Twins, Halos ready to battle
July 23, 2009
Minnesota Twins (48-47) At Los Angeles Angels (55-38)
Date: Thursday July 23rd
Time: 10:05 PM ET
TV: Fox Sports West
Line: Angels -150 / Twins +140
Total: 8 ? Over -105 / Under -115
Twins Road Record: 20-27
Angels Home Record: 27-18
Twins Last 10: 5-5
Angels Last 10: 9-1
Pitchers:
Scott Baker (MN) 8-7 / 5.10 ERA / 90 K?s / 1.20 WHIP
Jered Weaver (LAA) 10-3 / 3.48 ERA / 107 K?s / 1.18 WHIP
The Twins (48-47) are slumping to start the second half of the season, and now they have to head to Anaheim to face the ?red-hot? Angels. The Halos have won nine of their last 10 games and lead second-place Texas by three games in the AL West.
The Los Angeles Angels haven?t missed a beat without Vladimir Guerrero and Torii Hunter. Players once at the bottom of the order or buried on the bench have filled the gaps left by their injured leaders, keeping the Angels atop the AL West.
No one has elevated his game more then Erick Aybar he is hitting .490 this month, including 24-for-43 the past 11 games, lifting his average to .315 for the season?53 points higher than his career average.
Angel?s first baseman Kendry Morales has extended his career-high hitting streak to 19 games with two hits in the opener of the twin bill on Tuesday. Morales is batting .375 (27 for 72) with 13 runs, five homers and 16 RBIs during his run.
The Angels 1-3 (Figgins, Itzturis, Abreu) in the batting order are hitting over .300, all have scored over 40 runs and move runners along. Abreu reached 20 stolen bases for the 11th straight season.
Minnesota?s All Star Catcher Joe Mauer has been slumping since the All Star Break. On Sunday in Texas, Mauer went 0 for 6 for the first time in his career, and in the Twins' final game before the all-star break, he struck out four times, also a career first. Through Sunday his .264 July batting average (53 at-bats) dropped his season average to .353. In the three games at Texas, Mauer went 1 for 13 with three strikeouts. His 10 strikeouts and seven walks in July make for a 0.70 walk-to-strikeout ratio, well below his career ratio of 1.21. If the Twins want to keep contending, they will need for their former AL MVP to break out of his slump.
Justin Morneau has been red- hot all year hitting .333 with 24 HR?s, 79 RBI?s. and a startling .400 (on base percentage). Morneau has had a great road trip with 3 HR?s and 11 RBI?s, and is quietly having a phenomenal season.
The Twinkies are experiencing a huge power surge this year with 98 bombs; Minnesota didn?t hit their 98th team home run until Sept. 1st during the 2008 campaign.
Joe Crede's strained AC joint in his right shoulder will keep him out of the starting lineup for a few games.
Jason Kubel is having a great year, hitting .316, with 16 HR?s, and 52 RBI?s. He is 1-5 in his career against Jered Weaver.
Jered Weaver has had great success against the Twins having never given up a homerun to the Twins. Jered Weaver lasted only 3 2/3 innings Saturday against the Oakland A's, his shortest outing of the season. He gave up eight hits and five earned runs. But he had a good excuse for the poor performance. After the first inning, Weaver became "nauseous and woozy" because of what manager Mike Scioscia called a "viral" problem. Weaver is 10-3 overall with a 3.48 ERA, but he has not been as sharp lately as he was earlier in the season. In his past six starts he is 3-1, but he has a 7.29 ERA during that stretch.
Scott Baker delivered a gem of an outing to open the second half. The right-hander held the Rangers to just one run on six hits over eight innings. He kept an aggressive-swinging Texas ball club off balance by throwing a lot of first-pitch strikes and moving the ball in and out of the strike zone. The Twins hope to see more of that from Baker throughout the second half. He'll next face the Angels, a team he's gone 0-4 against with a 5.88 ERA in six career starts. Baker has won four of his last five starts.
Betting Trends:
Twins are 5-2 in their last seven games against the Angels
Twins are 4-1 in Scott Baker?s last five starts
The UNDER is 4-1 in the Twins last five games
Angels are 26-9 in the Angels last 35 games
Angels are 9-2 in Jered Weaver?s last 11 starts
The OVER is 6-0 in Jered Weaver?s last six starts
July 23, 2009
Minnesota Twins (48-47) At Los Angeles Angels (55-38)
Date: Thursday July 23rd
Time: 10:05 PM ET
TV: Fox Sports West
Line: Angels -150 / Twins +140
Total: 8 ? Over -105 / Under -115
Twins Road Record: 20-27
Angels Home Record: 27-18
Twins Last 10: 5-5
Angels Last 10: 9-1
Pitchers:
Scott Baker (MN) 8-7 / 5.10 ERA / 90 K?s / 1.20 WHIP
Jered Weaver (LAA) 10-3 / 3.48 ERA / 107 K?s / 1.18 WHIP
The Twins (48-47) are slumping to start the second half of the season, and now they have to head to Anaheim to face the ?red-hot? Angels. The Halos have won nine of their last 10 games and lead second-place Texas by three games in the AL West.
The Los Angeles Angels haven?t missed a beat without Vladimir Guerrero and Torii Hunter. Players once at the bottom of the order or buried on the bench have filled the gaps left by their injured leaders, keeping the Angels atop the AL West.
No one has elevated his game more then Erick Aybar he is hitting .490 this month, including 24-for-43 the past 11 games, lifting his average to .315 for the season?53 points higher than his career average.
Angel?s first baseman Kendry Morales has extended his career-high hitting streak to 19 games with two hits in the opener of the twin bill on Tuesday. Morales is batting .375 (27 for 72) with 13 runs, five homers and 16 RBIs during his run.
The Angels 1-3 (Figgins, Itzturis, Abreu) in the batting order are hitting over .300, all have scored over 40 runs and move runners along. Abreu reached 20 stolen bases for the 11th straight season.
Minnesota?s All Star Catcher Joe Mauer has been slumping since the All Star Break. On Sunday in Texas, Mauer went 0 for 6 for the first time in his career, and in the Twins' final game before the all-star break, he struck out four times, also a career first. Through Sunday his .264 July batting average (53 at-bats) dropped his season average to .353. In the three games at Texas, Mauer went 1 for 13 with three strikeouts. His 10 strikeouts and seven walks in July make for a 0.70 walk-to-strikeout ratio, well below his career ratio of 1.21. If the Twins want to keep contending, they will need for their former AL MVP to break out of his slump.
Justin Morneau has been red- hot all year hitting .333 with 24 HR?s, 79 RBI?s. and a startling .400 (on base percentage). Morneau has had a great road trip with 3 HR?s and 11 RBI?s, and is quietly having a phenomenal season.
The Twinkies are experiencing a huge power surge this year with 98 bombs; Minnesota didn?t hit their 98th team home run until Sept. 1st during the 2008 campaign.
Joe Crede's strained AC joint in his right shoulder will keep him out of the starting lineup for a few games.
Jason Kubel is having a great year, hitting .316, with 16 HR?s, and 52 RBI?s. He is 1-5 in his career against Jered Weaver.
Jered Weaver has had great success against the Twins having never given up a homerun to the Twins. Jered Weaver lasted only 3 2/3 innings Saturday against the Oakland A's, his shortest outing of the season. He gave up eight hits and five earned runs. But he had a good excuse for the poor performance. After the first inning, Weaver became "nauseous and woozy" because of what manager Mike Scioscia called a "viral" problem. Weaver is 10-3 overall with a 3.48 ERA, but he has not been as sharp lately as he was earlier in the season. In his past six starts he is 3-1, but he has a 7.29 ERA during that stretch.
Scott Baker delivered a gem of an outing to open the second half. The right-hander held the Rangers to just one run on six hits over eight innings. He kept an aggressive-swinging Texas ball club off balance by throwing a lot of first-pitch strikes and moving the ball in and out of the strike zone. The Twins hope to see more of that from Baker throughout the second half. He'll next face the Angels, a team he's gone 0-4 against with a 5.88 ERA in six career starts. Baker has won four of his last five starts.
Betting Trends:
Twins are 5-2 in their last seven games against the Angels
Twins are 4-1 in Scott Baker?s last five starts
The UNDER is 4-1 in the Twins last five games
Angels are 26-9 in the Angels last 35 games
Angels are 9-2 in Jered Weaver?s last 11 starts
The OVER is 6-0 in Jered Weaver?s last six starts

