MLB Tips and Trends April 1

MLB Tips and Trends

Toronto Blue Jays at New York Yankees

Blue Jays: The Blue Jays' mantra throughout spring training was to stay healthy, and they did so, until 3B Scott Rolen went down with a broken finger and SP Casey Janssen suffered a torn labrum. Ace Roy Halladay will take the mound, and he's enjoyed plenty of success against the Yankees. The right-hander is 7-1 with a 2.04 ERA in his last 12 starts against New York, and went 16-7 with a 3.71 ERA overall in 2007.

The OVER is 7-3 in Blue Jays last 10 overall.

Key Injuries- 3B Scott Rolen (finger) is OUT.

PROJECTED SCORE: 4

Yankees (-170, O/U 9): For the first time in 13 years, the New York Yankees will not have Joe Torre in their dugout. Looking to bounce back from a rough end to his season is opening day starter Chien-Ming Wang, who went 19-7 with a 3.70 ERA in 2007. However, Wang struggled in the playoffs, going 0-2 with a 19.06 ERA against Cleveland and said it took a month just to get over his performances. The right-hander didn't beat the Blue Jays last season, going 0-2 with a 6.35 ERA in three starts, but was a solid 10-game winner at Yankees Stadium.

Yankees are 41-17 in their last 58 home games.

Key Injuries- NONE

PROJECTED SCORE: 5

New York Mets at Florida Marlins

Mets (-215, O/U 8.5): New York has won 11 of its last 12 games at Florida and hopes to build on a 10-hit performance in a 7-2 win on Monday. Pedro Martinez will take the hill for the Mets and look to follow a strong effort from Johan Santana. Martinez is 5-2 lifetime at Florida with a 1.89 ERA in 10 starts.

Mets are 11-1 in their last 12 games at Florida.
The OVER is 12-2-1 in New York's last 15 games overall.
The OVER is 8-2 in Martinez's last 10 road starts.

Key Injuries- NONE

PROJECTED SCORE: 8 (OVER - Total Play of the Day)

Marlins: Rick VandenHurk will toe the rubber for Florida and try to beat the Mets for the first time. He was 0-1 in 2 starts against them as a rookie last season, striking out 12 batters in nine innings while allowing 4 home runs.

Marlins are 2-7 in VandenHurk's last 9 starts.
The OVER is 8-1-1 in the last 10 meetings.

Key Injuries- NONE

PROJECTED SCORE: 3

Boston Red Sox at Oakland Athletics

Red Sox (-130, O/U 8.5): Daisuke Matsuzaka will take the hill for the second time in a week for Boston after starting the season opener in Japan against the A's. Dice-K struggled a bit in his 5 innings, walking 5 batters and allowing 2 hits and 2 runs. The Red Sox went on to win the game 6-5 in 10 innings. “I’m glad that things ended well for the team, but, of course, I’m not happy with my own results,” Matsuzaka said. “But I hope I can take some of the things I learned and use them as a positive direction for my next start.”

Red Sox are 8-1 in their last 9 games overall.
Red Sox are 2-8 in the last 10 meetings at Oakland.

Key Injuries- NONE

PROJECTED SCORE: 5

A's: Joe Blanton started off well in Japan against the Red Sox, failing to allow a run through the first 5 innings. However, Blanton gave up 3 runs in the sixth inning and retired 2 batters before leaving the game. The A's rebounded to win Game 2, 5-1. “I thought we played two real good games over there against the defending champions,” Oakland manager Bob Geren said. “We had a chance to take both of those games, and now we have a chance to take two more. It feels like we’re starting over, but we’re just hoping to do what we’ve done since we started spring training, and that’s play good baseball.”

A's are 2-10 in their last 12 games on grass.
A's are 3-11 in their last 14 games overall.

Key Injuries- NONE

PROJECTED SCORE: 4