MLB Thursday, April 17
Hot Pitchers
-- Backe is 1-1, 2.25 in three starts this season. Myers is 1-0 in his two home starts, with a 3.46 RA.
-- Lohse is 2-0, 1.82 in three starts this season.
-- Volquez is 1-0, 0.84 in two starts this season.
-- Smoltz is 2-0, 0.82 in two starts this season.
-- Figueroa beat Brewers 4-2 in first start (two runs/six IP).
-- Peavy is 3-0, 1.64 in three starts this season.
-- Guthrie has 2.70 RA in his last two starts. Floyd is 2-0, 2.03 in two starts this season.
-- Carmona is 1-1, 2.76 in three starts this season.
-- Tomko is 1-0, 1.64 in two starts this season.
-- Halladay is 2-0, 2.65 in his last couple starts.
-- Bonser is 1-1, 2.07 in his last two starts.
-- Dinardo won 7-3 at Cleveland in his first '08 start, allowing a pair of runs in 5.2 IP. Silva is 2-0, 3.27 in three starts in '08.
Cold Pitchers
-- Lilly is 0-2, 9.95 in three starts this season.
-- Nolasco allowed six runs in five IP in his first '08 start.
-- Parra is 0-1, 4.82 in his first two '08 starts.
-- Lannan is 0-2, 6.75 in two starts this season.
-- Francis is 0-2, 11.20 in three starts this season.
-- Verlander is 0-2, 9.87 in three starts this season.
-- Beckett is 1-1, 6.17 in two starts this season; he beat Bronx 4-3 five days ago at Fenway (three runs/6.2 IP). Mussina is 1-2, 4.67 in three starts this season.
-- Padilla is 1-1, 4.74 in three starts this season.
-- Hammel is 0-1, 4.15 in two starts this season.
-- Garland is 0-2, 11.70 in his last two starts.
Totals
-- Seven of nine Houston road games stayed under the total.
-- Under is 3-1-2 in last six Cardinal home games.
-- Last three Cub games all went over the total.
-- Four of last six Florida games stayed under the total.
-- Under is 6-1-1 in Washington road games.
-- Five of last six Colorado games went over the total.
-- Nine of last eleven Baltimore games stayed under the total.
-- Last four Detroit games all went over the total.
-- Nine of last twelve Bronx games stayed under the total.
-- Over is 4-1-1 in last six games at Rogers Centre/SkyDome.
-- Six of last nine Tampa Bay games stayed under.
-- Under is 12-2 in the Royals' last fourteen games.
-- Under is 5-0-1 in Oakland home games.
Hot Teams
-- Phillies won four of their last six home games.
-- Marlins won four of last five home games.
-- Cubs won five of their last six home games.
-- Mets won five of their last seven home games.
-- Cardinals won last seven home games.
-- Padres are 5-1 this season in game after a loss.
-- Tigers won last three games, scoring 30 runs.
-- Blue Jays won four of their last six games.
-- Red Sox won five of their last seven games. Bronx won three games in row, scoring 28 runs.
-- White Sox won eight of last eleven games.
-- Royals won six of first nine road games. Angels won three of their last four games.
-- Mariners won three of last four road games. A's won eight of their last eleven games, but lost last two.
Cold Teams
-- Atlanta lost seven of nine road games.
-- Brewers lost five of their last seven games.
-- Astros lost six of their nine road games.
-- Nationals lost eleven of their last twelve games.
-- Reds lost last five games, scoring total of twelve runs.
-- Rockies lost five of last seven road games.
-- Rangers lost five of their last six games.
-- Indians lost ten of their last thirteen games. .
-- Orioles lost six of their last eight games.
-- Rays lost eight of last ten games. Twins lost three of their last four games.
MLB Tips and Trends
Milwaukee Brewers at St. Louis Cardinals
Brewers: Milwaukee's Manny Parra will try to bounce back from a loss on the road last time out when he faces the Cardinals. Parra gave up 3 runs and 6 hits to the Mets in just 4 innings of work with 1 walk and 4 strikeouts. He has enjoyed some success against St. Louis during his career despite going 0-0 in 2 appearances, allowing just 2 earned runs in 8 2/3 innings for a 2.08 ERA with 5 walks and 6 strikeouts.
Brewers are 10-6 in their last 16 games overall.
Key Injuries - NONE
PROJECTED SCORE: TBD
Cardinals (-115, O/U 9): St. Louis pitcher Kyle Lohse will look to stay perfect on the young season against a team he has struggled against in the past. Lohse is 2-0 in 3 starts so far this season with a 1.04 ERA despite pitching past the sixth inning just once. He is just 3-3 lifetime vs. Milwaukee with a 5.66 ERA in 8 appearances.
Cardinals are 16-4 in their last 20 games overall.
Cardinals are 9-2 in the last 11 meetings.
Key Injuries - NONE
PROJECTED SCORE: TBD
Cincinnati Reds at Chicago Cubs
Reds: Cincinnati's Edinson Volquez will try to stay unbeaten and continue his scoreless innings streak when he pitches against the Cubs. Volquez did not allow a run in his last start at Pittsburgh totaling 5 innings, and he has given up just 1 run in 10 1/3 innings overall this season in 2 starts.
PROJECTED SCORE: TBD Reds are 2-8 in their last 10 road games.
Key Injuries - NONE
Cubs (-130, O/U 12): Chicago's Ted Lilly is still searching for his first win of the season and has been hit hard in all 3 of his starts so far. Lilly has surrendered at least 4 runs each time out without making it out of the fifth inning. He is 1-1 during his career against the Reds with a 3.33 ERA.
Cubs are 8-2 in their last 10 games on grass.
Key Injuries - NONE
PROJECTED SCORE: TBD
Detroit Tigers at Cleveland Indians
Tigers: Justin Verlander is off to a slow start this season, going 0-2 and giving up 19 runs in 19.1 innings. The Indians don?t look like the team that?s going to help Verlander get back on track. In nine career starts against Cleveland, Verlander is 3-5 with a 6.84 ERA. Both of his losses this year have been on grass, although opposing teams are hitting just .203 in those games.
Tigers are 3-0 in their last 3 games overall.
Tigers are 4-9 in their last 13 road games.
Key Injuries - NONE
PROJECTED SCORE: TBD
Indians (-125, O/U 9): Fausto Carmona is coming off a terrible start at home versus the A?s, where he was lifted after giving up three runs and eight walks in just 3.1 innings. Carmona did pitch well in his two starts before that, allowing only two runs over 13 innings. He?s also had success in his short career versus Detroit, possessing a 3.35 ERA and 1.06 WHIP in eight starts.
Indians are 1-8 in their last 9 games as a favorite.
Indians are 7-1 in Carmona's last 8 starts.
Key Injuries - NONE
PROJECTED SCORE: TBD
Boston Red Sox at New York Yankees
Red Sox (-135, O/U 9): Boston's Josh Beckett will try to beat the Yankees for the second time in as many starts when he toes the rubber on Thursday. Beckett gave up 3 runs and 5 hits to New York in 6 2/3 innings of work last time out, walking just 1 and striking out 5. He improved to 5-3 against the Yanks during his career and lowered his lifetime ERA to 6.24.
Red Sox are 3-8 in the last 11 meetings.
The UNDER is 8-4 in Boston's last 12 games on grass.
NONE
Key Injuries - NONE
PROJECTED SCORE: TBD
Yankees: New York's Mike Mussina was on the other side of the loss to Beckett and the Red Sox last time out on Saturday, surrendering 4 runs and 8 hits in 5 2/3 innings with no walks and 1 strikeout. Mussina fell to 19-16 lifetime vs. Boston with that loss and saw his career ERA rise to 3.70.
The UNDER is 8-2 in New York's last 10 games on grass.
Key Injuries - NONE
PROJECTED SCORE: TBD
Colorado Rockies at San Diego Padres
Rockies: Colorado starter Jeff Francis has been a shell of his 2007 self. The southpaw went 17-9 last season but is off to a horrible 0-2 start with a 9.53 ERA here in ?08. Manager Clint Hurdle said Francis? stuff ?Isn?t where it can be? as he allowed 6 home runs over those starts as well. The only team he has faced is the red-hot Diamondbacks this season, but he hasn?t fared much better against the Padres in his career, going 5-10 with a 5.83 ERA.
Rockies are 3-9 in their last 12 games as an underdog.
Key Injuries - NONE
PROJECTED SCORE: TBD
Padres (-190, O/U 7): San Diego will turn to ace Jake Peavy, who has been the polar opposite of Francis. Peavy is 3-0 with a 1.64 ERA on the young season. While doubling the amount of hits he has allowed on the year in his last start against the Dodgers, the right-hander has surrendered just 3 earned runs. However, he is just 4-4 with a 4.45 ERA against the Rockies during his career and got lit up for 6 earned in his last appearance against them.
Padres are 18-9 in their last 27 home games.
Key Injuries - NONE
PROJECTED SCORE: TBD