MLB Fourth of July weekend cheat sheet

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MLB Fourth of July weekend cheat sheet

The Fourth of July holiday takes center stage this weekend and with it MLB continues its march toward the All-Star break.

Meanwhile, here?s a quick report of four key games on this weekend?s card. Remember, pitcher records are ?team start? results and team matchup records are those from within each series.

Enjoy the games and the fireworks.

NATIONAL LEAGUE

Milwaukee Brewers at Chicago Cubs

Most Recent Series Result: Cubs 10-6 last 16 games (3-3 this season)

Most Recent Series Result at the Site: Cubs 3-2 last five games

Key Day/Month Stat: Cubs 16-4 home Sundays; Brewers 0-4 Sundays

Best Arm in the Series: Cubs? Dempster 6-1, 3.47 ERA home versus Brewers

Worst Arm in the Series: Cubs? Zambrano 0-6, 4.67 ERA last six home starts versus Brewers; Brewers? Looper 1-6, 2.72 ERA career versus Cubs

New York Mets at Philadelphia Phillies

Most Recent Series Result: Mets 11-7 last 18 games (4-3 this season)

Most Recent Series Result at the Site: Mets 5-2 last seven games (1-1 this season)

Key Day/Month Stat: Phillies 15-4 Sundays; Mets 3-11 Sundays

Best Arm in the Series: Santana 6-2, 2.95 ERA career

Worst Arm in the Series: Hamels 0-2, 5.25 ERA last two home starts

AMERICAN LEAGUE

Toronto Blue Jays at New York Yankees

Most Recent Series Result: Yankees 4-2 last six games (2-1 this season)

Most Recent Series Result at the Site: Yankees 10-7 last 17 games

Key Day/Month Stat: Yankees 13-3 Fridays; Blue Jays 4-12 away Fridays

Best Arm in the Series: Blue Jays? Halladay 16-3, 2.09 ERA last 19 starts

Worst Arm in the Series: Chamberlain 0-2, 4.00 ERA career

Detroit Tigers at Minnesota Twins

Most Recent Series Result: Twins 14-6 last 20 games (4-1 this season)

Most Recent Series Result at the Site: Tigers 9-3 last 12 home (3-0 this season)

Key Day/Month Stat: Twins 12-1 home Fridays; Tigers 4-12 Fridays

Best Arm in the Series: Twins? Slowey 4-0, 4.57 ERA career starts

Worst Arm in the Series: Tigers? Jackson 1-3, 6.99 ERA career starts

 

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Hot lines: Satuday's best MLB bets

Hot lines: Satuday's best MLB bets

Hot lines: Satuday's best MLB bets

Chicago White Sox at Kansas City Royals (+107, 9)

The White Sox are making their move in the AL Central ? and they?re doing it with quality piching.

Chicago has allowed a meager 10 earned runs the past five games and is rapidly closing in on first-place Detroit. The White Sox have played dozens of low-scoring games this year and have an over/under record of 31-47-1 overall and 12-28 at home.

Combine those numbers with Kansas City?s 11-22-2 O/U mark on the road, and this one figures to be a snoozer for the fans hoping to see some early fireworks. Chicago also is 5-4 against the Royals this season, as six of their nine matchups have fallen below the number.

These Sox should leave the Royals hanging out to dry.

Pick: Under 9

Arizona Diamondbacks at Colorado Rockies (-191, 10)

Home or away, the Diamondbacks are incredibly consistent ? all they do is lose.

Arizona is just one of two teams in the NL ? and one of four in the Majors ? to have a losing record both home and on the road. And a trip to Coors Field is not what Arizona needs to turn its season around. The Rockies have the second-best run differential in the NL and are hitting the cover off the ball. Colorado, known for its homer-haven of a field, has used a balance offensive approach this year to score 392 runs entering the weekend, just two behind NL leader Philadelphia.

The two teams split six meetings earlier this year, but the Diamondbacks? offense has been just as bad as its defense, and this Rockies team is playing much different than the one that started the season poorly.

Pick: Rockies -191

 

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Saturday's streaking and slumping starting pitchers

Saturday's streaking and slumping starting pitchers

Saturday's streaking and slumping starting pitchers

Streaking

Tim Lincecum (San Francisco Giants)

The 25-year-old right-hander appeared to have a hangover from winning the NL Cy Young award to start the season. But after a dominant June, he looks poised to retain his award.

Lincecum failed to pitch at least seven innings only once in six starts last month, allowing a stingy eight earned runs over a staggering 48 2-3 innings. He finished the month 4-1 with a 1.48 ERA, upping his numbers on the year to 8-2 with a 2.37 ERA and a razor-thin 1.07 WHIP (walks + hits over innings pitched).

Houston, you?re going to have a problem.

"It takes some people longer to get ready for a season," Lincecum told the Associated Press. "I feel like I'm kind of getting into that zone right now. Things are coming easier. Mechanics are easier. I'm not thinking too much out there."

Aaron Cook (Colorado Rockies)

The key to Cook?s success last month is pretty obvious: get ground ball outs.

Cook (8-3, 3.77 ERA) has excelled at keeping the ball down, inducing 87 ground ball outs in June ? just 19 less than he totaled in the first two months of the season combined.

In his past five starts Cook has yielded no more than one earned run while lasting at least six innings four times. His lone blemish was a 5-3 win over Tampa Bay in Denver in which he gave up all three run in seven innings. If Arizona doesn?t get to him early, the Diamondbacks are going to get grilled by Cook.

Slumping

Jason Berken (Baltimore Orioles)

The good news for Baltimore is that Berken finally has his ERA below a touchdown. But a 6.44 ERA also isn?t anything to stand up and cheer about.

Berken (1-5) is in the midst of a summer swoon, as he was absolutely abused by opposing hitters last month. In five starts he went 0-4 with an 8.51 ERA, allowing at least four earned runs in all but one outing. He averaged fewer than five innings per start and added a hideous 1.78 WHIP.

He?s going to have a devil of a time against the Angels.

"Every outing for me is a learning experience," Berken told the Associated Press. "The last thing I am going to do is sit here and feel sorry for myself. It's tough to pitch in the big leagues."

Vin Mazzaro (Oakland Athletics)

Oakland?s 22-year-old prospect looked phenomenal in his first two outings, yielding no runs in his first 13 2-3 innings in the majors early last month. But big-league lineups have been unkind to him in his past two starts, scoring seven runs on 12 hits over just 11 innings in a pair of loses.

Young pitching, however, has been the way of the Athletics this season, who start four rookies in their rotation. Mazzaro?s task won?t get any easier against the Indians, who can score runs in bunches and are due to break out of a hitting slump.