Sunday Trends and Indexes 07/08

[Udog]

MLB
Hot Lines


Sunday, July 8


Boston Red Sox at Detroit Tigers: (+126, 9 ½)

After a brief resurgence, the Boston Red Sox’s bats have once again gone on summer vacation. They managed just four runs in the first two games against the Detroit Tigers and with starter Daisuke Matsuzaka taking the mound today, the BoSox will likely continue to flounder at the plate.

Boston has given the Japanese right-hander an average of only 1 ½ runs of support in his last six appearances. Matsuzaka has the heavy responsibility of preventing the three-game sweep and has only pitched three times following a defeat this season.

Dice-K might have to do it all on his own today since Boston burned through five relievers in Saturday’s 13-inning loss to Detroit. The organization is expecting him to throw plenty more than 100 pitches in this afternoon’s game.

Pick: Tigers +126



Philadelphia Phillies at Colorado Rockies: (-134, 10 ½)

Colorado Rockies right-hander Aaron Cook appears to be past the inconsistency that plagued him in the first half of the season. He has a 5-5 record in his 18 starts this year but in his last two trips to the bump, Cook has given up only three runs and one walk in 15 innings pitched.

"I was able to keep the ball the down and mix in the breaking ball," Cook told reporters following his win over the New York Mets on Tuesday. "My ball is always going to move. The last couple of games, I've been staying relaxed and focusing on my mechanics."

His trademark sinkerball is starting to find its spots, which will improve his strikeout-to-walk ratio. Against the Mets last Tuesday, Cook managed to induce 18 groundouts in an 11-3 victory.

Pick: Rockies -134



Atlanta Braves at San Diego Padres: (-143, 8 ½)

The Braves' bats are smoking heading into the All-Star break. Atlanta is averaging almost seven runs per game over its last 10 - well above its season number of 4.59 runs per contest.

The hard-hitting club will try to beat up on former Braves pitcher Greg Maddux, who is 8-4 against his old club but is coming off one of his bumpiest starts of the season. The veteran right-hander was knocked around for six runs on 10 hits in just over six innings last Tuesday versus the Florida Marlins.

Maddux is 5-3 at home this season but has lost his last two starts at Petco Park.

Pick: Braves +131

[Udog]

MLB
Streaking Pitchers


Sunday, July 8


Hot Pitchers

Chien-Ming Wang (New York Yankees) - The Yankees hope to get the best of the Angels Sunday when they send Chien-Ming Wang to the mound. The right-hander is 8-4 with a 3.58 ERA and five wins in his last eight decisions. Yankees backers have collected on the moneyline in seven of Wang's last 10 starts. Books list New York as a -191 home fave and set the total at 10.

Daisuke Matsuzaka (Boston Red Sox) - The last time Dice-K faced the Tigers, he pitched his first and only complete game in the bigs and the BoSox walked away with a 7-1 win. In six straight starts the right-hander has given up just two runs or less. He looks to improve his 10-5 record and 3.53 ERA when the Red Sox close out their series against Detroit as -137 favorites.

Cold Pitchers

Chris Capuano (Milwaukee Brewers) - He may be fresh off the DL, but a win for Capuano is still overdue. On May 7, he struck out nine batters in eight innings of a 3-0 win over the Nationals, but the righty is 0-5 with a 6.49 ERA in his last seven starts and 5-5 on the season. Despite Capuano's struggles, books favor the Brewers at -153 to close out their series against the Nats. The run total is set at 9.

Barry Zito (San Francisco Giants) - It's safe to say Zito is about ready for the break. The Giants' curveball specialist (6-8, 4.65 ERA) is winless in his last five starts and has the pressure of closing out a long-awaited sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals when the teams play their last game before the All-Star break today. Zito hasn't faced the Cards since 2004. The Giants are -111 road favorites today with the total set at 9.

[Udog]

MLB
Short Sheet


Sunday, July 8th

National League

Arizona at Cincinnati, 1:15 EST
Yusmeiro Petit (R) vs. Aaron Harang (R)
Petit: Arizona 13-32 SU after losing 4 of their last 5 games
Harang: 20-9 TSR pitching off BB team wins

Milwaukee at Washington, 1:35 EST
Chris Capuano (L) vs. Tim Redding (R)
Capuano: Milwaukee 8-1 SU after hitting 4+ home runs
Redding: Washington 1-12 SU off a one-run win

Chicago Cubs at Pittsburgh, 1:35 EST
Carlos Zambrano (R) vs. Shane Youman (L)
Zambrano: 9-1 TSR away in day games
Youman: Pittsburgh 15-5 Over as an underdog of +150 or higher

NY Mets at Houston, 2:05 EST
Dave Williams (L) vs. Roy Oswalt (R)
Williams: 13-7 TSR in road games
Oswalt: 9-1 Over after allowing 0 walks last start

San Francisco at St. Louis, 2:15 EST
Barry Zito (L) vs. Todd Wellemeyer (R)
Zito: 13-3 TSR away in the second half of the season
Wellemeyer: St. Louis 12-21 SU off BB home games

Philadelphia at Colorado, 3:05 EST
Adam Eaton (R) vs. Aaron Cook (R)
Eaton: Philadelphia 6-20 SU as an underdog of +150 or less
Cook: Colorado 17-8 Over in day games

Florida at LA Dodgers, 4:10 EST
Scott Olsen (L) vs. Mark Hendrickson (L)
Olsen: Florida 18-6 SU off 4+ road games
Hendrickson: Dodgers 5-12 SU at home off 3+ losses

Atlanta at San Diego, 8:05 EST ESPN
Kyle Davies (R) vs. Greg Maddux (R)
Davies: 15-4 Over off a team loss
Maddux: 1-10 TSR at home after allowing 0 walks last start


American League

LA Angels at NY Yankees, 1:05 EST
Ervin Santana (R) vs. Chien-Ming Wang (R)
Santana: Angels 20-6 SU off 7+ road games
Wang: Yankees 7-14 SU after scoring 2 runs or less

Boston at Detroit, 1:05 EST
Daisuke Matsuzaka (R) vs. Nate Robertson (L)
Matsuzaka: Boston 21-6 SU in day games
Robertson: 3-13 TSR at home with a line of +125 to -125

Cleveland at Toronto, 1:05 EST
Paul Byrd (R) vs. Josh Towers (R)
Byrd: Cleveland 19-7 SU off BB Overs
Towers: 5-17 TSR in day games

Minnesota at Chicago White Sox, 2:05 EST WGN
Carlos Silva (R) vs. Javier Vazquez (R)
Silva: 3-13 TSR away with a line of +125 to -125
Vazquez: White Sox 38-17 SU off a combined score of 4 runs or less

Tampa Bay at Kansas City, 2:10 EST
Scott Kazmir (L) vs. Jorge De La Rosa (L)
Kazmir: Tampa Bay 12-4 SU off a combined score of 15+ runs
De La Rosa: Kansas City 9-31 SU at home off 5+ home games

Baltimore at Texas, 3:05 EST
Daniel Cabrera (R) vs. Kevin Millwood (R)
Cabrera: Baltimore 20-43 SU as an underdog of +150 or less
Millwood: Texas 24-10 SU as a home favorite of -125 or less

Seattle at Oakland, 4:05 EST
Ryan Feierabend (L) vs. Joe Blanton (R)
Feierabend: Seattle 11-1 SU off a division win allowing 1 or 0 runs
Blanton: Oakland 9-21 SU revenging a shutout loss

** (TC) Denotes Time Change

[Udog]

MLB
Write-up


Sunday, July 8


Hot Pitchers
-- Petit is 1-1, 2.19 in two starts for Arizona. Reds won Harang's last five starts, scoring 41 runs.
-- Youman beat Brewers 6-2 in his first start, allowing two runs in six IP.
-- Zambrano is 5-1, 1.62 in his last six starts.
-- Astros are 8-0 at home with Oswalt if they score 3+ runs.
-- Marlins lost five of last six Olsen starts.

-- Wang is 5-0, 3.06 in his last seven starts.
-- Matsuzaka is 3-2, 1.29 in his last six starts.
-- Toronto won last three Towers starts, scoring 25 runs.
-- Vazquez is 2-0, 1.17 in his last three starts. Twins are 7-3 with Silva if they score 3+ runs, but they lost both his starts against White Sox this season by 3-0 scores.
-- de la Rosa is 2-0, 2.07 in his last couple starts.
-- Texas won three of last four Millwood starts.
-- Blanton is 4-1, 1.48 in his last seven starts.

Cold Pitchers
-- Capuano is 0-5, 6.75 in his last seven starts. Redding lost his first '07 start 3-1 to Cubs, allowing three runs in five IP.
-- Dave Williams makes first start of '07; he is 22-30, 4.64 in his previous 71 big league starts- he was 3-1, 5.59 with Mets in '06.
-- Giants lost last five Zito starts (0-3, 7.52).
-- Wellemeyer is 0-1, 7.27 in his last four starts.
-- Eaton is 0-1, 6.56 in his last four starts. Colorado is 3-11 with Cook if it scores less than eight runs.
-- Hendrickson is 0-4, 7.76 in his last six starts.
-- Davies is 0-4, 8.87 in his last five starts. Maddux is 0-2, 5.84 in his last two home starts.

-- ESantana is 0-3, 6.75 in his last four starts.
-- Robertson is 0-3, 8.02 in his last five starts.
-- Byrd is 1-2, 6.56 in his last four starts.
-- Kazmir is 0-2, 5.71 in his last three starts.
-- Cabrera is 1-3, 6.39 in his last five starts.
-- Feierabend is 1-3, 10.57 in his five starts this season.

Totals
-- Under is 24-11-2 in Arizona's last 37 road games.
-- Under is 7-1-1 in last nine games at Washington.
-- Nine of last twelve Cub road games stayed under the total.
-- Over is 14-5-1 in Houston's last twenty home games.
-- Under is 10-5-1 in last sixteen St Louis home games.
-- Over is 6-1 in Cook's last seven starts.
-- Over is 6-1-1 in last eight Olsen starts.
-- Eight of last nine Atlanta road games went over the total. This is 5:00 local time start; shadows help the pitcher.

-- Under is 8-4-1 in Angels' last thirteen road games.
-- Seven of last ten Boston games stayed under the total.
-- Seven of last eight Toronto home games went over total.
-- Six of last seven Vazquez starts stayed under the total.
-- Under is 5-3-1 in Royals' last nine home games.
-- Over is 6-2-1 in last nine Cabrera starts.
-- Under is 6-2-1 in last nine Oakland home games.

Today is Getaway Day before a three-day vacation for umpires, coaches and players. Would guess there might be a few more swings on first pitches, a few more wide strike zones.

Hot Teams
-- Reds won four of their last five games.
-- Cubs won eleven of their last fifteen games. Pirates are 9-3 in their last twelve games.
-- Giants won three of their last four games.
-- Astros are 9-4 in their last thirteen home games.
-- Colorado won twelve of last 14 home games, scored 47 runs in its last five games.
-- Braves won eight of their last twelve games.
-- Marlins won four of their last five games.

-- Toronto is 18-9 in its last twenty-seven home games.
-- Tigers won five of their last six games.
-- Bronx is 12-5 in its last seventeen home games.
-- Royals won eight of their last twelve games.
-- Minnesota is 9-6 in its last fifteen road games.
-- Orioles are 9-8 since they changed managers. Texas is 9-5 in its last fourteen home games.
-- Mariners won three of their last four games.


Cold Teams
-- Nationals lost nine of their last twelve games. Brewers are 1-4 in their last five games.
-- Arizona lost seven of their last eight games.
-- Mets lost five of their last seven games.
-- Cardinals lost first two games of Giant series, 4-3/7-6.
-- Phillies lost seven of their last nine games.
-- Padres lost ten of their last fifteen home games.
-- Dodgers lost eight of their last eleven home games.


-- Red Sox lost their last five road games.
-- Angels are 4-7 in their last eleven games.
-- Indians lost three of their last four games.
-- Devil Rays lost twelve of their last thirteen games.
-- White Sox lost nine of their last twelve home games.
-- A's are 5-8 in their last thirteen home games.

Umpires
-- Az-Cin-- Four of last five Fairchild games went over.
-- Mil-Wsh-- Home side won five of last six Hernandez games.
-- Chi-Pitt-- Five of last six Johnson games went over total.
-- NY-Hst-- Last five Reliford games stayed under the total.
-- SF-StL-- Underdog won three of last four Reilly games.
-- Phil-Col-- Under is 8-4-1 in last thirteen BWelke games.
-- Fla-LA-- Underdog is 7-4 in last eleven Danley games.
-- Az-SD-- Over is 7-3 in last ten Bucknor games.

-- LA-NY-- Underdog is 4-3 in last seven Guccione games.
-- Bos-Det-- Under is 6-1-1 in last eight Wolf games.
-- Clev-Tor-- Home side is 7-3 in last ten Dreckman games.
-- Min-Chi-- Underdog won both Tichneor games this season.
-- TB-KC-- Favorite won six of last seven Barry games.
-- Blt-Tex-- Over is 11-3 in last fourteen Barksdale games.
-- Sea-A's-- Home side won last four Reininger games.

[pm530]

Baseball Today - July 8

SCOREBOARD
Sunday, July 8

Atlanta at San Diego (8:05 p.m. EDT.) The Padres go for a series win in their final game before the All-Star break.

STARS
Saturday

-Erik Bedard, Orioles, struck out 15 in a two-hit shutout to lead Baltimore to a 3-0 victory over Texas.

-Mark Grudzielanek, Royals, hit a game-ending RBI single with two outs in the ninth inning to lift Kansas City over Tampa Bay 8-7.

-Felix Hernandez, Mariners, allowed only two hits in eight innings to lead Seattle past Oakland 4-0.

-Carlos Beltran, Mets, hit a go-ahead single in the 17th inning of the New York Mets' 5-3 win over Houston.

-Mark Buehrle, White Sox, allowed six hits over eight scoreless innings and the Chicago White Sox defeated Minnesota 3-1.

MARATHON

Carlos Beltran hit a go-ahead single in the 17th inning after making a tremendous catch as the New York Mets won their longest game since 1993, beating the Houston Astros 5-3 Saturday night. The 17 innings matched the amount the Dodgers and Padres played in April.

SWEET 15

Erik Bedard struck out 15 to tie a franchise record and allowed two hits and no walks in his first career shutout, leading Baltimore over Texas 3-0 on Saturday. Bedard, who faced the minimum 27 hitters and, leads the big leagues with 149 strikeouts.

DUEL

Roger Clemens gave up one run in eight innings for the second time in five days but the New York Yankees lost to the Los Angeles Angels 2-1 in 13 innings on Saturday. Not to be outdone, All-Star John Lackey matched a career-high with 11 strikeouts for the Angels.

POTENT PAIR

Fausto Carmona improved to 10-4 in Cleveland's 9-4 victory over Toronto on Saturday. Along with left-hander C.C. Sabathia (12-3), Carmona gives the Indians two 10-win starters before the All-Star break for the first time since 1956, when Bob Lemon and Early Wynn both had 10 wins.

STRAIGHT A'S

Felix Hernandez held Oakland scoreless for a second straight start in Seattle's 4-0 victory Saturday. Hernandez (5-4) allowed two hits, two walks and struck out two over eight innings, extending his scoreless streak to 16 against the A's.

SPEAKING

''That's as good as I've ever seen a pitcher throw. I've never seen so many bad swings in my life. These guys didn't have a chance.'' - Orioles designated hitter Jay Gibbons on teammate Erik Bedard's pitching performance in a 3-0 victory over the Rangers on Saturday night. Bedard struck out 15 to tie a franchise record and allowed two hits in his first career complete game.

July 9

1902 - Rube Waddell beat Bill Dinneen 4-2 in 17 innings when light-hitting Monte Cross hit a two-run homer for Philadelphia.

1932 - Ben Chapman of the Yankees hit three homers, including two inside the park, as New York beat the Detroit Tigers 14-9 at Yankee Stadium.

1940 - The NL recorded the first All-Star game shutout with a 4-0 win at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis. Five pitchers - Paul Derringer, Bucky Walters, Whit Wyatt, Larry French, and Carl Hubbell - held the AL to three hits. Max West hit a three-run homer.

1946 - After a one-year break due to war-travel restrictions, the Americans trounced the Nationals 12-0 at Fenway Park, the most one-sided of the All-Star games. Ted Williams of the Red Sox didn't disappoint the hometown fans. He hit two homers and two singles for five RBIs.

1968 - Willie McCovey hit into a double play, scoring Willie Mays with the only run of the 39th All-Star game, played at the Houston Astrodome. It was the first game of this series played indoors and the first 1-0 contest in All-Star history.

1976 - Houston's Larry Dierker pitched a no-hitter and the Astros beat Montreal 6-0. Dierker struck out eight and walked four.

1991 - Cal Ripken hit a three-run homer to lead the AL over the NL 4-2 in the All-Star game for the AL's fourth straight victory in the contest.

1996 - Mike Piazza launched an upper-deck home run in his first at-bat and lined an RBI double next time up, leading the NL to a 6-0 victory in the All-Star game in Philadelphia.

2000 - Tyler Houston hit three home runs, tying his career-high with six RBIs, in Milwaukee's 10-2 rout of Detroit.

2002 - Despite Barry Bonds hitting a home run and Torii Hunter making a spectacular catch, the All-Star game finished in a 7-7 tie after 11 innings when both teams ran out of pitchers.

2005 - It took 847 regular-season games at Coors Field, the most any stadium needed, before a 1-0 game. The lowest score at Coors Field before Colorado's 1-0 win over San Diego was 2-0. There had been three 2-0 games at the 11-year-old stadium.

Today's birthday: Miguel Montero 24.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[pm530]

MLB


Sunday, July 8

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sunday Night Baseball
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Game: Atlanta Braves at San Diego Padres

Line: -141, 8 ½

Tonight’s pitchers

San Diego Padres starter Greg Maddux has some history with the Atlanta Braves. The veteran right-hander, who won three Cy Young Awards in Atlanta, has a career 8-4 record in 16 appearances versus his former club.

Maddux is 7-5 this season with a 3.96 ERA but has alternated wins in his last 10 starts, splitting those victories with three losses and two no-decisions. In his most recent trip to the mound, he was lit up for six runs on 10 hits in just over six innings pitched against the Florida Marlins this past Tuesday.

The Atlanta Braves send struggling right-hander Kyle Davies to the bump for the final game before the All-Star break. Davies hasn’t recorded a win since June 1 and has a 7.96 ERA in the five games that followed.

He is still recovering from a strained right oblique muscle which forced him to miss a start last week before getting knocked around by the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday. Davies pitched only two innings versus Los Angeles and allowed five earned runs on six hits.

"It was just one of those nights where (Davies) didn't have it," Atlanta manager Bobby Cox told reporters on Tuesday. "His fastball wasn't working for location or velocity. He's just rusty, I guess. He hasn't pitched in a long time. We gave him six runs in three innings and he just couldn't get anything going."

Braves blasting into break

Atlanta’s offense can’t be too thrilled about the impending All-Star break snapping its momentum at the plate. The Braves are knocking in almost seven runs per game in their last 10 contests, playing over the oddsmakers’ totals in nine of those games.

Struggling slugger Andruw Jones is a big part of this production. Jones, who is stuck in a season-long slump, has driven in seven runs with two home runs in his last four games. The center fielder has had career success when visiting the Padres. In 14 starts at Petco Park, Jones is batting .358 (19-for-53) with nine home runs and 21 RBIs.

"It's just feeling comfortable," Jones told MLB.com. "It's just one of those things. You just feel comfortable seeing the ball off the bat."

Game on!

The Padres got their first look at newly acquired Milton Bradley on Saturday after they activated the center fielder following his stint on the 15-day disabled list.

Bradley, who is recovering from an oblique injury, went 1-for-3 with a walk during Saturday’s 8-5 win. In 19 games with the Oakland Athletics this year, Bradley was batting .292 with two home runs and seven RBIs.

"Guys have been asking me when I'm going to get out there," Bradley said before the game. "I just want to get acclimated and become part of the team and play. I'm anxious to get out there and do something."

The Game 2 victory was the first time San Diego scored more than four runs in its last seven games. The Padres are averaging just over four runs per game this year and the move to get Bradley and catcher Michael Barrett from Chicago was made in order to spark the offense, despite both players’ character issues.

All-Stars on both sides

While most players on the Braves and Padres will get a couple days rest before the second half of the season, four faces on Sunday’s rosters will be heading to San Francisco for the MLB All-Star Game.

A trio of San Diego pitchers will represent the organization this Tuesday. Staff ace Jake Peavy, fellow starter Chris Young and star closer Trevor Hoffman are all members of the National League squad.

Atlanta received some bad news pertaining one of its All-Stars on Saturday. Instead of heading to San Francisco, pitcher John Smoltz is heading to the disabled list. The veteran righty has inflammation in his throwing shoulder and will sit out this Tuesday’s showcase.

With Smoltz out, catcher Brian McCann is the lone representative for Atlanta. The three-year pro is batting .258 this season with eight home runs and 45 RBIs. Smoltz was replaced on the NL All-Star squad by Houston Astros ace Roy Oswalt.

"I didn't expect to go," McCann told reporters. "I'm not having the best season. My average isn't where it wants to be. But my power numbers are better than they were last year."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[Dennis14072]

Thanks Guys, much appreciated, good luck today!