NATIONAL LEAGUE
Chicago Cubs (47-44) at Philadelphia (52-38)
The Phillies gun for their 10th straight victory when the send Joe Blanton (6-4, 4.44 ERA) to the mound opposite former A’s teammate Rich Harden (6-6, 5.06 ERA) and the Cubs in the middle game of a three-game series at Citizens Bank Park.
Philadelphia crushed three home runs and got an outstanding effort from No. 5 starter Rodrigo Lopez en route to Monday’s 10-1 rout of Chicago. Not only have the Phillies won nine in a row, but they’re 13-1 in their last 14 games and are on additional positive streaks of 6-0 at home, 6-0 against right-handed starters and 36-16 against the N.L. Central. The only negative: They’re just 1-4 in their last five Tuesday contests.
Chicago arrived in Philadelphia after a four-game sweep of the lowly Nationals in Washington in which they outscored the Nats 26-11. Despite getting hammered last night, the Cubs are still on runs of 6-2 overall, 5-1 on the road, 4-1 against the N.L. East and 5-2 against right-handed starters, but like Philly, they’ve lost four of their last five on Tuesday.
The Phillies have taken seven of the last nine meetings against the Cubs in Philadelphia, and they’re 13-8 in the last 21 series clashes overall.
Harden dominated the Nationals in Washington on Thursday, picking up a 6-2 victory after allowing one unearned run on three hits with no walks and seven strikeouts. That performance came after two poor home starts in which Harden allowed 11 runs and 15 hits in seven innings. In fact, Harden has been far better on the road this year (4-1, 2.17 ERA) than at home (2-5, 7.59). He’s also been much better in night games (5-1, 2.41) than day contests (1-5, 7.38).
The Cubs are 4-1 in Harden’s last five road starts, 5-1 in his last six against the N.L. East and 4-0 in his last four on Tuesday. Also, Harden faced the Phillies twice last year – once with Oakland, once with Philadelphia – and he gave up a total of two runs (one earned) on five hits with 16 strikeouts in 13 innings, and his teams won both games at home by scores of 5-0 and 3-2.
Blanton dominated the Mets and Pirates in his last two outings, both at home. He pitched 7 1/3 innings in each game, giving up a total of one run and eight hits with 11 strikeouts, as the Phillies beat New York 2-0 and Pittsburgh 3-2. Prior to those two victories, Philadelphia had lost five straight games behind Blanton. Still, with the burly right-hander pitching, the Phillies are on upticks of 11-4 at home and 5-1 against N.L. Central teams.
Blanton, who has given up three runs or fewer in eight of his last nine starts, is 3-2 with a 4.63 ERA at home this year. His lone career start against the Cubs came when he was matched up against Harden on Aug. 29 last year at Wrigley Field, giving up two runs in 5 2/3 innings of his team’s 3-2 defeat.
Chicago has topped the total in three straight games, but otherwise carries “under” streaks of 21-9 on the road, 7-3 against the N.L. East, 14-3 in the second game of a series, 6-2 on Tuesday and 5-1-1 with Harden working on the road. For the Phillies, the “under” is on stretches of 10-5 overall, 8-4 at home, 29-13-2 against the N.L. Central, 6-1-2 in Blanton’s last nine outings overall and 5-1 in Blanton’s last six at home.
Finally, even though Monday’s series opener cleared the posted total, the under is still 8-4-1 in the last 13 meetings in this rivalry.
ATS ADVANTAGE: PHILADELPHIA and UNDER
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Boston (55-37) at Texas (50-41)
The Red Sox send All-Star right-hander Josh Beckett (11-3, 3.35) to the hill at Rangers Ballpark, while Texas counters with rookie Tommy Hunter (1-1, 2.35) as it tries for its third straight win overall and third straight win over Boston.
The Rangers followed up Sunday’s 5-3, 12-inning home victory over Minnesota with Monday’s 6-3, come-from-behind win over the Red Sox. Texas is still just 3-6 in its last nine contests, but is on positive runs of 7-2 at home, 5-0 against the A.L. East and 36-17 on Tuesday.
The Red Sox had won five of six going into the All-Star break, but have dropped three of four since returning to action. However, they remain on positive stretches of 13-7 on the road, 5-1 on Tuesday and 10-3 in the second game of a series.
Texas is now 3-1 against the BoSox this year after losing 15 of the previous 18 clashes. Also, Boston is 6-2 in their last eight games at Rangers Ballpark
Boston has won five straight games and eight of nine behind Beckett, including a 6-0 home victory over Kansas City on July 12. In that contest, Beckett went the distance, scattering three hits and no walks while striking out seven. The veteran right-hander hasn’t allowed an earned run in six of his last 10 outings, and he’s 9-1 with a 2.14 in 13 starts since the beginning of May, including 5-1 with a 3.21 ERA in seven road games.
With Beckett on the bump, the Red Sox are on streaks of 13-3 overall, 6-1 on the road and 4-0 on Tuesday. He’s also 2-1 with a 3.63 ERA in four career starts against Texas, including 2-0 with a 0.75 ERA in Rangers Ballpark.
Hunter hasn’t pitched since July 9, when he yielded four hits and three walks in six scoreless innings at Seattle, but got a no-decision as the Rangers suffered a 3-1 loss. The right-hander’s other three starts this season were at home, where he’s 1-1 with a 3.18 ERA. On the downside, Hunter’s third career big-league start came at Boston last Aug. 14, and he got rocked for nine runs on seven hits in just 1 2/3 innings, losing 10-0.
With Beckett pitching, the Red Sox are on “under” runs of 4-1 overall, 4-1 on Tuesday, 6-2-1 against the A.L. West and 4-0 versus the Rangers. Also, the under is 6-0 in Hunter’s last six starts dating to last August, including 4-0 at home.
Boston is on several “under” streaks, including 37-17-4 overall, 8-2 on the road, 11-2-1 against the A.L. West, 22-10-4 versus right-handed starters and 6-2-1 on Tuesday. Meanwhile, the Rangers are on “under” stretches of 40-15-1 overall, 22-5-1 at home, 9-1 against the A.L. East and 27-11-1 against right-handed starters. Lastly, the past five Texas-Boston clashes – including all four this year – have stayed under the total.
ATS ADVANTAGE: BOSTON and UNDER
Gametimepicks.com
Tuesday's Tips
By Kevin Rogers
As July winds down, the Wild Card races continue to heat up. A full card of night baseball dominates the sports landscape on Tuesday, including a handful of interdivision matchups. The showdown that takes center stage features a pair of reigning NL division champions in the City of Brotherly Love.
Cubs at Phillies (7:05 PM EST)
Two of the hottest teams in baseball hook up in Philadelphia, as the Cubs and Phillies continue their three-game series at Citizens Bank Park. Lou Piniella's team is slowly returning from the dead, winning six of eight games, despite Monday's 10-1 loss. It does help that the Cubs are getting healthier, as third baseman Aramis Ramirez has been back in the lineup since July 6. Ramirez's numbers aren't great since his return (.229 BA, 1 HR), but the timing is good for him to get back in the swing of things at this point of the season.
The Phillies were disappointing at home for the majority of the first half, but captured nine of ten at Citizens Bank prior to the All-Star Break, including a handful of walk-off wins. Philadelphia solidified their hold on the NL East lead with a three-game sweep at Florida over the weekend. The Phillies have hit the 'under' in nine of their last 15 games, including ten games in which Philadelphia held its opponent to two or less runs.
Since the end of May, Joe Blanton has delivered seven of nine quality starts, while winning his last two outings. The Phillies righty has allowed 19 home runs this season, with 12 of those long balls coming at home (the Cubs knocked out six homers in their four-game sweep of Washington over the weekend). In nine home starts, Blanton has drilled the 'under' six times, while hitting the 'under' in his last three overall.
Blanton's former teammate in Oakland, Rich Harden, takes the mound for the Cubbies tonight. Harden has struggled to find consistency this season, going 6-6, with an ERA of 5.06. Amazingly, the Chicago flamethrower has peaked on the road, owning a 4-1 mark away from the Friendly Confines. Harden's last two road victories have had impressive lines (13 IP, 1 ER), but the righty beat a pair of last-place teams, the Pirates and Nationals.
Las Vegas Sports Consultants has installed the Phillies as a $1.25 home favorite, with the total set at 9.
Giants at Braves (7:05 PM EST)
A solid pitching matchup takes place at Turner Field, as veteran Derek Lowe opposes rookie Ryan Sadowski. Atlanta is right in the thick of the NL Wild Card race, sitting 3 ½ games behind San Francisco after the Braves blew out the Giants, 11-3 on Monday night.
Lowe has endured plenty of ups and downs in his first season with the Braves, as Atlanta won seven of his first ten starts. The Braves then lost six of his next eight trips to the mound, but Lowe has won his last two starts against the Rockies and Mets. After a nice string of 'overs' to begin the season, the 'under' has hit in nine of Lowe's last 11 starts.
Sadowski began his career with a bang, by not allowing a run in first two starts, victories over the Brewers and Astros. The Giants righty fell back to Earth when he got touched up for five hits and three runs in five innings of work in a loss to the Marlins prior to the All-Star Break. The Braves have had problems with right-handed pitching this season, hitting .257, while scoring 253 runs, which ranks 28th in the league.
LVSC has opened the Braves as a hefty $1.85 favorite, with the total listed at 8 ½.
Rays at White Sox (8:10 PM EST)
Last season's rematch of the ALDS takes place at U.S. Cellular Field, as the Sox and Rays meet up for the second game of their four-game series. This is a crucial stretch for Ozzie Guillen's club, who battles five straight teams right in the middle of the playoff race over the next 19 days (Rays, Twins, Tigers, Yankees, Angels).
The Sox are 9-4 in their last 13 home games, sending southpaw Clayton Richard to the mound. Richard may not exactly be the answer to slow down the Rays, as the lefty has allowed at least four earned runs in each of his last four outings. To make things worse, Richard lasted a grand total of 15 innings in those four trips. Two of Richard's best starts have come against two of the worst offenses in baseball, the Pirates and Royals, back in late May. Tampa Bay, meanwhile, ranks second in baseball in runs scored (492), and fourth in batting average (.292).
Jeff Niemann has been impressive in his first full season inside the Rays rotation, going 8-4, with an ERA of 3.73. Tampa Bay has won eight of Niemann's ten road starts, with the Rays outscoring their opponents by over three runs a game in those contests. Niemann owns some of the best run support in the game, as the Rays average a shade over seven runs a game in his 16 starts. Tampa Bay is just 7-13 this season in night games on the road against left-handed starters, while hitting the 'over' in nine of the last 11 in this spot.
The Rays are listed as a $1.30 road favorite according to LVSC, while the total is set at 9.5.
What else to watch for:
-- Red Sox ace Josh Beckett looks for his AL-leading 12th victory when Boston battles Texas. The Lone Star State native has allowed one earned run or less in seven of his last ten starts.
-- Aaron Cook tries to become the second Rockies pitcher to 10 wins this season as Colorado hosts Arizona. The only problem is Cook's recent history with the Diamondbacks, as Colorado is 2-8 his last ten starts against Arizona dating back to 2006. Cook has also had bad luck with his division counterparts this season, as the Rockies are 2-6 in his eight starts versus the NL West.
-- The Yankees hope they have found another starting pitcher for the stretch run, as Sergio Mitre makes his Bronx Bomber debut against the Orioles. The former Cubs and Marlins right-hander went 3-1 with an ERA of 2.40 in seven starts at Triple-A Scranton-Wilkes Barre.
vegasinsider.com
Tuesday's streaking and slumping starting pitchers
By Covers.com
Streaking
Wandy Rodriguez (Houston Astros)
The left-hander has been unbeatable for a month and untouchable over his last three starts as he learns to pitch to his strengths from game to game.
The Astros have won the last five games started by Rodriguez, who is 4-0 with a 1.54 ERA during that span to move among the National League leaders in ERA.
Over his last three outings, Rodriguez is 3-0 with an 0.41 ERA, allowing 17 hits and five walks while striking out 22. Two of those came against Manny Ramirez in his last outing.
"I used a lot more breaking balls because I saw a couple of hitters couldn't hit my breaking ball," Rodriguez told the team's web site.
Rodriguez has pitched 17 consecutive scoreless innings.
Josh Beckett (Boston Red Sox)
The righthander appears to be making a Cy Young Award push.
The Red Sox are 8-1 in Beckett's last nine starts, all as a favorite. In his last outing, Beckett had a price of -300 and kept his brave backers very much at ease as he overpowered Kansas City with a three-hit shutout. Boston is 3-0 when the price on Beckett is -200 or more.
The win over Kansas City marked the sixth time in his last 10 outings that Beckett has not allowed an earned run. Although he has been roughed up a bit twice in that stretch - both on the road - Beckett has lasted at least six innings every time out, with two complete games.
Beckett will be on nine days rest.
Returning
Sergio Mitre (New York Yankees)
It has been a long trip back to the mound for Mitre, who hasn't pitched in the major leagues since September 2007.
A 28-year-old righthander, Mitre has undergone Tommy John surgery, served a 50-game suspension after a positive test for a banned substance and done a stint in the minors. He went 1-0 with a 1.93 ERA for Class-A Tampa and 3-1 with a 2.40 ERA for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, making nine total starts.
Mitre is 10-23 with a 5.36 ERA in 78 career games, including 52 starts. He could be in the rotation for a while. He is a fill-in for Chien-Ming Wang, who is on the DL with shoulder woes and felt pain playing catch Monday.
Slumping
Bruce Chen (Kansas City Royals)
Kansas City's next win with Chen as starter will be its first. The lefthander came back in late June after missing all of last season with an injury and has regressed since his return.
In four starts, Chen has pitched progressively fewer innings while his location has gotten worse and he has become more prone to giving up the long ball. His pitches per inning have more than doubled.
Chen had a one-inning relief stint in his last outing but hasn't started since July 12.
Rich Hill (Baltimore Orioles)
Hill has been off his game for nearly a month. Over his last four starts, he has allowed 30 hits and nine walks in 19 innings for an astronomical WHIP of 2.05. Hill lost only one of those starts, primarily because Baltimore's bats provided 24 runs of support.
In fact, Hill has been bailed out all season. He has five no-decisions in which he has allowed at least as many earned runs as innings pitched.
The lefthander lost a start over the All-Star break and pitched in relief in his last outing. He was no better in that role, giving up two runs while getting just one out.
Baseball Today
SCOREBOARD
Tuesday, July 21
Chicago Cubs at Philadelphia (7:05 p.m. EDT). A matchup of NL clubs that have won consecutive division titles. Rich Harden is on the mound for the Cubs against Joe Blanton and the Phillies, going for their first 10-game win streak since 1991.
STARS
Monday
-Manny Ramirez, Dodgers, hit his 537th home run to pass Mickey Mantle and move into 15th place on the career list as Los Angeles beat Cincinnati 7-5.
-Matt Holliday, Athletics, hit a tying grand slam in the seventh inning and drove in six runs, helping Oakland rally from a 10-run deficit to beat Minnesota 14-13.
-Tommy Hanson, Braves, struck out 11 to remain unbeaten at 5-0, giving up three runs and five hits in seven innings as Atlanta beat San Francisco 11-3 in Jonathan Sanchez's first start since tossing a no-hitter.
-Jorge De La Rosa, Rockies, gave up one run on four hits over seven strong innings in his fifth straight win and drove in two runs, helping Colorado beat Arizona 10-6.
-Hideki Matsui, Yankees, homered off Jim Johnson in the ninth inning to beat Baltimore and give streaking New York 2-1 wins in three straight games for the first time in 18 years.
-Livan Hernandez, Mets, threw seven solid innings, allowing two runs and five hits to end a four-game losing streak and lead New York to a 6-2 victory over Washington.
-Rick VandenHurk, Marlins, pitched six strong innings to earn his first win in more than a year, leading Florida to a 3-2 victory over San Diego.
STATS
Thirteen of the 16 homers allowed by the New York Yankees' Andy Pettitte this year have been at home. ... Carl Crawford's inside-the-park homer in the White Sox's 4-3 win over the Tampa Bay Rays on Monday was the first at U.S. Cellular Field since Chris Singleton hit one for Chicago against Kansas City on Sept. 29, 2000. Seattle's Marc Newfield hit one on June 25, 1995. ... The New York Mets' Livan Hernandez improved to 3-0 with a 1.17 ERA against Washington this season, and 8-1 with a 2.74 ERA against the Nationals in his career. ... San Diego has lost 15 of 19 and has the majors' worst record since June 1 at 12-31.
STORMING BACK
Matt Holliday homered twice, including a tying grand slam in the seventh inning, and Jack Cust followed with another shot, helping the Athletics rally from a 10-run deficit - the largest comeback in Oakland history - and beat the Minnesota Twins 14-13 in a slugfest Monday night that featured eight home runs. The game ended when Michael Cuddyer was thrown out trying to score from second on Michael Wuertz's wild pitch.
PHANTASTIC PHILLIES
Raul Ibanez hit a three-run homer, Carlos Ruiz and Ryan Howard each went deep to back Rodrigo Lopez, and the Philadelphia Phillies won their ninth straight, 10-1 over the Chicago Cubs on Monday night. The Phillies have a shot at their first 10-game winning streak since 1991.
NO NO-NO
San Francisco's Jonathan Sanchez struck out eight over six solid innings in the Giants' 11-3 loss to Atlanta on Monday night. It was his first game since throwing a no-hitter against San Diego on July 10. He gave up three runs and four hits to the Braves in the no-decision.
LONG TIME COMING
Delwyn Young and Garrett Jones homered to help the Pittsburgh Pirates end a 17-game skid against the Milwaukee Brewers with an 8-5 victory. The Pirates snapped the majors' longest losing streak against a single opponent in 39 years. The Baltimore Orioles won 23 straight against the Kansas City Royals from 1969-70.
SERVING 'EM UP
Boston's John Smoltz gave up three homers in an inning for only the second time in his 21-year career, allowing shots by Michael Young, David Murphy and Jarrod Saltalamacchia in a 6-3 loss to Texas on Monday night. He hadn't allowed a home run in 25 innings this season until Young's. Smoltz allowed four homers in the first inning June 19, 1994, vs. Cincinnati when pitching for Atlanta. He hadn't allowed three homers in a game since June 8, 1997, at San Francisco.
STREAKING
The New York Yankees (55-37) tied Boston atop the AL East for only the second time since early June with a 2-1 win - their third straight by that score - over Baltimore. They also stretched their post All-Star-break winning streak to four and moved 18 games over .500 for first time since the end of 2007 season (94-68). The Yankees hadn't won three straight 2-1 games since July 11-13, 1991, at Anaheim.
WELCOME BACK
Making just his seventh start for the Dodgers since signing a three-year, $47 million contract in December 2006, Jason Schmidt threw 91 pitches over five innings and allowed three runs and five hits in Los Angeles' 7-5 win over Cincinnati. He missed the 2008 season after undergoing shoulder surgery on June 20, 2007, and had arthroscopic shoulder surgery on Sept. 10, 2008. ... Chicago's Carlos Quentin went 1 for 4 after missing nearly two months with plantar fasciitis in his left foot as the White Sox beat the Tampa Bay Rays 4-3.
SOLID START
Gavin Floyd (8-6) went seven innings in the Chicago White Sox's 4-3 win over the Tampa Bay Rays to improve to 6-2 in his last 11 starts. Floyd gave up three hits - all solo homers. Ben Zobrist and Evan Longoria went deep and Carl Crawford had an inside-the-park homer.
STRONG IN DEFEAT
Justin Morneau hit his second grand slam this season and a three-run homer for a career-high seven RBIs, but the Minnesota Twins couldn't hold a 12-2 lead and matched their biggest collapse with a 14-13 loss at Oakland. They also blew a 10-run lead on Sept. 28, 1984, at Cleveland.
STRUGGLING
Washington has lost six straight following a 6-2 defeat to the New York Mets on Thursday night to lower its major league-worst record to 26-66. The Nationals are 0-5 since Jim Riggleman became interim manager a week ago.
LOPSIDED RIVALRY
Carlos Lee's three-run homer in the fourth inning of Houston's 3-2 win over St. Louis was the fifth of his career against Kyle Lohse, the most of any player. Lee has a career .352 average against Lohse, who made his second start since coming off the disabled list.
SPEAKING
"When you give up 22 hits, you're not supposed to win anyway. We gave up 22 hits, 14 runs and the amazing thing was we still should have won the game.'' - Minnesota manager Ron Gardenhire after the Twins blew a 10-run lead and lost at Oakland 14-13 on Monday night.
Clash of Strugglers!!
By SportsPic
Toronto Blue Jays and Cleveland Indians go at it north of the border with a pair of lefties on respective mounds. Jays off back-2-back victories over Red Sox enter 5-13 (-$888) the past eighteen on the diamond and will open the set with Brett Cecil (3-1, 5.40). Cecil off a stellar start in Baltimore going six inning of four hit no run ball in a 2-0 victory faces Tribe for the second time in his career. The first matchup saw the lefty go six strong of 2 run ball in a 10-6 victory but walked off with a ND. Meanwhile, Indians losing 3-of-4 to the Mariners over the weekend have won just 7 of their last 28 (-$1780). Tribe counter with Cliff Lee (5-9, 3.31) who finally won last time out pitching his second complete game of the season in a 4-1 victory over Seattle. Lee at the losing end of his only appearance vs Jays this season is 1-4 life-time vs Toronto with Tribe 3-5 in his eight starts. Indians 4-1 the last 5 meetings north of the border, 25-10 last thirty five meetings have been pegged -$1.30 favorites with the total set at 8.5.
Tigers set to host M's
By Brobury Sports
The Detroit Tigers are the second most profitable home team this season. Will it continue Tuesday night versus Seattle?
Seattle Mariners (+140) at Detroit Tigers (-160)
Detroit (48-42) has a 27-13 home record which is good for +1085 units on the season. Only the upstart San Francisco Giants have paid off more in that category for bettors.
The Tigers are coming off a disappointing sweep over the weekend at the New York Yankees. That’s certainly not how you want to start off the second half and it shrunk their led in the AL Central to just one game over the White Sox.
The Tigers return home after a day off to Comerica Park where they’re 28-8 over their last 28 games. They’ve also done a great job against the better teams, going 17-5 in their last 22 home games against teams with winning records.
The Seattle Mariners (49-43) are above .500 and just took three of four at the Cleveland Indians. The big reason for their turnaround has been a pitching staff that’s improved from 11th in the AL last year to 1st this season.
Seattle has also fared pretty well on the road at 24-25, and won recent series at Boston and the LA Dodgers, so you know they won’t be intimidated.
Rick Porcello (8-6, 4.14 ERA) vs. Garrett Olson (3-3, 4.53 ERA)
Procello is an impressive rookie who will be making his first start since July 5th. He struggled in his last two starts, getting two losses at Minnesota and Oakland and not lasting even five innings in either.
It will be interesting to see how the long layoff affects the rookie, and the Mariners may be able to scratch out some runs early.
Seattle’s Olson lasted less than three innings in a loss at Cleveland last Thursday and this could be his last start if he falters again. If that isn’t pressure enough, Detroit is 13-3 in their last 16 home games versus left handed starters.
But despite that statistic, Olson is capable of good road outings against quality opponents. He was the starting pitcher in wins at the Red Sox and Dodgers and he should be able to limit this mediocre Detroit offense.