MLB ACTION "BEST BET"!!!!....You won't catch us making too many plays over -200 but this game is rock solid and here's why........Oakland pitcher Mulder has been a flamethrower at home this season. Over his last 3 home starts he has gone 24.1 innings, allowed only 9 hits, 6 bases on balls, and 3 earned runs while fanning 17 batters. That includes 16 scoreless innings to the Mariners and Toronto, two teams we all know can hit the thing with the seams. Those numbers pencil out to a stingy 1.09 ERA and 0.60 whip! It's gonna be tough for Tampa to win with one baserunner every two innings. In his last 6 games overall, Mulder has gone 44 innings (7.1 innings per start) while only allowing 13 earned runs. Mulder's season ERA is 3.25, his whip is 1.11 (stellar), he has a 2.33 ERA in May, 2.87 in day games this season (15.2 ip), lefties hit him .222, righties hit him .227, opponents on his home field only .152, and he allows a .234 average with runners in scoring position. On offense the A's have hammered Devil Ray starter Albie Lopez to the tune of 22-44 lifetime with 5 homers. Giambi leads the hit parade with a track record of 7-12 with 3 homers vs. Lopez. Coincidentally, he's the A's hottest hitter of late hitting .448 with a .543 on base percentage over his last 8 games. We've gotta believe he's licking his chops and ready to face Albie. As a team, the A's have throttled the Devil Rays over the last 2 years....you won't find a more dominating record as the A's went 7-2 vs. TB in 2000 and 9-1 in 1999...16-3 is flat out dominating! Also make note that Oakland had won their last 6 home games before dropping one last night to the Devil Rays and pitcher Tanyon Sturtze who has been ferocious on the road this season only allowing 3 earned runs in 24 innings. After dumping one last night at home they should have some motivation to play hard and get back to their winning ways.
On the flip side Tampa Bay looks like a train wreck. Players are disgruntled after rumors of the team not being able to make payroll, Greg Vaughn is bellyaching about a sore shoulder, and today's starter Lopez is even coming off an injury too. He bruised his thumb about a week and a half ago. Starter Lopez has looked horrible as of late. Over his last 5 games (29.1 innings) he's allowed a robust 25 earned runs on 39 hits and 12 walks...He has a 7.66 May ERA, has a 6.75 ERA in day games (20.0 ip) and has an 8.53 ERA vs. Oakland over the last 3 years. Also over the last 3 years he's allowed a .282 average to lefties, a .280 average with runners on, and has a road ERA 1.17 higher than his home ERA. This guy is better suited as a setup man or short reliever. Lopez has yielded a .351 batting average over his last 2 outings and has allowed an average of 16.7 baserunners per 9 innings during those 2 games. In his last outing at Oakland (2000) he went 3.2 innings allowing 8 hits, 5 of which were dongs, and 8 earned runs! TB as a team hits .229 vs. lefties, .239 away, .236 with runners on, .237 with runners in scoring position, .244 on grass, and .247 in day games. TB starters have a 5.82 ERA, the team has a 6.26 team ERA in May, and a 5.59 ERA in day games. The league is hitting .293 vs. TB starters and the league hits a robust .308 with runners in scoring position against the Devil Rays. Cold Tampa hitters over the last 10 days include: Cox .091, Flaherty .190, Huff .229, Tyner .222, Vaughn .250, and Williams .250...Despite the heavy price tag, we like Oakland to STREAMROLL Tampa Bay this afternoon!
Good luck!
On the flip side Tampa Bay looks like a train wreck. Players are disgruntled after rumors of the team not being able to make payroll, Greg Vaughn is bellyaching about a sore shoulder, and today's starter Lopez is even coming off an injury too. He bruised his thumb about a week and a half ago. Starter Lopez has looked horrible as of late. Over his last 5 games (29.1 innings) he's allowed a robust 25 earned runs on 39 hits and 12 walks...He has a 7.66 May ERA, has a 6.75 ERA in day games (20.0 ip) and has an 8.53 ERA vs. Oakland over the last 3 years. Also over the last 3 years he's allowed a .282 average to lefties, a .280 average with runners on, and has a road ERA 1.17 higher than his home ERA. This guy is better suited as a setup man or short reliever. Lopez has yielded a .351 batting average over his last 2 outings and has allowed an average of 16.7 baserunners per 9 innings during those 2 games. In his last outing at Oakland (2000) he went 3.2 innings allowing 8 hits, 5 of which were dongs, and 8 earned runs! TB as a team hits .229 vs. lefties, .239 away, .236 with runners on, .237 with runners in scoring position, .244 on grass, and .247 in day games. TB starters have a 5.82 ERA, the team has a 6.26 team ERA in May, and a 5.59 ERA in day games. The league is hitting .293 vs. TB starters and the league hits a robust .308 with runners in scoring position against the Devil Rays. Cold Tampa hitters over the last 10 days include: Cox .091, Flaherty .190, Huff .229, Tyner .222, Vaughn .250, and Williams .250...Despite the heavy price tag, we like Oakland to STREAMROLL Tampa Bay this afternoon!
Good luck!
