MLB Trendy Talk
By Doug Upstone
It’s the final week of interleague play for this season and today four matchups in particular stand out on the baseball scorecard. We have a blend of hot pitchers, hot teams and a hot rivalry for this Tuesday.
St. Louis at Toronto 7:07 E
Call them what you will, lefties, port-siders or southpaws, whatever the name, Cardinals rookie lefty Jaime Garcia (6-3, 1.59 ERA) and the Blue Jays Brett Cecil (7-3, 3.58) have both been highly effective.
Garcia at 23 years old has overcome Tommy John surgery, which caused him to miss all of 2009, yet he’s been incredibly effective, not conceding more than two earned runs in his 13 starts this season. A lack of run support has left Garcia and St. Louis (38-31, -6.4 units) at just 6-7 overall this season, totaling three or fewer runs in seven of his trips to the mound.
Cecil suffered his first loss in five weeks at San Diego, being pounded for five runs in six innings. Prior to that, the Toronto left-hander has given up six total runs in five outings. Cecil and the Jays are is 12-4 vs. teams averaging 2.75 or less extra base hits per game.
With the total at 7.5, Garcia and the Redbirds are 10-0 UNDER in night games and merely 20-26 in June games over the last two seasons. The free-swinging Blue Jays (38-32, +10.2) are 6-10 against lefty starters this season (2.9 runs per game), but 12-3 OVER vs. a very good bullpen like Cards whose ERA is 3.33 or better this season.
San Diego at Tampa Bay 7:10 E
The Padres (40-29, +13.8) continue to be the biggest surprise in the National League, leading the NL West this far into the 2010 campaign, with exceptional pitching and timely hitting. San Diego leads the Major Leagues with 3.01 ERA and also in strikeouts (541). San Diego comes up big when it matters most, ranking 4th in ERA with runners in scoring position and 2nd overall with the same threat and there are two outs. The Friars have been at their best against quality competition with 14-4 mark playing against team with 54% to 62% win percentage this year.
Tampa Bay (42-27, +1.6) still have top notch record, but their 8-9 mark in June has dropped them out of first place in the AL East. Two reasons for this fall, the Rays starting pitchers have an ERA over 5.50 since the middle of May and players like B.J. Upton (.230 batting average) Carlos Pena (.200) are hurting their ability to score runs in the upper part of the batting order. The Rays are pedestrian 18-15 at Tropicana Field; however they are 36-12 in home games after scoring two runs or less.
Tampa Bay is smallish -132 ML home favorite largely because San Diego’s Mat Latos is 6-1 since May 7, with opposing hitters showing a sordid .197 batting average against the 6’6 right-hander.
The Pads are a pretty reliable 12-7 (+8.5 units) as a road underdog of +100 to +150 this season.
Atlanta at Chicago White Sox 8:10 E
Two of the hottest teams in the big leagues collide this evening in Chi-Town. The Chicago White Sox (34-34, -2.7 units) are back to .500 having won six straight and 10 of 11 and are within shouting distance of Minnesota in the AL Central at 5.5 games back. The biggest reason for Chicago’s turnaround is their continued dominance of the National League, with a 10-2 record this season and 34-14 since 2008.
Atlanta (42-28, +11.1) has been no slouch, with five consecutive conquests and winners of eight of last 10. The Braves have also thrived in interleague action with 7-2 mark in 2010. The Atlanta offense has been working in harmony with its pitchers. Atlanta leads the NL in scoring at 5.1 runs per game and when they score five or more runs in a contest, they are perfect 31-0. (42-0 dating back to last season)
A great pitching matchup of two terrific young hurlers, featuring Tommy Hanson (7-3, 3.27) vs. John Danks (6-5, 3.18). Hanson and the Braves are -113 ML road favorites and are 16-3 in the first half of the year since he arrived last season. Danks has not received a great deal of run support this campaign, but is 7-3 when throwing on five days rest (Sox record) and the Pale Hose are 22-8 as a home underdog of +100 to +125 since 2008.
L.A. Dodgers at L.A. Angels 10:05 E
Another chapter unfolds in the Freeway series, which moves south to Orange Country and Anaheim. The Angels (39-33, +5.1) are the hotter team having won six of nine, yet have lost ground in the AL West, with the Rangers reeling off eight wins in a row. The Halos swept the Dodgers (38-31, -0.3 units) nine days ago and are 17-4 versus NL West opponents over the last two seasons.
The Dodgers are having their typical issues with the AL, sporting 2-7 record and they are 29th in interleague play the last four years at 21-37. They will lean on Clayton Kershaw (7-3, 2.97) to end four game losing streak. The club with the blue hats is 36-17 after a loss by two runs or less (2-0 at Boston) and Kershaw and teammates are 9-0 against a team with a winning record this season.
The Angels are +112 home pooches and are 16-8 at the Big A as underdogs of +100 or higher. Ervin Santana (6-5, 3.91) and Halos are 9-1 (+10.8 units) as an underdog of +100 to +150. Manager Mike Scioscia’s club has taken 16 of previous 23 meetings; however the road team has won five straight series.