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**StarDust Bum** · 07-17-2012, 10:54 AM

Sabathia Returns From DL As Yankees Host Blue Jays

CC Sabathia returns to the mound for the first time in a little more than three weeks when the New York Yankees and Toronto Blue Jays continue their series on Tuesday night.

Sidelined since June 24 with a left groin strain, Sabathia will be opposed by Toronto's Brett Cecil in the 7:05 p.m. (ET) first pitch at Yankee Stadium. The Yanks opened as hefty $2.00 favorites with a 9½-run total.

The series got underway Monday night with New York priced at -175 in a battle of right-handers, Phil Hughes and Henderson Alvarez. Game 1's total opened at 10 but had been pushed up to 10½ at most shops monitored by the Don Best Pro Odds. This is just the second time this season the two clubs have met, and the first of five series scheduled for the AL East foes between now and the final weekend of September. Toronto swept a mini 2-game set at Rogers Centre in mid-May when both contests stayed 'under' the total.

Sabathia has enjoyed tremendous success against the Jays dating back to his days with the Cleveland Indians. Sixteen starts vs. Toronto have resulted in 13 wins for both him and his clubs while fashioning a 3.16 ERA. New York is 5-1 behind Sabathia since he donned the pinstripes at the start of the 2009 campaign.

The big southpaw won his first three home assignments this season before losing two of the last three. Sabathia's Bronx stats include a solid 2.33 ERA and stingy .202 batting average allowed.

Cecil has made five starts since being called up in mid-June when rookie Drew Hutchison was sidelined by a bum right elbow. Thanks to Blue Jays hitters scoring 37 runs in those games, Toronto has managed to win four of the outings despite Cecil's bloated 6.75 ERA.

The former star at Maryland will be taking his 10th career crack at the Yanks with his ERA in the previous nine just below five and Toronto winning five of the clashes.

New York currently owns a 5-game home winning streak against the Blue Jays and won seven of the nine played in the Bronx a season ago.

Hot Athletics Return Home To Host Rangers
Perhaps I was a bit too hasty when I said the Oakland Athletics wouldn't be able to maintain the .500 record while updating MLB futures and the division races in a recent article. The A's are the hottest team going in July (9-1), and return home from a sweep of the Twins in Minnesota this past weekend to host the AL West-leading Texas Rangers for a quick 2-game set that begins Tuesday night (10:05 p.m. ET).

A couple of veteran right-handers are slated to square off in the opener as Roy Oswalt gets the ball for Texas and Bartolo Colon goes for the Athletics. The game hovered around a pick on the initial money lines while the 7½-run total leaned to the 'over.'

Oswalt was beaten up in his only road start since joining the Rangers when the White Sox posted a 19-2 laugher at US Cellular Field on July 3. Chicago tagged Oswalt for 11 runs (9 earned) and belted three round-trippers in the game. But he bounced back just before the break with a nice outing at home, working into the sixth and allowing just one run in Texas' eventual 4-3 victory over the Twins. He has only made two starts vs. Oakland in his career, the last time in 2007, and this will be just his second appearance at The Coliseum.

Colon, meanwhile, will be making his second appearance against Texas this season after working eight shutout innings from this mound in early June to help the A's to a two-zip triumph. The beefy Dominican has had some success vs. the Rangers over his career with a 3.88 ERA in over 208 innings and a 19-8 record.

The clubs have split their 10 battles in 2012, the A's winning three of four on their home diamond while the Rangers are 4-2 in the Lone Star State. The totals have run a bit contrary to what you might expect in the two parks, however, with the 'over' 3-1 in Oakland and the 'under' 4-1-1 in Texas.

**StarDust Bum** · 07-17-2012, 10:58 AM

MLB
Armadillo's Write-Up

Tuesday, July 17

Hot pitchers
-- Niese is 3-1, 3.49 in his last four starts.
-- Cueto is 5-2, 2.37 in his last seven starts; he's been batting problems with a blister, and was scratched from his Sunday night start.
-- Jurrjens is 3-0, 3.20 in four starts since coming off the DL. Zito is 2-1, 2.50 in his last three starts.
-- Wood is 4-0, 1.35 in his last four starts.

-- Bronx won 11 of last 14 Sabathia starts.
-- Turner allowed one run in five IP in his only '12 start, vs St Louis.
-- Colon is 0-0, 1.84 in two starts since coming off the DL.

Cold pitchers
-- Detwiler is 1-1, 5.25 in his last six starts.
-- Bauer has a 6.08 RA in his first three MLB starts.
-- ASanchez is 1-3, 6.92 in his last seven starts.
-- Kelly is 1-2, 3.51 in his six MLB starts. Wolf is 0-1, 8.74 in his last four.
-- Bedard is 0-4, 8.37 in his last five starts. Friedrich is 1-5, 7.27 in his last seven starts.
-- Lyles is 1-4, 5.94 in his last six starts. Ohlendorf has an 8.64 RA in his two tarts for San Diego.
-- Halladay was 1-3, 5.48 in his last four starts before going on DL. Fife is 7-5, 4.53 in 18 starts at hitter-friendly Albuquerque (AAA) this year.

-- Richards allowed 17 runs in 8.2 IP in his last two starts.
-- Cecil is 1-1, 10.57 in his last three starts.
-- Lester is 1-2, 4.68 in his last four starts. Humber is 1-2, 8.80 in his last three starts.
-- Tomlin is 2-2, 6.41 in his last five starts. Moore is 1-1, 5.68 in his last three outings.
-- Britton was 11-11, 4.61 in 28 starts for Orioles LY; he is 5-1, 3.47 in minor league ball this year (10 starts). Deduno allowed three runs in 5.1 IP in his only '12 start.
-- Beavan is 1-2, 9.00 in his last four starts. 36-year old Davis was 1-7, 6.50 in nine starts for Cubs LY; he is 5-1, 3.48 in 10 minor league games this season.
-- Oswalt has a 7.04 RA in four starts for Texas.

Hot Teams
-- Washington won 10 of its last 16 games.
-- Braves won their last seven games, scoring 43 runs. San Francisco won its last three games, allowing five runs.
-- Cubs won their last four games, allowing three runs.
-- Reds won nine of their last thirteen home games.
-- Milwaukee is 12-7 in its last 19 home games.
-- Pirates won 11 of their last 16 games.

-- Bronx won seven of its last nine games.
-- White Sox won 11 of their last 16 games.
-- Indians are 9-5 in their last fourteen games.
-- Detroit won eight of its last nine games.
-- Kansas City won four of its last six home games.
-- A's won nine of their last ten games. Texas won four of five.

Cold Teams
-- Mets lost their last four games, allowing 28 runs.
-- Arizona lost nine of its last twelve road games.
-- Cardinals lost four of their last five road games.
-- Marlins lost four of their last six games.
-- Rockies lost 12 of their last 17 home games.
-- Dodgers lost 18 of their last 24 games. Philadelphia lost 11 of its last 15.
-- San Diego lost five of their last seven games. Astros snapped a 13-gamre road losing skid last night.

-- Angels lost five of their last six road games.
-- Blue Jays lost five of their last six road games.
-- Red Sox lost seven of their last eleven games.
-- Tampa Bay is 6-12 in its last 18 games, 6-11 in last seventeen at home.
-- Twins lost seven of their last nine games. Baltimore lost five of six.
-- Mariners lost six of their last nine games.

Totals
-- Five of last six Detwiler starts went over the total.
-- 11 of last 13 Cincinnati home games stayed under.
-- Four of last five Zito starts went over the total.
-- Under is 8-2-2 in last twelve Miami home games.
-- Over is 24-7 in last 31 games at Miller Park.
-- Nine of last ten Colorado games stayed under the total.
-- Six of last seven games at Petco Park stayed under the total.
-- Seven of last ten Dodger games stayed under the total.

-- 11 of Angels' last 13 road games went over total.
-- Four of last six Bronx Bomber games went over total.
-- Four of last six Boston games went over the total.
-- Under is 13-5-2 in Cleveland's last twenty road games.
-- Under is 4-2-1 in last seven Baltimore games.
-- Under is 14-5 in last nineteen Seattle games.
-- Six of last seven Oakland home games stayed under.

Umpires
-- NY-Wsh-- Don't know who the umpire is.
-- Az-Cin-- Four of last five Layne games stayed under total.
-- SF-Atl-- Don't know who the umpire is.
-- Mia-Chi-- Don't know who the umpire is.
-- StL-Mil-- Road team won nine of last twelve Gorman games.
-- Pitt-Col-- Last three Culbreth games stayed under the total.
-- Hst-SD-- Five of last seven Darling games stayed under total.
-- Phil-LA-- Five of last six Bell games stayed under the total.

-- LA-Det-- Favorites won five of last six Fletcher games.
-- Tor-NY-- Five of last seven TBarrett games went over total.
-- Chi-Bos-- Nine of last twelve Everitt games stayed under.
-- Clev-TB-- Six of last nine Scott games went over the total.
-- Balt-Min-- Last four O'Nora games stayed under the total.
-- Sea-KC-- Five of last seven Hoye gaes went over the total.
-- Tex-A's-- Don't know who the umpire is.

**StarDust Bum** · 07-17-2012, 11:01 AM

MLB

Tuesday, July 17

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Rounding the bases: The best bets in the big leagues
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Every week we take a moment to look at the best and worst bets in baseball from the past seven days.

Hot team: Atlanta Braves

Week’s record: 3-0
Upcoming sked: vs. San Francisco, at Washington

The Braves lost their most effective starting pitcher (Brandon Beachy) but almost a month to the day later they may have found a temporary replacement in Ben Sheets. The former Brewer ace hadn’t pitched for two seasons before toeing the rubber on Sunday. Sheets pitched great and Atlanta won its seventh straight game.

The lineup is balanced, the rotation is reliable and the bullpen is improving. Look out Washington – the Braves might just finish first in the NL West yet.

Cold team: Minnesota Twins

Week’s record: 0-3
Upcoming sked: vs. Baltimore, at Kansas City

The Twins are on a 5-game losing skid and are just 1-7 over their last eight. They’ve used 11 different starting pitchers this season and their rotation has surrendered more home runs than any other team in baseball. Other than that, everything’s fine in Minnesota.

Over team: New York Yankees

O/U record: 38-49-1
Upcoming sked: vs. Toronto, at Oakland

The big bats in the Bronx Bombers lineup are starting to heat up in a big way. New York has scored five or more runs in seven straight games, including eight runs off Jered Weaver and the Angels on Sunday. Curtis Granderson has homered in two straight games and is on a five-game hitting streak.

Under team: Colorado Rockies

O/U record: 48-38-2
Upcoming sked: vs. Pittsburgh, at San Diego

The Rockies fragile, four-man pitching staff has been responsible for a lot of the club’s overs this season. Things have been a bit more respectable in July (3.98 ERA) and the offense has dropped off a bit too. The Rockies have scored just 31 runs in 11 July games. The under, by the way, is 8-1 in Colorado's last nine contests.

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