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[StarDust Bum]

Streaking Yankees host struggling White Sox


CHICAGO WHITE SOX (8-14)

at NEW YORK YANKEES (12-6)


First pitch: Monday, 7:05 p.m. EDT
Line: New York -185, Chicago +175, Total: 10

New York looks to win a season-high fourth straight game (and eighth victory in 10 games) when it hosts the White Sox on Monday night at Yankee Stadium.

The Yankees took two straight from Baltimore, winning 6-3 in 11 innings on Sunday, despite Mariano Rivera's second consecutive blown save. New York should have lost the game in the ninth inning as replays clearly showed Robert Andino scored the game-winning run, but he was called out by home-plate umpire Angel Campos. Derek Jeter (.257 BA, five RBI) had four hits versus the Orioles in the finale, while Robinson Cano (.316, 4 HR, 14 RBI) extended his hitting streak to 13 games. Curtis Granderson (.292, 12 RBI) leads the Bombers in home runs with seven, while Alex Rodriguez is batting a team-high .354 with five home runs and 17 RBI.

A.J. Burnett, who is 8-0 in April as a Yankee, will get the start on Monday. The right-hander is 3-0 (all three victories have come at home) with a 4.37 ERA and 22 strikeouts in four starts this season. In his last outing Tuesday against Toronto, he registered a no-decision, allowing three runs (two earned) in 5.1 innings in a 6-5 Yankees loss. But he's struggled against the White Sox in his career, going 2-4 in seven starts with a 5.58 ERA. In his past two outings against Chicago (August 2009 and August 2010), Burnett allowed 16 runs (15 earned) and 18 hits in just eight innings pitched. Setup man Rafael Soriano, who did not pitch in on Sunday because of a strained lower back, doesn't think the injury is serious and hopes to pitch on Monday.

Chicago was swept in a three-game series at Detroit, and has dropped 10 of its past 11 games. The White Sox were outscored 21-3 in the series and were shut out in the final two games. Philip Humber (1-2, 4.42 ERA) will make his first appearance versus the Yankees on Monday. Humber, who started the season in the bullpen, is 1-2 with a 3.86 ERA in three starts this year. But he has dropped two straight decisions, including a 4-1 setback at Tampa Bay on Wednesday when he allowed four earned runs and six hits in 5.1 innings. Carlos Quentin (.308, 16 RBI) leads the team in home runs with six, but has only four at-bats versus Burnett (2-for-4). Paul Konerko (.313, 5 HR, 16 RBI) is hitting .308 (4-for-13) against the Yankees right-hander with two home runs and five RBI, while Juan Pierre is also batting .308 versus Burnett (4-for-13).

The Yankees have won five of the past six home meetings versus the White Sox, and should notch another victory over struggling Chicago on Monday night. This highly-rated FoxSheets trend also likes New York to win on Monday.

Play On - All favorites with a money line of -110 or higher (NY YANKEES) - with a starting pitcher whose strikes out 5 or more batters per start, excellent power team - averaging 1.5 or more HR's/game on the season. (75-20 over the last 5 seasons.) (78.9%, +43.5 units. Rating = 3*).

[StarDust Bum]

Slumping D'backs try to end Phils' 5-game win streak


PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES (15-6)

at ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS (8-12)


First pitch: Monday, 9:40 p.m. EDT
Line: Philadelphia -150, Arizona +140, Total: 8

Philadelphia looks to extend its winning streak to six games when it visits struggling Arizona on Monday night in the first of a three-game series.

The Phillies have outscored their opponents 16-6 during a five-game winning streak and have done most of the damage on the mound. While the team is hitting just .212 during the streak, the pitchers have a stellar 0.96 ERA with 44 strikeouts in 47 innings, and are limiting opponents to a .188 batting average with one homer. In a four-game sweep of San Diego, the pitching staff allowed only three earned runs in outscoring the Padres 12-3.

Cliff Lee looks to continue that success when he takes the mound on Monday. Lee (2-1, 3.91 ERA, 27 K) allowed three runs -- two earned -- and eight hits with one strikeout in six innings in a no-decision against Milwaukee in his most recent outing on Wednesday. In the start before that, he dominated Washington with a complete-game, three-hit shutout with 12 strikeouts. He is 2-0 in his career against Arizona with a 2.57 ERA and 15 strikeouts in 14 innings. The last time he faced the Diamondbacks was on Aug. 19, 2009 when he threw a complete-game, two-hitter, allowing just one unearned run while striking out 11 in an 8-1 Phillies win. Shane Victorino (.289 BA, 3 HR, 11 RBI) is hitting .362 with five doubles, three triples, three homers and 12 RBI in his past 16 games against the Diamondbacks.

Arizona brings a season-high, four-game losing skid into Monday's game after falling 8-4 to the Mets in New York on Sunday. The Diamondbacks have hit only .201 as a team during the skid, while the starting pitchers have tallied a 6.75 ERA in the four losses. Ian Kennedy (2-1, 5.64 ERA) hopes to get Arizona back on track when he takes the mound on Monday. Kennedy allowed one run and four hits in 5.1 innings in a 3-1 victory over Cincinnati on Wednesday. He overcame a sore ankle after getting hit with a grounder in the fifth inning during that outing. Kennedy has previously made one start against Philadelphia, allowing two runs and four hits in eight innings while getting a no-decision in a 3-2 Arizona loss on April 24, 2010. Melvin Mora (.273, 6 RBI) is 5-for-11 with an OBP of .538 against Lee, but has been bothered by a foot injury recently and is considered day-to-day. Despite the team's struggles, Stephen Drew (.344, 1 HR, 14 RBI) continues his hot start at the plate. Drew went 9-for-23 (.391) with five extra-base hits and five RBI in Arizona's 2-4 road trip.

Philadelphia has won 10 of the past 13 meetings with Arizona, but the two teams have split six matchups in Phoenix during that stretch. With a big pitching mismatch in this game, expect the Phillies win streak and D’backs losing skid to both continue. These two FoxSheets trends also support Philadelphia to win on Monday.

PHILADELPHIA is 81-36 (69.2%, +33.2 Units) against the money line vs. teams whose hitters strike out 7 or more times/game over the last 2 seasons. The average score was PHILADELPHIA 5.2, OPPONENT 3.6 - (Rating = 2*).

CHARLIE MANUEL is 91-46 (66.4%, +32.1 Units) against the money line vs. an NL starting pitcher whose WHIP is 1.350 to 1.450 as the manager of PHILADELPHIA. The average score was PHILADELPHIA 5.4, OPPONENT 3.9 - (Rating = 2*).

[StarDust Bum]

Sharks try to close out Kings on Monday

SAN JOSE SHARKS

at LOS ANGELES KINGS


Western Conference Playoffs – First Round
Game 6 – San Jose leads series 3-2
Puck drops: Monday, 10:05 p.m. EDT
Line: San Jose -130, Los Angeles +110, Total: 5

The Kings try to extend their first round series with San Jose to seven games when they host the Sharks in Monday’s Game 6. They also hope to stop a trend of the visiting team winning four straight games in this series.

San Jose exploded for 12 goals in two wins at Los Angeles this series (Games 3 and 4) before losing 3-1 in Game 5. Ryane Clowe has been the scoring star for the Sharks with four goals and three assists in the series, while defenseman Ian White has five assists in just four games. Goaltender Antti Niemi, who was pulled after allowing three goals on only four shots faced in Game 5, will be the starter again for Game 6. The Sharks will try to finally give Niemi an early lead, as they have been outscored 8-1 in the first periods of this series.

Despite not having the services of their best scorer Anze Kopitar (ankle), the Kings have still lit the lamp 17 times in the first five contests. Kyle Clifford (3 G, 2 A) and Brad Richardson (2 G, 3 A) have led the way offensively, but 10 other Kings have also scored goals during this series. Goalie Jonathan Quick’s home/road splits have been silly this series. After his team playoff-record 51-save effort in Game 5, Quick has now stopped 127-of-131 shots at San Jose (.969 Save Pct.), but has allowed 12 goals on just 63 shots (.810 Save Pct.) in Los Angeles.

The Sharks have had great success playing in L.A., posting a 14-6 record in their past 20 visits with the Kings, and scoring at least three goals in 13 of those contests. The FoxSheets provides another reason to expect San Jose to close out the series Monday night:

SAN JOSE is 10-2 ATS (83.3%, +7.8 Units) revenging a home loss versus opponent this season. The average score was SAN JOSE 3.2, OPPONENT 1.9 - (Rating = 2*).

This four-star FoxSheets trend predicts another low-scoring game finishing Under the total.

LOS ANGELES is 34-11 UNDER (75.6%, +22.8 Units) against excellent power play teams- scoring on >17.5% of their chances this season. The average score was LOS ANGELES 2.4, OPPONENT 2.3 - (Rating = 4*).

[StarDust Bum]

NHL Betting Preview: San Jose Sharks at LA Kings

For a team that was left for dead going into Game 5 of the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, the Los Angeles Kings looked awfully solid on Saturday night against the San Jose Sharks.

The boys from Tinseltown fended off one elimination attempt with a 3-1 win at the Shark Tank in Game 5. Now the scene shifts back to Staples Center for Monday night's Game 6 in Stanley Cup playoff betting action. TSN has the telecast starting at 7:00 p.m. (PT) with the Sharks 130 favorites and five goals for Monday's total.

The road team has won four straight games in this series, something that is normally unheard of in any type of a postseason. However, this year, it's seemingly commonplace, as visitors have gone 23-16 in the playoffs coming into play on Easter Sunday.

During the regular season, the Kings won 25 games at home against 21 on the road, while San Jose won 25 at HP Pavilion and 23 as the guests.

Give the Sharks credit, though. They really tried everything they could to finish off Los Angeles on Saturday. They took a whopping 52 shots on goal, including at least 15 in all three periods. Patrick Marleau alone had nine shots on goal for the game. He also scored the only goal for San Jose, a strike in the second period to help cut into a 3-0 LA lead.

Jonathan Quick did everything but stand on his head to make the 3-0 lead stand up. He stopped 51-of-52 shots for a .981 save percentage in a game that proved to be even more impressive than his shutout in Game 2.

In the two wins in this series, Quick has stopped a whopping 85-of-86 shots for a .988 save percentage, but in the two most recent losses, he allowed six goals in each game.

Of course, this wasn't the first time that the Kings came out of the blocks on fire in a game. They led 4-0 against the Sharks in Game 3 before blowing the lead in less than 20 minutes and losing in overtime. However, Quick made sure this lead would stand up.

Wayne Simmons, Kyle Clifford and Dustin Penner all lit the lamp for LA to pull off the upset on the NHL betting odds as plus 183 underdogs.

San Jose has some major questions to answer on its holiday. Antti Niemi, the man that was brought here due to the fact that he won the Stanley Cup last year with the Chicago Blackhawks, could be finding himself on the bench. Niemi won the starting job once and for all from Antero Niittymaki just after the all-star break this season, and we saw very, very little of the Finnish born netminder since January.

But after allowing three goals on four shot attempts, Niemi was yanked in Game 5 and replaced by Niittymaki. It was the second time in this series that the move was made in net, and after watching Niittymaki do everything that he could for two games to lead the Sharks to victory, head coach Todd McLellan definitely has a tough choice to make. The former member of the Tampa Bay Lightning has stopped 29 of the 30 shots he has faced in the postseason.

Should San Jose win this game, it will lock up the series and set up a second-round date with either the Detroit Red Wings, Nashville Predators or Anaheim Ducks. In the Kings win, a decisive Game 7 will occur back at HP Pavilion on Wednesday night.

[StarDust Bum]

MLB Odds: LA Dodgers take on Florida Marlins

Hanley Ramirez is off to a terrible start and Logan Morrison is on the disabled list with a foot injury.

But the Florida Marlins have been hanging right in with the Philadelphia Phillies in the National League East Division with 12 wins in their first 18 games.

The Marlins hope to keep things going when they host the Los Angeles Dodgers on Monday at 4:10 p.m. (PT) in the first of a three-game series.

The scheduled pitching matchup is Jon Garland versus Ricky Nolasco.

Ramirez, a three-time All-Star and one of the best power-hitting, speed shortstops in baseball, was batting just .207 with no homers entering this past weekend. He had missed a couple of games earlier this month due to a bruised leg, but is 100 percent now.

The same can’t be said for Morrison, who suffered sprained ligaments and a strained muscle in his foot this past Tuesday against Pittsburgh. He’s expected to be out two-to-four weeks.

Morrison was leading Florida in homers with four and RBIs with 11, while batting .327, second on the team to Gabby Sanchez.

Emilio Bonifacio and Scott Cousins have been filling in for Morrison in the outfield with the left-handed hitting Cousins drawing most of the starts against right-handed pitchers.

The Dodgers have been hanging in despite the league overseeing the team’s day-to-day operations due to possible new ownership. The Dodgers' 11-11 mark through Saturday is thanks in large part to outfielders Matt Kemp and Andre Either. Both ranked in the top three in the majors in batting entering this past weekend.

After averaging a National League-worst 3.2 runs in their first 18 games, the Dodgers have picked up their offense. Still, with shortstop Rafael Furcal on the DL with a thumb injury, the Dodgers are starting journeymen at nearly half of their positions.

Going against a rejuvenated Nolasco should prove challenging. Nolasco was 14-9 last year, but had a 4.51 ERA. He was 13-9 in 2009 but his ERA was even higher at 5.06.

The 28-year-old right-hander, though, could be putting everything together this season as he’s 2-0 with a 3.00 ERA. His strikeout-to-walk ratio is 18-to-two through 27 innings.

Nolasco is off a shutout victory this past Wednesday against Pittsburgh. Nolasco struck out eight while allowing just four hits in seven innings winning, 6-0, as a 145 home favorite against Charlie Morton. The combined six runs went ‘under’ the eight-run total.

Lifetime versus the Dodgers, Nolasco is 0-1 with a 6.00 ERA in 12 innings.

Garland also is off a strong performance. He beat Atlanta and Derek Lowe, 6-1, this past Wednesday as a 125 home ‘dog. The combined seven runs pushed on the seven-run total.

Garland went the distance giving up four hits with four strikeouts and two walks. He threw 108 pitches of which 73 were strikes.

The 31-year-old right-handed and been on the DL for a short time because of an oblique strain. Garland is 5-1 career-wise against the Marlins with a 2.33 ERA.

Garland was 14-12 last year with a 3.46 ERA pitching for San Diego.

The Marlins won four of six games against the Dodgers last year, going 2-1 at home. The Dodgers were 13-20 versus NL East foes in 2010.

The Dodgers are 12-6-3 to the ‘over’ in their first 21 games this year.

The weather forecast is for temperatures in the 80s, but a 30 percent chance of rain and possible thunderstorms.

The Dodgers begin a six-game homestand on Friday following their three-game series with Florida. Te Marlins go on a seven-game road trip after this series starting Friday with three games at Cincinnati followed by four games at St. Louis.

[StarDust Bum]

MLB Betting: White Sox at New York Yankees

There was a time when the Chicago White Sox fared pretty well against the Yankees overall and in New York specifically.

Since winning the 2005 World Series, however, victories over the Yankees have been far more difficult to come by, and the two Pinstripe Palaces in the Bronx have turned into torture chambers for Chicago. The White Sox will try and reverse that trend as well as turn around a bad start to 2011 beginning Monday when they open a four-game series in New York .

First pitch from New York is 4:05 p.m. (PT) and ESPN will carry the game nationally. Overnight odds painted 185 chalk on New York with 10 for the total.

Chicago limps into New York having dropped 10 of 11 and winning just once during the first seven contests on this long 11-game roadie. The Tigers swept three from the White Sox over the weekend, outscoring the Pale Hose 21-3 with a pair of shutouts to end that set.

The White Sox are dead last in the AL Central, six games below .500 at 8-14 and down nearly eight units against the MLB money line. They're 4-8 away from Second City.

Ozzie Guillen's gang couldn't have picked a tougher place to pull out of a slump than Yankee Stadium. Chicago has just one win in the last eight games at New York, going 3-12 in the Big Apple since the start of the 2006 season.

Since moving into their newer digs in 2009, the Yanks have taken five of six home matchups from the Pale Hose, outscoring Chicago 47-19 in those games.

Given the task of stopping the skid as well as quieting the New York bats in Game 1 is Philip Humber (1-2, 4.42). Monday's assignment will be his first career appearance against the Yankees, and just his sixth career start.

In the Chicago rotation in place of injured hurler Jake Peavy, Humber's last start came this past Wednesday in Tampa Bay, a 4-1 White Sox loss as 120 road underdogs. The right-hander toiled into the sixth while allowing all four Rays runs, two of them on a John Jaso homer.

New York was 11-6 pending Sunday's result in Baltimore. The Yankees lead the AL East and own the majors' top offense with over six runs per contest and 35 home runs before the series finale with the Orioles.

AJ Burnett (3-1, 4.37), Monday's scheduled starter, won his first three starts and was in line for a fourth win last Tuesday in Toronto before Mariano Rivera suffered a rare ninth-inning meltdown. Burnett was lucky to be in position to grab the win after allowing 12 baserunners in 5 1/3 innings, including walking five Blue Jays batters.

He's made two starts in a New York jersey against the ChiSox, both in Chicago and both losses with Burnett charged with 15 earned runs over the course of eight innings in those outings. Dating back to the '06 season when he was with Toronto, Burnett is 2-4 in his last six starts versus the White Sox with a 6.81 ERA.

Mother Nature should cooperate with the baseball schedule and allow this game to be played. Bronx weather forecasts show a 30 percent chance of scattered rain and a game-time temp in the low-60s with a slight breeze out of the northeast (in from left).

Girardi had yet to officially name a starter for Tuesday's matchup, though all indications are Ivan Nova will take the mound for New York. Gavin Floyd is expected to get the assignment for the White Sox.

The series concludes Thursday after which the Yankees welcome the Blue Jays to town for the weekend. Chicago heads back home after this to begin a six-game homestand that starts Friday with the first of four against the Orioles.

[StarDust Bum]

Monday, April 25

Game Score Status Pick Amount

Pittsburgh - 7:00 PM ET Pittsburgh +117 500
Tampa Bay - Over 5 500

San Jose - 10:00 PM ET San Jose -120 500
Los Angeles - Under 5 500

[StarDust Bum]

Monday, April 25

Game Score Status Pick Amount

Chi. White Sox - 7:05 PM ET Chi. White Sox +178 500
NY Yankees - Over 10 500

Washington - 7:05 PM ET Pittsburgh -119 500
Pittsburgh - Under 8 500

LA Dodgers - 7:10 PM ET LA Dodgers +133 500
Florida - Over 8 500

Toronto - 8:05 PM ET Toronto +135 500
Texas - Under 9.5 500

Colorado - 8:05 PM ET Chi. Cubs -130 500
Chi. Cubs - Under 7 500

Cincinnati - 8:10 PM ET Milwaukee -130 500
Milwaukee - Under 8.5 500

Philadelphia - 9:40 PM ET Philadelphia -135 500
Arizona - Under 8.5 500

Atlanta - 10:05 PM ET Atlanta -128 500
San Diego - Under 6.5 500

Oakland - 10:05 PM ET Oakland +137 500
LA Angels - Over 6.5 500

[Dat Boi E]

good luck tonight, Bum!