Inside the Park - Monday
Gamblers have 11 games to wager on today, so let?s take a closer look at some developing trends on the diamond.
Monday Matinee ? Yankees vs. Blue Jays
New York is one of the hottest teams in baseball right now, winning 10 of its last 11 games. The Yankees hope to complete a four-game sweep of the Blue Jays, who have dropped three straight and seven of their last eight. The Yankees have scored 20 runs in this series against Toronto, helping the ?over? go 2-1.
The Blue Jays send Ricky Romero (6-3, 2.85 ERA) to the mound and the left-handed rookie might be undervalued (+135) in this spot. The Jays have won four straight with him on the mound and he?s given up only five earned runs during this stretch. The Yankees will hand the broom to Andy Pettitte (8-3, 4.25 ERA), who is 2-0 in his last three starts. Pettitte is 3-4 in his last seven starts against Toronto. The ?under? has gone 6-1 over this span.
Toronto has gone 13-13 against lefties this year, while the Yanks have produced a 15-8 record versus southpaws. The total opened at 9 ? runs and will most likely be adjusted after the updated Weather Reports are posted from the Bronx.
ESPN Primer ? Atlanta at Chicago Cubs
The Braves and Cubs meet in a nationally-televised showdown tonight at Wrigley Field. Atlanta had some momentum entering last weekend, winning four straight games. Then, the Braves captured the first game from the last-place Nationals on Friday but wound up blowing a lead in Saturday?s loss and then were shut down on Sunday.
Jair Jurrjens (6-6, 2.73 ERA) will toe the rubber for the Braves and the team is hoping he can have a repeat performance from his last outing. The third-year pro held the Phillies to one hit and one run over seven innings in the team?s 11-1 rout on July 1. Prior to that victory, Atlanta lost five straight with Jurrjens on the mound.
Runs won?t come easy for the Braves tonight because the Cubs? Randy Wells has been in the zone lately. The right-hander has won three in a row and held batters to 16 hits and five runs over his last 20 2/3 innings of work. Wells hasn?t had a lot of run support this year, which has made him a great ?under? (6-3) look.
Chicago captured all six meetings against Atlanta last year, but the Braves beat the Cubs two out of three in their first series this season. This will be the last meeting of the regular season between the two teams.
As always, there's no overnight total due to the uncertain wind conditions at Wrigley, "Unless we're looking at some serious wind blowing out Monday, this game looks like an 'under' to me. Forget Jurrjens' so-so record, this kid has been steadily nasty all year long, as evidenced by his 2.73 ERA. And Wells has been brilliant recently."
Trick or Treat
We know it?s not October folks, but it appears the oddsmakers are begging you to take Cincinnati (+140) tonight when it faces Philadelphia. The pitching matchup features the Reds? Johnny Cueto (8-4, 2.69 ERA) against the Phillies? Cole Hamels (4-5, 4.98 ERA). Cueto has four losses on the season, two against the American League and the other two by one run apiece. Hamels is a gamer but the Phillies are 0-4 in his last four starts and the last two (17 hits, 11 runs) have been outright embarrassing.
Philadelphia poses more of a threat offensively, even though the attack has been handcuffed lately. Despite sweeping the Mets over the weekend, the team managed just 13 runs in the three games and has scored seven in their three games prior, all losses too. Despite a lack of talent, the Reds are 40-40 on the season and 20-20 on the road. The Phillies sit in first place of the NL East, but are just 16-22 at home.
Before you run to the counter and unload on the Reds, keep in mind that Hamels has allowed five earned runs in 36 career innings against the Reds. His record is 4-0 in five starts against Cincy.
Perhaps that?s why Hamels and Philadelphia are listed as $1.55 home favorites.
Lookin? for a ?W?
John Smoltz?s (0-1, 6.00 ERA) return to the big leagues hasn?t gone the way the veteran pitcher had hoped. After giving up seven hits and five runs in a 9-3 loss to the Nationals on June 25, Smoltz bounced back by holding the Orioles to three hits and a run over four innings, yet the team still lost 11-10. Even though the Red Sox are 0-2 in Smoltz?s first two appearances, the right-hander has been installed as a healthy favorite (-220) against Oakland. The A?s nearly got swept by the Indians on Sunday, but they rallied for a 5-2 win and helped ?dog players cash a generous plus-180 ticket against Cliff Lee. The Red Sox were almost swept a swell as well before beating Seattle. Including yesterday?s win, Boston is only 6-12 against the AL West this year. Meanwhile, the A?s have been solid against the AL East this year, going 11-10.
AL West Action
Not a lot of pundits expected Texas to contend for the American League West this year but that?s exactly what the club is doing. The Rangers and Angels meet for the third time this year and Los Angeles is hoping that its confines in Anaheim will be an advantage. Texas has won five of the first six battles this season, although all of the games were in Arlington.
Kevin Millwood (8-5, 2.80 ERA) and Jered Weaver (8-3, 3.02 ERA) will square off for the second time in six days. The Rangers touched up Weaver for eight hits and seven runs in 5 1-3 innings, while Millwood scattered eight hits for four runs over 6 1-3 innings. L.A. rallied to tie the game at 7-7 in the ninth inning with three runs before Hank Blalock drilled a two-run shot in the bottom half of the last inning, which gave Texas a 9-7 win.
Sportsbook.com opened Weaver as a $1.45 favorite, while the total is hovering at 8 ? runs.
Headin? West
Sean West (3-2, 4.06 ERA) and the Marlins embark on a seven-game trip to the West Coast on Monday and the team will get tested right off the bat. The Fish open up against the Giants? Matt Cain (9-2, 2.48 ERA), who will be looking to notch his 10th win of the season. Cain has posted a 5-1 record with a 2.44 ERA at home this year.
West dominated the Giants on June 8 in a 4-0 victory. The lefty flirted with a no-hitter in just his fourth start and looked better than Randy Johnson in the win. The pair split the first four games at Land Shark Stadium. The ?under? went 3-0 and could?ve been 4-0 but the Giants tacked on two late runs to get a push in the one encounter.
Tonight?s total opened at 7 ?-runs, deservingly too. Stay abreast with the Injuries on this matchup, since Marlins' shortstop Hanley Ramirez is ?questionable.?
Day of the Week
Even though some pundits believe this stat to be trivial, some teams do perform better than others on certain days. Here is a look at the top and bottom clubs on Monday this season that are playing today.
Good:
Boston (5-1)
Kansas City (4-1)
L.A. Angels (5-2)
Philadelphia (4-1)
Florida (6-2)
Bad:
Seattle (1-4)
San Diego (3-5)
Atlanta (3-5)
Gamblers have 11 games to wager on today, so let?s take a closer look at some developing trends on the diamond.
Monday Matinee ? Yankees vs. Blue Jays
New York is one of the hottest teams in baseball right now, winning 10 of its last 11 games. The Yankees hope to complete a four-game sweep of the Blue Jays, who have dropped three straight and seven of their last eight. The Yankees have scored 20 runs in this series against Toronto, helping the ?over? go 2-1.
The Blue Jays send Ricky Romero (6-3, 2.85 ERA) to the mound and the left-handed rookie might be undervalued (+135) in this spot. The Jays have won four straight with him on the mound and he?s given up only five earned runs during this stretch. The Yankees will hand the broom to Andy Pettitte (8-3, 4.25 ERA), who is 2-0 in his last three starts. Pettitte is 3-4 in his last seven starts against Toronto. The ?under? has gone 6-1 over this span.
Toronto has gone 13-13 against lefties this year, while the Yanks have produced a 15-8 record versus southpaws. The total opened at 9 ? runs and will most likely be adjusted after the updated Weather Reports are posted from the Bronx.
ESPN Primer ? Atlanta at Chicago Cubs
The Braves and Cubs meet in a nationally-televised showdown tonight at Wrigley Field. Atlanta had some momentum entering last weekend, winning four straight games. Then, the Braves captured the first game from the last-place Nationals on Friday but wound up blowing a lead in Saturday?s loss and then were shut down on Sunday.
Jair Jurrjens (6-6, 2.73 ERA) will toe the rubber for the Braves and the team is hoping he can have a repeat performance from his last outing. The third-year pro held the Phillies to one hit and one run over seven innings in the team?s 11-1 rout on July 1. Prior to that victory, Atlanta lost five straight with Jurrjens on the mound.
Runs won?t come easy for the Braves tonight because the Cubs? Randy Wells has been in the zone lately. The right-hander has won three in a row and held batters to 16 hits and five runs over his last 20 2/3 innings of work. Wells hasn?t had a lot of run support this year, which has made him a great ?under? (6-3) look.
Chicago captured all six meetings against Atlanta last year, but the Braves beat the Cubs two out of three in their first series this season. This will be the last meeting of the regular season between the two teams.
As always, there's no overnight total due to the uncertain wind conditions at Wrigley, "Unless we're looking at some serious wind blowing out Monday, this game looks like an 'under' to me. Forget Jurrjens' so-so record, this kid has been steadily nasty all year long, as evidenced by his 2.73 ERA. And Wells has been brilliant recently."
Trick or Treat
We know it?s not October folks, but it appears the oddsmakers are begging you to take Cincinnati (+140) tonight when it faces Philadelphia. The pitching matchup features the Reds? Johnny Cueto (8-4, 2.69 ERA) against the Phillies? Cole Hamels (4-5, 4.98 ERA). Cueto has four losses on the season, two against the American League and the other two by one run apiece. Hamels is a gamer but the Phillies are 0-4 in his last four starts and the last two (17 hits, 11 runs) have been outright embarrassing.
Philadelphia poses more of a threat offensively, even though the attack has been handcuffed lately. Despite sweeping the Mets over the weekend, the team managed just 13 runs in the three games and has scored seven in their three games prior, all losses too. Despite a lack of talent, the Reds are 40-40 on the season and 20-20 on the road. The Phillies sit in first place of the NL East, but are just 16-22 at home.
Before you run to the counter and unload on the Reds, keep in mind that Hamels has allowed five earned runs in 36 career innings against the Reds. His record is 4-0 in five starts against Cincy.
Perhaps that?s why Hamels and Philadelphia are listed as $1.55 home favorites.
Lookin? for a ?W?
John Smoltz?s (0-1, 6.00 ERA) return to the big leagues hasn?t gone the way the veteran pitcher had hoped. After giving up seven hits and five runs in a 9-3 loss to the Nationals on June 25, Smoltz bounced back by holding the Orioles to three hits and a run over four innings, yet the team still lost 11-10. Even though the Red Sox are 0-2 in Smoltz?s first two appearances, the right-hander has been installed as a healthy favorite (-220) against Oakland. The A?s nearly got swept by the Indians on Sunday, but they rallied for a 5-2 win and helped ?dog players cash a generous plus-180 ticket against Cliff Lee. The Red Sox were almost swept a swell as well before beating Seattle. Including yesterday?s win, Boston is only 6-12 against the AL West this year. Meanwhile, the A?s have been solid against the AL East this year, going 11-10.
AL West Action
Not a lot of pundits expected Texas to contend for the American League West this year but that?s exactly what the club is doing. The Rangers and Angels meet for the third time this year and Los Angeles is hoping that its confines in Anaheim will be an advantage. Texas has won five of the first six battles this season, although all of the games were in Arlington.
Kevin Millwood (8-5, 2.80 ERA) and Jered Weaver (8-3, 3.02 ERA) will square off for the second time in six days. The Rangers touched up Weaver for eight hits and seven runs in 5 1-3 innings, while Millwood scattered eight hits for four runs over 6 1-3 innings. L.A. rallied to tie the game at 7-7 in the ninth inning with three runs before Hank Blalock drilled a two-run shot in the bottom half of the last inning, which gave Texas a 9-7 win.
Sportsbook.com opened Weaver as a $1.45 favorite, while the total is hovering at 8 ? runs.
Headin? West
Sean West (3-2, 4.06 ERA) and the Marlins embark on a seven-game trip to the West Coast on Monday and the team will get tested right off the bat. The Fish open up against the Giants? Matt Cain (9-2, 2.48 ERA), who will be looking to notch his 10th win of the season. Cain has posted a 5-1 record with a 2.44 ERA at home this year.
West dominated the Giants on June 8 in a 4-0 victory. The lefty flirted with a no-hitter in just his fourth start and looked better than Randy Johnson in the win. The pair split the first four games at Land Shark Stadium. The ?under? went 3-0 and could?ve been 4-0 but the Giants tacked on two late runs to get a push in the one encounter.
Tonight?s total opened at 7 ?-runs, deservingly too. Stay abreast with the Injuries on this matchup, since Marlins' shortstop Hanley Ramirez is ?questionable.?
Day of the Week
Even though some pundits believe this stat to be trivial, some teams do perform better than others on certain days. Here is a look at the top and bottom clubs on Monday this season that are playing today.
Good:
Boston (5-1)
Kansas City (4-1)
L.A. Angels (5-2)
Philadelphia (4-1)
Florida (6-2)
Bad:
Seattle (1-4)
San Diego (3-5)
Atlanta (3-5)
