YESTERDAY'S RECAP:
Today may be April Fool's, but the joke was on us yesterday, as the Red Sox, Brewers, and Indians all blew late-inning leads in spectacular fashion... the Milwaukee and Cleveland games were especially painful in the fact that each bullpen's gasoline act also destroyed our massive Under plays in those contests as well...
The end result was that we went from what appeared to be an evening with positive gains to a horrendous 7-12 day that lost us -21 Units, putting our early-season baseball record into a bit of a hole...
However, the season is filled with ups and downs, and with our horrendous March behind us, we look forward to righting the ship, and demonstrating the form that has consistently brought forth the winners...
4/1 MLB:
NY Yankees @ Toronto 3:35 PM EST
Toronto +130 over NY Yankees (4 Units)
Toronto/NY Yankees Over 9.5 (2 Units)
If there is one team that Andy Pettitte would rather not face this season, it's the Toronto Blue Jays... after all, the Jays have downright rocked Pettitte each of the last three times they have met, knocking him around for a downright laughable 17 runs (15 earned) and 26 hits in just NINE (that's right, nine) innings of work... Anytime a pitcher has a 15.00 ERA in his last three starts against an opponent, and is subsequently installed as a favorite in his next start against that squad, we will always make a play on the underdog...
In the case of the Blue Jays, they are about as solid a home underdog as there is in baseball this season... even in an 8-4 defeat last night to the Yanks, the Jays continued their offensive success against New York, as their four runs marked the ninth consecutive time that they have scored at least four runs against the Yanks, and they have averaged 6.4 runs per game in that time... toss on the fact that Toronto has also scored at least four runs (and an average of 7.1 runs per game) in their last nine home games against the Yanks, and Pettitte could be in some serious trouble yet again...
Pettitte's struggles against the Jays have extended beyond just his last three starts, as Pettitte has allowed 28 runs (24 earned) in his last 30 innings at Skydome, for a 7.20 ERA... and although Cory Lidle may not have the name recognition of Pettitte, Toronto's new acquisition has fared much better against the Yankees than his counterpart... Lidle has now allowed three runs or less in five of his last seven starts against the Yanks, capped by an eight-inning shutout performance against the Bronx Bombers in his final start against them last season... with a 3.40 ERA against the Yankees in his last six starts against them, Lidle may allow a few runs to cross the plate, but should pitch well enough to keep the Yanks from going nuts on offense, especially with Derek Jeter now sidelined with a dislocated shoulder...
Umpire Jeff Kellogg will certainly do his best to help out the Jays, as Toronto is an exceptional 7-1 in games where Kellogg has worked behind the plate, including a 4-1 mark at home, and a 4-1 mark as an underdog... and with Toronto already 6-3 in their last nine home games against the Yanks, we'll happily back them as a solid underdog this afternoon... in addition to our play on Toronto, we will also once again back the Over, as the Over has cashed in eight of the last nine games between these two... and if Andy Pettitte struggles as we expect him to yet again today, there's a chance the Blue Jays will reach the Over by themselves... take the Jays and the Over...
FINAL PREDICTION: TORONTO 8, NY YANKEES 4
Evening plays to be posted in a bit!
Great write up, I like Toronto today as well.