The Bum's Best Bets For Monday June 15th - MLB - NBA -NHL !

[StarDust Bum]

Preview: Athletics (25-39) at Padres (32-32)
Game: 1
Venue: PETCO Park
Date: June 15, 2015 10:10 PM EDT

Recent meetings between the San Diego Padres and Oakland Athletics have taken place in the general manager's office, not on the playing field.

The results of the former will match up in the latter as both Jesse Hahn and Tyson Ross face their former teams Monday night when the Padres and Athletics meet for the first time in three seasons.

Hahn (3-5, 3.84 ERA) enjoyed a 3.07 ERA while with San Diego (32-33) last year, but was traded to Oakland (26-39) in exchange for Derek Norris this offseason. Both trade pieces have been solid for their new clubs, with Hahn recording a quality start in five of his last six outings and Norris' 39 RBIs leading all NL catchers.

Hahn, though, stumbled his last time out and enters this contest following his shortest start of the season. The right-hander was chased in the fourth inning Wednesday after allowing four runs, seven hits and 12 total baserunners in an eventual 5-4 win.

"I just didn't have my stuff," Hahn told MLB's official website. "One of those weird outings, a weird day for me."

Hahn has yet to face the Padres but is familiar with Petco Park after going 3-2 with a 2.95 ERA in 36 2-3 innings there.

Ross (3-6, 3.81) also meets his former team for the first time since Oakland traded him to San Diego in 2012. The change of scenery has been a positive for Ross, who has improved his 5.33 ERA in three seasons with the A's to 3.08 in 60 starts with the Padres.

The right-hander has been admirably consistent since the beginning of May, allowing three or fewer runs in all eight starts. Ross, who has not surrendered a home run over that stretch, yielded nine hits and three runs in a 4-1 loss to Atlanta on Wednesday.

Ross follows James Shields, who was pulled after 86 pitches of what became a tough loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday.

With the bases loaded and two outs in the ninth, Justin Upton was robbed of a winning hit by Joc Pederson's running, over-the-shoulder catch while crashing into the wall before the Dodgers won 4-2 in 12 innings.

"We have to win," Shields said. "We have to win that game. The game was ours to lose and we have to do a better job of bearing down and getting that win right there."

Oakland enters Monday's contest on a higher note after trouncing the Los Angeles Angels 8-1 Sunday to avoid its second series sweep this month.

Ben Zobrist paced the effort with two doubles and three runs to snap out of an offensive funk that had him batting .114 in his previous 10 games.

"This is a guy we need," manager Bob Melvin told MLB's official website. "Get him to square a couple of balls up and get him going. He's got a track record of being a heck of a hitter. ... It looks like he's rounding into shape."

Oakland has won its last two series with the Padres, taking took two of three in 2012 after winning a three-game series at San Diego in 2009.


SERIES AT A GLANCE

GAME 1
Athletics at Padres
Mon, Jun 15 - 10:10PM EDT

GAME 2
Athletics at Padres
Tue, Jun 16 - 3:40PM EDT

GAME 3
Padres at Athletics
Wed, Jun 17 - 10:05PM EDT

GAME 4
Padres at Athletics
Thu, Jun 18 - 3:35PM EDT

[StarDust Bum]

Preview: Reds (28-34) at Tigers (33-30)
Game: 1
Venue: Comerica Park
Date: June 15, 2015 7:08 PM EDT

While the Detroit Tigers are posting some of the majors' top numbers in both hitting and pitching over the last seven games, the Cincinnati Reds are heading into a series with another dreaded opponent: the AL.

Baseball's worst interleague team since the start of last season meets one of the majors' hottest clubs Monday night in Detroit for the opener of a two-game set before the teams head to Cincinnati for two more.

After Sunday's 8-1 home win over Cleveland, the Tigers (33-30) have won five of seven while scoring 5.4 runs per game and batting an MLB-leading .329.

Miguel Cabrera was 7 for 11 with two home runs and six RBIs as Detroit took two of three in the series. He's batting .458 in his last 16 home games, .385 in 22 home games against the NL since the start of 2013, and he's a career .343 hitter against the Reds.

J.D. Martinez was 4 for 8 in the final two games against the Indians with homers in each and has a 13-game hitting streak against the NL.

Yoenis Cespedes is hitting .452 on an eight-game hitting streak and is batting .413 in his last 13 at Comerica Park.

The pitching has also been strong with a 1.74 ERA out of the rotation in seven games, which trails only Pittsburgh. Of those starts, Anibal Sanchez can claim one of the best.

Sanchez (4-7, 5.16 ERA) gave up six hits in 7 2-3 innings of Tuesday's 6-0 home win over the Chicago Cubs for a performance he really needed after going 0-3 with a 7.71 ERA in his previous four.

"Today I feel really good," Sanchez told MLB's official website. "I (started) hitting the corners, I (started) throwing my pitch in the right zone in the right situation, too, something that I lost early in the first two months."

The right-hander is 1-2 with a 3.94 ERA in three starts against Cincinnati, but he hasn't faced the Reds since 2010.

He'll be opposed by Jon Moscot, who in his first road start is looking to add to his first big league win. Moscot (1-1, 4.91) is making his third MLB start after surrendering two runs and six hits in six innings of Wednesday's 5-2 win over Philadelphia.

"I was able to just settle in early," Moscot said. "My sinker was effective, I was getting ground balls and (we) played some great defense, made some good plays. I'm just getting ahead of hitters and mixing it up."

The Reds (28-34), however, are coming off consecutive walk-off losses against the Cubs, including Sunday's 2-1 defeat in 11 innings in Chicago. Joey Votto was 2 for 5 and is batting .368 in his last 15 games, but Jay Bruce is hitting .140 in his last six.

The only consistency for Cincinnati right now seems to be failure on the road.

The Reds dropped three of four at Wrigley Field, marking their fifth straight loss in an away series. They've dropped 12 of their last 14 while averaging 2.7 runs, and they're an MLB-worst 19-50 away from home since June 30 with just three wins in 22 series.

Cincinnati is an MLB-worst 7-21 in interleague play since the start of last season. It is 2-16 in AL parks in that time with seven straight losses both on the road and overall.

The Tigers are 18-13 overall against the NL during the same period.

Unsurprisingly, the Reds have dropped their last five series against Detroit while going 5-10.


SERIES AT A GLANCE

GAME 1
Reds at Tigers
Mon, Jun 15 - 7:08PM EDT

GAME 2
Reds at Tigers
Tue, Jun 16 - 7:08PM EDT

GAME 3
Tigers at Reds
Wed, Jun 17 - 7:10PM EDT

GAME 4
Tigers at Reds
Thu, Jun 18 - 7:10PM EDT

[StarDust Bum]

Braves, Red Sox clash

June 15, 2015


ATLANTA BRAVES (30-33) at BOSTON RED SOX (27-37)

First pitch: Monday, 7:00 p.m. ET
Sportsbook.ag Line: Boston -145, Atlanta +135, Total: 9

The Boston Red Sox look to avoid their seventh straight loss when they host the Atlanta Braves on Monday night.

The Red Sox have run into a few of the hottest teams in baseball over the past week and were swept in three games against both the Orioles and Blue Jays leading up to this contest. During the stretch they’ve been outscored 43-26 and the pitching was horrid against Toronto with 31 runs allowed in the three contests (10.3 runs per game). In Sunday’s 13-5 loss, they managed eight hits and had at least one from each of their first four batters in the lineup. With his two-hit day in the loss, 2B Dustin Pedroia (.309) has a hit in 12 of his last 13 games, batting .373 with a homer and five RBI in that time.

Atlanta had a hot start to the year, but has cooled off of late and is 5-8 in the month of June as it comes off of a 2-1 series loss in New York most recently. They failed to get a victory in the rubber-match on Sunday afternoon, a high scoring affair in which the Braves lost 10-8 after leading by five runs early on in the contest. The offense was an impressive 7-for-13 with RISP while New York was a meager 2-for-12, but it was the four homers by the Mets that gave Atlanta its seventh loss by two runs or fewer in their eight June defeats. Despite the defeat, 1B Freddie Freeman (.306) extended his hit streak to four games and is 7-for-17 (.412) with two homers, five RBI and five walks in that time.

The pitching matchup in this game will put RHP Willams Perez (2-0, 2.70 ERA) of the Braves up against struggling RHP Rick Porcello (4-6, 5.26 ERA) of the host Sox.

When on the road this year, Atlanta is a poor 15-19 as they take on this Boston group which has played to a 15-17 record at Fenway Park. These clubs haven’t played often since the start of the 2013 season, meeting just four times, but the Red Sox have made the most of them with a win each time, two both home and away.

When they met in Boston last year, the Sox outscored the Braves 8-3 and tallied 12 hits in each victory. Trends show that the Red Sox are a putrid 30-52 (.366) at home when the total in 8.5 to 10 in the past two seasons as Atlanta is a mere 86-94 (.478) against right-handed starters in the same timeframe.

The injury report has no significant omissions for the visiting Braves as Boston continues to play without OFs Daniel Nava (Thumb), Shane Victorino (Calf) and Ryan Hanigan (Wrist) while OF Mookie Betts (Back) is listed as questionable.

Perez has been a welcome surprise for the Braves rotation as the 24-year-old has taken time to mature in their system since 2010 and has improved steadily over the past few seasons. Before making the jump to the big leagues this year, he had five starts at triple-A and was borderline dominant with four earned runs allowed (1.33 ERA) and seven strikeouts per nine innings. Perez has now thrown in eight games (5 starts) with Atlanta and as a starter has a 1.80 ERA (1.30 WHIP) with 8.1 K/9; his only issue being control (3.9 BB/9).

In his last eight innings of work (1 start, 1 relief appearance), Perez has a save and a win while allowing one unearned run on six hits. He has yet to take on the Red Sox in his career, but besides the blistering hot Pedroia, Perez will need to work carefully when pitching against OF Hanley Ramirez (.275) who leads the team with 13 HRs and 33 RBI. On the other hand, he may get relief against 1B Mike Napoli (.200) who has struck out in 25.8% of his at-bats and is hitting a meager .193 against right-handers this season.

The Atlanta bullpen has gone 11-15 with a bloated 4.69 ERA (1.38 WHIP) and is 20-for-33 (61%) in save chances. Jason Grilli (3.22 ERA, 16 saves) has not allowed an earned run in his last six appearances, giving up two hits and compiling a 6:1 K/BB ratio in during the stretch.

Porcello was one of the key acquisitions for Boston this offseason and it looked great at the time as the 26-year-old had improved his ERA each year since 2010 from a 4.92 mark to a career-best 3.43 in 2014. Unfortunately, he has not taken those improvements to his new team and despite seeing his strikeouts raise to 7.2 K/9, he has allowed 11 homers in his 75.1 IP (1.31 HR/9) and has now seen his team lose in his last four outings.
His GB%, which he held at 49% or higher in each his other seasons since 2009, is at a mere 43.8% and he is leaving a career-low 65.8% of runners on base. Porcello has seen this Braves team just once in his career, and in the game he earned a win after pitching 6.1 innings of three-run baseball. He will not look forward to seeing OF Nick Markakis (9-for-24, 1 double, 1 HR, 2 RBI) who he faced plenty when he was on the Orioles last year, but could enjoy taking on A.J. Pierzynski who has five hits in his 25 times facing the righty (.200).

The Red Sox ‘pen hasn’t been all too impressive in 2015, going 8-10 with a 3.80 ERA (1.34 WHIP) and are 14-for-22 (64%) in save opportunities. Koji Uehara (2.25 ERA, saves) has two losses and a blown save in his last six appearances, giving up six runs (2 ER) in the 4.2 frames during that period.

[StarDust Bum]

LEADING OFF: Blue Jays go for team-record 12th straight win

June 14, 2015

A look at what's happening all around the major leagues today:

TORRID TORONTO, AND THE TRADE

The Blue Jays try for their team-record 12th straight win when speedy shortstop Jose Reyes returns to Citi Field to take on the Mets in an interleague matchup that features several familiar faces. Rookie pitcher Noah Syndergaard was traded with catcher Travis d'Arnaud from Toronto to New York after the 2012 season in a deal for knuckleballer R.A. Dickey. Syndergaard starts the opener against the top-scoring team in the majors. ''I'm just going into it like it's another game,'' he said. ''I don't really hold any grudges against them for that.''

MIAMI NICE

Alex Rodriguez takes his pursuit of the 3,000-hit mark to his hometown. The Yankees begin a two-game series in Miami and the attendance-challenged Marlins expect more than 30,000 fans each day, even though it's uncertain how much they'll see him. He has played only six games in the field this season, and there will be no designated hitter. Rodriguez has 2,995 hits, and manager Joe Girardi said his inclination was not to start him. A-Rod grew up in Miami and hasn't played there since 2009. ''Obviously it will be a special homecoming for me,'' he said.

REELING RED SOX

Boston has lost a season-worst six in a row going into the series opener against Atlanta at Fenway Park. ''We're not in a good place right now as a team, but it's not because we're not giving effort,'' manager John Farrell said. ''We're not executing completely.''

REMEMBER ME?

Oakland righty Jesse Hahn (3-5) starts at Petco Park on a mound he knows well. He spent his rookie season with San Diego last year before being traded to the Athletics. Padres righty Josh Johnson, sidelined since 2013 because of elbow trouble, will throw 15-20 pitches in an one-inning simulated game earlier in the day.

TORII TIME

Twins outfielder Torii Hunter rejoins the team in St. Louis after serving a two-game suspension imposed for his uniform-tossing tirade last week. Highly touted rookie Byron Buxton hopes to get his first hit, a day after making his major league debut.

[StarDust Bum]

AL has slight edge in interleague matchups

The American League has a slight edge over the National League in interleague matchups this season, owning a 48-41 record heading into a packed slate of IL action Monday.

Here is a look at the three best interleague record in the bigs, and a look at the three worst.

Three best:

Los Angeles Dodgers: 3-0

Houston Astros: 4-1

San Francisco Giants: 4-1

Three worst:

Colorado Rockies: 0-2

Cincinnati Reds: 1-7

Pittsburgh Pirates, Baltimore Orioles, Seattle Mariners: 1-4

[StarDust Bum]

Pirates in mini-slump against AL clubs

The Pittsburgh Pirates open a two game interleague series against the Chicago White Sox Monday evening and will look to reverse a four-game losing skid in interleague competition.

The Buccos dropped the last two games of a three-game set against the Detroit Tigers back in April and lost two games to the Minnesota Twins in May.

They'll turn to Francisco Liriano as -175 faves against the Pale Hose and probable starter Carlos Rodon.

[StarDust Bum]

Familia proving his value to Mets

NEW YORK -- In a span of 11 weeks, right-hander Jeurys Familia has gone from a question mark at closer to the unquestioned leader of the New York Mets' bullpen -- and quite possibly the most valuable player on the entire roster.

Familia proved his value for the second straight day Sunday, when he got the final four outs to preserve the Mets' 10-8, come-from-behind victory over the Atlanta Braves at Citi Field.

It was the fifth time this season Familia has thrown more than one inning. In those outings, Familia is 1-0 with four saves while allowing no runs on five hits over 8 1/3 innings.

"I can't say enough about the job he's done," Mets manager Terry Collins said. "He is now 'The Guy.'"

The Mets were reminded of that Saturday, when Familia was away from the team following the birth of his son, Jeurys Jr., late Friday night in New Jersey. New York entered the ninth leading the Braves 3-1, but right-hander Hansel Robles and left-hander Alex Torres combined to squander the lead and the Mets eventually lost 5-3 in 11 innings.

When Familia returned to the Mets on Sunday morning, Collins said he was greeted like a long-lost family member.

"A lot of guys were excited to see him when he walked through the door," Collins said. "First thing you hear is 'The Man's here.' That's what he's become."

Familia wasn't even supposed to be the Mets' closer, but he moved into the role when incumbent right-hander Jenrry Mejia suffered an elbow injury while warming up during the season opener against the Washington Nationals. Familia became the Mets' long-term option at the role just days later, when Mejia was suspended 80 games for testing positive for a performance enhancing drug.

Now, he's one of the best in the league at what he does. The save Sunday was the 19th for Familia, who is 2-0 with a 1.16 ERA and 32 strikeouts in 31 innings. Health permitting, he is shaping up as a near-lock to be selected to the National League team for the All-Star Game in Cincinnati on July 14.

"You talk about shortening games -- you look up in the seventh inning, you go 'How do we get six outs to where we can then get to The Man?'" Collins said.

Sometimes, it doesn't even take that long.

[StarDust Bum]

Offense explodes during Jays' winning streak

Jun 14, 2015

BOSTON -- The numbers are pretty scary.

The Toronto Blue Jays, riding an 11-games winning streak that matches the franchise high, are becoming a scoring machine.

The highest-scoring team in baseball has 88 runs during its streak, a run that brought the Jays to a season-high four games over .500 (34-30).

"We're some kinda hot right now," manager John Gibbons said Sunday after Toronto's 13-5 victory over the Boston Red Sox that completed a three-game sweep.

The Blue Jays are hitting .312 with a .518 slugging percentage during the streak, and they are batting .473 with runners in scoring position. They hit 18 homers in the 11 games, and they amassed at least 10 hits eight times.

Over the weekend, Toronto scored 31 runs on 43 hits -- and they produced the runs with exactly no home runs from Josh Donaldson, Jose Bautista and Juan Encarnacion, who came in with 41 among them.

Second baseman Ryan Goins, who extended a futility streak to 0-for-16 before getting two hits Friday night, finished 6-for-14 with nine RBIs in the series, and he drove in a career-high five runs Sunday.

[StarDust Bum]

Jungmann to remain in Brewers rotation

Jun 15, 2015

MILWAUKEE -- Taylor Jungmann was nowhere near his best Sunday afternoon, but has made enough of an impression on Milwaukee Brewers manager Craig Counsell that he will remain in the rotation for the time being.

Jungmann made his second career start Sunday and struggled, allowing seven hits and two walks while hitting a batter and throwing two wild pitches over five innings but managed to hold Washington to only two runs.

"I was really proud of Taylor," Counsell said. "I thought he had to fight for everything he got and he kept us in the game.

"I think it's one of those starts where you'll look back on it and you'll say, 'I did a pretty good job today. I survived and I gave my team a shot.'

"I don't feel like he got hit hard. It's just some ground balls got through but they made him work for everything; lots of foul balls and they just made him work. They made him keep working.

"He did a nice job. He did a nice job getting through that. A couple of those ground balls go at somebody and maybe a couple of those innings are a little easier. But you're going to have days like that. The point is, he had a tough day but kept us in the game, and that's a success."

Jungmann was Milwaukee's first-round pick in the 2011 draft (12th overall) but worked slowly through the Brewers' minor league system, posting a 33-26 record and 3.89 ERA with 335 strikeouts and 187 walks in 453 1/3 innings of work.

He was projected to be the long man out of the bullpen to open the season but instead, began the season at Triple-A Colorado Springs where he went 2-3 with a 6.37 ERA in 11 appearances, including nine starts.

Those numbers may have been part of the reason that Jungmann was initially passed over for a call-up when RHP Wily Peralta went to the disabled list on May 25. The team first tapped Tyler Wagner from Double-A Biloxi, but immediately returned him to the minors after a 17-inning marathon.

Right-hander Tyler Cravy came next and pitched well in his spot start, but he, too, was sent back down and Jungmann finally got his call.

He made a good impression his first time out holding the Pirates to a run join three hits and a walk over seven innings in a 4-1 victory at Pittsburgh.

He struggled with his command from the outset Sunday, but was able to minimize the damage and make it through five innings.

"Knowing you're going to get another start is always good," Jungmann said. "You always want to stay in the big leagues. I'll try to build off this outing. I made some adjustments, the breaking ball was better today but the fastball command wasn't there. Hopefully, the next outing, I can put together the fastball and the breaking ball and go from there. We'll see what happens."

[StarDust Bum]

Cardinals' pitching pacing Top 5 under plays

The St. Louis Cardinals lead the majors in team ERA by a fair margin at 2.43, which makes it no surprise the are pacing the bigs in unders at 38-22-2 this season.

Here are the Top 5 under plays to this point in 2015:

1. St. Louis Cardinals: 22-38-2 O/U

2. Tampa Bay Rays: 26-36-2 O/U

3. Chicago White Sox: 25-35-1 O/U

4. Seattle Mariners: 27-35-1 O/U

5. Baltimore Orioles: 26-33-3 O/U

[StarDust Bum]

Braves now lead the list of Top 5 over plays

The Atlanta Braves are a red-hot over play, going 12-2-1 over/under in their last 15 games, making them the top over play in the bigs at 40-20-3 O/U.

Here are the Top 5 over heading into another week of MLB action:

1. Atlanta Braves: 40-20-3 O/U

2. San Diego Padres: 39-24-2 O/U

3. Oakland A's: 37-24-4 O/U

4. Washington Nationals: 36-25-2 O/U

5. New York Mets: 34-25-5 O/U

[StarDust Bum]

Chance of rain at Fenway Park Monday

According to weather forecasts, there is a 51 percent possibility of rain in Boston when the Red Sox host the Atlanta Braves at Fenway Park Monday evening.

Rick Porcello is probable to take the mound for the Red Sox (-151) while Williams Perez is expected to start for the visiting Braves (+139).

[StarDust Bum]

Blanco injury tests Giants depth

Jun 15, 2015
SAN FRANCISCO -- Gregor Blanco is hoping to return when eligible from the seven-day disabled list after sustaining a recent concussion.

But while feeling 90 percent recovered, the outfielder had to stop riding a stationary bike on Saturday.

"I feel anxious," Blanco said, "like, why is this happening? They told me to be patient. Don't rush yourself. Let it heal. I've got to be patient even

though I don't want to. I want to make it shorter than longer."

With right fielder Hunter Pence also on the DL and center fielder Angel Pagan struggling, Blanco's absence is missed as the Giants have had to

dip into their outfield depth to ask more from outfielder Justin Maxwell and rookie call-up Jarrett Parker.

Still, the team will err on the side of caution with Blanco considering the history of concussion-related injuries the Giants have dealt with over the

years including first baseman Brandon Belt, catcher Hector Sanchez plus former catcher and current Cardinals manager Mike Matheney.

Blanco sustained the injury in a freak nature. He was struck on the side of the head by warm-up ball thrown by Belt as the outfielder was taking

the field between innings on June 7 in Philadelphia.

Blanco finished the game, but started to feel dizzy during the team's off-day on June 8.

[StarDust Bum]

Injured Nationals' starters Strasburg, Fister make progress

MILWAUKEE -- With the bullpen struggling under an increased workload, the Washington Nationals got some good news over the weekend as starting right-handers Stephen Strasburg and Doug Fister made progress on their rehabs and could be back with the team in the next few weeks.

Fister threw six shutout innings Friday night for Double-A Harrisburg then returned to Washington to be evaluated. He will throw a full bullpen session this week and if all goes well, could be back in the rotation when his turn next comes up.

"The numbers were good, 70 pitches through six innings," Nationals manager Matt Williams said. "He was efficient and threw all of his pitches for strikes. We'll get him through a bullpen and see where he's at."

Strasburg is a little further from returning, but felt good after throwing a 60-pitch simulated game Friday. He, too, will go through a bullpen session this week and barring any setbacks, would then begin a rehab assignment.

"He felt good coming out of it," Williams said. "Felt good (after), no issues. So we'll get him into his bullpen and make a decision what the next step is. But he came out of it good. Which is a good sign."

[StarDust Bum]

Reds' Phillips returns, joins new double-play partner

Jun 14, 2015

CHICAGO -- The Cincinnati Reds got a little healthier Sunday when second baseman Brandon Phillips returned to the starting lineup to face the Chicago Cubs.

Phillips did not start the previous four games after he strained his left groin Tuesday. He pinch-hit in the Reds' games on Friday and Saturday against the Cubs.

By returning to the field, Phillips had a chance to get to know his new defensive partner. Shortstop Eugenio Suarez joined the team Thursday from Triple-A Louisville to replace Zack Cozart, who sustained a season-ending knee injury Wednesday.

"Certainly, they're going to have to get familiar because that's going to be our double-play combo, middle-of-the-diamond defenders most likely for the rest of the season," manager Bryan Price said.

Change is nothing new for Phillips: He has played with 27 different shortstops in his Reds career.

Suarez has already made a positive first impression on offense. He hit a game-tying, two-run home run in the Reds' 4-3 loss to the Cubs on Saturday and drove in the winning run on a 10th-inning single in Cincinnati's 5-4 victory over Chicago on Friday.

In the series finale at Wrigley Field, Phillips went 1-for-5 and drove in Cincinnati's lone run with a sixth-inning single.