak at stake tonight when it hosts the A’s. Oakland will put LHP Josh Outman on the bump. The Rays have struggled against southpaws with an abysmal 4-9 record.
--Milwaukee second baseman Rickie Weeks is out for the season with a wrist injury that will require surgery. Fortunately for the first-place Brewers, who completed a sweep Monday at St. Louis, they have 2B Craig Counsell, who is a solid veteran with a pair of World Series rings.
--Milwaukee has now won 10 of its last 11 head-to-head meetings against the Cardinals. The Brewers will open a series against the Astros tonight with Dave Bush on the mound. Bush is 5-1 with a 3.50 lifetime ERA against Houston.
--You know you’ve had a great night of Web Gems (think the four-letter network) when Pittsburgh SS Jack Wilson’s unreal play against the Nats finishes third.
--If you’re a Mets fan and didn’t stay up late last night, be glad you missed the 11-inning loss to the Dodgers. You wouldn’t have been able to sleep after watching it. First, Ryan Church misses third base before touching home on an RBI-double in the top half of the inning. Then a pair of New York errors allowed L.A. to score the winning run in the bottom frame.
--The ‘under’ has cashed in six straight starts from Cleveland LHP Cliff Lee, who faces Kansas City tonight. The Indians are minus-135 favorites at most spots.
--Atlanta been a tough team to figure this season to date. Bobby Cox’s club is an atrocious 6-11 at home but has a solid 12-8 mark on the road. The Braves are 8-15 against right-handers, yet 10-4 versus southpaws. They face a righty tonight as expensive home ‘chalk’ against Colorado.
--I’ve lost all respect for Kate Hudson. Seriously, A-Roids?
vegasinsider.com