Tuesday's Streaking and Slumping Starting Pitchers
Streaking
John Danks (Chicago White Sox)
The southpaw appears intent on finishing strong, even if the White Sox don't.
While his team stumbled in August, Danks found a groove. In his last four starts, he is 3-0 with a 1.95 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP (walks + hits per inning). He has climbed to 14th in the American League in ERA, best among White Sox starters.
Danks has worked at least six innings in his last seven starts.
Dustin Nippert (Texas Rangers)
In five August starts, the right-hander was a bit inconsistent, allowing two runs or less in three starts but at least four runs in the other two. He has 16 walks in 25 2-3 innings during that span.
But one area where Nippert has been solid is keeping the score down. With the total ranging from 8 to 10 during those starts, every one of them has been under.
Bonus: The total has gone over in six of the last seven starts made by Kyle Davies of the Kansas City Royals.
Debuting
Carlos Carrasco (Cleveland Indians)
The 22-year-old righty from Venezuela, a key piece in the Cliff Lee trade, is making his major league debut after lighting up the Triple-A International League.
Carrasco began the season at Triple-A Lehigh Valley in Philadelphia's system and was a pedestrian 6-9 with a 5.18 ERA, allowing 14 homers in 114 innings. But something clicked at Columbus, where he was 5-1 with a 3.19 ERA, surrendering just three homers in 42 1-3 innings while holding opposing batters to a .196 average.
Considered a top prospect, Carrasco was a midseason All-Star in the Single-A Florida State League in 2007 and the Double-A Eastern League in 2008.
Jeff Manship (Minnesota Twins)
The right-hander is making his first major league start after just five relief appearances totaling seven innings over the last 16 days. He began with two scoreless outings but has allowed a run in each of the last three.
It has been a rapid ascent for the Notre Dame alumnus, who began 2008 in the Single-A Florida State League, made the jump to Double-A and progressed again to Triple-A Rochester earlier this season.
Overall, he is 10-9 with a 3.86 ERA and just three homers allowed in 126 innings this season.
Slumping
Gio Gonzalez (Oakland Athletics)
The left-hander has been on a two-month roller coaster that is plunging downhill at the moment.
After Gonzalez began August with consecutive wins in which he did not give up a run and worked at least six innings, he has been all over the place. He last lost his last three outings, struggling with wildness and the long ball.
During that stretch, Gonzalez has a 6.89 ERA and a 1.91 WHIP. He has 18 strikeouts in 15 2-3 innings but also has surrendered four homers.
NATIONAL LEAGUE
San Francisco (72-59) at Philadelphia (75-53)
Fresh off a three-game home sweep of the Rockies that allowed them to pull into a tie for the N.L. wild-card lead, the Giants open a six-game road trip at Citizens Bank Park, with Jonathan Sanchez (6-10, 4.27 ERA) set to oppose Phillies ace Cole Hamels (7-8, 4.52).
San Francisco outscored Colorado 16-8 over the weekend and finished a six-game homestand with a 5-1 record. Now the Giants hit the highway where they’ve lost three in a row and four of their last five, and they’re 10 games under .500 on the road for the season (28-38). Bruce Bochy’s bunch has also lost four in a row after a day off, but it has won four straight series openers and four of five on Tuesday.
The Phillies continued their stellar play with Sunday’s 3-2 home win over the Braves. The defending World Series champs are on hot streaks of 36-16 overall, 21-8 at home, 4-1 against lefty starters, 5-0 against the N.L. West and 7-2 versus teams with a winning record.
The Giants have won five of the last six meetings with Philadelphia – including three of four this year – but all were at home. They’re only 3-10 in their last 13 visits to Citizens Bank Park.
Sanchez has posted a 2.37 ERA over his last three starts, with San Francisco winning the last two. Despite that, the Giants are still on a bevy of losing skids behind Sanchez, including 10-24 overall, 3-15 on the road, 4-10 against winning teams and 2-6 versus the N.L. East. The southpaw is 2-8 with a 4.81 ERA in 14 road appearances (12 starts) this year, but he’s 1-0 with a 4.60 ERA in six career outings (two starts) against the Phillies, including a 7-2 home victory on July 30.
Hamels picked up his lone victory in August on Wednesday in Pittsburgh, scattering seven hits over eight scoreless innings in a 4-1 victory. In his first four August outings – all Phillies losses – Hamels went 0-3 with a 6.75 ERA. The left-hander is 4-3 with a 4.13 ERA in 12 home starts this year and 3-1 with a 5.03 ERA in five outings against the Giants, including a 7-3 loss in San Francisco on Aug. 2 when he got tagged for all seven runs (six earned) in five innings.
San Francisco carries “over” streaks of 4-0 on Tuesday and 5-1-1 when Sanchez faces N.L. East teams, but the under is 8-3 in its last 11 after an off day. For Philadelphia, the “under” is on stretches of 4-1 overall, 6-1 against winning teams, 36-17-2 after a victory, 5-2 on Tuesday, 4-1 after a day off, 3-0 in Hamels’ last three trips to the mound and 7-1-1 when Hamels starts on Tuesday. However, Hamels’ last four home starts have topped the total, and the “over” is 4-1 in his five career starts against the Giants.
ATS ADVANTAGE: PHILADELPHIA
Atlanta (69-62) at Florida (68-63)
The two squads battling it out for second place in the N.L. East and looking to remain in the wild-card hunt continue their four-game series at LandShark Stadium. The Braves’ Tim Hudson is scheduled to make his 2009 debut against the Marlins’ Anibal Sanchez (2-5, 4.96 ERA).
Atlanta knocked off Florida 5-2 in Monday’s series opener, getting to Marlins All-Star pitcher Josh Johnson after being no-hit through 5 2/3 innings. The Braves have followed up a 13-5 run by going 3-4 in their last seven games, including 1-4 against right-handed starters. The Braves are still 9-4 in their last 13 road outings and 8-1 in their last nine when playing the second game of a series.
The Marlins have now dropped four of their last five, but they remain on upticks of 23-12 at home, 8-4 against teams with a winning record and 5-1 on Tuesday.
The season series between these division rivals is now tied at 6-6, with the Braves winning the last three in a row and the visitor going 8-4.
Hudson went 11-7 with a 3.17 ERA in 23 games (22 starts) last year (3-6, 3.75 ERA on the road) before going on the shelf with an elbow injury that required surgery and sidelined him for the first five months of this season. Atlanta lost six of Hudson’s last seven road starts last year, but it has won nine of Hudson’s last 13 starts against the Marlins, including five of seven in South Beach. For his career, the former Cy Young Award winner is 7-2 with a 2.63 ERA against Florida, including a 9-4 victory in Miami last July 23 in his final start of 2008.
Since returning from a 2½-month stint on the disabled list, Sanchez has allowed five runs (three earned) in 9 2/3 innings, beating the Braves 5-3 on Aug. 21 before losing 10-3 to the Mets at home on Thursday. Florida has dropped five of Sanchez’s last seven starts overall and 10 of his last 14 against N.L. East rivals, but they’re still 12-5 in his last 17 home efforts, where the right-hander is 0-2 with a 3.86 ERA in four starts this season.
Including the 5-3 win in Atlanta two weeks ago, Sanchez is now 3-3 with a 4.54 ERA in seven career starts versus the Braves.
The under is 10-4-1 in Hudson’s last 15 road starts, 13-6-2 in Atlanta’s last 21 on Tuesday, 7-2-1 in Sanchez’s last 10 starts overall, 5-1-1 in his last six against the N.L. East and 5-2 in Florida’s last seven games on Tuesday. Conversely, the Marlins are on “over” stretches as a team of 20-8-1 overall, 17-6 at home, 4-1 against right-handed starters, 10-4-1 against division rivals and 4-0 when facing Hudson.
ATS ADVANTAGE: NONE
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Boston (76-54) at Tampa Bay (71-59)
The Red Sox look to put more distance between themselves and the rest of the A.L. wild-card contenders when they send Jon Lester (10-7, 3.60 ERA) to the hill opposite the Rays’ Andy Sonnanstine (6-7, 6.61) in the opener of a three-game series at Tropicana Field.
Boston capped a 10-game homestand with a three-game sweep of Toronto, ending with Sunday’s 7-0 beat-down of Roy Halladay. The Sox won six of their last seven on their homestand, and they’re 10-3 in their last 13 contests in opening up a 3½-game lead in the wild-card race. Terry Francona’s squad is on additional positive runs of 7-0 against right-handed starters, 11-5 on Tuesday and 41-14 after an off day, but it has lost 17 of its last 25 to teams with a winning record, going 1-12 in the last 13 on the road versus winning clubs.
The Rays ended a seven-game road trip with Monday afternoon’s 11-7 victory over the Tigers in Detroit, but they remain five games behind Boston. Tampa Bay is 10-5 in its last 15 games overall and it has won 11 of last 15 at home. Going back further, the Rays are on a 37-14 roll at Tropicana Field, and they’re on additional streaks of 8-3 against southpaw starters, 6-2 in A.L. East action and 7-1 on Tuesday.
The Rays are 8-4 in the 12 clashes with Boston this season and they’ve taken 16 of the last 21 meetings at Tropicana Field, including last year’s American League Championship Series, which Tampa Bay won in seven games.
Lester has allowed three earned runs or fewer in 15 of his last 16 starts, including all five starts in August, in which the southpaw posted a 2.41 ERA but had just one win to show for it. With Lester on the Hill, the Red Sox are on runs of 35-16 overall (3-0 last three), 6-3 on the road, 11-4 in series openers, 22-8 against winning teams and 25-12 versus A.L. East rivals.
Lester is 5-4 with a 3.77 ERA in 14 road starts this season, including an 8-1 rout at the White Sox 12 days ago. However, Boston has lost five straight games to Tampa Bay behind Lester (playoffs included), and he’s 4-4 with a 4.74 ERA in 12 career starts (10 regular season) against the Rays.
Sonnanstine spent the past two months in Triple-A Durham after getting off to a sluggish start with the big-league club. The right-hander, who went 5-3 with a 4.40 ERA in Durham, had all of his success at home this year, going 5-0 with a 4.54 ERA in six starts before his demotion, including a 6-2 victory over Boston on May 1.
Tampa Bay is 16-5 in Sonnanstine’s last 21 starts at the Trop, 10-2 in his last 12 at home against winning teams and 4-0 in his last four starts against the Red Sox (playoffs included). For his career, Sonnanstine is 3-1 with a 5.21 ERA in eight career starts (one playoff) versus Boston.
The Rays carry “under” trends of 4-1 overall, 5-1-1 at home, 7-1 on Tuesday, 17-8 against A.L. East foes and 5-1 when Sonnanstine faces division rivals. Also, the Red Sox are on “under” stretches of 8-3-1 after an off day, 9-3-1 when Lester faces winning clubs, 6-2 when Lester starts on Tuesday, 4-1-1 when he faces the A.L. East and 10-2-3 when he opens a series.
ATS ADVANTAGE: UNDER
Gametimepicks.com
Road Woes
By SportsPic
Off a successful 5-1 home stand which included a three-game sweep against Rockies the Giants take to the road knotted up atop the Wild Card Race. Giants a stretch better at AT&T Park (44-21) than on the highway (28-38) have themselves in a tough spot at Citizens Bank Park. Giants have not had success playing in Philadelphia losing ten of the past fifteen encounters. Giants will be swinging away at Cole Hamels (7-8, 4.52) offerings. Phillies are 4-1 vs Giants with the southpaw touching toe to rubber. Giants are 2-10 away this season with their lefty Jonathan Sanchez (6-10, 4.27) providing the hurler with just 2.7 runs/game of support. Giants are 6-23 on the road opening a series when scoring <4 runs. Finally, Giants are 8-18 their last twenty-six road games facing a left-handed starter. A 'Play-Against' Giants is in order, Phil's are 11-5 vs. N.L. West opponents with Hamels, 21-3 at Citizens Bank Park hosting an offensively challenged (<4) visitor.
Baseball Today
SCOREBOARD
Tuesday, September 1
Boston at Tampa Bay (7:08 p.m. EDT). The Red Sox open up a three-game series against the Rays trying to distance themselves further in the AL wild-card race.
STARS
-Andy Pettitte, Yankees, retired his first 20 batters before a seventh-inning error spoiled his perfect game and a hit later that inning wrecked the no-hit bid, and New York went on to beat Baltimore 5-1.
-Adam Lind, Blue Jays, had two homers, including a grand slam, and a career-high eight RBIs as Toronto beat Texas 18-10 after nearly blowing an 11-0 lead.
-Carlos Pena, Rays, hit his AL-best 38th homer and drove in four runs to help Tampa Bay beat Detroit 11-7 for a split of their four-game series.
-Vladimir Guerrero, Angels, hit two home runs, one a monster shot into the upper deck, and Los Angeles routed Seattle 10-0.
-Rusty Ryal, Diamondbacks, homered to lead off the 10th inning and Arizona beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 5-3 for their fifth consecutive victory.
-Carlos Lee, Astros, hit a two-run home run and drove in four runs, leading Houston to a 5-3 victory over the Chicago Cubs.
SHIPPED
The Los Angeles Dodgers made a big push to lock up the NL West, acquiring slugging first baseman Jim Thome from the Chicago White Sox and right-hander Jon Garland from the Arizona Diamondbacks. The deals were announced by Los Angeles in the top of the eighth inning of Monday night's game against Arizona. Both trades were completed before the midnight EDT deadline required for postseason eligibility.
SWINGS
Toronto built an 11-0 lead over Texas in the first five innings before the Rangers scored 10 unanswered runs over the next three frames. The Blue Jays sealed the victory with seven runs in the ninth inning, including a solo homer and three-run double by Adam Lind. He also hit a grand slam earlier and drove in a career-best eight runs.
STILL SITTING
Ichiro Suzuki's maddening wait is almost over. The Seattle Mariners again held out the All-Star and Gold Glove outfielder, plus active home run leader Ken Griffey Jr. and Gold Glove third baseman Adrian Beltre, for their series opener against the first-place Los Angeles Angels on Monday night. Mariners rookie manager Don Wakamatsu said before the game that he expects Suzuki and Beltre back in the lineup Tuesday.
SIGNING
Brad Penny and the Giants agreed to a minor league contract Monday night, adding another proven arm to San Francisco's strong rotation for the stretch run. Penny cleared waivers after he was released by Boston last week. Because he reached a deal with San Francisco by Aug. 31, he is eligible for postseason play with the Giants.
SIDELINED
Rangers catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia has been shut down again after experiencing more numbness in his right arm. He might need season-ending surgery. Saltalamacchia, on the disabled list since Aug. 15 because of recurring numbness, had the same problem when catching during a minor league rehab assignment Sunday. He caught seven innings, instead of the scheduled nine, before coming out of the game.
SMALL TOKEN OF GRATITUDE
Three members of the San Diego Padres - brothers Adrian and Edgar Gonzalez, and Tony Gwynn Jr. - were thrilled on Monday when they received caps autographed by the team from suburban Chula Vista that won the Little League World Series on Sunday. The Park View All-Stars signed the powder blue caps last week in South Williamsport, Pa., and sent them to Petco Park. Edgar Gonzalez said they were a gesture of thanks for both moral and financial support.
SPEAKING
"You could hear everything. I saw one guy who was missing a finger catch a foul ball, and I could hear him say, 'That hurt like hell,' but he caught it. That's one of those days where everyone could get a foul ball and a T-shirt.'' - Reds manager Dusty Baker said after fewer than 2,000 fans showed up for the start of a day-night doubleheader between Cincinnati and Pittsburgh.
Red Sox head to Tampa
By Brobury Sports
Sox visit house of horrors
The Boston Red Sox are big favorites tonight in Tampa Bay even though it’s usually a ‘house of horrors’ for them.
This is the first of a three-game series and Boston is a -160 favorite due to the pitching matchup of Jon Lester versus Andy Sonnanstine. Sonnanstine is getting the start after the team traded Scott Kazmir to the L.A. Angels in an apparent salary dump.
The Over/Under for this game is nine runs. Make sure you visit BroburySports.com for all Tuesday night MLB odds.
Handicapping Boston (76-54) this season hasn’t been too difficult. They are 45-21 at home including just going 6-1 to end their 10-game homestand. Only San Francisco has won more money for bettors playing at home.
The Red Sox haven’t made up any ground in the AL East though, trailing New York by 6.5 games. However, their recent surge has given them a four-game lead in the Wild Card over Texas and five games over Tampa.
This could be the last stand for Tampa Bay (71-59) who is coming off a four-game split at Detroit. Included in that was an 11-7 win on Monday afternoon as they roughed up Tigers starter Jarrod Washburn.
The Rays do have one giant chip in their favor tonight as they own Boston at home. Tampa is 4-1 this season versus the BoSox and 8-1 in the regular season last year.
Boston is a money-losing 31-33 on the road overall while Tampa Bay is 42-21 at Tropicana Field.
Jon Lester (Boston) vs. Andy Sonnanstine (Tampa Bay)
Lester (10-7, 3.60 ERA) is Boston’s best pitcher right now with Josh Beckett hitting the skids in his last three starts. The team has won Lester’s last three starts even though he only got the victory in one of them.
Lester has an 8.22 ERA in three starts against Tampa this year. He surprisingly got racked in two early season Fenway games. He did rebound in Tampa back on August 4th, giving up one run in six innings. Boston still got the 4-2 loss.
Tampa’s Sonnanstine (6-7, 6.61 ERA) is getting the AAA call-up to replace Kazmir after last pitching in the majors on June 25th. He was a key pitcher in the rotation last year, going 13-9 with a 4.38 ERA, but he was ineffective in 15 starts this season.
Sonnanstine always seems to pitch well against Boston and he got a 6-2 home win against them on May 1st by beating Justin Masterson. He threw 13 innings of shutout ball in two starts against Boston last year.
Can the Sox finally come through in Tampa?