Monday Trends and Indexes 6/15 (MLB, WNBA, Misc.)

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[pm530]

Monday Trends and Indexes 6/15 ( MLB, Misc.)

Trends and Indexes

Monday, June 15

Good Luck on day #166 of 2009!

At this time the sports menu in this thread consists of the MLB, and the WNBA until their seasons are played out. Also, general sports news and notes will be posted here.

NOTE:
As information becomes available, we will attempt to post the trends and indexes as soon as possible.
Information is posted from what we believe are reliable sources.
Any opinions expressed are not necessarily those of the posting member or BettorsChat.
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Matchup Links

MLB Matchups

MLB Previews

MLB Hot or Not

MLB Umpires

MLB Trends

MLB Weather

Nascar Schedules

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[pm530]

Daily Sports Roundup

Monday, June 15

Today in the Daily Sports Roundup: The Brewers take on the Tribe in Cleveland and the Giants play host to the Angels in one of the slowest sports days this year.

Meeting up on the diamond . . .

There are four teams spread over a pair of interleague matchups on Monday, with the rest of baseball getting a one-day break. First up is Milwaukee at Cleveland, with the Brewers' Dave Bush (3-3, 4.58 ERA) set to take on the Indians' Carl Pavano (6-5, 5.40 ERA). Righthander Bush is 0-3 with a no-decision over his past four starts, allowing 16 runs over 21 2-3 innings of work. Pavano was pounded for nine earned runs over 4 2-3 innings by the Royals in his last start; the righthander had previously tossed a shutout against the ChiSox.

Meanwhile, out west on Monday it'll be the Angels at San Francisco, with Los Angeles' John Lackey (1-2, 6.61 ERA) matching up against the Giants' Barry Zito (3-6, 4.09 ERA). Lackey will be trying to forget his last outing; the righthander surrendered nine runs (eight earned) on 11 hits over just five innings in a loss to the Rays on June 10. Zito is riding a two-game winning streak into Monday night's contest, knocking off the Marlins and Diamondbacks in his last two trips to the mound. The lefthander gave up five earned runs in those 10 innings pitched.

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[pm530]

Six-pack for Monday

Leaders in statistical categories, through ten weeks of play

-- Batting average: Wright .364, Suzuki .360, Beltran, Tejada, .344

-- Home Runs: Gonzalez, Ibanez, Pujols, all with 22

-- RBI: Bay 61, Ibanez 59, Longoria 58

-- Stolen Bases: Crawford 36, Ellsbury 25, BJ Upton 24

-- Strikeouts: Verlander 106, Vazquez 105, Lincecum 103

-- ERA Greinke 1.72, Weaver 2.08, Cueto 2.17

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Monday's List of 13: Random thoughts as we start Year 9.......

13) First of all, thanks to everyone who reads this website; hard to believe its been eight years since I started this, but it has been and now we move on to Year 9. Hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy writing it.

12) When Johan Santana beat the Phillies earlier this week despite giving up four HRs, he was just second Met pitcher ever to do that; Rob Gardner did it in 1966, against the Pirates.

11) Odd Rob Gardner trivia; he was traded from Bronx to the A's April 9, 1971, as part of a package for Felipe Alou. Eight weeks later, A's traded him back to Bronx for Curt Blefary (who struck out for last out of the '71 playoff loss to Orioles later that year).

10) In November of '72, Bronx traded Gardner back to the A's, this time for Matty Alou. All in all, Gardner was traded twice by Oakland, but his total contribution to the A's was 15 innings of pitching. Go figure.

9) I'm not fond of TV "information people" going on air and saying a guy will be fired, its just matter of when. It becomes news when it happens, not before. Manny Acta will move on- you could put Miller Huggins, Walter Alston, Dick Williams and Sparky Anderson on Washington's staff and they still ain't winning anything. You need good players to win.

8) In his last six starts, Johan Santana has allowed 29 runs in 36 innings.

7) Cubs fired hitting coach Gerald Perry after they lost four games in row; funny, when the Cubs hit well, Lou Piniella gets all the credit, but lose few games in a row, and the hitting coach gets the gate. Doesn't seem right. Cubs really crushed the ball with Perry out of the way- they beat Minnesota 3-2.

6) Big day for complete games Sunday, with five; Cliff Lee didn't allow a hit until Molina got one leading off 8th inning. In four of the five games between AL East-NL East teams, one of the teams scored 10+ runs.

5) Matt Holliday's brother is Arizona State's pitching coach; ASU beat North Carolina in extra innings Sunday in first game of College World Series in Omaha. Holliday's dad is an assistant coach at NC State. Third base coach at ASU is former big leaguer Andy Stankiewicz.

4) The little I see of college baseball on TV, its seems lot different than major leagues-- would think it is lot more important to pitch inside in a college game, because with metal bats, much easier to poke the outside pitches to opposite field. Way too many sacrifice bunts in college ball.

3) Penguins just won Stanley Cup for first time since 1992, which is the last time Pirates had a winning season-- could it be an omen??????

2) I'm thinking Stan Van Gundy will see Derek Fisher draining 3's in his sleep for the rest of his life.

1) Only two games on the baseball schedule Monday; good night to check out some college baseball. Wish NY-Penn League team across river in Troy was playing, but their season starts later this week. Minor league baseball is highly underrated; it’s a fun and inexpensive night out.

From: Armadillo

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[pm530]

MLB
Baseball Today


SCOREBOARD

Monday, June 15

Milwaukee at Cleveland (7:05 p.m. EDT). Carl Pavano(notes) (6-5) pitches for the Indians after giving up nine runs in his last outing. He had gone 6-1 in eight previous starts since May 1.

Los Angeles Angels at San Francisco (10:15 p.m. EDT). The Giants host their nemesis from the 2002 World Series.

STARS

Sunday

— Cliff Lee(notes), Indians, took a no-hitter into the eighth inning and finished with a three-hitter as Cleveland beat St. Louis 3-0.

— Jonathan Broxton(notes), Dodgers, earned his 16th save in 18 chances in Los Angeles’ 6-3 win over Texas. He’s pitched 32 innings this season, allowing only 11 hits while striking out 53.

— Jered Weaver(notes), Angels, pitched a five-hitter for his first career shutout, leading Los Angeles past San Diego 6-0.

— Matt Cain(notes), Giants, threw a four-hitter for his seventh straight victory in San Francisco’s 7-1 win over Oakland.

— Ronny Paulino(notes), Marlins, hit two home runs—his first career multihomer game—in Florida’s 11-3 win over Toronto.

— Brad Bergesen(notes), Orioles, pitched a five-hitter for his first career complete game in Baltimore’s 11-2 win over Atlanta.

— Ryan Theriot(notes), Cubs, hit a game-winning single in the bottom of the ninth inning to lift Chicago past Minnesota 3-2.

CLIFF’S EDGE

Cliff Lee took a no-hitter into the eighth inning against St. Louis before Yadier Molina(notes) doubled off the right-field wall to lead off the inning. Lee allowed just two more hits in Cleveland’s 3-0 win over the Cardinals.

WHAT’S WRONG?

New York Mets ace Johan Santana(notes) was battered in the worst start of his career, giving up nine runs in three-plus innings during a 15-0 loss at Yankee Stadium. The left-hander said he’s OK after back problems last month, and pitching coach Dan Warthen said Santana’s recent blister had healed. … The control problems for Detroit’s Dontrelle Willis(notes) continued when he walked eight in 3 2-3 innings at Pittsburgh. He has walked 18 in 11 innings.

PITCH-AND-HIT

Boston ace Josh Beckett(notes) hit his third career home run, connecting against Philadelphia. His last homer also came at Citizens Bank Park, on May 20, 2006. … Chicago White Sox starter Mark Buehrle(notes) hit his first career home run in a 5-4 win at Milwaukee.

SLUMPS

Toronto’s Vernon Wells(notes) has gone 137 at-bats without a home run, the longest drought of his career. … Atlanta’s Chipper Jones(notes) is hitless in 21 at-bats. His worst skid was an 0-for-23 rut in 2000. … Cincinnati’s Willy Taveras(notes) is hitless in his last 32 at-bats. That’s the longest drought by a Reds position player since Denis Menke went 0 for 33 in 1973.

SHUTOUTS

The Yankees’ 15-0 romp was their most-lopsided shutout at home since Aug. 4, 1953, when they beat Detroit by the same score.

SHUT DOWN

Angels reliever Scot Shields(notes) will have season-ending surgery Tuesday on his injured left knee. A solid setup man for the AL West champions in the past, he struggled this year before going on the disabled list May 27.

NIGHT AND DAY

Kansas City’s Brian Bannister(notes) is 3-0 with a 0.90 ERA in three afternoon starts this season. He is 15-4 in 26 career day games, but 13-25 at night.

SEEING STANLEY

Sidney Crosby and several members of the Pittsburgh Penguins brought the Stanley Cup to PNC Park on Sunday.

SPATS

Mets closer Francisco Rodriguez(notes) shouted at Yankees reliever Brian Bruney(notes) in left field during batting practice and the two were separated by teammates. The dispute came one day after they exchanged barbs through the media.

SPEAKING

“Today was a terrible day and that’s about it.”—Mets ace Johan Santana after a 15-0 loss to the New York Yankees.

SEASONS

June 15

1902—Corsicana beat Texarkana 51-3 in a Texas League game. Nig Clark of Corsicana took advantage of the small park and hit eight homers. Some telegraph operators, thinking there was a mistake, reported the score as 5-3.

1925—The Philadelphia Athletics went into the last half of the eighth inning trailing 15-4 and scored 13 runs to defeat Cleveland 17-15.

1938—Four days after no-hitting the Boston Braves, Johnny Vander Meer of the Cincinnati Reds pitched his second straight no-hit game, defeating the Dodgers 6-0 in the first night game played in Brooklyn.

1952—The St. Louis Cardinals, down 11-0 entering the fifth inning, came back for a 14-12 triumph over the New York Giants in the first game of a doubleheader and set a National League record for best comeback.

1963—San Francisco’s Juan Marichal pitched a no-hitter against the Houston Colts for a 1-0 victory, the first Giants no-hitter since Carl Hubbell’s in 1929.

1976—The Pittsburgh Pirates and Houston Astros were “rained in” at the Houston Astrodome as 10 inches of rain fell on the city. Only members of both teams were able to make it to the stadium. Umpires, fans and stadium personnel were unable to make it through the water.

1980—Cleveland Indian Jorge Orta collected six hits, a double and five singles, and scored four times in a 14-5 triumph over the Minnesota Twins. Toby Harrah had seven RBIs.

1992—Jeff Reardon broke Rollie Fingers’ career save mark of 341 when he preserved a 1-0 victory for the Boston Red Sox with one scoreless inning against the New York Yankees.

2002—A double in the fifth inning of Texas’ 4-0 loss to Houston gave Rafael Palmeiro 1,000 career extra-base hits. He became the 25th major leaguer to reach that mark.

Today’s birthdays: Tim Lincecum 25; Jeremy Reed 28; Tony Clark 37; Andy Pettitte 37.

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[pm530]

MLB
This Day in Baseball


On June 15 in Baseball History...

1928 - Ty Cobb, 41 years old, steals home for the 50th and final time in his 24-year career to extend his major league record. It comes in the eighth inning against the Indians. In a 12-5 Tiger win, Veach, Crawford and Cobb team up for a triple steal.

1931 - Cut-down day for major league rosters brings the retirement of Eddie Collins and Harry Heilmann. Collins becomes a coach for the A's. Heilmann will return briefly to the Reds in 1932.

1938 - Johnny Vander Meer stuns baseball by pitching his second successive no-hitter, defeating the Dodgers 6-0, as Brooklyn plays the first night game ever at Ebbets Field. In front of 38,748 fans, including spectator Babe Ruth, Vandy strikes out seven and walks eight, including three walks in the ninth. A force at home and a fly ball end the game.

1948 - The Detroit Tigers beat the Philadelphia Athletics 4-1 before a crowd of 54,480 in the first night game at Briggs Stadium. The Tigers are the last A.L. team to install lights.

1949 - Eddie Waitkus of the Phillies is shot by 19-year-old Ruth Steinhagen at Chicago's Edgewater Beach Hotel. She will later be placed in a mental hospital. Waitkus battles for his life and will come back to play the following season.

1953 - Duane Pillette of the St. Louis Browns ends the Yankees' win streak at 18 and the Browns' team record 14-game losing streak with a 3-1 victory in Yankee Stadium. Johnny Mize becomes the 93rd player in baseball history to get 2,000 hits when he singles in the Yankees' run in the fifth.

1961 - The expansion Senators are 30-30 after winning today. It is the latest date an expansion team will be at .500. Washington will lose it next 10 games.

1965 - Tigers pitcher Denny McLain makes a first-inning relief appearance and fans the first seven batters he faces, setting a major league record. He has 14 strikeouts in 6 2/3 innings as Detroit rallies to beat Boston 6-5. Bill Freehan has a record-tying 19 putouts at catcher.

1969 - The Mets help their power needs by adding first baseman Donn Clendenon. The 33-year-old had refused a January trade that would send him from Montreal to Houston, but he agrees to go to New York. The Expos receive Steve Renko, Kevin Collins, and two minor leaguers. The Expos also purchase pitcher Dick Radatz from the Tigers.

1976 - Rain out! The scheduled game at the Astrodome is canceled when heavy rains make it difficult for the visiting team and umpires to get through flooded streets to the stadium.

1977 - New York fans are in shock as the Mets trade ace pitcher Tom Seaver to the Reds. In return they get pitcher Pat Zachry, infielder Doug Flynn, and minor leaguers Steve Henderson and Dan Norman. The Mets also trade slugger Dave Kingman to the Padres for utility player Bobby Valentine and a minor league pitcher.

1983 - In what will turn out to be a terrible trade for St. Louis, the Cardinals trade first baseman Keith Hernandez to the Mets for pitchers Neil Allen and Rick Ownbey.

1992 - Jeff Reardon of the Red Sox breaks Rollie Fingers' all-time save record with No. 342 in a 1-0 win over the Yankees.

1997 - In one of the more surprising developments of the first weekend of interleague baseball, the Orioles complete a sweep of the Braves at Turner Field on Lenny Webster's tenth inning home run off Mark Wohlers. One byproduct of interleague play that wasn't a surprise was the increase at the turnstiles. Attendance was up nearly 10,000 per game for the weekend, and the Mariners averaged 52,074 for their four interleague games in the Kingdome.

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[pm530]

MLB
Write-up


Monday, June 15

With interleague play here, remember there are DHs in games played in the American League parks, no DHs in National League parks.
Under is off to good start in interleague play-- 23-13-3 in NL parks, 26-16-3 in AL, As far as wins/losses go, the AL leads the NL, 45-39.

Hot Pitchers
-- Indians won seven of last nine Pavano starts.

Cold Pitchers
-- Bush is 0-3, 6.65 in his last four starts.
-- Lackey is 0-2, 7.45 in his last three starts. Zito has a 7.04 RA in his last four starts.

Hot Teams
-- Indians won five of their last seven games. .
-- Angels won their last three games, scoring 26 runs. Giants won nine of their last ten home games.

Cold Teams
-- Brewers lost six of their last seven games.

Totals
-- Under is 8-2-1 in last eleven Bush starts.
-- Over is 7-3-1 in Angels' last eleven road games.

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[pm530]

MLB


Monday, June 15

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Trend Report
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7:05 PM
MILWAUKEE vs. CLEVELAND
Milwaukee is 1-6 SU in its last 7 games
Milwaukee is 3-7 SU in its last 10 games on the road
Cleveland is 1-5 SU in its last 6 games when playing Milwaukee
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Cleveland's last 6 games when playing Milwaukee

10:15 PM
LA ANGELS vs. SAN FRANCISCO
LA Angels are 1-4 SU in their last 5 games when playing on the road against San Francisco
The total has gone UNDER in 8 of LA Angels's last 12 games when playing on the road against San Francisco
San Francisco is 9-1 SU in its last 10 games at home
San Francisco is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games

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[Udog]

MLB
Dunkel


LA Angels at San Francisco
The Giants (34-28) look to take advantage of an Angels team that is 1-6 in John Lackey's last 7 starts versus a team with a winning SU record. San Francisco is the pick (+105) according to Dunkel, which has the Giants favored by 1 1/2. Dunkel Pick: San Francisco (+105). Here are all of today's picks.

MONDAY, JUNE 15

Game 901-902: Milwaukee at Cleveland
Dunkel Ratings: Milwaukee (Bush) 15.010; Cleveland (Pavano) 16.594
Dunkel Line: Cleveland by 1 1/2; 7 1/2
Vegas Line: Cleveland (-120); 9 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Cleveland (-120); Under

Game 903-904: LA Angels at San Francisco
Dunkel Ratings: LA Angels (Lackey) 15.791; San Francisco (Zito) 17.455
Dunkel Line: San Francisco by 1 1/2; 9 1/2
Vegas Line: LA Angels (-115); 8 1/2
Dunkel Pick: San Francisco (+105); Over

[Udog]

MLB


Monday, June 15

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Hot Lines: Monday's best MLB bets
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Milwaukee Brewers at Cleveland Indians (-120, 9.5)

After a disappointing homestand, the Milwaukee Brewers might look forward to hitting the road.

The NL Central-leading Brewers try to avoid a third straight loss in the opener of a three-game interleague series against the Cleveland Indians on Monday night.

Closer Trevor Hoffman allowed his first run of the season as Milwaukee (34-29) lost 5-4 to the Chicago White Sox on Sunday to conclude a 1-5 homestand. The Brewers were swept by surging Colorado and lost two of three to the White Sox.

"This was a tough homestand," manager Ken Macha told the Brewers' official Web site. "Guys fought hard all the way to the end."

The Brewers have lost six of their last seven, but own a one-half game lead over St. Louis after the Indians (29-36) beat the Cardinals 3-0 on Sunday for their fifth win in seven contests.

Visiting Cleveland for the first time since 2001 before heading to Detroit for three games, Milwaukee is 17-15 on the road. The Brewers have won four in a row overall against Cleveland after sweeping a three-game set at home in 2006.

The Brewers, however, are batting .239 and have a 6.18 ERA while going 1-5 against Minnesota and the White Sox in interleague play this season.

Right fielder Corey Hart, though, is hitting .316 (6 for 19) in those games. Mired in a 2-for-23 slump until Wednesday, Hart hit a pair of solo homers Sunday and is 7 for 16 with six RBIs during a five-game hitting streak.

Shortstop J.J. Hardy, meanwhile, is hitless in his last 28 at-bats for the Brewers, who batted .226 on the homestand.

Milwaukee isn't sure what type of stuff right-hander Carl Pavano (6-4, 5.40 ERA) will have for Cleveland, one night after Cliff Lee took a no-hitter into the eighth inning Sunday.

Coming off a three-hit, shutout of the White Sox on June 5, Pavano allowed nine runs and 11 hits in 4 2-3 innings of a 9-0 loss to Kansas City on Wednesday. He was 6-1 with a 3.00 ERA in his previous eight starts prior to the most recent.

Pick: Milwaukee



Los Angeles Angels at San Francisco Giants (-105, 8.5)

San Francisco's strong play in recent weeks has it hopeful of contending for its first postseason appearance in six years. The Giants (34-28) have won 14 of their last 19, posting a 2.60 ERA during that span.

Pitching has been a strength for San Francisco all season, but it's finally starting to get some production at the plate.

Los Angeles (32-29) has been slightly better in that category, connecting 53 times. The Angels, though, hit nine homers and averaged 8.7 runs in sweeping a three-game series from San Diego.

Los Angeles will now face San Francisco's Barry Zito (3-6, 4.09 ERA), who has had trouble keeping the ball in the park in the past but hasn't given up a homer en route to winning his last two outings.

The left-hander won Wednesday night despite pitching five shaky innings, giving up four runs and seven hits in San Francisco's 6-4 victory over Arizona. He got five runs to work with after receiving three or fewer in each of his first 11 starts.

Zito is 12-9 with a 3.55 ERA in 28 starts against the Angels.

Los Angeles will counter with John Lackey (1-2, 6.61), who was terrible in his last start, allowing nine runs and 11 hits in five innings of Los Angeles' 9-5 loss to Tampa Bay on Wednesday night.

Pick: San Francisco


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[Udog]

MLB
Long Sheet


Monday, June 15

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MILWAUKEE (34 - 29) at CLEVELAND (29 - 36) - 7:05 PM
DAVE BUSH (R) vs. CARL PAVANO (R)
Top Trends for this game.
BUSH is 6-21 (-14.0 Units) against the money line as a road underdog of +100 to +125 since 1997. (Team's Record)
BUSH is 21-49 (-25.8 Units) against the money line in road games since 1997. (Team's Record)
BUSH is 19-44 (-23.1 Units) against the money line in road games in games played on a grass field since 1997. (Team's Record)
BUSH is 13-28 (-15.2 Units) against the money line in road games when playing against a team with a losing record since 1997. (Team's Record)
CLEVELAND is 29-15 (+15.5 Units) against the money line when playing on Monday over the last 3 seasons.
PAVANO is 105-85 (+21.8 Units) against the money line in all games since 1997. (Team's Record)
PAVANO is 53-37 (+25.9 Units) against the money line when playing against a team with a winning record since 1997. (Team's Record)
CLEVELAND is 85-83 (-34.7 Units) against the money line in home games in June games since 1997.
CLEVELAND is 20-29 (-20.5 Units) against the money line in home games after shutting out their opponent since 1997.
CLEVELAND is 8-20 (-12.8 Units) against the money line after a win this season.
CLEVELAND is 33-46 (-18.3 Units) against the money line when the total is 9 to 9.5 over the last 2 seasons.

Head-to-Head Series History
There were no past matchups in this series during this time period.

DAVE BUSH vs. CLEVELAND since 1997
BUSH is 0-1 when starting against CLEVELAND with an ERA of 3.00 and a WHIP of 1.048.
His team's record is 1-2 (-1.4 units) in these starts. The UNDER is 3-0. (+3.0 units)

CARL PAVANO vs. MILWAUKEE since 1997
PAVANO is 2-2 when starting against MILWAUKEE with an ERA of 4.07 and a WHIP of 1.212.
His team's record is 4-4 (-0.5 units) in these starts. The UNDER is 3-4. (-1.5 units)

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LA ANGELS (32 - 29) at SAN FRANCISCO (34 - 28) - 10:15 PM
JOHN LACKEY (R) vs. BARRY ZITO (L)
Top Trends for this game.
SAN FRANCISCO is 128-76 (+52.8 Units) against the money line when playing on Monday since 1997.
SAN FRANCISCO is 34-28 (+7.1 Units) against the money line in games played on a grass field this season.
SAN FRANCISCO is 680-573 (+83.9 Units) against the money line in night games since 1997.
SAN FRANCISCO is 16-7 (+8.9 Units) against the money line in home games against right-handed starters this season.
SAN FRANCISCO is 34-28 (+7.1 Units) against the money line in all games this season.
SAN FRANCISCO is 21-9 (+11.7 Units) against the money line in home games this season.
LA ANGELS are 124-81 (+28.7 Units) against the money line in games played on a grass field over the last 2 seasons.
LA ANGELS are 49-36 (+14.8 Units) against the money line in road games in night games over the last 2 seasons.
LA ANGELS are 23-14 (+10.9 Units) against the money line in road games against left-handed starters over the last 2 seasons.
LA ANGELS are 66-35 (+29.8 Units) against the money line after shutting out their opponent since 1997.
LA ANGELS are 41-26 (+17.9 Units) against the money line in road games after a win over the last 2 seasons.
LA ANGELS are 61-45 (+15.1 Units) against the money line when playing against a team with a winning record over the last 2 seasons.
LA ANGELS are 133-94 (+24.5 Units) against the money line in all games over the last 2 seasons.
LA ANGELS are 66-49 (+21.3 Units) against the money line in road games over the last 2 seasons.

Head-to-Head Series History
There were no past matchups in this series during this time period.

JOHN LACKEY vs. SAN FRANCISCO since 1997
LACKEY is 1-1 when starting against SAN FRANCISCO with an ERA of 2.65 and a WHIP of 1.412.
His team's record is 1-2 (-1.1 units) in these starts. The OVER is 0-3. (-3.3 units)

BARRY ZITO vs. LA ANGELS since 1997
ZITO is 12-9 when starting against LA ANGELS with an ERA of 3.55 and a WHIP of 1.199.
His team's record is 17-11 (+3.5 units) in these starts. The UNDER is 17-9. (+7.3 units)

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[Udog]

MLB
Short Sheet


Monday, 6/15/2009

Interleague

MILWAUKEE at CLEVELAND, 7:05 PM ET ESPN
BUSH: 12-37 TSR as a road underdog
PAVANO: CLE 22-10 after 6+ consecutive home games

LA ANGELS at SAN FRANCISCO, 10:15 PM ET
LACKEY: LAA 10-3 AWAY when the total is 7 to 8.5
ZITO: 16-4 OVER at home when playing on Monday

** (TC) Denotes Time Change

[Udog]

MLB


Monday, June 15

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Tips and Trends
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Milwaukee Brewers at Cleveland Indians [7:05 PM ET]

Brewers: The Brewers are on a cold streak, losing six of their last seven games. They are 3-7 in their past 10 road contests. Shortstop J.J. Hardy has no hits in his last 28 at bats and is batting just .207 after posing a career-high .283 average in 2008. Center fielder Mike Cameron has just one hit in his last 19 at bats. David Bush is in a cold spell, too, winless in his last four starts. He’s gone 0-3 with a 6.75 ERA during this span, surrendering 16 earned runs, 19 hits and nine walks in 21 2/3 innings. The right-hander is 0-1 with a 3.00 ERA in three lifetime starts versus Cleveland. Milwaukee is 7-3 in Bush’s last 10 starts. The Brewers are 13-5 in Bush’s last 18 outings versus teams with a losing record. Milwaukee, though, is 6-22 in Bush’s last 28 starts as a road underdog.

The Under is 7-0 in Bush’s last seven starts against teams with a losing record.

Key Injuries - Richie Weeks (wrist) is on the DL.

PROJECTED SCORE: 4

Indians (-$1.20, O/U 9.5 under -$1.15): Carl Pavano hadn’t allowed more than three earned runs in each of his previous five starts until being battered for nine runs against the Royals in his last start on Wednesday. After tossing a complete game three-hit shutout of the White Sox with six strikeouts, Pavano gave up 11 hits in 4 2/3 innings against Kansas City in a 9-0 loss. Pavano also was tapped for nine earned runs in just one inning during his first start of the season. In between his first two starts and his last start, Pavano has held foes to four or fewer runs in nine of 10 starts. The Indians are 7-2 in Pavano’s last nine starts. Cleveland has lost its last four games to Milwaukee. The Indians have fared well in interleague competition, going 10-2-1 in their last 13 games. They have won nine of their last 12 home games against a right-hander.

The Under is 8-1-1 in Cleveland’s last 10 home games versus teams above .500.
The Under is 8-2-1 in Cleveland’s last 11 interleague matchups against a right-hander.

Key Injuries - Grady Sizemore (elbow) and Asdrubal Cabrera (shoulder) are on the DL.

PROJECTED SCORE: 5 (UNDER - Total of the Day)




Los Angeles Angels at San Francisco Giants [10:15 PM ET]

Angels (-$1.15, O/U 8.5 under -$1.20): The Angels are off a three-game home sweep of the Padres where they outscored San Diego, 26-7. Torii Hunter and Vladimir Guerrero are swinging hot bats. Hunter is batting .387 in his last seven games. He’s homered four times and driven in seven runs during his past three games. Guerrero has had multiple hits seven times in his last 14 games. John Lackey spent the first six weeks on the DL with a strained right forearm. He had pitched three solid outings until his last start against Tampa Bay on Wednesday. The Rays got to Lackey for eight earned runs on 11 hits in five innings. The Angels are 2-7 the past nine times Lackey has been road chalk. Los Angeles has won seven of its last nine when facing a lefty on the road. Angels reliever Scott Shields is scheduled to have season-ending surgery on Tuesday for patella tendinitis.

The Angels are 10-4 in their last 14 interleague matchups.
The Under is 13-3-3 in Lackey’s past 19 interleague starts.

Key Injuries - Scott Shields (knee) is on the DL.

PROJECTED SCORE: 5 (Side of the Day)

Giants: The Giants are just 5-16 as a home underdog with lefty Barry Zito on the mound. Zito has pitched respectable this season with a 4.09 ERA, but is just 3-6 because of the worst run support in the National League. The Giants are 2-7 in Zito’s last nine home starts versus a winning team. Zito, though, has had plenty of experience facing the Angels having pitched for Oakland from 2000-2006. Zito is 12-9 with a 3.55 ERA in 28 starts against the Angels. The Giants, however, are 1-7 in Zito’s past eight interleague starts. The under is 8-3-1 during the last 12 meetings between the Angels and Giants in San Francisco. The Giants have won nine of their last 10 home contests. They are 14-5 in their last 19 overall games, with a 2.60 ERA during this span. San Francisco is 35-17 at AT&T Park versus right-handers.

The Giants are 3-11 in interleague competition when facing a team with a winning record.
The Giants have lost 17 of their last 25 as an underdog.

Key Injuries - None.

PROJECTED SCORE: 4


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[Udog]

Len’s Top Five

Happy Monday everyone, here's my Top 5 for June 15, 2009 from Len Berman Sports.

1. Quick Hits

The Lakers win their 15th NBA title beating Orlando in 5 games. Kobe Bryant is named MVP. Some fans celebrated by setting fires and trashing police cars. (See # 3 below.) You can't blame them for losing their heads. They've never won more than 14 championships before.
It's the parade of the Penguins today in Pittsburgh, as Pittsburgh becomes the first city to ever win the Super Bowl and the Stanley Cup the same year.
Now we're talking. Francisco Rodriguez of the Mets and Brian Bruney of the Yanks nearly came to blows in batting practice yesterday. This after Bruney publicly criticized Rodriguez's mound celebrations as a "tired act." By the way, the Yanks edged the Mets yesterday 15-0.
The hottest team on earth? The Colorado Rockies. They've won 11 straight games. So now they're only 10 1/2 games behind the Dodgers.
In Barcelona, motorcycle racer Julian Simon slowed down and raised his hand in victory. Oops, there was one lap to go. He finished 4th.

2. Upon Further Review

It's easy to be a front runner. You drive in the winning run, take a whipped cream pie in the face and you talk to the media until the cows come home. But the true measure of a sportsman is how be behaves under adversity. Like when you pull the biggest bonehead play in recent Mets history, as Luis Castillo did. He turned a sure win into a devastating loss to the Yankees Friday by dropping an easy pop-up. Yet Castillo didn't hide, he willingly talked with reporters the next day. He "faced the music" when he didn't have to. Hey Met fans, I know you're pissed at the guy but give him credit for "manning up."

3. Lets Go Rangers

It's hard to believe that 15 years ago last night the Rangers won the Stanley Cup. It was one of my personal hilites. Maybe it was the passion of long suffering Ranger fans who had gone cupless since 1940. Maybe it was the incongruous moment of President Clinton calling to congratulate defenseman Brian Leetch. More likely it was just the sheer joy of it all. The year before, Montreal had won its umpteenth Stanley Cup and fans proceeded to tear up St. Catharines Street. Hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of damage. And yet the night the Rangers clinched in big bad New York City, there wasn't a single arrest. The only blemish. What the hell has this team been doing for the last 15 years?

4. Rabbit Ears

Had to have been a first. A hotly contested high school baseball game in West Burlington, Iowa, and the umpire warned both teams he wasn't going to take any more crap from anyone. The ump even warned the crowd. So when a fan yelled from the stands, the ump proceeded to eject the entire crowd! They finally agreed to let the fans back in, but if anyone made a wisecrack he'd be ejected and charged with disorderly conduct. There were no further incidents. Was it a high school sports event or a police state?

5. Madison Avenue

The latest from the ad world. Orlando Magic center Marcin Gortat has a tattoo of Nike star Michael Jordan on his lower leg. Gortat has a shoe deal with Reebok which is just a tad sensitive about Nike. They asked Gortat to wear higher socks or cover the tattoo with makeup. Gortat told Reebok to stuff it. And remember the story about the Houston Texans selling ad space on their practice jerseys? Zero Tolerance Entertainment is interested. They market adult videos. The Texans have declined their offer. Why? One of their movies "World Cups" has to be sports related, right?

Today's Birthday: Hall of famer Wade Boggs: 51.
Bonus Birthdays: Actresses Helen Hunt. 46. Courteney Cox. 45.

Today in Sports: The Mets trade Tom Seaver to the Reds. Brilliant! 1977.
Bonus Event: First night game ever played at Ebbets Field Brooklyn. Johnny Vander Meer of the Reds pitches an unheard of 2nd straight no hitter. 1938.