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**pm530** · 06-19-2009, 01:05 AM

Daily Sports Roundup

Friday, June 19

Today in the Daily Sports Roundup: Los Angeles' baseball clubs collide on the diamond, the Red Sox host Atlanta, and the U.S. Open continues on Long Island.

Meeting up on the diamond . . .

The Dodgers and Angels will open a three-game interleague set in Anaheim on Friday night, with Chad Billingsley (9-3, 2.72 ERA) taking on Joe Saunders (7-4, 3.66 ERA). Dodgers righthander Billingsley is coming off consecutive wins over the D-Backs, Padres, and Rangers, allowing five earned runs in 18 2-3 innings. Angels lefthander Saunders picked up his first win since late May last time out, holding the Padres to just one earned run over 8 1-3 innings while fanning five.

Meanwhile, the Braves and Red Sox will use their imports at Fenway Park on Friday, with Atlanta's Kenshin Kawakami (3-6, 4.54 ERA) taking on Boston's Daisuke Matsuzaka (1-4, 7.55 ERA). Righthander Kawakami has given up three or fewer earned runs in each of his past eight outings, going 2-3 with three no-decisions over that span. Righthander Matsuzaka was knocked around for four earned runs in four innings by the Phillies last time out, and last won on June 2.

Coming off a shutout over the Cardinals, Indians lefthander Cliff Lee (4-6, 2.88 ERA) will be looking to keep the scoreless streak alive on Friday when he takes on the Cubs at Wrigley Field. Also on the interleague schedule for Friday: Baltimore at Philadelphia, Milwaukee at Detroit, Toronto at Washington, Tampa Bay at the Mets, the White Sox at Cincinnati, the Yankees at Florida, Houston at Minnesota, St. Louis at Kansas City, Oakland at San Diego, Arizona at Seattle, and Texas at San Francisco. As well, the Rockies host the Pirates in the NL set.

Rounding out the Roundup . . .

The 2009 U.S. Open continues on Friday, with Thursday's opening round halted by rain mid-morning. Tiger Woods was 1-over through six holes when the round was suspended. Phil Mickelson was among the golfers who had yet to get going.

Finally, the WNBA offers up a half-dozen matchups on Friday night, with Chicago at Connecticut, Indiana at Detroit, San Antonio at New York, Minnesota at Seattle, Los Angeles at Phoenix, and Washington at Atlanta. The Mystics are the WNBA's last remaining unbeaten team, as they sit at 3-0 straight-up and 2-0-1 against-the-spread. The Liberty (0-3 SU, 1-2 ATS) are the only team with no wins.

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**mavskidd02** · 06-19-2009, 01:22 AM

A little late, but congrats on 15K posts. pm530. You do a great job along with Udog, to provide good info. Thanks, it is appreciated.

**pm530** · 06-19-2009, 02:55 AM

Thanks mavskidd!

Udog and I try to contribute a little something that can help you (and us!).

**pm530** · 06-19-2009, 02:57 AM

Friday's List of 13: Our major league baseball List of 13.......

13) Rays 35-33-- Ben Zobrist now has enough plate appearances, and is your American League leader in slugging percentage.

12) Rockies 33-33- Very happy to report that espn.com has revamped its boxscores-- they now include swings/misses by pitcher, pitches seen by each hitter, in other words, they've made then a whole lot better, which makes it easier for us to learn more. Excellent!!!!!

11) Mets 33-31-- $150M doesn't buy as much as it used to; unless they get Reyes back healthy, they'll have a long, frustrating season.

10) Tigers 34-31-- Curtis Granderson has 16 HR, 39 RBI, underrated for sure-- he is making up for diminished production by Magglio Ordonez.

9) Giants 34-31-- Tickets that normally cost $24 will be $9 Tuesday in Oakland, as A's celebrate 20th anniversary of their last world title. Back in '89, those tickets cost $9, so they're rolling back prices for a night.

8) Cardinals 36-30-- Pujols has on-base percentage of .447; only one of their other regulars has one over .339. Carpenter has allowed 30 hits in 51 innings-- they need him healthy the rest of the way.

7) Brewers 37-29-- How about Milwaukee being in first place even after losing Sabathia and Sheets from last year's team? Fielder/Braun are super combination-- two guys who hit for both power and average.

6) Rangers 37-27-- Young Davis is hitting .200, with hefty 95 strikeouts in 220 plate appearances, fueling speculation that Texas could join the Nick Johnson sweepstakes.

5) Phillies 36-28-- World champs just don't have much pitching, and are a disaster (13-19) at home. Without a lot of resources down on farm, it'll be interesting to see if they can add some pitching before July 31. Next couple weeks could be struggle, with Ibanez on the DL.

4) Bronx 37-29-- Guy from Albany took his dad to game Thursday as a Father's Day present; 1:00 game started at 6:27. Wonder how many of those $9 beers they sold during the rain delay?

3) Angels 35-29-- They've won six games in row, they're getting healthy and they have the best manager in manager. Interesting race looms with the Rangers, but with Texas laying off non-baseball employees this week am guessing Halos are better suited to add players at trade deadline.

2) Red Sox 40-25-- They have abundamce of pitching wealth in minors, so they can pick and choose what moves they make. Would they go for a Jack Wilson at shortstop? Pittsburgh would love to dump his salary.

1) Dodgers 43-23-- Russell Martin is hitting .235 with no homers, they haven't had Manny for last 35-40 games, and they're still jogging in NL West, even though Giants are improved. Will coast into playoffs.

From: Armadillo
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**Lucus Tibbs** · 06-19-2009, 03:43 AM

You guys are SPECIAL.

I know the room...
I've walked the floor...

You are the best............................

**pm530** · 06-19-2009, 03:43 AM

Six-pack for Friday

-- Ozzie Guillen pitched to Soriano in tie game with winning run on 2nd and two out; he blooped game-winning hit, giving Cubs 6-5 win in game they trailed 5-1 in 8th inning (Soriano's HR had made it 5-4).

-- Seattle pitched to Adrian Gonzalez with bases empty, two out in bottom of 9th; he doubled, then scored game-winning run on a bloop single by Kouzmanoff. On the Padres, Gonzalez should be treated like he is the 2003 version of Barry Bonds- they've got no one else.

-- Five days after throwing an 80-pitch complete game, Kansas City's Hochever lasted just four innings, throwing 94 pitches in a 12-5 loss.

-- Minnesota's Blackburn threw a 107-pitch CG 5-1 win vs Pittsburgh Of the 70 strikes he threw, only three came on a swing/miss.

-- Colorado is 13-1 in last 14 games and have Pirates in town for three games this weekend. Rockies are only four games out of Wild Card.

-- Washington's Stammen got first big league win, blanking Bronx for 6.1 innings, in scheduled 1pm start-- game began around 6:30. Hapless Nationals took two out of three in the new home of greatness, as they like to call the new Bronx ballpark on YES Network.

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**pm530** · 06-19-2009, 05:02 AM

MLB
Baseball Today

SCOREBOARD

Friday, June 19

Chicago White Sox at Cincinnati (7:10 p.m. EDT). The teams from the infamous 1919 World Series meet again, 90 years later.

STARS

Thursday

-Adrian Gonzalez, Padres, matched his career high with four hits, including a homer, and scored the winning run in the 10th as San Diego beat Seattle 4-3.

-Derrek Lee and Geovany Soto, Cubs, hit consecutive homers in the eighth inning as the Chicago Cubs rallied for a 6-5 win over the rival White Sox.

-Rick Porcello, Tigers, pitched 5 2-3 innings to win for the seventh time in nine starts, helping Detroit beat St. Louis 6-3.

-Rod Barajas, Blue Jays, connected for a pinch-hit tiebreaking homer in the ninth inning of Toronto's 8-7 victory over Philadelphia.

-Ubaldo Jimenez, Rockies, tossed 6 2-3 effective innings to win his third straight start, leading Colorado to a 4-3 win over Tampa Bay.

-Nick Blackburn, Twins, pitched a six-hitter for his first career complete game and Minnesota beat Pittsburgh 5-1.

-Nate McLouth, Braves, homered and drove in four runs in Atlanta's 7-0 win at Cincinnati.

-Craig Stammen, Nationals, pitched 6 1-3 innings for his first major league victory, helping Washington beat the New York Yankees 3-0.

-Dan Uggla and Ronny Paulino, Marlins, homered in Florida's rain-shortened 2-1 victory at Boston.

-Chris Young, Diamondbacks, had four of Arizona's 16 hits in a 12-5 win at Kansas City.

ONE LONG DAY

The Washington Nationals beat the New York Yankees 3-0 on Thursday after the start of the game was delayed for 5 1/2 hours by rain. Scheduled to start at 1:05 p.m., the game did not begin until 6:31 p.m. Craig Stammen pitched 6 1-3 innings to earn his first major league victory in the first game without a homer at the new Yankee Stadium.

ROLLING ROCKIES

Clint Barmes, Todd Helton and Carlos Gonzalez homered in Colorado's 4-3 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays. The surging Rockies have won 13 of 14. They took the final two of the three-game series after Tampa Bay snapped their 11-game winning streak Tuesday.

WHAT A RALLY

Aubrey Huff drove in the winning run with a ninth-inning single off Francisco Rodriguez, capping a two-run rally that carried the Baltimore Orioles to a 5-4 win over the New York Mets. Rodriguez entered with a 0.56 ERA and 16 saves in 17 tries. He walked Adam Jones to force in a run, and after Nick Markakis struck out, Huff hit a liner to right to give Baltimore the win.

SIDELINED

Arizona Diamondbacks ace Brandon Webb had another setback and was flying back to Phoenix to have his ailing shoulder examined again. Webb, a 22-game winner last year, made only one start this season before going on the disabled list April 13 with a sore shoulder. His shoulder bothered him Thursday while playing catch on flat ground. Webb was scheduled to throw a bullpen session Friday in Seattle, but that was canceled.

SWEET HOMECOMING

Hunter Pence led off the eighth with a tiebreaking homer and the Houston Astros beat the Texas Rangers 5-3 to avoid a season sweep. Pence, who grew up in Arlington watching the Rangers play, hit the first pitch of the inning from Jason Jennings (2-2) over the center-field wall. Michael Bourn added a two-out RBI triple to make it 5-3.

SPEAKING

"If you told me a dozen years ago that I'd be in this rarefied air, I'd tell you you're full of baloney - because I certainly started way under .500 when I took over the Yankees in 1996. But I have to thank George Steinbrenner for putting me in a position to do this. I've admired what Sparky did for all those years, and I'm proud to be in that company.'' - Dodgers manager Joe Torre after earning his 2,195th regular-season victory to pass Sparky Anderson for fifth on the career list.
SEASONS

June 19

1941 - En route to 56, Joe DiMaggio hit in his 32nd consecutive game, going 3-for-3, including a home run, against the Chicago White Sox.

1942 - Paul Waner got hit number 3,000 - a single off Rip Sewell - but the Boston Braves lost to the Pittsburgh Pirates 7-6.

1952 - Brooklyn Dodger Carl Erskine pitched a 5-0 no-hitter against the Chicago Cubs at Ebbets Field.

1961 - Roger Maris' ninth-inning homer off Kansas City's Jim Archer was his 25th of the year, putting him seven games ahead of Babe Ruth's pace in 1927.

1973 - Cincinnati's Pete Rose and Willie Davis of the Los Angeles Dodgers both got their 2,000th hits. It was a single for Rose against the San Francisco Giants and a home run for Davis against the Atlanta Braves.

1974 - Steve Busby of the Kansas City Royals hurled his second no-hitter in 14 months and gave up just one walk in beating the Brewers 2-0 at Milwaukee.

1977 - The Boston Red Sox hit five home runs in an 11-1 triumph over the New York Yankees. The five homers gave the Red Sox a major league record 16 in three games. Boston hit six homers on the 17th and five on the 18th, also against the Yankees. In the series the Yankees had no homers.

2001 - Ellis Burks hit three homers in Cleveland's 10-9 loss to the Twins.

2006 - San Francisco rookie Matt Cain carried a no-hitter into the eighth inning in the Giants' 2-1 victory over the Los Angeles Angels. Chone Figgins lined a single to center with two outs in the eighth to end Cain's no-hit bid. The 21-year-old Cain allowed one hit and an unearned run while walking four and striking out 10.

2008 - Atlanta lost its league-record 22nd straight one-run game on the road when Texas rallied for a 5-4 victory. The previous mark was 21 by Kansas City during a stretch over the 2000-01 seasons. Atlanta's previous one-run victory on the road was on Aug. 10, 2007.

Today's birthday: Claudio Vargas 30.

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**pm530** · 06-19-2009, 05:03 AM

MLB
This Day in Baseball

On June 19 in Baseball History...

1938 - The Reds' Johnny Vander Meer extends his string of hitless innings to 21 2/3 before Debs Garms singles for Boston in the fourth.

1961 - Charlie Finley makes his first managerial change, booting Joe Gordon (26-33) in favor of Hank Bauer.

1974 - George Scott, who walks to lead off the second inning, is the Brewers' only base runner as the Royals Steve Busby hurls a 2-0 no-hitter. Busby is the first major-league pitcher to throw no-hitters in his first two seasons.

1977 - The Indians fire manager Frank Robinson and replace him with Jeff Torborg.

1979 - In New York, 36,211 fans show up to witness the return of Billy Martin as Yankees manager, but the Yanks lose to the Blue Jays 5-4. Martin had been named to replace Bob Lemon (34-31) the previous day, and begins his second stint as New York's skipper a season earlier than previously announced.

1989 - Mets pitcher Dwight Gooden wins his 100th career game, 5-3 over the Expos. His 100-37 career record is second only to Whitey Ford's 100-36 start.

1990 - Gary Carter catches his 1,862nd career game to break Al Lopez's N.L. mark. He goes 0-for-3 in the Giants' 4-3 loss to San Diego.

1994 - The Tigers homer in their 25th consecutive game when Mickey Tettleton goes deep against the Blue Jays.

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**pm530** · 06-19-2009, 05:14 AM

MLB
Write-up

Friday, June 19

With interleague play here, remember there are DHs in games played in the American League parks, no DHs in National League parks. Under is 33-23-3 in NL parks, 35-25-4 in AL, As far as wins/losses go, the AL leads the NL, 66-59.

Hot Pitchers
-- Marquis is 4-1, 2.49 in his last six starts. Ohlendorf is 1-0, 3.00 in his last two starts.
-- Lee is 2-0, 1.96 in his last three starts.
-- West is 2-0, 2.63 in his last couple starts.
-- Nieve won his first '09 start, allowing two runs in 6.2 IP at Bronx.
-- Contreras is 2-0, 0.00 (16 IP) since coming back from minors.
-- Oswalt is 2-1, 3.60 in his last three starts.
-- Twins won Slowey's last six home starts.
-- Thompson is 1-1, 3.52 in three starts for the Cardinals.
-- Outman is 4-1, 3.20 in his last seven starts.
-- Billingsley is 3-0, 2.89 in his last three starts. Saunders has 1.50 RA in his last three home starts.
-- Washburn is 0-2, 2.52 in his last four starts.
-- Feldman is 4-1, 2.55 in his last seven starts. Johnson is 3-1, 2.45 in his last five starts.

Cold Pitchers
-- Harden is 0-2, 4.50 in his last couple starts.
-- Bastardo has 6.00 RA in his first three big league starts. Hill has an 8.40 RA in his last four starts.
-- Nationals lost last seven Zimmermann starts (0-4, 5,18). Tallet is 2-3, 5.09 in his last six starts.
-- Looper is 0-0, 5.94 in his last three starts. Galarraga is 0-7, 7.74 in his last nine starts.
-- Pettitte is 1-2, 6.75 in his last three starts.
-- Sonnanstine is 1-3, 10.50 in his last four road starts.
-- Arroyo is 0-2, 7.27 in his last three starts.
-- Braves lost four of last five Kawakami road starts. Matsuzaka is 0-3, 7.31 in three home starts this season.
-- Davies is 1-5, 5.79 in his last six starts.
-- Leblanc was 1-4, 4.08 in ten starts at AAA Portland.
-- Garland is 0-5, 6.91 in his last five starts.

Hot Teams
-- Rockies won 13 of their last 14 games.
-- Blue Jays won five of their last six road games.
-- Orioles won four of their last five games.
-- Brewers won their last three games, scoring 30 runs.
-- Rays won six of their last eight games, but lost last two.
-- White Sox won eight of their last eleven road games. Reds won seven of their last ten home games.
-- Red Sox won seven of their last nine games.
-- Twins are 14-5 in their last nineteen home games.
-- Angels won last six games, scoring 47 runs. Dodgers won four of their last five games.
-- Mariners won four of their last five home games. Arizona is 11-7 in its last eighteen road games.
-- Rangers won six of their last nine road games.

Cold Teams
-- Pirates lost seven of last nine road series openers.
-- Cubs lost five of their last seven games. Indians lost four of their last five games.
-- Phillies lost 11 of their last 17 home games.
-- Nationals lost 15 of their last 20 home games.
-- Tigers lost five of their last seven games.
-- Florida is 10-18 in its last 28 home games. Bronx lost six of last nine games overall.
-- Mets lost six of their last eight games.
-- Reds lost five of their last seven games.
-- Braves lost six of their last eight games.
-- Astros lost eight of their last thirteen road games.
-- Cardinals lost last six road series openers. Royals gave up 24 runs in last two games, are 5-9 in last 14 home games.
-- Padres lost five of their last six games. A's lost five of last six, 15 of last 22 road contests.
-- Giants lost last three games, allowing 21 runs.

Totals
-- Five of last six Marquis starts stayed under the total.
-- Over is 4-1-2 in last seven Harden starts; under is 8-3-1 in Lee's last twelve starts.
-- All three Bastardo starts went over the total.
-- Last four Zimmermann home starts stayed under the total.
-- Under is 8-4 in last dozen Galarraga starts.
-- Last five Pettitte starts stayed under the total.
-- Five of last seven Sonnanstine starts went over the total.
-- Four of last five Contreras starts stayed under the total.
-- Last four Kawakami starts all went over the total.
-- Five of last seven Slowey starts stayed under the total.
-- All three Thompson starts stayed under the total.
-- Under is 10-3-1 in Oakland's last fourteen road games.
-- Under is 5-2-1 in last eight Billingsley starts.
-- Seven of last ten Washburn starts stayed under the total.
-- Four of last five Johnson starts stayed under the total.

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**pm530** · 06-19-2009, 05:16 AM

MLB

Friday, June 19

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Trend Report
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2:20 PM
CLEVELAND vs. CHI CUBS
Cleveland is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games
The total has gone OVER in 14 of Cleveland's last 20 games on the road
Chi Cubs are 2-5 SU in their last 7 games
Chi Cubs are 2-4 SU in their last 6 games at home

7:05 PM
BALTIMORE vs. PHILADELPHIA
Baltimore is 4-9 SU in its last 13 games when playing Philadelphia
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Baltimore's last 9 games when playing on the road against Philadelphia
Philadelphia is 9-4 SU in its last 13 games when playing Baltimore
Philadelphia is 1-4-1 SU in its last 6 games

7:05 PM
MILWAUKEE vs. DETROIT
Milwaukee is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Milwaukee's last 5 games
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Detroit's last 6 games when playing at home against Milwaukee
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Detroit's last 6 games when playing Milwaukee

7:05 PM
TORONTO vs. WASHINGTON
Toronto is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games when playing Washington
Toronto is 2-4-1 SU in its last 7 games
Washington is 2-6 SU in its last 8 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Washington's last 5 games at home

7:10 PM
ATLANTA vs. BOSTON
Atlanta is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games
Atlanta is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games on the road
Boston is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games when playing at home against Atlanta
The total has gone UNDER in 11 of Boston's last 16 games when playing at home against Atlanta

7:10 PM
CHI WHITE SOX vs. CINCINNATI
Chi White Sox are 5-0 SU in their last 5 games when playing Cincinnati
Chi White Sox are 5-0 SU in their last 5 games when playing on the road against Cincinnati
Cincinnati is 0-5 SU in their last 5 games when playing Chi White Sox
Cincinnati is 7-3 SU in its last 10 games at home

7:10 PM
NY YANKEES vs. FLORIDA
NY Yankees are 2-4 SU in their last 6 games when playing Florida
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of NY Yankees's last 9 games when playing Florida
Florida is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games
Florida is 4-2 SU in their last 6 games when playing NY Yankees

7:10 PM
TAMPA BAY vs. NY METS
Tampa Bay is 6-2 SU in its last 8 games
Tampa Bay is 2-9 SU in its last 11 games on the road
NY Mets are 2-6 SU in its last 8 games
NY Mets are 12-5 SU in its last 17 games at home

8:10 PM
HOUSTON vs. MINNESOTA
Houston is 2-6 SU in its last 8 games when playing Minnesota
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Houston's last 9 games when playing Minnesota
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Minnesota's last 6 games when playing at home against Houston
Minnesota is 6-2 SU in its last 8 games when playing Houston

8:10 PM
ST. LOUIS vs. KANSAS CITY
St. Louis is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing Kansas City
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of St. Louis's last 5 games when playing Kansas City
Kansas City is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games when playing St. Louis
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Kansas City's last 5 games when playing St. Louis

9:10 PM
PITTSBURGH vs. COLORADO
Pittsburgh is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Colorado
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Pittsburgh's last 5 games when playing on the road against Colorado
Colorado is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games when playing Pittsburgh
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Colorado's last 7 games when playing Pittsburgh

10:05 PM
LA DODGERS vs. LA ANGELS
LA Dodgers are 4-1 SU in their last 5 games
LA Dodgers are 11-4 SU in their last 15 games on the road
LA Angels are 12-5 SU in their last 17 games when playing LA Dodgers
The total has gone UNDER in 9 of LA Angels's last 13 games when playing LA Dodgers

10:05 PM
OAKLAND vs. SAN DIEGO
Oakland is 6-3 SU in its last 9 games when playing San Diego
Oakland is 1-5 SU in its last 6 games
San Diego is 3-7 SU in its last 10 games at home
San Diego is 1-5 SU in its last 6 games

10:10 PM
ARIZONA vs. SEATTLE
Arizona is 1-6 SU in its last 7 games when playing Seattle
The total has gone UNDER in 8 of Arizona's last 10 games when playing Seattle
Seattle is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games when playing Arizona
The total has gone UNDER in 8 of Seattle's last 10 games when playing Arizona

10:15 PM
TEXAS vs. SAN FRANCISCO
Texas is 1-8 SU in its last 9 games when playing San Francisco
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Texas's last 5 games when playing San Francisco
San Francisco is 9-4 SU in its last 13 games at home
San Francisco is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Texas

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**pm530** · 06-19-2009, 05:18 AM

MLB

Friday, June 19

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Hot lines: Today’s best MLB bets
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Los Angeles Dodgers at Los Angeles Angels

There's plenty of glitz in Southern California, and Friday's interleague matchup between the Dodgers and Angels fits right in.

The Dodgers took control of the NL West with their 13-0 start at home. But since that streak ended May 7, they are 11-10 at Chavez Ravine but a solid 11-5 on the road, going 4-0-1 in five series.

Overall, the Dodgers have baseball's second-best road mark at 19-13. Friday starter Chad Billingsley is 3-1 with a 1.94 ERA and 1.08 WHIP on the road, and the Dodgers are 5-1 in his last six road outings.

The Angels have won six in a row, allowing just 18 runs during the streak. They also took two of three from their freeway rivals last month.

Lefty Joe Saunders has a 2.74 home ERA, nearly two runs better than on the road (4.57). The Angels are 28-13 in his last 41 home starts.

Pick: Under

Atlanta Braves at Boston Red Sox

No team has been more overwhelming at home than the Red Sox. They are 23-8 at Fenway Park, including 6-2 with five straight wins this month. The under is 9-1-3 in Boston's last 13 home games.

Boston is batting .273 overall but .291 at home, where its ERA is 3.71 vs. 4.15 overall. The Red Sox are 42-12 in their last 54 home games vs. losing teams and 40-12 in their last 52 interleague home games.

Atlanta is reeling with four straight losses (entering Thursday) and is 3-9 in its last 12 road games. Since 2005, the Braves are 3-9 vs. the Red Sox.

Braves rookie righthander Kenshin Kawakami is 1-3 with a 5.81 ERA and a 1.94 WHIP in five road starts. He opposes Japanese compatriot Daisuke Matsuzaka, who is looking for his first home win.

Pick: Red Sox

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**pm530** · 06-19-2009, 05:20 AM

MLB

Friday, June 19

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Streaking and Slumping Pitchers
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Streaking

Jose Contreras (Chicago White Sox)

There’s nothing like a stint in the minors to boost a pitcher’s confidence. Chicago White Sox starter Jose Contreras is a changed man after his recent demotion. Since returning to the big-league club, the right-hander is 2-0 and hasn’t allowed an earned run in 16 innings of work.

In his most recent outing, Contreras went eight innings, allowed just two hits and struck out eight batters. Before this turnaround, he was 0-5 and was in danger of losing his spot in the rotation.

"This is the strongest I've felt since 2005-06, the best I've thrown the ball,” he told the Chicago Tribune. "I knew I was going to come back, but just not as strong as I have and as quickly."

While in Triple-A, Contreras honed his command and tightened his split-fingered fastball. Those adjustments have him opening this series with the Reds and earning last week’s American League Player of the Week award.

Randy Johnson (San Francisco Giants)

Like a fine wine, Randy Johnson is getting better with age. The Giants' aging lefty is 3-1 and posting a 2.15 ERA in his past five starts – including picking up his 300th win against the Washington Nationals on June 4.

Following a solid five-inning, three-run showing in a loss to the Florida Marlins, Johnson went seven innings against the Oakland Athletics, giving up two runs on two hits last Saturday.

Johnson threw just 91 pitches against the A’s and has topped the century mark just once in those five starts.

Slumping

Rich Hill (Baltimore Orioles)

Rich Hill’s recent command issues have kept the southpaw’s starts brief. He’s pitched just under five innings in his past two appearances, most recently a four-inning outing in which he gave up four runs on five hits.

Hill is struggling with his curve ball, posting a strikeout-to-walk count of 1-to-7 to go along with his ballooning ERA in those past two starts. Since making the jump to the American League and coming off an elbow injury he’s just 2-1 with a 5.81 ERA in six starts for Baltimore.

Daisuke Matsuzaka (Boston Red Sox)

The Red Sox are giving Dice-K one more chance to hold his spot in the rotation before considering bumping the Japanese import to the bullpen.

Matsuzaka is just 1-4 and boasts a 7.55 ERA on the year and has yet to pitch six or more innings in a start. In his most recent trip to the bump, the righty went just four innings and allowed four runs on seven hits.

With veteran arm John Smoltz scheduled to return soon, Boston has gone to a makeshift six-man rotation. Manager Terry Francona has told reporters the team has faith in the former 18-game winner and he's worried that sticking Matsuzaka in a long relief role could hurt his confidence.

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**pm530** · 06-19-2009, 05:23 AM

MLB

Friday, June 19

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Game of the Day: Dodgers at Angels
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Los Angeles Dodgers at Los Angeles Angels (N/A)

Rivalry renewed

It may not be as heated as the Mets-Yankees or White Sox-Cubs, but the rivalry between the Dodgers and Angels is just as entertaining.

The Dodgers are the best team in baseball this season while the Angels are finally starting to play like contenders.

That sets up an intriguing weekend series in Anaheim.

Pitching matchup

The series gets started with a doozy on the mound.

Chad Billingsley will be trying for his 10th win of the season and will also be out for revenge after pitching his worst game of 2009 against the Angels back in late May.

In that start, Billingsley was tagged for nine hits and five runs over six innings in an eventual 10-7 loss. Since then he has given up two earned runs or less in three of four starts.

Joe Saunders gets the start for the Angels. He came within two outs of a complete game against San Diego last weekend, rebounding after back-to-back rough outings in which he gave up six and four earned runs.

Last year, Saunders helped the Angels defeat the Dodgers 4-2 in Anaheim. Just over a month later he was a 6-0 loser at Dodger Stadium.

Power surge

The Angels weren't hitting the last time they faced the Dodgers.

But now with all hands on deck, they've scored 47 runs over their last six ball games.

Even without Vladimir Guerrero and Torii Hunter in the starting lineup Wednesday, the Angels still managed to come from behind to defeat the Giants 4-3.

Of course Guerrero and Hunter played a part in that victory, each recording pinch-hit singles in their eighth inning rally.

Over their last 10 games, the Angels are hitting a collective .320 BA and posting a 6-3-1 over/under count.

History lesson

The Angels have gotten the better of the Dodgers over the last few seasons, taking 12 of the last 17 meetings.

In Anaheim, it's been no contest as the Halos have won seven of their last eight matchups.

But this is a different Dodger team and one that will be highly motivated after dropping two of three at home against their cross-town rival earlier this season.

The Boys in Blue haven't had much trouble winning on the road, posting a 19-13 record so far in 2009. However, they are just 14-37 in their last 51 interleague road games.

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**pm530** · 06-19-2009, 05:29 AM

MLB

Friday, June 19

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MLB Notes: “ - - to the Disabled List”
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Phillies' Ibanez placed on 15-day DL

PHILADELPHIA (AP) -Phillies left fielder Raul Ibanez has gone on the 15-day disabled list with a strained left groin.

John Mayberry Jr. was recalled from Triple-A Lehigh Valley on Thursday to take Ibanez's roster spot. Ibanez is batting .312 with 22 homers and 59 RBIs, ranking second in the NL in homers and RBIs.

Mayberry was 2 for 9 with a double, homer and three RBIs in his first stint with the Phillies last month. He was hitting .257 with eight homers and 31 RBIs for the IronPigs.

Blue Jays pitchers Halladay and Downs headed to DL

PHILADELPHIA (AP) -Toronto ace Roy Halladay is headed to the disabled list.

The Blue Jays plan to put Halladay and closer Scott Downs on the DL on Thursday, further depleting their injury-riddled pitching staff.

Right-hander Casey Janssen was placed on the 15-day DL before Wednesday night's game against the Phillies. Left-hander Brad Mills was called up from Triple-A Las Vegas to take Janssen's spot, and he is slated to make his major league debut at Philadelphia on Thursday.

The rash of injuries leaves the Blue Jays without their top five starters. Dustin McGowan, Shaun Marcum and Jesse Litsch also are on the DL.

''This was not a good day, but they went out and played hard,'' manager Cito Gaston said after the Blue Jays beat the Phillies 7-1.

The team will replace Halladay and Downs on Thursday.

''I'd just hate to get in a situation where I'm coming out of a game early and we're all in a jam,'' said Halladay, who strained his right groin last Friday. ''I don't see it as a setback. I just see it as, we had a chance that we could play out to see if I could get back.''

Downs strained his big left toe during Tuesday's 8-3 victory. He was injured while swinging at a pitch. Janssen has inflammation in his surgically repaired shoulder.

The 2003 AL Cy Young Award winner, Halladay is 10-1 with a 2.53 ERA this season. Downs has eight saves to go with a 1-0 record and 1.98 ERA. Janssen missed last season following surgery in spring training. He went 2-3 with a 6.23 ERA after returning on May 23 at Atlanta.

Mills was 1-8 with a 4.48 ERA in 13 starts at Las Vegas of the Pacific Coast League.

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Announcement

Friday Trends and Indexes 6/19 ( MLB, WNBA, Misc.)

Friday Trends and Indexes 6/19 ( MLB, WNBA, Misc.)

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