TIGERS/YANKEES Under 9.5 -110 - El Duque has done his best pitching at home this season, where he is 4-1 with a 3.19 ERA, allowing an Opponents Batting Average of just .203. He has been even better than that in his last 5 home starts, posting a 2.00 ERA with an exceptional 0.96 WHIP. Hernandez will also be helped by the fact that he is facing a struggling Detroit offense that is averaging 3.30 runs per game with a team batting average of .221 in their last 10 games. Furthermore, the Tigers are hitting just .209 vs. right-handed pitchers during this span. Given that the Yankees bullpen has also performed admirably in the absence of Mariano Rivera, I just don?t see how the Tigers could score more than 3 runs tonight. Steve Sparks has been rocked in his last 3 starts, but he has also looked unhittable at times this season, and his knuckleball should represent a frustrating change of pace for the Yankees after they faced Derek Lowe last night. Sparks has already proven that he is capable of baffling the Bronx Bombers, throwing a Complete Game 3-hitter at them last season. Given the difficulties that I expect the Tigers offense to have tonight, I think that Sparks should be able to at least limit the Yankees enough to keep this game Under.
