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**StarDust Bum** · 06-30-2012, 12:49 PM

NY Yankees Begin Road Trip At Tampa Bay Rays

Curtis Granderson and the Yanks open Week 14 on the road at Tampa Bay.

The official halfway point of the 2012 MLB season is still a week away in the form of the All-Star Game in Kansas City. But teams will hit the midway spot on the arduous 162-game schedule before we get to the break as the 13th week of the slate concludes Sunday night and Week 14 begins on Monday.

Sunday's full card concludes with the weekly ESPN Sunday Night Baseball broadcast as the New York Mets and Los Angeles Dodgers close out a 4-game series. First pitch from Chavez Ravine will be a little past 8:00 p.m. (ET), and the game could be a chance for the pesky Mets to finish off a sweep after taking the first two contests from the skidding Dodgers who have been blanked in four of their last five games.

Los Angeles entered Saturday's match having lost its last six and +110 underdogs to stop the slide against New York southpaw Johan Santana, who has beaten the Dodgers all four times he has faced them over the years. Nate Eovaldi was charged with opposing Santana with the Don Best odds screen listing a 7-run total.

Should Santana's dominance of LA continue on Saturday, the Dodgers will turn to reigning NL Cy Young winner Clayton Kershaw to avert the sweep Sunday evening. New York will hand the ball to Dillon Gee for the series finale.

Gee owns a respectable 3.69 ERA over his last six starts, yet the Mets have managed to win just one of those contests. The right-hander out of UT-Arlington has also dropped his last two road assignments after New York opened the season with dubyas in each of his first four away starts.

Kershaw was the victim of poor run support his last two times out, both road defeats for LA despite their ace limiting the A's and Giants to a combined three runs in 14 innings. The Dodgers are 6-3 in his home starts, and he's a perfect 4-0 the last three seasons when facing the Mets (0.31 ERA).

One of those victories came last July in the same spot he could be in Sunday night and against the same mound opponent. The Mets had taken the first three of a 4-game series in early July 2011 with a chance to broom the Dodgers behind Gee. Kershaw turned away New York, however, with eight innings of shutout ball in a 6-0 triumph. Gee worked into the sixth of that tilt and allowed all six LA runs (5 earned).

Yanks Open Crucial Road Trip at Tampa Bay
The New York Yankees have weathered a tough June schedule in pretty good fashion, but the schedule maker isn't easing off one bit as Joe Girardi's gang spends the first seven days of July on the road and up against their rivals in Tampa Bay and Boston.

New York begins the last week before the all-star break at Tropicana Field where the Rays have won the last seven meetings between the two clubs. Monday's contest will get the prime-time treatment from ESPN (7:00 p.m. ET) and features veteran Freddy Garcia for the Yanks against young Tampa lefty Matt Moore.

The Yankees have faced just one team with a losing record since the end of May, and that was a road series at the Detroit Tigers to begin June. Since then, New York has gone up against the Rays, Mets (twice), Braves (twice), Nationals, Indians and White Sox who they hosted in the Bronx this past weekend. Add to that the double-whammy the club suffered this past week when CC Sabathia (groin) and Andy Pettitte (broken leg) each were forced to the disabled list, and the Yanks' 19-7 record in June entering Saturday's contest with Chicago is very impressive.

Those recent injuries have forced Garcia back into the rotation after he lost a spot in the order with a dreadful April when his ERA was over 12. New York still managed to win two of those four outings, however, and Garcia's recent track record against the Rays – 2-0, 1.32 ERA, both starts at The Trop – suggest he's re-entering the rotation against a favorable opponent.

Moore is having a nice June with a 3.16 ERA though the Rays have lost his past two starts. The young southpaw didn't see his turn come up against the Yankees in the previous three series between the clubs this season, but did face them in his first career assignment last September in New York, working five shutout frames and whiffing 11.

The Rays swept three from the Yankees in St. Pete to begin the season to extend their home streak in the series to seven victories. New York bounced back by taking four of the six played in the Bronx since that series. Two of the three played at Tropicana Field went 'over' the total while four of the six in New York stayed 'under.'

**StarDust Bum** · 06-30-2012, 01:06 PM

Atlanta Braves Battle Strasburg And Nationals

It's an important series for the Atlanta Braves as they try to hunt down the Washington Nationals in the NL East. Game 2 of the set might also prove to be very crucial for Atlanta's Mike Minor who is in danger of losing his spot in the rotation, and quite possibly on the big league roster.

Standing in both Minor's and the Braves' way Saturday afternoon (4:05 p.m. ET) will be Washington ace Stephen Strasburg.

The weekend started with the Nats leading the NL East and sitting 3.5-games ahead of the Braves and Mets in a second place deadlock. Atlanta was -120 in Friday night's series opener behind Randall Delgado. Washington was sending Ross Detwiler to the mound with a 9-run total.

This is the third meeting on the 2012 schedule between the two clubs, and second in Atlanta, with the Nationals owning a 4-1 advantage overall that includes a 3-game sweep of the Braves at Turner Field in late-May. Two of Washington's four victories also went into Strasburg's win column.

Strasburg made his first appearance ever at Turner Field on May 26 and didn't really have his 'A' game. The Braves scored four times in his five innings of work, and were helped along by four walks, the most Strasburg has allowed in a single start this year. He blanked Atlanta over seven innings as an encore in Washington on June 2, and just had a string of six wins snapped with a pretty decent performance at Coors Field (6 IP, 3 ER).

Minor would love to be coming off a loss that stopped a 6-game win streak, but the Braves are instead 1-6 in his last seven assignments and 6-8 overall with the lefty on the bump. He was the losing pitcher in that May 26 contest Strasburg won in Atlanta, posting just about the same linescore (5 IP, 4 ER) as Strasburg. The most alarming stat for Minor is 18 homers allowed in just under 81 innings, and he served up three his last time out to the Red Sox in Boston.

This was a level series from 2009-11 at 27-27. Washington's sweep in Atlanta earlier this year was the first at Turner Field since a 4-game broom job at the end of the '09 campaign, and left the clubs 15-15 in the last 30 on this diamond entering Friday's contest.

Mets & Dodgers Continue 4-Game Set At Chavez Ravine
The New York Mets moved into a tie with the Braves for second in the NL East following a 3-2 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers in the opener of their 4-game series on Thursday. New York's win came as a +115 underdog, and the loss dropped the reeling Dodgers from the top spot in the NL West for the first time since April 11.

Game 2 of the series was still pending with a Friday night pitching matchup between New York's RA Dickey and LA's Aaron Harang. The Mets were 135 favorites with a 6½-run total.

If the Dodgers can't break through Friday against Dickey, they will face an even tougher task on Saturday when they take on Mets southpaw Johan Santana in a 7:15 p.m. (ET) start that is part of the MLB on FOX regional broadcast schedule. Los Angeles is slated to send young Nate Eovaldi to the bump at Chavez Ravine.

Santana hasn't seen the Dodgers often, but he has beat 'em like a rented mule when he has crossed their path. Dating back to his days in Minnesota, Santana is a perfect 4-0 in his four assignments vs. LA, allowing just two earned runs in nearly 28 innings (0.65 ERA). His lone start in Los Angeles ended with a 7-IP, 1-ER linescore.

One concern this time around, however, is Santana's home-road splits for 2012. The Mets have won only two of his seven road starts while Santana sports a 5.80 ERA outside of Queens.

Then again, the Dodgers are winless in Eovaldi's six assignments, including the two he has made in LA. He pitched well enough to have won the first five after replacing Ted Lilly in the rotation, but was lit up this past Monday in San Francisco when the Giants touched him for eight runs and 10 hits over five frames.

Thursday's 3-2 final marked the 10th 'under' between the two teams in the last 12 games played at Dodger Stadium, a span that dates to the 2009 season. The series wraps up Sunday night on ESPN with Dillon Gee expected to battle LA ace Clayton Kershaw.

**StarDust Bum** · 06-30-2012, 01:09 PM

Diamond Trends - Saturday

June 30, 2012

SU TREND OF THE DAY:

The Reds are 0-13 since May 11, 2011 on the road after a win in which they had 12+ hits in a night game for a net profit of $1376 when playing against.

OU TREND OF THE DAY:

The Yankees are 9-0 OU since May 15, 2011 at home vs a team that has won at least their last two games and it is not the first game of a series for a net profit of $900 when playing the over.

STARTER TREND OF THE DAY:

The Astros are 0-9 since April 15, 2011 when J.A. Happ starts after more strike outs than hits allowed at home for a net profit of $900 when playing against.

MLB BIBLE TREND OF THE DAY:

The Royals are 9-0 OU (3.0 ppg) since April 24, 2008 when playing a game as part of a doubleheader.

TODAY’S TRENDS:

The Red Sox are 0-6 since August 04, 2011 as a 140+ favorite after a win in which they allowed 6 or fewer hits for a net profit of $970 when playing against.

The Yankees are 9-0 since April 09, 2011 when playing a day game after a loss in which they allowed 12+ hits for a net profit of $970

**StarDust Bum** · 06-30-2012, 01:11 PM

Saturday Night Tips

June 29, 2012

The Saturday FOX baseball card showcases five contests, including three from the National League. It's an interesting mix of teams that are rolling (Rangers) and a majority that are struggling (Dodgers, Rays, and Rockies). The key game coming out of the National League involves New York and Los Angeles hooking up at Chavez Ravine as the Dodgers' offense attempts to bust out.

Mets at Dodgers

At one point this season, Los Angeles looked like the team to beat in the National League with a 30-13 mark halfway through May. However, Don Mattingly's club owns a 13-21 record the previous 34 games, while scoring just two runs in the last four contests. The task doesn't ease up for the Dodgers, who face Johan Santana in the third game of this weekend set.

Santana (5-4, 3.00 ERA) is winless in four of his last five road starts, including a 6-1 setback at Chicago on Monday. The Mets didn't perform well following a home Sunday loss to the rival Yankees, as Terry Collins' team committed three errors against the Cubs as nearly $1.30 road favorites. The 'over' has hit in all six of Santana's starts away from Citi Field, while the former Cy Young award winner won his last outing at Chavez Ravine on July 23, 2010.

The Dodgers send out winless Nathan Eovaldi (0-4, 4.04 ERA) to the hill, who has received a handful of runs in six starts. A handful is a literal term, as the weak Dodgers' offense has plated just five measly runs, including two runs in his last four outings. Amazingly, Los Angeles finally cashed an 'over' with Eovaldi starting at San Francisco in an 8-0 defeat on Monday, following a five-game streak of 'unders.'

Diamondbacks at Brewers

The rematch of last season's thrilling NLDS between Arizona and Milwaukee continues at Miller Park. The home team won all five games in that series, capped off by a walk-off victory from the Brewers in the deciding Game 5. Arizona picked up a modicum of revenge by taking two of three matchups at Chase Field in late May, including a victory over Brewers' ace Zack Greinke.

The D-Backs will face a young arm on Saturday night as Michael Fiers (2-2, 2.70 ERA) makes his fifth start for the Brewers. The right-hander put together a pair of terrific road starts his last two turns in the rotation, including 7.1 innings of scoreless baseball against the White Sox, but Milwaukee lost 1-0 in 10 innings. However, the Brewers dropped each of Fiers' first two starts as home favorites, including losses to the Pirates and Padres.

Arizona counters with impressive southpaw Wade Miley (9-3, 2.19 ERA), who has allowed one earned run in each of his last four outings. The D-Backs cashed the 'under' in all four of those starts, while Arizona plated only one run in Miley's last two road outings at Texas and San Diego. Miley picked up a victory in his previous trip to the mound against the Brewers, while overcoming a slow start in an 8-5 triumph. Six Diamondbacks racked up at least two hits in the win, as Arizona overcame a 5-2 deficit for the fourth home victory over Milwaukee in five tries.

Tigers at Rays

Detroit knocked off Tampa Bay in the series opener on Thursday, 5-2, as the Rays are sliding down the AL East standings in a hurry. Tampa Bay bounced back by hitting three homers off Justin Verlander in last night's 4-2 victory. The Rays try to put together another win when Jeremy Hellickson returns from the disabled list after leaving his last start against the Mets with right shoulder fatigue.

Hellickson (4-3, 3.45 ERA) put together his worst start of the season in that loss to New York on June 14, allowing nine hits and eight earned runs in 3.2 innings of a 9-6 defeat as a $1.25 home favorite. Tampa Bay owns a 4-1 record when it lost in Hellickson's last outing, while going 5-1-1 to the 'under' at home in seven starts. Hellickson fell short in two starts against the Tigers in 2011, including a 2-0 defeat at Tropicana Field even though the righty struck out seven batters in seven innings.

The Tigers send out Rick Porcello (5-5, 4.71 ERA), as Detroit is 3-1 in his previous four road starts. Porcello received terrific run support in his last trip to the mound before throwing his pitch as the Tigers scored five runs in the first inning at Texas. The right-hander used that cushion to toss six innings of six-hit ball as Detroit cruised to an 8-2 win as $1.35 underdog. The Tigers don't seem to score a lot of runs on Saturdays, as the 'under' is 7-1 the last eight.

Athletics at Rangers

Texas still owns the best record in the American League as the Rangers look to win their third consecutive pennant. Even though the Angels are making a major run inside the division, the Rangers maintain a 6 ½-game as July is right around the corner. The Rangers have lost consecutive games only once since June 3, which interestingly came at Oakland, as the A's are 2-10 the last 12 visits to Arlington.

Left-hander Martin Perez is set to make his first Major League start on Saturday after giving up four runs (one earned) in just 0.2 innings of Wednesday's victory over the Tigers. Perez put together a 5-5 mark with an ERA of 4.59 at Triple-A Red Rock, as he faces an Oakland squad that is just 1-5 the previous six road games against left-handed starters.

The A's counter with southpaw Tom Milone (8-5, 2.83 ERA), who is off a pair of solid outings in victories over the Dodgers and Mariners. Milone has been shaky away from Oakland this season by posting a 3-4 record and ERA of 6.39 in spite of blanking the M's at Safeco Field in his last outing. The lefty scattered nine hits and four earned runs in seven innings of work in his previous matchup with the Rangers in Arlington, but the A's dropped a 4-1 decision as $2.00 underdogs in mid-May.

Padres at Rockies

It's hard to think that the regional audiences receiving this game on FOX are fired up to watch the two bottom teams of the NL West get it on at Coors Field. However, both San Diego and Colorado will be looking to pick up some sort of momentum prior to the All-Star break. These teams have split the first six meetings this season, as the second game of each series finished 'under' the total.

The Padres send out Edinson Volquez (4-7, 3.82 ERA), who is winless in his previous six starts against teams not named the Mariners. The former Reds' right-hander beat Seattle twice in interleague play, including a 2-0 victory last Sunday in which he allowed just four hits in 6.2 scoreless innings. San Diego owns a 2-4 record in Volquez's six road outings, while he attempts to put together consecutive quality starts for the first time since early May.

Christian Friedrich (4-5, 5.86 ERA) has taken several steps backwards since a solid start by losing each of his last four trips to the mound. The biggest issue for the southpaw is pitching at Coors Field, as Friedrich has yielded at least four earned runs in each of his four home starts, including four runs against Washington on Tuesday. Friedrich shut down the Padres at Petco Park in May as a short road 'dog in a 6-2 victory.

**StarDust Bum** · 06-30-2012, 01:26 PM

MLB
Armadillo's Write-Up

Saturday, June 30

Series won-lost records are now below the daily writeup.......

Hot pitchers
-- Strasburg is 4-1, 2.53 in his last five starts.
-- Reds won six of last seven Latos starts (2-0, 4.50 in last three).
-- Happ is 2-0, 2.07 in his last couple starts.
-- Buehrle has a 1.98 RA in his last four home starts, but is 0-2, 4.91 againt Philly this season. Hamels is 1-0, 1.20 in his last two starts, but is 0-2, 6.57 against Miami this season.
-- JSantana is 4-2, 2.70 in his last six starts.
-- Miley is 3-1, 1.17 in his last four starts. Fiers is 1-0, 0.61 in his last two outings.
-- Volquez is 2-1, 3.44 in his last three starts.

-- Royals won last three Hochevar starts (2-0, 0.42).
-- Angels won all four Richards starts (2-0, 2.02).
-- Peavy has a 2.45 RA in his last three starts, but Chicago lost all three of the games, scoring 0-1-1 runs. Kuroda is 4-1, 1.93 in his last six starts.
-- Milone is 2-0, 0.56 in his last couple starts.
-- Porcello is 2-1, 3.50 in his last three starts.

Cold pitchers
-- Karstens is 0-2, 9.82 in his last three starts. Lynn is 0-1, 9.58 in his last two starts.
-- Garza is 1-3, 4.35 in his last five starts.
-- Zito is 1-3, 7.17 in his last four starts.
-- Minor is 0-2, 9.58 in his last couple starts.
-- Eovaldi is 0-4, 4.29 in six starts; LA scored five runs in six games.
-- Friedrich is 0-4, 9.31 in his last four starts.

-- JSanchez is 0-2, 7.77 in his last four starts. DeVries is 1-1, 6.60 in three starts this year. Diamond is 1-2, 5.12 in his last three starts.
-- Toronto lost seven of last eight Alvarez starts (1-4, 7.14).
-- Tomlin is 0-2, 8.56 in his last three starts. Eveland allowed three runs in six IP in his only '12 start.
-- Hellickson is 0-3, 5.76 in his last five starts.
-- Perez is making first MLB start; he is 5-5, 4.59 in 15 AAA starts this season-- he pitched briefly in relief in his MLB debut during week. .
-- Beckett was 0-3, 4.09 in his last three starts before going on DL. Ramirez is 0-2, 6.35 in three starts this season.

Hot Teams
-- Cubs won three of their last four games.
-- St Louis won five of its last seven games. Pirates won nine of their last thirteen games.
-- Washington three of its last four games.
-- Mets won their last three games, allowing three runs.
-- Giants won four of their last five games.

-- Angels won nine of their last twelve games.
-- Bronx Bombers won 15 of their last 20 games, but lost last two. White Sox won six of their last seven.
-- Rangers won 12 of their last 14 games.
-- Royals won their last three games, scoring 25 runs.
-- Red Sox won 12 of their last 16 games.

Cold Teams
-- Houston was outscored 27-8 in losing its last four road games.
-- Miami is 5-17 in its last 22 games. Phillies lost seven of their last nine away games.
-- Atlanta lost eight of its last ten home games.
-- Colorado lost 16 of its last 22 games. Padres lost three of last four.
-- Arizona lost four of its last six away games. Brewers lost five of their last six games overall.
-- Dodgers lost 11 of last 13 games, scoring two runs in last five games.
-- Reds lost seven of their last eleven games.

-- Blue Jays lost four of their last six games.
-- Indians lost nine of their last 11 road games. Baltimore lost four of its last six games.
-- Tampa Bay lost seven of its last ten games. Tigers lost three of four.
-- Minnesota lost seven of its last nine home games.
-- Oakland lost three of its last four games.
-- Mariners lost 13 of their last 19 games, scoring five runs in five games so far this week.

Totals
-- 12 of last 14 Houston road games went over the total.
-- Over is 26-8 in Philly's last 34 games.
-- Five of last six Atlanta games went over the total.
-- Over is 7-2-1 in last ten games at Coors Field.
-- Under is 11-5-1 in last seventeen Arizona road games.
-- 13 of last 15 Pittsburgh road games went over the total.
-- Under is 8-3-1 in Dodgers' last twelve games.
-- Nine of last ten Cincinnati games stayed under total.

-- Over is 7-2-1 in last ten Angel games.
-- Under is 9-3-2 in last fourteen Cleveland road games.
-- Seven of last ten White Sox games stayed under the total.
-- Eight of last ten Detroit games stayed under the total.
-- Under is 8-3-1 in last twelve Oakland games.
-- Six of last eight Kansas City road games stayed under.
-- Last seven Seattle games stayed under the total.

Umpires
-- Pitt-StL-- Under is 10-1-2 in last thirteen Reyburn games.
-- Wsh-Atl-- Six of last seven Hudson games went over total.
-- Cin-SF-- Five of last seven Scott games went over the total.
-- Hst-Chi-- Six of last seven Diaz games went over the total.
-- Phil-Mia-- Five of last six Eddings games went over total.
-- NY-LA-- Last four Vanover games went over the total; keep in mind that this is 4:00 local time first pitch. Shadows could be a factor.
-- Az-Mil-- Over is 6-1-1 in last eight Conroy games.
-- SD-Col-- Home team won last 11 Guccione games, with seven of last ten going over the total.

-- LA-Tor-- Five of last seven Reynolds games went over total.
-- Chi-NY-- Last five Kellogg games stayed under the total.
-- Clev-Blt-- Favorites won five of last six Estabrook games.
-- KC-Min-- Eight of last eleven Meals games went over. Over is 9-4 in last 13 Darling games, with home side winning six of last seven.
-- A's-Tex-- Under is 3-1-1 in last five Cuzzi games.
-- Bos-Sea-- Eight of last nine Barksdale games stayed under total.
-- Det-TB-- Seven of last nine Bellino games stayed under total.

2012 baseball series records

thru 6/25
Home Away Total
Arizona 6-6 4-6-2 10-12-2
Atlanta 4-4-3 8-4-1 12-8-4
Cubs 4-7 1-9-3 5-16-3
Cincinnati 6-5-1 6-4-2 12-9-3
Colorado 6-5-1 1-10-1 7-15-2
Houston 6-7 1-10 7-17
Dodgers 8-3-1 5-6-1 13-9-2
Miami 5-5-2 5-6-1 10-11-3
Milwaukee 6-6 3-8-1 9-14-1
Mets 6-6-1 5-6 11-12-1
Philadelphia 4-7-1 6-5-1 10-12-2
Pittsburgh 9-3 4-5-3 13-8-3
St Louis 5-5-1 6-6-1 11-11-2
San Diego 4-7-2 1-9-1 5-16-3
San Francisco 8-2-2 6-5-1 14-7-3
Washington 6-3-3 8-4 14-7-3
Baltimore 7-4-1 8-4 15-8-1
Boston 6-7 7-3-1 13-10-1
White Sox 5-7-1 4-5-2 9-12-3
Cleveland 5-7-1 7-4 12-11-1
Detroit 6-5-1 4-6-2 10-11-3
Kansas City 3-7-1 8-3-2 11-10-3
Angels 7-3-3 5-6 12-9-3
Minnesota 3-7-2 5-6-1 8-13-3
Bronx 7-3-1 7-4-2 14-7-3
A's 5-5-2 4-6-3 9-11-5
Seattle 5-5 5-9-1 10-14-1
Tampa Bay 6-4-2 6-6 12-10-2
Texas 8-3-1 7-5 15-8-1
Toronto 7-5 4-5-3 11-10-3

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