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**jt4545** · 09-23-2010, 12:44 PM

good luck Dust

**StarDust Bum** · 09-23-2010, 12:48 PM

Aces wild in Thursday's AL matchups

Two of the best pitchers in baseball meet in the Bronx Thursday night when David Price takes on CC Sabathia as the Rays look to earn a split of their four game series with the Yankees. The Rays enter the night 1.5 games behind New York in the East. Meanwhile, another pair of aces meet out in Oakland where Cliff Lee meets Dallas Braden as the Rangers and A’s open up a four game set.
TAMPA BAY RAYS (90-61)
at NEW YORK YANKEES (92-60)

First pitch: 7:05 p.m. EDT
Sports.com Line: New York -140, Tampa Bay +130 Total: 8

Just 10 days removed from an epic pitching duel in Tampa, David Price (17-6, 2.79 ERA) once again squares off against CC Sabathia (20-6, 3.05 ERA). Both starters were brilliant that night, with Price allowing only three hits in eight innings, while Sabathia gave up only two. Price has been masterful for the Rays all year. The team has won his last four starts and seven of his last eight. His most recent effort was a no-decision against the Angels where he gave up three runs on four hits over seven innings in a 4-3 Tampa win.

Sabathia is also coming off a three-run, seven inning outing that saw him get back in the win column after the Yankees dropped his last two starts. Prior to that, they had won his last six. Sabathia has good career numbers against the Rays, going 8-4 with a 2.89 ERA in 19 career starts. Price also has solid numbers against New York, carrying a 2-1 mark with a 3.20 ERA into Thursday’s game.

In what could turn out to be an October preview, the FoxSheets give the edge to the Yankees:

Play Against - Road underdogs with a money line of +125 to +175 (TAMPA BAY) - poor AL hitting team (AVG <=.260) against a team with a good bullpen (ERA <=3.75), with a starting pitcher whose gives up 0.5 or less HR's/start. (55-17 over the last 5 seasons.) (76.4%, +28.7 units. Rating = 2*).

TEXAS RANGERS (84-67)
at OAKLAND ATHLETICS (76-75)

First pitch: 10:05 p.m. EDT
Sports.com Line: Texas -125, Oakland +115 Total: 6.5

After dropping four of their last six games, the Rangers turn to Cliff Lee (12-8, 3.19 ERA) to right the ship Thursday night in Oakland. Lee is coming off a pair of wins that saw him go eight innings and give up one run to both the Yankees and Mariners. Prior to those outings Lee had been shaky, going 0-3 over his previous five starts. The Rangers were 0-5 in those games. He has had success against Oakland in his career, going 5-2 with a 2.20 ERA in 11 starts.

Lee will be opposed by Dallas Braden (9-13, 3.65 ERA). It’s been a struggle for Braden lately, who is 0-3 with a 7.56 ERA in his last three starts. Most recently he gave up four runs on eight hits over six innings in taking the loss at Minnesota. Things have gone downhill since Braden threw his perfect game on May 9. He’s just 5-11 in 20 starts since that day and the A’s are 6-14 in those games. A silver lining in that record is a complete game, four-hit shutout of Texas on August 28.

Despite Braden’s troubles, the FoxSheets like the A’s Thursday:

Play On - Home teams (OAKLAND) - cold hitting team - batting .240 or worse over their last 10 games against opponent starting a pitcher who gave up <=1 earned runs in his last 2 outings. (129-65 over the last 5 seasons.) (66.5%, +69.7 units. Rating = 4*).

**StarDust Bum** · 09-23-2010, 12:50 PM

MLB Odds: Giants finish series at Wrigley

The San Francisco Giants aren’t making things easy for themselves as they battle for an NL playoff spot. They conclude a three-game series at Chicago’s Wrigley Field on Thursday night.

San Francisco (85-66) leads San Diego by a half-game in the NL West and Colorado by 2 ½-games. NL East Atlanta leads San Diego by one-game in the wild card. This is all pending Wednesday night’s results.

The Giants are 6-4 in their last 10 games. The pitching has been phenomenal, allowing 1.3 runs per game. Their September ERA (1.57) is almost half of their nearest NL competitor (Milwaukee 3.10).

The problem with San Fran has been the bats. It’s scored two runs or less in seven of its last 10 games. The offense has struggled most of the year, so we could see a lot more low scoring games the rest of the season.

Rookie lefty Madison Bumgarner (5-6, 3.27 ERA) has been impressive since being called up in late June. He’s had one real bad start all year, seven earned runs over 2 2/3 innings vs. Cincinnati on August 25. His ERA would be 2.71 without that start.

The 21-year-old has rebounded nicely his last four starts (1.38 ERA). San Francisco did lose his last two outings (1-0, 3-0) due to a lack of run support.

Bumgarner will be making his first career start at historic Wrigley. He hosted Chicago on August 9, surrendering three earned runs over 5 2/3 innings in a 4-3 win. His road ERA is just 2.14 in nine starts.

The Cubs (68-82) saw their playoff hopes disappear awhile ago, but they’re still plenty motivated. Lou Piniella decided to end his manager reign early, making Mike Quade the interim guy.

Quade went to high school in Illinois and is the former Cubs third base coach and Triple-A manager in Iowa. Chicago is 17-8 versus the MLB money line since he took over and had won six-straight games before losing 1-0 on Tuesday night.

Chicago has allowed just 15 runs its last 10 games. Thursday’s starter Ryan Dempster (14-10, 3.50 ERA) didn’t allow a run in his last two starts. He also surrendered just seven hits in those 14 innings. Chicago won both games at Milwaukee (1-0) and Florida (2-0).

The 33-year-old righty has actually fared worse at home (5-6, 3.99 ERA) than away (9-4, 3.04 ERA) this season.

Dempster has made one start against San Fran this year. It was an 8-6 road win on Aug 10, four runs allowed (one earned) over 6 2/3 innings. Chicago is 4-1 in his last five starts versus the Giants. He’s 4-7 with a 3.89 ERA lifetime against them.

Chicago is 1-4 against San Francisco this year, but all four losses were by one run.

Chicago outfielder Tyler Colvin hit the disabled list and is out for the season after a broken bat punctured his chest. Giants’ shortstop Edgar Renteria (elbow) was questionable for Wednesday after missing three straight games. Outfielder Andres Torres (appendectomy) is trying to return for this weekend.

Hunter Wendelstedt will call balls and strikes. The Cubs are 3-10 in their last 13 games with Wendelstedt behind home plate.

First pitch on Thursday night is 4:05 p.m. (PT). Weather should be clear and unseasonably warm in the 80s.

Chicago will host the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday after recently sweeping them on the road. San Francisco starts a huge weekend series at Colorado.

**StarDust Bum** · 09-23-2010, 12:52 PM

MLB Odds: Padres pitching proves potent

The San Diego Padres began this critical three-game series against the Los Angeles Dodgers by dropping four of their first seven outings on this season-high 10-game road excursion.

The Padres' recent slide, which has seen them go 8-17 in the last 25 contests, has resulted in the club slipping out of first place in the NL West standings. Entering Wednesday's middle game of this series, the Padres trailed the Giants by one-half game in the NL West. The Padres also trailed Atlanta by one game in the wild card race.

However, the Padres began this three-game series against the Dodgers on Tuesday by registering a 6-0 shutout as 115 road favorites. It was San Diego's 19th shutout win this MLB betting season and marked the league-leading 17th time the Dodgers have been whitewashed this year.

Top CFL Betting Action at BetUS.com

The win was also San Diego's fifth straight over the Dodgers and eighth in its last 10 MLB matchups. The Dodgers have managed just three runs during the last five meetings, including getting blanked three times.

San Diego's pitching prowess should continue in Thursday's finale, as Mat Latos (14-7, 2.84 ERA) takes the hill attempting to continue his success against the Dodgers.

The 22-year-old right-hander is 2-1 against the Dodgers in three starts, but has allowed just four earned runs in 18 1/3 innings during that span. All three meetings dipped ‘under' the total, which was quite a feat considering the total never closed higher than 6 ½ runs.

Latos defeated the Dodgers in the first meeting (July 29) as a 145 home favorite, 3-2. The six-foot-six power hurler allowed one earned run in five innings while walking three and fanning seven.

The rematch five days later saw Latos suffer a 2-1 loss despite yielding just two runs on four hits through six innings as a 107 road favorite.

The latest meeting (Sept. 7) was Latos' best effort. The Virginia native limited the Dodgers to one run on four hits through seven innings spanning 113 pitches. He did not issue a walk and fanned 10 batters. It is interesting to note that the total closed at 5 ½ runs.

Seeing the Dodgers might be just what the doctor ordered. Latos is coming off his poorest and shortest outing of the season last Friday when the Cardinals tagged him for eight runs on nine hits in just 1 1/3 innings. The Padres went on to get trounced 14-4 as 145 road favorites.

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Nevertheless, the Padres are 17-11 in Latos' first 28 starts this season, with the ‘under' going 17-10-1.

The Dodgers will counter with Hiroki Kuroda (10-13, 3.36 ERA), who will be making his third start against the Padres this season.

The right-hander from Japan lost the first two matchups (10-5 and 6-1) by allowing eight runs on 11 hits in 10 combined innings. Ironically, the Dodgers closed as a small favorite on each occasion, with the ‘over' cashing both times. In fact, the ‘over' is now 6-2-1 in Kuroda's last nine starts against the Padres.

Kuroda is 5-6 with a 3.25 ERA in 15 starts at Dodger Stadium this season, but has won just once in his last six starts there.

San Diego entered Wednesday's action with a nifty 42-34 road record, while the Dodgers had the identical ledger during their first 76 home dates.

Eric Cooper is scheduled to call balls and strikes in Thursday's finale, which shouldn't mean much to those wagering on the total. The ‘over/under' is 15-15-2 in Cooper's 32 home plate assignments, but the home team is 20-12 during that span.

Don't forget to check the weather forecast for all of Thursday's baseball action.

**Kaptain** · 09-23-2010, 04:46 PM

gl as always BUM

**Dat Boi E** · 09-23-2010, 06:10 PM

good luck, bum!

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