Tuesday's Tip Sheet
By Brad Young
The long holiday weekend is over, but there is still a full slate of baseball games listed on Tuesday’s schedule. Memorial Day marks the unofficial start of summer, but the All-Star Break is still a month and a half away. Now let’s take a closer look at some of Tuesday’s key contests.
**Cardinals (Wainwright) at Brewers (Suppan)**
-Las Vegas Sports Consultants list Milwaukee as a $1.07 home ‘chalk’ over St. Louis, with the total set at 8 ½ ‘over’ (minus $1.20). This National League Central contest is scheduled to start at 8:05 p.m. ET.
-St. Louis hurler Adam Wainwright (4-2, 3.41 ERA) ended a personal two-game losing streak by upending Chicago Thursday as a $1.35 home favorite, 3-1. The towering 6-foot-7 hurler tossed 8 2/3 innings, yielding the lone run on five hits with a walk and seven strikeouts.
-The combined four runs failed to topple the 8 ½-run closing total, enabling the ‘under’ to cash his second consecutive contest.
-Wainwright fell to the Brewers May 16 as a $1.45 home ‘chalk,’ 1-0, going eight innings while allowing the lone run on just two hits (one home run) with two walks and seven strikeouts.
-The lone run never seriously threatened the nine-run closing total.
-Milwaukee right-hander Jeff Suppan (3-3, 4.71 ERA) is coming off of Thursday’s no-decision against Houston. The 34-year-old was reached for three runs on eight hits (two home runs) with four walks and two strikeouts over five innings.
-The Brewers eventually won that contest as a $1.38 road underdog, 4-3, while the combined seven runs went ‘under’ the 8 ½-run closing total. The ‘under’ is 4-1 his previous five outings.
-Suppan won that May 16 matchup with Wainwright and the Cardinals by pitching seven scoreless innings while allowing six hits with two walks and two strikeouts.
**Dodgers (Milton) at Rockies (Cook)**
-LVSC installed Colorado as a $1.55 home favorite over Los Angeles, with the total set at 10 ‘over’ (minus $1.25). This NL West affair is slated to start at 8:40 p.m. ET.
-Los Angeles left-hander Eric Milton (0-0, 4.50 ERA) is making just his second start of the year after picking up a no-decision against Florida May 16. The former Maryland Terrapin was making his first start since 2007, lasting four innings against the Marlins while surrendering two runs on two hits with four walks and three strikeouts.
-The Dodgers eventually dropped that contest as a $1.10 road underdog, 6-3, while the combined nine runs went ‘under’ the 10-run closing total.
-Needless to say, Milton has not started against the Rockies the previous few years.
-Colorado pitcher Aaron Cook (3-1, 4.68 ERA) continued his winning ways by beating Atlanta Thursday as a $1.28 road underdog, 9-0. The right-hander went the complete-game route, yielding just four hits with a walk and three strikeouts. The nine runs landed directly on the closing total.
-Cook is 0-1 against the Dodgers this season in two starts, going a combined 10 innings while being reached for eight runs on 15 hits (three home runs) with eight walks and six strikeouts. The Rockies fell as a $1.55 road underdog, 9-5, and as a $1.23 home favorite, 6-5. The ‘over’ cashed in both games.
**Tigers (Jackson) at Royals (Greinke)**
-LVSC opened Kansas City as a $1.75 home ‘chalk’ over Detroit, with the total listed at eight ‘under’ (minus $1.15). This American League Central matchup is scheduled to begin at 8:10 p.m. ET.
-Detroit’s Edwin Jackson (4-2, 2.55 ERA) is riding a personal three-game winning streak after dispatching Texas Thursday as a $1.43 home favorite, 4-3. The 25-year-old went eight innings, allowing three runs on seven hits (one home run) with five walks and seven strikeouts.
-The combined seven runs failed to eclipse the 8 ½-run closing total, helping the ‘under’ improve to 2-1 his last three starts.
-Jackson, a seven-year veteran, went 2-0 against the Royals last season in two starts. The right-hander went a combined 13 innings, surrendering four runs (three earned) on six hits (three home runs) with three walks and four strikeouts. The Tigers prevailed as a $1.60 home ‘chalk,’ 11-2, and as a $1.10 road favorite, 5-3.
-Kansas City ace pitcher Zack Greinke (7-1, 0.82 ERA) received a no-decision for Thursday’s effort against Cleveland. The six-year veteran was reached for two runs on eight hits with two walks and eight strikeouts over six innings.
-The Royals eventually dropped that affair as a $2.00 home ‘chalk,’ 8-3, while the combined 11 runs eclipsed the eight-run closing total. The ‘over’ has cashed his past two starts.
-Greinke beat the Tigers April 24 as a $1.63 home favorite, 6-1, going the complete-game route while yielding an unearned run on three hits with a walk and 10 strikeouts. The combined seven runs went ‘under’ the 8 ½-run closing total.
**White Sox (Colon) at Angels (Saunders)**
-LVSC lists Los Angeles as a $1.83 home favorite over Chicago, with the total set at 8 ½ ‘under’ (minus $1.20). This contest is slated to start at 10:05 p.m. ET.
-Chicago hurler Bartolo Colon (2-4, 4.23 ERA) is searching for his first victory in a month after going 0-3 his past four performances. The veteran right-hander was roughed up by Minnesota Thursday as a $1.05 home ‘pick,’ 20-1, lasting just two innings while surrendering eight runs (one earned) on seven hits (two home runs) with two walks and a strikeout.
-The combined 21 runs soared ‘over’ the 9 ½-run closing total, ending a string of five straight ‘under’ outings for the 36-year-old.
-Colon, pitching in the league since 1997, has not started against the Angels the past few years.
-Los Angeles southpaw Joe Saunders (6-2, 3.17 ERA) toppled Seattle in his latest effort Thursday as a $1.10 road underdog, 3-0. The Virginia Tech product tossed seven scoreless innings on four hits with three walks and three strikeouts.
-The three runs failed to topple the 7 ½-run closing total, enabling the ‘under’ to improve to 3-1 his last four outings.
-Saunders went 2-0 against the White Sox last season in two starts, going a combined 15 2/3 innings while yielding just three runs on seven hits (two home runs) with four walks and eight strikeouts. The Angels prevailed as a $1.02 road underdog, 3-1, and as a $1.25 road ‘dog, 3-2. The ‘under’ prevailed in both matchups.
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NATIONAL LEAGUE
St. Louis (26-18) at Milwaukee (26-18)
The Cardinals kick off a six-game road trip at Miller Park where they will send Chris Carpenter (2-0, 0.00 ERA) to the mound to face the Brewers’ Yovani Gallardo (4-2, 3.83 ERA).
St. Louis had its five-game winning streak snapped on Sunday when the Royals got the 3-2 victory to salvage one game of the interleague series. The Cardinals are just 9-9 on the road this year and will head west to visit the Giants for a three-game series after their stop in Milwaukee. Meanwhile, the Brewers were swept by the Twins over the weekend, ending a nine-game road trip that started with four straight wins, including three in St. Louis.
Milwaukee has dominated the Cardinals lately, winning 13 of the last 16 meetings, including four of the last five at Miller Park.
Carpenter made his first start in more than a month on Wednesday and didn’t allow a run and only three hits in five innings of a 2-1 win over the Cubs. It was just his sixth start in more than two years of battling injuries. His last two starts against the Brewers haven’t gone so well, but they were way back in the 2005 and 2006 seasons, allowing 13 runs on 19 hits in 11 1/3 innings, losing both games.
Milwaukee has won four of Gallardo’s last five outings, but his last one wasn’t pretty, as the right-hander gave up six runs on seven hits in five innings of Wednesday’s 6-4 loss in Houston. Prior to that he’d held the opposition to three runs or less in six of his first seven starts of 2009. He faced the Cardinals twice in the 2007 season and lost both times, allowing a combined 11 runs on 13 hits in 10 2/3 innings.
St. Louis is 10-4 in its last 14 series openers, but it is just 2-5 in its last seven on the road and 2-5 in its last seven Monday contests. With Carpenter on the mound, the Cardinals are on runs of76-29 overall, 35-16 on the road and 37-15 against N.L. Central teams. Despite getting swept by the Twins over the weekend, Milwaukee is on runs of 22-9 overall, 6-1 at home, 5-0 at home against right-handed starters, 40-19 as a favorite and 36-17 against N.L. Central teams.
The Cardinals are on “under” runs of 6-0 overall, 4-0 in series openers and 7-2 against N.L. Central teams, but the over is 9-2 in Carpenter’s last 11 roadies and 28-12-3 in their last 43 on the highway against right-handed starters. Milwaukee is on “under” streaks of 8-3 at home, 7-2 as a home favorite and 12-5 in Gallardo’s last 17 starts, but the over is 5-0 in the Brewers’ last five games on Monday and 9-3-1 in its last 13 when they face a right-handed starter.
ATS ADVANTAGE: MILWAUKEE
AMERICAN LEAGUE
N.Y. Yankees (25-19) at Texas (26-17)
The two hottest teams in the American League begin a three-game set today at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington when the Yankees send Phil Hughes (2-2, 7.06 ERA) to the mound opposite Texas southpaw Matt Harrison (4-3, 4.71).
New York lost two of three to the Phillies over the weekend, including a 4-3, 11-inning loss on Sunday, but has still won 10 of its last 12 overall and six of its last eight on the highway. Meanwhile, the Rangers swept their in-state rivals in Houston over the weekend when they blanked the Astros 5-0 on Sunday. Texas has won 16 of its last 21 games overall and eight straight in front of the home fans.
The Yankees hold decisive advantages when these two clubs square off, winning 21 of the last 28 clashes overall and 21 of the last 29 in Texas.
Hughes has been inconsistent this season, including going 1-1 with a 10.80 ERA in his last three starts, and he’s 1-1 with a 9.38 ERA in his two road outings. The Yankees scored home wins over Baltimore and Minnesota in Hughes’ last two starts, but in his last roadie, Hughes allowed eight runs on eight hits in just 1 2/3 innings of a 12-5 loss to the Orioles. In his lone career start against Texas, he blanked the Rangers without a hit for 6 1/3 innings of a 10-1 victory in Texas back in May 2007.
Harrison is 2-1 with a 2.74 ERA and 15 strikeouts against just three walks in his last three starts. He threw a complete game in his last home outing, allowing two runs on five hits in a 3-2 win over the Mariners. Harrison faced the Yankees in August last season and allowed two runs on five hits in 6 1/3 innings of an 8-6 Texas victory.
New York is 5-2 in Hughes’ last seven starts, but just 2-5 in his last seven on the road. The Yankees are on further streaks of 4-1 against A.L. West teams and 4-1 on the road against teams with winning records. Texas is just 1-5 when Harrison starts as a home favorite but the Rangers are 5-1 in his last six starts against A.L. East squads. Furthermore, the Rangers are on runs of 6-1 in series openers, 7-3 against winning teams and 11-3 when they face a right-hander.
For the Yankees, the under is on runs of 5-1 in series openers and 5-0 against teams with winning records, but the over is 13-6-1 in their last 20 as a ‘dog and 8-3-1 in their last 12 on Mondays. The Rangers have topped the total in 20 of their last 32 Monday games, but otherwise for Texas the “under” is on stretches of 21-8 overall, 8-3 at home, 7-3 in series openers and 5-0 in Harrison’s last five outings. However the over is 9-3 in Harrison’s last 12 starts at home.
ATS ADVANTAGE: N.Y. YANKEES
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Baseball Today
SCOREBOARD
Tuesday, May 26
Detroit at Kansas City (8:10 p.m. EDT). Zack Greinke (7-1) tries to bounce back from his first no decision this season against the Detroit Tigers, a team he beat on April 24 with a 10-strikeout performance.
STARS
Monday
-Alex Rodriguez, Yankees, had five hits and four RBIs in New York's 11-1 victory at Texas.
-Chase Headley, Padres, hit a two-run homer in the 10th inning as San Diego rallied from a six-run deficit to beat Arizona 9-7 for its 10th straight win.
-Justin Verlander, Tigers, held slumping Kansas City to five hits in seven scoreless innings and struck out eight in Detroit's 13-1 victory.
-Bill Hall, Brewers, snapped a 1-for-28 slump with a two-out, RBI single in the 10th inning to lift Milwaukee to a 1-0 victory over St. Louis.
-Travis Buck and Adam Kennedy, Athletics. Buck homered and scored three runs, and Kennedy had a career high-tying four hits in Oakland's 6-1 victory over Seattle.
-Jonny Gomes, Reds, had three hits and three RBIs in Cincinnati's 8-5 victory over Houston.
-Travis Ishikawa, Giants, had four hits, including a three-run homer, as San Francisco beat Atlanta 8-2.
-Wes Helms, Marlins, homered and drove in four runs in Florida's 5-3 victory at Philadelphia.
COMEBACKS
Cleveland rallied from a 10-0 deficit in the fourth as Victor Martinez's two-out, two-run single in the ninth capped a seven-run inning and lifted the Indians to an 11-10 victory over Tampa Bay on Monday night. The hit off Jason Isringhausen snapped an 0-for-18 streak by Martinez. The Indians became the first team in the majors to win after trailing by 10 runs since the Texas Rangers rallied to beat the Detroit Tigers 16-15 on May 8, 2004, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
LET'S GO TO THE VIDEOTAPE
Gary Sheffield hit a disputed, tiebreaking three-run homer in the sixth inning that was upheld by a video review and New York beat Washington 5-2 Monday night. With the score tied 1-1 in the sixth, Luis Castillo doubled leading off against John Lannan and Carlos Beltran walked. Sheffield sent the next pitch deep to left field. A fan reached out and the ball bounced back onto the field. Third base umpire Adrian Johnson signaled a home run, and Washington manager Manny Acta argued. Three umpires consulted video replay. After a 6-minute wait, crew chief Larry Vanover signaled for a home run, the 503rd of Sheffield's career.
PITCHING DUEL
Cardinals ace Chris Carpenter took a perfect game into the seventh inning, and the Brewers' Yovani Gallardo carried a no-hitter into the sixth before each finished allowing just two hits over eight innings Monday. Bill Hall hit a two-out, RBI single in the 10th inning to lift Milwaukee to a 1-0 victory.
PASSING THE TORCH
Jim Thome hit his 549th career homer to pass Mike Schmidt and move into 13th place on the all-time homer list. Thome connected with a three-run shot that helped the Chicago White Sox rout the Los Angeles Angels 17-3.
RETURNS
The Los Angeles Angels activated slugger Vladimir Guerrero from the disabled list after he had been sidelined with a torn pectoral muscle on the right side of his chest. Guerrero was hitless in four at-bats in his return. He first felt discomfort after making a throw during an exhibition game April 2 at Dodger Stadium.
STRUCK
Pittsburgh closer Matt Capps was hit on his pitching elbow by a line drive and taken to a hospital for X-rays. After Geovany Soto's shot up the middle hit Capps with one out in the ninth inning, the 25-year-old right-hander experienced some numbness and tingling. Although Capps said his range of motion was better by the end of the game, the team's medical staff still sent him to the hospital. The Pirates said results of the X-rays would not be made public until Tuesday.
STREAKS
San Diego's 9-7 win in 10 innings at Arizona on Monday extended the Padres' winning streak to 10 games. San Diego, which snapped an 11-game road losing streak, trailed 7-1 entering the eighth inning, but scored five in the eighth, one in the ninth and two in the 10th.
BIG INNINGS
The Los Angeles Dodgers scored seven runs in the fourth inning and eight in the seventh en route to a 16-6 victory over the Colorado Rockies on Monday night.
SPEAKING
"It's been a lot of fun to come to the ballpark these last 10 days. We come here and we expect to win. It's not that we come in here and hope to win, we expect to win. We just couldn't give up today.'' - San Diego's Chase Headley after hitting a two-run homer in the 10th inning to cap the Padres' comeback from a six-run deficit after seven innings in a 9-7 victory over Arizona on Monday.
Tuesday's streaking and slumping starting pitchers
By Covers.com
Streaking
Matt Garza (Tampa Bay Rays)
Matt Garza (4-2, 3.41) also started that game, allowing two runs and five hits over six innings to earn the victory, and now squares off against Pavano again. Garza had been 0-3 with a 6.12 ERA in his previous five starts versus Cleveland.
The right-hander is 3-0 with a 2.29 ERA in his last five starts. He did not get a decision Thursday as he allowed two runs and struck out eight over 6 2-3 innings of a 6-5 win over Oakland.
Zack Greinke (Kansas City Royals)
Greinke (7-1, 0.82 ERA) was dominant in winning his first six starts, but Kansas City (22-23) has lost two of the last three times he has taken the mound. He did not get a decision for the first time Thursday when he yielded two runs over six innings in an 8-3 loss to Cleveland.
He has yet to allow a homer, continues to lead the majors in ERA and has gone 19 straight innings versus Detroit (25-18) without allowing an earned run. He is seeking his second win over the Tigers this year after pitching a three-hitter April 24 in a 6-1 victory.
The right-hander is 8-4 with a 3.04 ERA in 15 career starts against Detroit, and has held the Tigers' Magglio Ordonez and Curtis Granderson in check. Ordonez is 4 for 31 (.129) against Greinke and Granderson is 4 for 25 (.160).
Four of Greinke's wins this season have followed losses by the Royals, who were beaten 13-1 to open this series Monday.
Slumping
Joe Blanton (Philadelphia Phillies)
Philadelphia counters with Joe Blanton (2-3, 7.11). He's 0-2 with an 8.87 ERA in four home starts after going 3-0 with a 3.48 ERA in eight outings in Philadelphia last year, including a Game 4 win in the World Series.
Blanton got a win Thursday as the Phillies beat Cincinnati 12-5 even though he failed to pitch past the fifth inning and allowed at least five runs for the fourth time in eight starts.
Opposing batters are hitting .308 against Blanton, whose only two career outings against Florida came in September and he won both despite a 5.40 ERA.
Ian Snell (Pittsburgh Pirates)
Chicago could have a good chance to halt the slide when it faces the struggling Ian Snell (1-5, 4.88 ERA). He is 1-5 with a 6.70 ERA in nine starts against the Cubs.
Snell is 0-3 with a 5.23 ERA in his last six starts since beating Atlanta on April 18. The right-hander allowed three runs and four hits while striking out six in six innings Thursday, but didn't factor in the decision for a second straight start, a 5-4 loss at Washington.
The Pirates could be without closer Matt Capps, who left Monday's game in the ninth inning after being struck on his pitching elbow by a line drive off the bat of Geovany Soto. Capps has converted nine of 11 save attempts.
Returning
Ricky Romero (Toronto Blue Jays)
When Ricky Romero went on the disabled list, the Toronto Blue Jays were sprinting through the first two weeks of the season and were the surprise team atop the AL East despite an ailing staff.
The rookie starter will return Tuesday night, but he'll be rejoining a Blue Jays team that's dropped seven in a row - all on the road - to fall out of first place.
Set to make his fourth career start, Romero will try to help Toronto avoid tying its longest road losing streak in seven seasons as it continues a three-game series with the Baltimore Orioles.
The highly touted left-hander, the sixth overall pick in the 2005 draft, won his major league debut April 9 against Detroit and pitched seven scoreless innings in a victory over Oakland on April 19. A strained right oblique, however, landed Romero (2-0, 1.71 ERA) on the disabled list the next day, joining fellow injured starters Jesse Litsch, Shaun Marcum and Dustin McGowan.
Debuting
Jason Berken (Baltimore Orioles)
Baltimore is expected to promote Jason Berken to start Tuesday's game, which would be his major league debut. The 25-year-old right-hander is 2-0 with a 1.05 ERA in five starts for Triple-A Norfolk this season.