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**StarDust Bum** · 05-20-2011, 04:27 PM

Hudson tries to add to Angels 5-game losing skid

ATLANTA BRAVES (25-21)

at LOS ANGELES ANGELS (22-23)

First pitch: Friday, 10:05 p.m. EDT
Line: Atlanta -110, Los Angeles +100, Total: 7

The Angels try to end their season-long, five-game losing streak when they host the Braves in a three-game set to begin their interleague schedule. But it won’t be easy to get a victory with struggling Ervin Santana (1-4, 4.85 ERA) going up against Atlanta’s excellent right-hander Tim Hudson (4-3, 3.03 ERA).

Hudson has pitched very well in his past five games, going 2-1 with a 2.27 ERA and 0.98 WHIP. In his last outing Sunday versus Philadelphia and Roy Halladay, Hudson only allowed two runs in seven innings, but walked a season-high five batters. He will be making his 25th career start against the Angels, but just his first since 2005. Hudson’s teams are 17-7 in these outings, as Hudson is 13-6 with a 3.49 ERA versus Los Angeles. Only two Angels batters have faced Hudson in their careers -- Torii Hunter is 8-for-28 (.286) with 7 K, and Bobby Abreu is 3-for-11 with four walks. Hunter and Abreu have been great interleague players in their careers, as Hunter carries a .540 slugging pct. versus the NL and Abreu has a .417 on-base pct. Hudson has not been sharp against AL opponents since he joined the Braves. He is 2-13 with a 6.25 ERA in 17 interleague starts with Atlanta, but he did carry a strong 2.86 ERA in interleague play last year.

This season has really been a grind for Santana, especially at home where he is 0-3 with a 5.14 ERA. He has lost two straight starts overall, allowing nine runs and 16 hits in 13 innings of work. Santana was terrible in his one career start versus Atlanta on June 14, 2008 (5.2 IP, 9 H, 6 ER, 2 HR), but he has had success against current Braves, who are a combined 2-for-24 with 9 K against him (Alex Gonzalez 1-for-12, Eric Hinske 0-for-7, Brian McCann 1-for-3 and Chipper Jones 0-for-2). Santana is 8-6 with a 4.60 ERA in 18 interleague starts.

The Angels have loved playing NL teams recently, posting a 25-11 record (.694) in their past 36 interleague games. L.A.’s 119-78 mark (.604) since 2000 ranks second-best in the majors. Atlanta has also been strong during the interleague part of the schedule with a 119-107 record (.527).

The Braves have not played well in their past four road games (.220 BA, 10 runs), and I expect Los Angeles will look much sharper than it did during the 1-6 road trip. I’m taking the home underdog Angels, and my Los Angeles pick is supported by these two highly-rated FoxSheets trends:

Play On - Home underdogs with a money line of +100 or higher (LA ANGELS) - excellent fielding team - averaging <=0.5 errors/game on the season, after scoring 4 runs or less 5 straight games. (31-9 over the last 5 seasons.) (77.5%, +27.1 units. Rating = 4*).

Play On - Home teams (L.A. ANGELS) - AL team with a low on-base percentage (<=.320) against a team with a good bullpen (WHIP <=1.350), with a starting pitcher whose strikes out 5 or more batters per start. (92-41 over the last 5 seasons.) (69.2%, +45 units. Rating = 3*).

**StarDust Bum** · 05-20-2011, 04:28 PM

A's-Giants begin 3-game set in San Francisco

OAKLAND A’S (22-22)

at SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS (24-19)

First pitch: Friday, 10:15 p.m. EDT
Line: Oakland -115, San Francisco +105, Total: 6.5

The Bay Bridge Series gets underway Friday night when the Oakland A’s send red-hot Trevor Cahill to the mound to face Giants journeyman Ryan Vogelsong.

Oakland is looking to turn things around after losing two in a row to the Twins, who have the AL’s worst record. Minnesota outscored Oakland 15-4 in the two-game set, including an 11-1 pounding Thursday. The A’s may be in luck with their emerging ace, Trevor Cahill on the mound. Cahill had a break-through year in 2010 by winning 18 games and hasn’t slowed down in 2011. Cahill is 6-1 with a 1.82 ERA and will try to be the first seven-game winner of the season. Oakland is 25-10 in Cahill's past 35 starts. The Athletics need to do a better job of getting men on base considering they have the fourth-lowest on-base percentage (.307) in the majors. Daric Barton leads the club with a .331 OBP and lead-off hitter Coco Crisp only has a .307 OBP.

Ryan Vogelsong has surprised many with a 3-0 record and a 2.36 ERA, especially since he was 8-17 with a 6.94 ERA in 33 starts entering this season. The 33-year-old right-hander, took over the fifth spot in the rotation when Barry Zito went down in mid-April with a foot injury, and has not looked back since. Vogelsong has not surrendered a run in his past 13.1 innings and recently had his first shutout in a rain-shortened, six-inning game last Saturday versus the Cubs. His team is also playing well, as San Francisco has won two straight and nine of its past 12 games. Shortstop Miguel Tejada (.221 BA, 1 HR, 13 RBI) has been hot, going 7-for-16 with three RBI in his past four games. Tejada has 33 career interleague home runs.

Oakland has had problems in night games, going 11-16, and has also been unsuccessful against right-handed pitchers (13-19). The A’s have been good coming back from a loss though, as they are 13-8. The Giants are 10-5 in home games this year and a fantastic 17-9 in night games. San Fran is also 9-3 in its past 12 on grass and 7-1 in their past eight against the American League West Division. There are a lot of trends leaning toward the Giants, but I like Trevor Cahill to continue his dominance and shut them down at home, in a close, low-scoring victory.

Some more FoxSheets trends backing Oakland include these three:

Play On - All teams when the money line is +125 to -125 (OAKLAND) - with an on-base percentage of .300 or worse over their last 15 games against opponent starting a pitcher who gave up <=1 earned runs in his last 2 outings. (73-36 over the last 5 seasons.) (67%, +38.2 units. Rating = 3*).

Play Against - All teams when the money line is +125 to -125 (SAN FRANCISCO) - poor NL offensive team (<=4.1 runs/game) against a team with a very good bullpen (ERA<=3.33), with a starting pitcher whose WHIP is 1.150 or better on the season-NL. (51-20 since 1997.) (71.8%, +28.8 units. Rating = 3*).

TREVOR CAHILL is 16-6 (72.7%, +10.4 Units) against the money line when the money line is +125 to -125 over the last 2 seasons. (Team's Record). The average score was CAHILL 4.7, OPPONENT 3.0 - (Rating = 1*).

**StarDust Bum** · 05-20-2011, 04:29 PM

Carpenter looks to get on track in Kansas City

ST. LOUIS CARDINALS (26-19)

at KANSAS CITY ROYALS (21-22)

First pitch: Friday, 8:10 p.m. EDT
Line: St. Louis -125, Kansas City +115, Total: 8.5

The Cardinals stay in-state and travel to Kansas City on Friday night, and they may be getting there just in time for a Royals collapse.

An early-season surprise, the Royals needed a ninth-inning, two-out rally to snap a five-game losing streak Thursday night against Texas. Their offense has been anemic of late, scoring just 11 runs in their past six games as the team has hit .214 with one home run during that stretch.

They’ll face struggling St. Louis ace Chris Carpenter on Friday. Carpenter doesn’t seem to be having arm problems, as his velocity has been normal, but he is having trouble locating pitches. He’s 1-3 with a 4.95 ERA right now, and he’s been hit especially hard over his past four starts. Opponents are batting .368 against him since April 29, as he’s allowed 42 hits in 26.1 innings. According to fangraphs.com, he’s allowing a line drive rate of 23.1%, as opposed to 16.7% last year. Carpenter has faced the Royals just once in the past five years, throwing 7.2 innings of one-run ball at Kauffman Stadium in 2009. He hasn’t fared particularly well in regular-season interleague play since joining St. Louis in 2004, posting a 4.24 ERA against the American League.

The Royals will go with lefty Jeff Francis. He’s 0-5 with a 4.83 ERA in his first season with K.C., but he has delivered quality starts in his past two outings. He may have caught a couple of breaks for Friday night’s game. Lance Berkman, the Cards’ best hitter so far this year, will almost definitely be out with a wrist injury. All-Star Matt Holliday is questionable with a quad injury. And Albert Pujols is mired in the worst power drought of his career, going 91 at-bats without a home run. Francis had success against St. Louis during his days with the Rockies. In nine career outings (eight starts), he’s 4-1 with a 3.48 ERA, 1.09 WHIP and .220 opponents’ BA against the Cardinals.

The Royals are 16-11 at home this year, and the Cards’ injury issues make this one a toss-up. I think it’s worth taking the underdog on Friday night. I’m going with Kansas City.

The FoxSheets have this three-star rating working against St. Louis:

Play Against - All teams with a money line of -100 to -150 (ST. LOUIS) - after 3 or more consecutive wins, a good team (54% to 62%) playing a marginal losing team (46% to 49%). (38-18 over the last 5 seasons, 67.9%, +25 units. Rating = 3*).

**StarDust Bum** · 05-20-2011, 04:30 PM

Subway Series starts Friday in the Bronx

NEW YORK METS (21-22)

at NEW YORK YANKEES (23-19)

First pitch: Friday, 7:05 p.m. EDT
Line: N.Y. Yankees -175, N.Y. Mets +165, Total: 9

Knuckeballer R.A. Dickey looks to keep the Mets’ scoreless streak alive when they kick off the 2011 Subway Series at Yankee Stadium Friday night.

The Mets’ pitching has been absolutely outstanding of late. They threw back-to-back shutouts against the Nationals and have allowed just two runs in their past 30 innings. But Dickey will have trouble matching that success, considering he has given up double-digit hits in each of his past two starts, and has allowed 16 runs over 18.1 innings in his past three starts, all Mets losses. Since transforming himself into a knuckleballer in 2006, Dickey has made only four appearances against the Yankees, all in relief. The good news is that he held them to one run over 12 innings in those appearances.

Of course, the Yankees bats are breaking out of late. They’ve scored 33 times in the past five games, including 13 runs Thursday night against Baltimore. The Yankees will have right-hander Freddy Garcia (2-3, 3.22 ERA) on the hill. He’s coming off his worst start of the year, allowing five runs (four earned) in 5.1 innings against Boston on Sunday. He’s now delivered just one quality start in his past four outings.

Garcia hasn’t faced the Mets since 2007, when he allowed three runs and eight hits over 4.2 innings pitching for Philadelphia. He should get a boost facing a lineup that’s without two of its top bats—3B David Wright and 1B Ike Davis. While their pitching has been great, the Mets have scored just five runs over their past three contests, and haven’t had double-digit hits in a game since May 3, a span of 14 games.

The Yankees have pretty much owned the Subway Series the past two seasons, winning eight of the 12 games. They’ve taken two of three from the Mets the two times they’ve played at the New Yankee Stadium.

But I can’t help but think the money line payout on the Yankees is too small. Garcia hasn’t thrown well of late, and while Dickey hasn’t either, the Yankees will get an extended taste of a knuckleballer for the first time in 2011. I’m taking my chances with the Mets.

This trend from the FoxSheets is another reason to pick against Garcia and the Yankees:

FREDDY GARCIA is 3-14 (17.6%, -14.5 Units) against the money line in home games vs. teams whose hitters draw 4 walks or more/game since 1997. (Team's Record) The average score was GARCIA 4.9, OPPONENT 7.3 - (Rating = 2*).

**StarDust Bum** · 05-20-2011, 04:33 PM

Lester tries to pitch Boston to 7th straight win

CHICAGO CUBS (19-23)

at BOSTON RED SOX (23-20)

First pitch: Friday, 7:10 p.m. EDT
Line: Boston -235, Chicago +215, Total: 8.5

The last time the Cubs played at Fenway Park was way back in 1918. Woodrow Wilson was President, the Babe was on the Red Sox, 8-cent gasoline was cheaper by the gallon than 55-cent milk, and Larry King only had one pair of suspenders. The Cubs won two of three in Boston during the ’18 World Series, but still lost the Fall Classic in six games. Now 93 years, and zero World Series titles later, the Cubs meet the Red Sox again, and wouldn’t you know it, they are catching the Sox on a hot streak! Boston has won six straight, making that 2-10 start in April a pretty distant memory. They surpassed the .500 mark for the first time this season on Monday, and enter Friday play just 1.5 games out of first place in the AL East. The start of interleague play is another good omen for Boston. With a .567 win pct., the Red Sox own the fourth best record in all of baseball since interleague play began in 1997. The Cubs, on the other hand, are under .500 (98-106, .480).

Boston will be sending one of the best pitchers in baseball to the mound Friday night when Jon Lester takes the hill. Lester is 5-1 with a 3.28 ERA, and has not suffered a defeat in his past six starts. Facing the Cubs will be a first for Lester, but dominating a National League lineup is nothing new. In interleague play the young lefty is 7-2 with a 2.66 ERA in 13 career starts. Lester’s last outing saw him persevere through six innings in Yankee Stadium, allowing four runs on five hits. Despite giving up two home runs, he and his team were able to hold on for the 7-5 win, clinching a sweep of the Yankees. Lester will be looking for better control than he displayed in his past two starts, when he walked nine batters in 11.1 innings of work.

Speaking of control, no opposing pitching staff has been able to control Sox 1B Adrian Gonzalez, who is hitting .314 with eight homers and 22 RBI in the month of May. Boston’s other major off-season acquisition, Carl Crawford, came through with a walk-off, bases loaded RBI single Thursday night to secure the Boston win streak, which is the longest of the season for the team at six games. The Sox are 9-2 in their past 11 contests.

The Cubs enter the series coming off a two-game sweep of the Florida Marlins, and will try and make it three straight when they send Doug Davis to the mound for his second start of the season. Davis allowed four hits and three runs (one earned) over five innings in his debut as a Cubs starter last Saturday against the Giants. Though he took the loss, he did show good control, striking out six and walking one. Davis is 3-2 in six career starts against Boston with an ERA of 3.92 and a WHIP of 1.49. While his team's record is 3-3 in these starts, the fact of the matter is Davis has not faced the Boston lineup in nearly three years (June 2008 was his last outing). Davis has done well against Boston’s best hitter though, as Gonzalez is just 7-for-34 (.206) against him lifetime. Chicago could have an ace in the hole with its own 1B, Carlos Pena, who hit Lester well from his Tampa Bay days, totaling five homers, 12 RBI and a .294 BA in 34 at-bats versus Lester. The Cubs have scored 32 runs on 60 hits in their past six games, so if Lester’s control is not strong Friday night, Pena and company could make him pay.

Only two other teams in baseball, the White Sox and the Yankees, have won more interleague games than Boston’s 140 victories. Meanwhile, the Cubs are a less-than-stellar 41-60 on the road all-time in interleague competition. The pick here is for Lester and heavily-favored Boston to push its winning streak to seven with a win over the Cubs. These two highly-rated FoxSheets trends support the pick.

Play On - Home favorites with a money line of -200 or more (BOSTON) - with a team batting average of .265 or worse on the season (AL) against opponent starting a pitcher who gave up 1 or less earned runs last outing. (56-7 since 1997.) (88.9%, +41.3 units. Rating = 4*).

Play On - All favorites with a money line of -110 or higher (BOSTON) - below average AL hitting team (AVG <=.265) against a team with a good bullpen (ERA <=3.75), with a starting pitcher whose strikes out 5 or more batters per start. (173-77 over the last 5 seasons.) (69.2%, +64.5 units. Rating = 3*).

**StarDust Bum** · 05-20-2011, 04:34 PM

MLB Odds: Boston Red Sox host Chicago Cubs

Alfredo Aceves makes his first start of the season for Boston on Saturday.
The Boston Red Sox and Chicago Cubs continue to make history when they play Game 2 of their 3-game series Saturday at 4:10 p.m. (PT).

This is the first series between the teams in Boston since the 1918 World Series. They’ve been the poster children for futility with the Sox going 88 years between titles before winning two since 2004. Long-suffering Cubs fans have been waiting since 1908 and this year isn’t shaping up great so far.

This weekend series got underway Friday night at Fenway Park with Chicago’s Doug Davis going up against Jon Lester. The Sox were big 240 favorites with the result still pending.

Saturday pitching battle will be Chicago’s Carlos Zambrano (4-2, 4.89 ERA) against Boston’s Alfredo Aceves (1-0, 2.60 ERA). The latter will be making his first start of the year.

Boston’s rotation has been Lester, Josh Beckett, Clay Buchholz and ‘pray for rain.’ The first three guys have a combined 2.79 ERA, while John Lackey (8.01 ERA) and Daisuke Matsuzaka (5.30 ERA) have been awful despite their lofty salaries.

Lackey and Matsuzaka both just went on the disabled list with elbow injuries. That puts Aceves and veteran knuckleballer Tim Wakefield at the back end of the rotation. The good news is it will be hard to do worse than their predecessors.

Aceves was an interesting offseason acquisition. He pitched 10 games in relief with the Yankees last year before missing the rest of the season with various injuries. Boston scouts viewed him as a good bullpen candidate, but also someone who could start if necessary – like right now.

The 28-year-old right-hander from Mexico has made 11 appearances this year, all from the pen. His longest outing was 4 2/3 innings against Minnesota on May 6 and five innings seems about his cap on Saturday.

Aceves has five career starts with the last one coming in 2009 with the Yanks. He has a solid career ERA (3.14) in addition to a .637 OPS. This will be his first career appearance against the National League Cubs.

The Red Sox (23-20) had a six-game winning streak heading into Friday. They’re finding their stride after a woeful 2-10 start. Their home winning streak is also at six, 14-9 at Fenway overall (-.9 units).

The Cubs (19-23) are in fifth place in the NL Central, 5.5 games behind St. Louis. They started this 7-game trip on Monday by losing two at Cincinnati (7-4, 7-5). They then won two at Florida (7-5, 5-1).

The Cubs are seventh in the NL in runs scored (4.17 per game) and 15th in ERA (4.50). The starters are dead last (5.35 ERA) while the bullpen has been respectable at sixth (3.02). Closer Carlos Marmol has nine saves and a 1.35 ERA.

Zambrano has needed to perform with Ryan Dempster terrible in April (9.58 ERA). Randy Wells has also been limited to one start with a forearm injury.

The almost 30-year-old Zambrano saw the Cubs win six of his first seven starts (4.23 ERA). They lost his last two hosting St. Louis (6-4) and at Cincinnati (7-4) with a combined 7.30 ERA. Chicago had won his prior 10 road starts before Cincy.

Zambrano was 1-2 with a 4.50 ERA in three Interleague starts last year. The last game was against the White Sox, when he was involved in a dugout incident and subsequently suspended and out a month. He did go 8-0 with a 1.58 ERA after coming back.

Chicago is 10-10 away this season (+1.9 units). The ‘over’ is 11-9 in road contests and 7-2 in Chicago’s last nine games overall.

The last time these teams met was 2005, with the Cubs taking two of three at Wrigley Field. Boston went 13-5 in Interleague Play last year, while Chicago was 8-10 versus its AL counterparts.

Weather is expected to be in the low 60s, upper 50s with rain possible for the seventh consecutive day.

ESPN will have the Sunday night contest with Wakefield battling Matt Garza, who is very familiar with Boston from his Tampa Bay days.

**StarDust Bum** · 05-20-2011, 04:35 PM

MLB Betting Preview: LA Dodgers at White Sox

The White Sox have won nine of the previous 12 meetings with the Dodgers.
The Los Angeles Dodgers continue their three-game weekend interleague series with the Chicago White Sox this Saturday afternoon with Game 2 at Cellular Field in Chicago. Game time is set for 11:10 a.m. (PT) and it will be broadcast on the MLB Network.

Weather could be an issue as there is a 60 percent chance of showers in Chicago throughout the day with temperatures in the mid-70s and winds out of the southeast at around 15 mph.

Los Angeles entered play Friday having dropped five if its last six, including two straight losses to San Francisco. The Dodgers were 20-25 pending Friday's resulton the year and five games behind the Giants in the NL West.

Interleague play has not been kind to LA over the years. The Dodgers have not had a winning record in that department since 2004 and went 4-11 against AL clubs last year.

Consistent run production continues to be one of the Dodgers’ biggest problems. They have managed to score an average of just 2.8 runs per game over their last 10 and are averaging 3.44 runs on the year. Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier have combined for 50 RBI and 13 home runs but the rest of the lineup has been spotty at best.

To make matters worse, LA just placed closer Vicente Padilla on the 15-day DL which is another blow to a pitching staff that has a combined ERA of 3.95.

Jon Garland will get the start for Los Angeles. He is 1-3 with an ERA of 3.55 in six previous outings. Garland’s primary problem this season has been run support given the fact that he has given up just 10 earned runs in his last 34 innings pitched.

His last time out against Milwaukee, he went six innings giving up seven hits and two earned runs but got tagged with the loss. Garland pitched for the White Sox for seven seasons and is 45-42 lifetime at Cellular Field.

Chicago comes into this series playing some of its best ball of the year. It has won six of its last eight games including two straight over Cleveland. The White Sox were still eight games behind the surprising Indians in the AL Central standings heading into weekend play.

The White Sox went 15-3 in interleague play last season. This will be the fourth time they have met the Dodgers, winning nine of the 12 games overall and going 5-1 at home. These teams last met in Chicago in 2009 with the White Sox taking two of three.

Chicago will send Mark Buehrle to the mound in this game. The left-hander is 3-3 in nine previous starts and has an ERA of 4.07 and a 1.39 WHIP. His last time out, he gave up seven hits and three earned runs in 6 1/3 innings but came away with the win over Oakland. Buehrle has pitched seven or more innings four times in his last seven starts.

Lifetime against the Dodgers he is 2-1 with a 1.17 ERA.

Offense has been an issue all season long for the White Sox, but Thursday night’s eight-run barrage against Cleveland, their highest run total at home this year, paints a promising picture moving forward. They have now scored 27 runs in their last six wins. Paul Konerko’s two RBI in that game raised his team-high total to 32 and Carlos Quentin’s two RBI raised his total to 26.

Los Angeles is 11-13 as a favorite this season and 9-12 as an underdog. The total has stayed ‘under’ in five of its last six games and is 21-21-3 overall.

Chicago is 9-14 as a favorite and 11-11 as an underdog. The total has stayed ‘under’ in three of its last four games and is 19-24-2 overall.

The White Sox should open as a moderate favorite in this game, but stick with Garland to shut down his old team long enough to allow the Dodgers to squeeze out enough runs to get the win.

**StarDust Bum** · 05-20-2011, 04:38 PM

MLB Odds: Mets, Yankees play Subway Series

The worst kept secret in the world is just how much the New York Yankees and New York Mets hate each other. They've played in a World Series against each other, they've competed for tabloid space against each other, and now on Friday, they begin their annual "Subway Series" in Interleague play.

The first edition of this series this year will be played in the Bronx at Yankee Stadium. Friday's first pitch is scheduled for 4:05 p.m. (PT), and the game can be seen nationally on the MLB Network.

The Mets don't feel like they should have a 20-22 record going into play on Thursday, but the truth of the matter is they will enter this series below .500 in the standings. New York's National League entry went into Thursday's series finale vs. the Nats off nine units on the season, but the Mets have been winners on the road with an 11-10 record good for more than 4.5 units of profit.

Last season, RA Dickey was the man that came out of nowhere to help out New York's dreadful pitching staff. This year, he has been absolutely awful. Dickey has allowed 28 hits and 16 runs in his last three outings, and hasn't won a decision since his first start of the year against the Florida Marlins. Batters are teeing off on him to the tune of a .311 batting average.

The only bright spot here for the Mets is the fact that the Yankees really haven't been playing all that well either. They're only three games above .500, which can't make Hank and Hal Steinbrenner all that happy, and short of all of these home runs that they are blasting, there really isn't a heck of a lot to be proud of.

The Bronx Bombers were also two games back of the Tampa Bay Rays for first place in the AL East going into Thursday night.

New York's offense is putting up 5.00 runs per game, and the team has blasted 63 dingers this season, easily the most in the league. Curtis Granderson has 14 of those home runs, and he is one of the five players with at least 20 RBIs on the season to boot.

However, we're just not all that sure about the way that things are going for the New York 'pen. This unit has already blown seven saves this year, with the once unhittable Mariano Rivera getting blown up three times.

This is really bad news for Freddy Garcia, who will be on the bump on Friday. Garcia has only completed more than six innings in a game once this season, and he lost that game against the Detroit Tigers.

He has a 3.22 ERA, but over these last few games, batters are getting more and more hits off of him. After allowing just five hits in his first 13 innings of work on the year, Garcia has allowed 29 in his last 23 1/3 innings.

The MLB odds are sure to be in favor of the Yanks on Friday. They've won seven of the last 10 meetings and four of the last six over the last two years here in the Bronx.

The threat of rain is possible in the Big Apple on Friday night. Scattered thunderstorms could be in the area, but the temperature should be nice in the high 60s with light winds.

**StarDust Bum** · 05-20-2011, 04:39 PM

MLB Betting: Cincinnati Reds at Cleveland Indians

Baseball purists may hate interleague play, but this might be one series even they can enjoy. And, who knows? The action in Cleveland this weekend between the Indians and Cincinnati Reds might even wind up being a World Series preview.

Ok, maybe we're getting a little ahead of ourselves, but the all-Ohio battle does bring together two teams very much in the hunt for the playoffs and will pit the top-scoring offenses in the game.

Everything begins Friday night (4:05 PT) at Progressive Field with a mound battle between a pair of young arms, each making his career debut against the opposition. Rookie Alex White will be carrying home chalk into the matchup for the Tribe, just the third start of his career. Cincinnati counters with Travis Wood who will be on an MLB mound for only the 27th time.

How many times a day do you think Manny Acta pinches himself? Let's put that 'over/under' around 7½. The guy took the fall in Washington, lands in Cleveland where it appeared the team was several years from competing and voila! The Tribe is not just in the thick of the race in mid-May, they're leading the American League.

What could be interesting to see is how many of this weekend's seats are filled with Reds fans who bought tickets this past winter when you couldn't hardly give Progressive Field seats away. Cleveland, despite the strong start, ranks last in the league in attendance averaging under 16,000 per game.

That's a shame if for no other reason than the Indians are an outstanding 15-4 at home to start '11. That has translated into nearly 13 units for their backers.

Dusty Baker will have to shift to AL mode when he fills out his lineup card for this series, and that's always interesting to see how an NL manager configures their batting order with a DH. Look for Baker to somehow get veteran Ramon Hernandez in the lineup all three games, possibly at three different spots (C, 1B and DH).

Jonny Gomes, though having a tough season in the batting average column, is another DH possibility for one of the games, allowing Baker to get Fred Lewis and Chris Heisey some more LF duty.

There isn't anything to go by statistically for the matchup between Wood (5-4, 5.01) and White (2-0, 3.75). Not a single batter in either lineup has faced either hurler in a major league game.

Cleveland begins the series 8-4 when facing a starter slinging from the port side. The Reds are 21-16 against those pitching from starboard.

Cincinnati has won the last five series, 13-5 overall the last three seasons. The Reds were 4-2 a year ago, winning twice in each park. The 'over' was 3-0 at Progressive Field in 2010.

Weather on Friday looks fine in Cleveland. A few showers could pop up during the day but the skies should clear by the evening. Friday's game should begin in the low-60s under partly cloudy skies with a light breeze from the NNW (in from LF).

Cleveland remains at home following this series to host the Red Sox. The Reds will move from here to Philadelphia for a critical 4-game series that begins Monday.

**StarDust Bum** · 05-20-2011, 04:43 PM

Friday's Interleague Showdowns

May 19, 2011

The American League and National League have had plenty of time to beat up on each other this season. Now it’s time to break up the monotony with the first round of interleague action in the big leagues. We’ve got 14 interleague series kicking off on Friday night, three of which are being fought by teams leading their divisions or in second place. Let’s take a look.

Reds at Indians – 7:05 p.m. EDT

There hasn’t been this much interest in the Battle of Ohio in the state since they had a chance to meet up in the 1995 World Series. While a meeting for the whole ball of wax is still far away, both teams being in first place is a big deal.

Cincinnati opens this series with Travis Wood (3-3, 5.01) taking the mound. The Reds have been a better wager with him pitching recently, winning his last three starts. Wood has lasted at least six innings in each of those starts and allowed four earned runs combined. Cincy has won his past two starts on the road. That shouldn’t surprise anyone since Wood is 6-3 with a 3.43 earned run average in 17 career starts away from home.

The Tribe will hand the starting duties for this game over to Alex White (1-0, 3.75) on Friday night. The rookie hurler has performed quite well in his two starts by lasting at least six innings in two starts and striking out 10 batters. Rookie pitchers normally get an advantage over teams because they don’t have much in scouting reports for them.

Cleveland has been awful in interleague play over the past two seasons, going 10-26 against the Senior Circuit. And it doesn’t help that the Indians are 3-6 against their intrastate rivals over the last three years. The Reds are on a 7-2 run as road pups against American League opponents.

Rangers at Phillies – 7:05 p.m. EDT

The last two World Series losers take do battle in a showdown of maybe this year’s championship round. There’s also that whole Cliff Lee angle between these clubs, which will come to a head on Saturday night. Despite losing Lee, the Rangers are still atop the American League West. And the Phils aren’t exactly hurting in first place in the NL East.

The Rangers send C.J. Wilson (4-2, 3.37) to the mound to get this series started on a high note. Wilson has been a workhorse for Texas this season, lasting at least seven innings in six of his nine starts in 2011. He’s looked pretty good in his last two road appearances, giving up three earned runs in 16 innings of work with 15 strikeouts to just four free passes. Wilson has also won his last two regular season interleague starts on the road.

Roy Halladay (5-3, 2.21) is listed to get the start on Friday night. Yeah, it’s real tough for Charlie Manuel to send out the best pitcher in baseball on a regular basis. But Halladay has taken it on the chin lately with losses in his last two starts. There isn’t really a way to get on him on either start since he tossed eight innings on both occasions and only gave up four earned runs. He has been a great home pitcher this year, evidenced by a 3-1 record and 2.52 ERA in five starts at Citizens Bank Park.

The home team has been the right play in this head-to-head battle, going 5-1 since 2005. Plus, the Phils swept Texas in the 2005 showdown at home. The ‘over’ is 4-2 in these contests.

Rays at Marlins – 7:10 p.m. EDT

The Reds and Indians haven’t cornered the market on possible intrastate World Series matchups. Tampa Bay is in first place of the highly competitive AL East, with the Marlins nipping at Philly’s heals in the NL East. I don’t want to alarm anyone in South Florida, but they might actually draw 10,000 fans for this series.

The Rays have Andy Sonnanstine (0-1, 3.92) penciled in for the start in Miami. The jury is still out on the former rotation stalwart who replaced the injured Jeff Neimann. Sonnanstine has a 6.67 ERA in his two starts this season, while Tampa Bay has lost both outings. One thing he has going for him is that he is 3-0 with a 3.31 ERA in seven appearances against the Fish.

Florida has entrusted the starting duties to Anibal Sanchez (3-1, 2.90) for the first game of this series. Sanchez has been on a roll on the mound for the Marlins, giving up no runs on five hits in 15 innings. He’s also been fooling a lot of batters with 20 strikeouts in his past two appearances. Sanchez has just one start against the Rays, but he won that outing 7-4 last season as a $1.70 road pup.

Both the Marlins (7-8) and Rays (7-11) are not that great when playing interleague affairs. Florida owned a 4-2 record against their AL rivals last season with the ‘over’ posting a similar mark. Gamblers should know that Tampa Bay is 1-4 in its last five road matches against the National League.

**StarDust Bum** · 05-20-2011, 04:44 PM

Diamond Trends - Friday

May 20, 2011

SU TREND OF THE DAY:

The Braves are 0-9 since April 26, 2010 on the road after a one run loss and it is the first game of a series for a net profit of $1075 when playing against.

OU TREND OF THE DAY:

The Cubs are 0-10 OU since June 08, 2010 as a dog after a win and it is the first game of the series for a net profit of $1000 when playing the under.

STARTER TREND OF THE DAY:

The Athletics are 13-0 since August 16, 2009 when Trevor Cahill starts after his team lost the last time he started for a net profit of $1430.

MLB BIBLE TREND OF THE DAY:

The Diamondbacks are 16-0 (+4.0 rpg) since September 2008 as a 140+ favorite in the first game of a home series for a net profit of $1600.

TODAY’S TRENDS:

The Astros are 0-9 since April 09, 2010 as a 140+ dog when they are off two losses in which they never led for a net profit of $900 when playing against.

The Giants are 6-0 since April 27, 2010 at home within 20 cents of pickem after a win in which they allowed 6 or fewer hits for a net profit of $630.

The Nationals are 0-7 since June 25, 2010 after a one run loss and it is the first game of a series for a net profit of $745 when playing against.

**StarDust Bum** · 05-20-2011, 05:00 PM

MLB

Friday, May 20

Game Score Status Pick Amount

Washington - 7:05 PM ET Washington +136 500
Baltimore - Over 8.5 500

NY Mets - 7:05 PM ET NY Mets +171 500
NY Yankees - Under 9.5 500

Cincinnati - 7:05 PM ET Cleveland -105 500
Cleveland - Over 8.5 500

Detroit - 7:05 PM ET Detroit -114 500
Pittsburgh - Over 8 500

Texas - 7:05 PM ET Texas +149 500
Philadelphia - Over 7 500

Houston - 7:07 PM ET Toronto -172 500
Toronto - Over 9 500

Chi. Cubs - 7:10 PM ET Chi. Cubs +206 500
Boston - Under 8.5 500

Tampa Bay - 7:10 PM ET Tampa Bay +136 500
Florida - Under 8.5 500

LA Dodgers - 8:10 PM ET Chi. White Sox -149 500
Chi. White Sox - Under 8 500

St. Louis - 8:10 PM ET St. Louis -116 500
Kansas City - Under 9 500

Colorado - 8:10 PM ET Milwaukee -130 500
Milwaukee - Over 7.5 500

Minnesota - 9:40 PM ET Arizona -166 500
Arizona - Over 8 500

Atlanta - 10:05 PM ET LA Angels -101 500
LA Angels - Under 7 500

Seattle - 10:05 PM ET San Diego -126 500
San Diego - Over 6.5 500

Oakland - 10:15 PM ET San Francisco +106 500
San Francisco - Under 6.5 500

**Udog** · 05-20-2011, 07:34 PM

Good luck, Bum!

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The Bum's Friday's MLB Best Bets !

The Bum's Friday's MLB Best Bets !

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