CnoThe Bum's MLB May's News-Notes-Trends & Best Bets !!

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Diamond Trends - Monday

May 6, 2013

SU TREND OF THE DAY:

-- The Royals are 13-0 since September 15, 2008 as a home 140+ favorite when they are off a win in which they came back from a deficit for a net profit of $1300.


OU TREND OF THE DAY:

-- The Royals are 0-11 OU since May 04, 2009 as a 140+ favorite when they won the last two games their starter started for a net profit of $1100 when playing the under.

PITCHER TREND OF THE DAY:

-- When Madison Bumgarner starts the Giants are 13-0 since July 06, 2011 at home after throwing more than 100 pitches last start as between a -170 favorite and +130 dog for a net profit of $1300.

MLB BIBLE ACTIVE TREND:

-- The Marlins are 8-0 OU since 2010 after two straight wins where they never trailed and the last win was by 5+ runs.

ACTIVE TRENDS:

-- The Twins are 0-8 since June 12, 2008 as a 170+ dog when they are off a win in which they never trailed for a net profit of $800 when playing against.

-- When Trevor Cahill starts the Diamondbacks are 0-7 OU since May 28, 2012 after a quality start at home for a net profit of $700 when playing the under.

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Preview: Braves (18-12) at Reds (18-14)

Game: 1
Venue: Great American Ball Park
Date: May 06, 2013 7:10 PM EDT


The Atlanta Braves have had trouble recapturing the magic from their best start in 19 years but should get a big boost in the opener to a lengthy road trip.

Brian McCann is expected to make his season debut Monday night against the Cincinnati Reds, who have dominated the Braves lately and own the best home record in the majors.

Atlanta (18-12) heads into its 10-game trek after avoiding a fourth straight loss Sunday with a 9-4 win over the New York Mets. Freddie Freeman homered and drove in three runs, and Reed Johnson also had three RBIs as the Braves plated their most runs since a 10-2 win in Colorado on April 23.

Sunday's victory was only the sixth in 17 games for Atlanta following a 12-1 start, its best since opening 13-1 in 1994. The Braves won their first seven road games this year before dropping seven of the last nine.

McCann will try to help them turn around those road woes in his return from shoulder surgery. The six-time All-Star catcher wrapped up his rehab stint with Triple-A Gwinnett on Sunday.

"That's huge," Freeman said. "That's like trading for an All-Star."

McCann has hit at least 20 homers in five of his last six seasons but batted a career-low .230 in 2012.

"I feel great. I feel like I did before I had my surgery," he told the team's website. "I'm ready to go and get the season started."

One issue with McCann's return, however, is that he plays the same position as Evan Gattis, the NL rookie of the month for April. Gattis, who had two hits Sunday, is second on the team with seven homers and 18 RBIs. He's expected to play behind McCann and may see time at first base or in the outfield.

The Braves have been limited to 20 runs while dropping seven of eight to Cincinnati. They've lost six straight at Great American Ballpark, where the Reds are 12-4 this season and have a major league-best 2.32 ERA.

Cincinnati (18-14) enters this series after a 5-5 road trip, capped by a three-game sweep at Wrigley Field this weekend. Though the Reds beat the Cubs 7-4 on Sunday, they lost second baseman Brandon Phillips to an undisclosed injury.

"I'm just happy we won the game and won the series," Phillips said. "I play hurt all the time. Things happen. I'll be in there tomorrow."

He surely won't want to sit out Monday considering he's batting .370 with six RBIs in his last seven games, and he's a career .353 hitter (18 for 51) with four homers against Braves scheduled starter Paul Maholm (3-3, 3.08 ERA).

Maholm is 3-0 with a 2.76 ERA in his past five starts against the Reds and 5-1 with a 2.62 ERA in the last 12.

The left-hander has received one run of support over his past three outings and lost them all, but only one of them was bad - eight runs in 3 2-3 innings at Detroit on April 26. Maholm went a season-high eight innings Wednesday against Washington, giving up two runs and three hits in a 2-0 loss.

Like Maholm, Reds right-hander Bronson Arroyo (2-3, 3.95) was a hard-luck loser in his most recent outing. He gave up two runs over seven innings in a 2-1 defeat at St. Louis on Tuesday.

Arroyo is 2-0 with a 2.86 ERA in three home starts this season, and he's 2-0 with a 3.26 ERA in his past five matchups with the Braves.

McCann is 9 for 18 with four home runs all-time against Arroyo and has hit .364 with seven longballs in his last 13 games versus Cincinnati.

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Preview: White Sox (12-17) at Royals (17-10)

Game: 4
Venue: Ewing M. Kauffman Stadium
Date: May 06, 2013 2:10 PM EDT


With Jake Peavy's back spasms still causing him trouble, the Chicago White Sox will turn to Chris Sale to try to end their recent woes in Kansas City.

Having beaten the streaking Royals on opening day, Sale will try to produce another splendid start Monday afternoon while once again pitching opposite James Shields.

Sale (3-2, 3.83 ERA) will pitch on his usual four days' rest when the White Sox (12-17) close out their three-game set against the Royals (17-10), who seek their first five-game win streak since taking seven straight Sept. 10-17, 2011. The teams are playing Monday because Friday's game was postponed due to freezing rain.

Sale will try to lead Chicago to only its second win in the past nine games in Kansas City. The Royals have also won 12 of 16 overall matchups after rallying for a 6-5 victory in 10 innings Sunday.

Billy Butler hit a tying two-run double in the ninth and Alex Gordon singled in the winning run in the extra frame.

"We continue to fight," Butler said. "We just don't give up. We never lost focus or our desire to come back. It's not going to happen every night, but we just continue to put pretty good at_bats together."

Sale has allowed two runs over seven innings and struck out seven while winning each of his last two starts, the most recent a 5-2 victory in Texas on Wednesday. Sale also fanned seven Kansas City batters on April 1 and tossed 7 2-3 innings in a 1-0 season-opening win.

Shields (2-2, 3.00) gave up a solo homer to Tyler Flowers over his six innings.

"It's always fun getting their best guy," Sale told the team's website. "It's what you want. It's not going to be easy, but it's a challenge and we look forward to challenges. That's the nature of the game."

Shields enters this game having pitched at least six innings in each of his first six outings with Kansas City. He's allowed three runs or fewer in five of those starts and gave up two over seven innings in an 8-2 win against his former team, Tampa Bay, on Tuesday.

After giving up both runs in the opening frame, Shields retired 20 of the final 22 batters he faced, including 13 in a row.

"The guys had my back, they always do," Shields told the team's website. "That's what this team is all about. We're real resilient."

Shields hasn't earned a win over the White Sox since April 19, 2011, and is 0-2 with a 3.93 ERA in his last three matchups. He has received a combined four runs of support in those games.

Sale is 0-2 with a 4.73 ERA in his last two starts in Kansas City and has gotten a combined two runs of support. He gave up one run and scattered 10 hits over eight innings in his first start there, a 2-1 win July 15.

Alcides Escobar, batting .356 in his last 14 games, is 12 for 27 (.444) against Sale. Alexei Ramirez is 11 for 26 (.423) with two home runs off Shields.

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Preview: Athletics (18-14) at Indians (14-14)

Game: 1
Venue: Progressive Field
Date: May 06, 2013 7:05 PM EDT


After a successful start to their longest road trip of the season, the Oakland Athletics will try to keep their momentum going by continuing their recent dominance of the Cleveland Indians.

The A's seek a ninth consecutive victory over the Indians on Monday night, while Ubaldo Jimenez will try to help Cleveland bounce back a day after its lengthy winning streak ended.

After dropping five of its previous six road games, Oakland took two of three from the New York Yankees over the weekend to kick off its 10-game trek. The A's blew a three-run lead in Sunday's series finale, but Josh Donaldson hit a tiebreaking home run in the eighth inning in a 5-4 victory

"We got contributions across the board today in different ways," manager Bob Melvin told the team's official website. "Sometimes it takes a whole group to win a ballgame, and today, that was the case."

Oakland (18-14) will try to continue rolling against Cleveland (14-14), which had a six-game win streak snapped Sunday with a 4-2 loss to Minnesota. After batting .373 and scoring 53 runs during the streak, the Indians had six hits and struck out 11 times in the series finale.

"We still took two out of three in this series, and if we keep doing that, we're going to be in a pretty good place at the end of the year," infielder Mark Reynolds said. "We've got some momentum, so hopefully we can carry it over (against Oakland)."

Jimenez (1-2, 7.13 ERA) will try to help his team rebound by building on his best outing of the season. After putting up a 10.06 ERA in his first four games, the right-hander pitched seven innings of three-hit ball last Monday at Kansas City in a 9-0 win, his first since Aug. 9.

"You're always looking to be encouraged," manager Terry Francona told the team's official website. "I think we flew past encouraged and got excited."

Jimenez will next try to help Cleveland avoid its longest losing streak against Oakland since dropping 10 in a row from July 31, 1971-Aug. 18, 1972. The Indians have lost five straight at home to the A's, including a four-game sweep Aug. 27-30.

Jimenez is 1-0 with a 3.75 ERA in his two starts against Oakland.

Like Jimenez, Jarrod Parker (1-4, 7.36) will try to build on his first win of the season. The right-hander, though, wasn't nearly as dominant as his Cleveland counterpart, giving up four runs over six innings Tuesday in a 10-6 win over the Los Angeles Angels.

He avoided becoming the first A's pitcher to lose five games in April.

"I felt good," Parker told the team's official website. "I was able to forget about what's done and focus in on each pitch. There's a reason for my success and I didn't want to get away from who I am. I didn't want to fight myself."

Parker has won both of his starts against Cleveland but had vastly different performances. He pitched eight innings in a 7-0 home win Aug. 19 and gave up five runs over five innings in a 12-7 road victory 11 days later.

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Preview: Twins (13-14) at Red Sox (20-11)

Game: 1
Venue: Fenway Park
Date: May 06, 2013 7:10 PM EDT


Clay Buchholz has been among baseball's best pitchers this season. Monday night will be the first time he'll get the ball since an allegation of cheating clouded his last start.

Buchholz can match the best start by a Boston pitcher since 2007 as he tries to become baseball's first seven-game winner in the opener of a four-game set against the Minnesota Twins at Fenway Park.

The Red Sox (20-11) are coming off a sweep at the hands of Texas - including a 4-3 loss Sunday that saw their batters match a season high with 16 strikeouts.

"Despite the early success that we've had, we knew this would be a tough series," manager John Farrell said.

Farrell should feel good about their chances to bounce back as his team has yet to lose with Buchholz on the hill.

Buchholz is 6-0 with a major league-leading 1.01 ERA and has gone at least seven innings in all six outings. However, his latest gem - seven shutout innings in a 10-1 win at Toronto on Wednesday - was followed by Blue Jays broadcast analyst Dick Hayhurst accusing him of having an illegal substance on his forearm and applying it to the baseball.

Buchholz said he applies only rosin to his arm.

"I put a little bit of water on my hip just to get it a little moist, because sometimes the balls they throw to you feel like cue balls off a pool table," Buchholz told the team's official website. "You have to find a way to get grip. Definitely no foreign objects or substances on my arm."

With a victory Monday, Buchholz will match the 7-0 mark by Josh Beckett through his first seven starts in 2007 for Boston.

Fenway is the last stop on a 10-game road trip that will match a season long for the Twins (13-14), who started their travels 1-4 before a 4-2 win at Cleveland on Sunday. Minnesota starters were 1-3 with a 7.18 ERA in the first five games of the trip but were picked up by Mike Pelfrey, who allowed one run and four hits in six innings against the Indians as the team avoided a sweep.

"No one wants to get swept," manager Ron Gardenhire said. "We'd like to start winning series. That's our goal."

The Twins hope for a similar performance Monday from Vance Worley (0-4, 7.22 ERA), but he's shown few promising signs in his first season with Minnesota. The struggles continued Tuesday for the right-hander, who gave up six runs and 10 hits - including a career-high three homers - in 4 2-3 innings of a 6-1 loss at Detroit.

He'll now have to deal with David Ortiz, who owns a 25-game hitting streak dating back to last season and has recorded an extra-base hit in 11 of his 12 games this year, including his fourth homer Sunday. Ortiz is also hitting .335 in 47 career games against Minnesota, his original team.

Justin Morneau is batting .500 with four doubles over his last five against the Red Sox and .342 for his career. He's also 7 for 14 against Buchholz, who is 3-0 with a 2.49 ERA in his last four starts against Minnesota.

Worley won his only career start against Boston, allowing one run, five hits and two walks over seven innings while with Philadelphia on June 29, 2011.

The Red Sox have won nine of 13 in the series but the Twins took three of four in Boston last year.

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Preview: Braves (18-12) at Reds (18-14)

Game: 1
Venue: Great American Ball Park
Date: May 06, 2013 7:10 PM EDT


The Atlanta Braves have had trouble recapturing the magic from their best start in 19 years but should get a big boost in the opener to a lengthy road trip.

Brian McCann is expected to make his season debut Monday night against the Cincinnati Reds, who have dominated the Braves lately and own the best home record in the majors.

Atlanta (18-12) heads into its 10-game trek after avoiding a fourth straight loss Sunday with a 9-4 win over the New York Mets. Freddie Freeman homered and drove in three runs, and Reed Johnson also had three RBIs as the Braves plated their most runs since a 10-2 win in Colorado on April 23.

Sunday's victory was only the sixth in 17 games for Atlanta following a 12-1 start, its best since opening 13-1 in 1994. The Braves won their first seven road games this year before dropping seven of the last nine.

McCann will try to help them turn around those road woes in his return from shoulder surgery. The six-time All-Star catcher wrapped up his rehab stint with Triple-A Gwinnett on Sunday.

"That's huge," Freeman said. "That's like trading for an All-Star."

McCann has hit at least 20 homers in five of his last six seasons but batted a career-low .230 in 2012.

"I feel great. I feel like I did before I had my surgery," he told the team's website. "I'm ready to go and get the season started."

One issue with McCann's return, however, is that he plays the same position as Evan Gattis, the NL rookie of the month for April. Gattis, who had two hits Sunday, is second on the team with seven homers and 18 RBIs. He's expected to play behind McCann and may see time at first base or in the outfield.

The Braves have been limited to 20 runs while dropping seven of eight to Cincinnati. They've lost six straight at Great American Ballpark, where the Reds are 12-4 this season and have a major league-best 2.32 ERA.

Cincinnati (18-14) enters this series after a 5-5 road trip, capped by a three-game sweep at Wrigley Field this weekend. Though the Reds beat the Cubs 7-4 on Sunday, they lost second baseman Brandon Phillips to an undisclosed injury.

"I'm just happy we won the game and won the series," Phillips said. "I play hurt all the time. Things happen. I'll be in there tomorrow."

He surely won't want to sit out Monday considering he's batting .370 with six RBIs in his last seven games, and he's a career .353 hitter (18 for 51) with four homers against Braves scheduled starter Paul Maholm (3-3, 3.08 ERA).

Maholm is 3-0 with a 2.76 ERA in his past five starts against the Reds and 5-1 with a 2.62 ERA in the last 12.

The left-hander has received one run of support over his past three outings and lost them all, but only one of them was bad - eight runs in 3 2-3 innings at Detroit on April 26. Maholm went a season-high eight innings Wednesday against Washington, giving up two runs and three hits in a 2-0 loss.

Like Maholm, Reds right-hander Bronson Arroyo (2-3, 3.95) was a hard-luck loser in his most recent outing. He gave up two runs over seven innings in a 2-1 defeat at St. Louis on Tuesday.

Arroyo is 2-0 with a 2.86 ERA in three home starts this season, and he's 2-0 with a 3.26 ERA in his past five matchups with the Braves.

McCann is 9 for 18 with four home runs all-time against Arroyo and has hit .364 with seven longballs in his last 13 games versus Cincinnati.

[StarDust Bum]

Preview: Blue Jays (11-21) at Rays (14-16)

Game: 1
Venue: Tropicana Field
Date: May 06, 2013 7:10 PM EDT


The Toronto Blue Jays have been among baseball's biggest disappointments, but they're hoping their most complete performance thus far can provide some momentum going forward.

Meanwhile, the Tampa Bay Rays - one of the majors' best teams at home - are likely looking forward to returning to Tropicana Field for 10 straight games, beginning with the opener of a four-game series Monday night against Toronto.

The Blue Jays (11-21) had lost four in a row and 14 of 18 before a 10-2 home win over Seattle on Sunday. It was the most lopsided victory of the year for the team with the AL's second-worst record, as Toronto matched its highest-scoring game of 2013 and had a season-best 15 hits.

"We were desperate for that. We needed something like that," manager John Gibbons said. "It's not like we're just waiting to get on a roll. We needed a win and they're hard to come by."

Mark DeRosa and Melky Cabrera both provided homers after the team hit one in the previous four games combined. Starting pitcher Brandon Morrow, who allowed three hits in eight innings, called the win a "morale booster."

A victory Monday would give Toronto back-to-back wins for just the second time.

Tampa Bay (14-16) is coming off a 4-5 road trip, capped by winning two of three games at Colorado after an 8-3 victory Sunday.

While they're 6-12 away from home, the Rays are 8-4 in St. Petersburg as they kick off a 10-game homestand. They've allowed no more than one run in six of the last nine at Tropicana Field.

Scheduled starter Jeremy Hellickson (1-2, 4.71 ERA) won his last start at home, throwing seven scoreless innings against the A's on April 20, but has since been roughed up in two outings on the road. He gave up a combined nine runs in 11 innings, including a 9-8 loss at Kansas City on Wednesday that saw him yield a season-high nine hits over five frames.

"Defense and offense came to play tonight and I didn't," Hellickson told the team's official website. "It was as simple as that."

Hellickson is 3-2 with a 2.89 ERA in six starts versus Toronto, which counters with struggling left-hander Mark Buehrle (1-2, 6.43).

Buehrle has surrendered seven hits, five runs and three homers in each of his last two outings and lost both. He issued a season-high three walks in 6 2-3 innings of a 10-1 home loss to Boston on Wednesday.

He's allowing 2.3 home runs per nine innings compared to a 1.0 career average.

"I have to make better pitches," Buehrle told the team's official website. "(I) have to keep the ball down, execute pitches and stay low in the zone."

The only current Rays player to homer off him is Jose Molina - that came in 2006 - and Buehrle is 8-3 lifetime against them with a 4.19 ERA.

Tampa Bay's middle infield is shorthanded. Shortstop Yunel Esocbar, a former Blue Jay, didn't play Sunday after getting hit on the hand by a pitch Saturday and is expected to miss a few days, manager Joe Maddon said. Second baseman Ben Zobrist will miss a second straight game after flying home to Illinois on Sunday following his grandmother's death.

James Loney is 17 for 34 over his last eight games with five three-hit performances, but he's 4 for 24 (.167) in six games versus the Blue Jays.

Toronto hasn't won a series against Tampa Bay since Aug. 6-8, 2010, with the Rays going 30-12 in meetings since then. Tampa Bay won last year's series 14-4 as Evan Longoria hit .360 with 14 RBIs in 13 contests.

[StarDust Bum]

Preview: Rangers (20-11) at Cubs (11-20)

Game: 1
Venue: Wrigley Field
Date: May 06, 2013 8:05 PM EDT


Using dominant starting pitching to sweep their last series, the Texas Rangers tied for baseball's best record. They'll look to rookie Nick Tepesch on Monday night at Wrigley Field to keep it going as they match up with the Chicago Cubs, who will start Scott Feldman in his first game against his former team.

The game is a makeup of a contest that was rained out April 17, with the teams splitting their two other meetings last month.

The Rangers (20-11) saw Yu Darvish strike out 14 on Sunday and capped a three-game sweep of Boston on Adrian Beltre's two-out RBI single in the bottom of the ninth for a 4-3 win. That left Texas tied with the Red Sox and St. Louis for the majors' best record.

"We showed a lot of heart right there," said Elvis Andrus, who scored the winning run after delivering a two-out single. "That shows for us how good we are right now."

Darvish's performance followed strong outings from Derek Holland and Alexi Ogando as the three starters limited the potent Red Sox, who average 4.9 runs, to four runs over 21 innings while striking out 27. Texas' rotation owns a 3.15 ERA this season that ranks near the top in baseball.

Tepesch (2-2, 3.54 ERA) didn't post an impressive line his last time out as he was charged with five runs and eight hits over 6 2-3 innings Wednesday in a 5-2 loss to the White Sox. But manager Ron Washington blamed himself for leaving Tepesch in to face one batter too many, with Alejandro De Aza connecting for a two-run homer off him with two outs in the seventh. The game was tied 2-2 entering that inning.

The right-hander had yielded six runs in 21 1-3 innings before that game.

The Cubs (11-20) counter with Feldman (2-3, 3.34), who spent his first eight seasons with Texas before signing a free-agent deal with Chicago in November.

"I've seen a lot of those guys for a lot of years, and they've seen me for a lot of years, so it's not going to be a big thing of trying to trick everybody," Feldman told MLB's official website.

The righty comes off one of his best performances, throwing a three-hitter for his first career complete game in a 6-2 win over San Diego on Wednesday.

"He was as good as anyone I've seen all year," Padres third baseman Chase Headley said of Feldman, who struck out a career-high 12 batters.

As good as Feldman was his last time out, the pitchers who would come after him don't appear imposing. Chicago relievers have an 8.44 ERA during the team's current five-game losing streak, including two blown saves to run their season total to eight.

The bullpen gave up three runs over four innings in a 7-4 home loss to Cincinnati on Sunday.

"We're obviously going through a tough stretch right now," said reliever Shawn Camp, who surrendered two runs to push his ERA to 7.15. "We've got to pick it up a little bit. It can get ugly real fast. It's May. It's time for us to step up."

The Cubs were without leading hitter Welington Castillo (.307) after he took a pitch on the ankle Saturday, but manager Dale Sveum said he's OK.

Texas owns a 6-5 advantage in the all-time series.

[StarDust Bum]

Preview: Diamondbacks (16-15) at Dodgers (13-17)

Game: 1
Venue: Dodger Stadium
Date: May 06, 2013 10:10 PM EDT


Chris Capuano fell out of the Los Angeles Dodgers' rotation before this season started. Now the left-hander is back in it for the second time in 2013.

Capuano is expected to be removed from the disabled list Monday night when the host Dodgers and the Arizona Diamondbacks both try to avoid a sixth loss in seven games.

Despite making 33 starts - tied with Clayton Kershaw for the 2012 team lead - and going 12-12 with a career-best 3.72 ERA in his first campaign with the Dodgers, Capuano (0-1, 9.64 ERA) was demoted to the bullpen with Los Angeles signing Zack Greinke and Hyun-Jin Ryu in the offseason.

However, with Greinke suffering a broken collarbone April 11 during a benches-clearing brawl at San Diego, Capuano made his first start five days later against the Padres. He was tagged for five runs and lasted just two innings in that 9-2 loss due to a strained left calf. Capuano had suffered the injury while sprinting in from the bullpen during the brawl, though he still threw 1 2-3 scoreless innings in relief of Greinke that night.

"It's frustrating because I've worked really hard to keep myself in shape and keep myself ready for that opportunity," Capuano told the Dodgers' official website last week. "... When you give everything you have like that, you try not to let these little setbacks derail you."

Capuano was 0-2 with a 7.31 ERA in his final three starts versus Arizona last year.

The Dodgers (13-17) just suffered three straight one-run losses at San Francisco and carry a four-game skid back to Los Angeles, where they'll play their next nine.

Manager Don Mattingly said he felt "great about coming out of here," but catcher A.J. Ellis had a different opinion following Sunday's 4-3 loss.

"It is really hard to talk about moral victories after being swept," said Ellis, who was 6 for 13 in the series.

There weren't many positives for the Diamondbacks (16-15) after they had four hits in Sunday's 5-1 loss at San Diego.

"We didn't have anything going at all," said manager Kirk Gibson, a former Dodger great.

Perhaps giving the ball to Trevor Cahill (1-3, 2.84) will help Arizona get off to a better start on the second leg of its six-game trip. The Southern California native is 4-0 with a 2.03 ERA in seven starts against the Dodgers after throwing 7 1-3 innings of six-hit ball in a 1-0 walkoff win April 14.

Cahill was just about as dominant Tuesday, giving up a run and four hits in eight-plus innings of a 2-1 loss to San Francisco as J.J. Putz blew the save.

"It's real frustrating when it is so close and you can't finish it out," said Cahill, who has received 10 total runs of support in six starts. "You're going to kick yourself even more than if you only went three and gave up 10 runs. It's a bad feeling."

Adrian Gonzalez, who had a pinch-hit two-run single Sunday, has been nursing a stiff neck, and it's uncertain if he'll be out of the Dodgers lineup for a fourth straight game. Cahill probably wouldn't mind if he took another day to recuperate, as Gonzalez went 3 for 3 with a double off him last month.

Gonzalez had the Dodgers' only home run in that series, in which Arizona took two of three. The Diamondbacks have won 12 of 15 in this NL West matchup.

Paul Goldschmidt, a .341 hitter at Dodger Stadium, is 9 for 12 with two homers and three doubles off Capuano. The .750 average is Goldschmidt's highest against any pitcher he's faced more than four times.

[StarDust Bum]

Preview: Marlins (10-22) at Padres (13-18)

Game: 1
Venue: PETCO Park
Date: May 06, 2013 10:10 PM EDT


The Miami Marlins are coming off their best offensive performance in three seasons. They may need to deliver a similar effort against the San Diego Padres the way left-hander Wade LeBlanc has been struggling.

LeBlanc will make his first start against his former team - and first at Petco Park as a visitor - Monday night when these last-place clubs begin a three-game set.

Backed by two homers from Justin Ruggiano and a franchise record-tying seven RBIs from Adeiny Hechavarria, the Marlins (10-22) pounded out 13 hits in their second consecutive victory Sunday, 14-2 at Philadelphia.

Miami last scored that many runs in a 16-10 win over Washington on Sept. 1, 2010.

"To keep adding on ... not only for the score, but for our guys, to stay hungry, and to keep grinding out at_bats and keep putting the pressure on, that's what we needed," manager Mike Redmond told the Marlins' official website. "For guys to go up and be a little greedy and take advantage was good to see."

The NL East-worst Marlins, who last won three straight road games July 4-6, would like to see a good outing from LeBlanc (0-4, 6.23 ERA) in his return to Petco. The left-hander, who faced the Padres twice out of the bullpen last season - his first with Miami after four with the Padres - is 0-7 with a 5.49 ERA in 11 starts since his last victory Aug. 17.

LeBlanc was in a good position to change that Wednesday before giving away a 3-0 first-inning lead in a 7-6 loss to the New York Mets.

"It's kind of frustrating now," he said after yielding four runs and eight hits for a second consecutive outing.

Right-hander Andrew Cashner (1-2, 4.24) hopes his frustrations will end Monday when the Padres (13-18), last in the NL West, go for a ninth win in 12 games. The converted reliever is 1-2 with a 4.50 ERA in his first three starts this season after yielding five runs and walking a career-high four in four innings of Wednesday's 6-2 loss at Wrigley Field.

"When I was missing it was just off the plate instead of going after guys," said Cashner, who also hit a batter and threw a wild pitch. "I really never got a feel for my secondary stuff in the strike zone.'

Still, Padres catcher John Baker, acquired in the 2011 LeBlanc deal, has faith in the right-hander's stuff.

"There's a ton of upside there," Baker told MLB's official website of Cashner, who has an 11.57 ERA in four relief appearances against Miami.

Cashner should be careful pitching to rookie Marcell Ozuna, who is 11 for 23 (.478) with a homer and four RBIs since being called up from Double-A Jacksonville on April 30 to replace injured slugger Giancarlo Stanton (strained right hamstring).

"I feel really good up there. I feel comfortable," Ozuna said Sunday after his four-hit, three-RBI game.

Padres third baseman Chase Headley looks pretty good at the plate, too, batting .368 (14 for 38) with two homers and six RBIs during a 10-game hitting streak. Headley had six hits in 25 at_bats as San Diego dropped five of six to Miami last season, including all three at Petco from May 4-6.

The Marlins had dropped their previous five in San Diego.

[StarDust Bum]

Preview: Phillies (14-18) at Giants (19-12)

Game: 1
Venue: AT&T Park
Date: May 06, 2013 10:15 PM EDT


Madison Bumgarner isn't getting much run support, but the NL West-leading San Francisco Giants usually win when he takes the ball.

That's not happening for the Philadelphia Phillies when Cliff Lee does.

Bumgarner and the Giants try to extend their season-best winning streak to seven in Monday's night's series opener at AT&T Park, where Lee has a 20-inning scoreless streak.

Bumgarner (3-0, 1.55 ERA) has not earned a decision in his last three starts despite giving up three total runs. The Giants (19-12) have plated seven in those contests - just three while he's been on the mound - and won twice, including a 2-1 victory at Arizona on Tuesday when Bumgarner yielded three hits in seven shutout innings.

The left-hander, whose 2.66 run support average is among the NL's lowest, is the first Giants pitcher since Kevin Correia (seven) in 2007 to allow two runs or fewer in his first six starts.

"He could have five wins," manager Bruce Bochy told the Giants' official website. "We're not getting a lot of runs for him, but he's doing what we need, and that's putting up zeros for us."

Lee (2-2, 3.46) hasn't been doing much of that - he's 0-2 with a 6.00 ERA in his past three outings - but the Phillies (14-18) haven't done him many favors, scoring six runs while losing his last four starts.

The left-hander yielded five runs and nine hits in six innings of Wednesday's 6-0 loss at Cleveland.

The Phillies offense struggled again over the weekend, scratching out five total hits and two runs in a pair of losses to NL-worst Miami.

"When the game starts, we're up and ready to play. Then we have trouble scoring runs and hitting the ball consistently," manager Charlie Manuel told the Phillies' official website after Sunday's 14-2 defeat.

Jimmy Rollins is in a 2-for-18 slump, Chase Utley has gone 1 for 16 this month and Carlos Ruiz is 2 for 20 since his 25-game suspension ended.

If the Phillies can't get much going against Bumgarner - 1-1 with a 3.05 ERA in four appearances against them with two coming in the 2010 NLCS - Lee might be able to keep them in the game. Excluding two 2010 World Series losses while with Texas, the former AL Cy Young Award winner is 4-0 with a 0.63 ERA in five starts versus the Giants. In his last start at AT&T Park, Lee pitched a career-high 10 innings in a 1-0, 11-inning loss April 18, 2012.

Lee's regular-season scoreless innings streak in San Francisco is tied with Colorado's Jorge De La Rosa for the third-longest by a visiting pitcher since 2000. Los Angeles Dodgers left-hander Clayton Kershaw's streak of 24 2-3 innings from Aug. 1, 2010-July 20, 2011, is the longest during that stretch.

Lee can expect to get his first look at Hunter Pence since the two-time All-Star was traded from Philadelphia to San Francisco on July 31. Pence, who spent a year with the Phillies after being acquired from Houston in another deadline deal, just went 5 for 13 in a weekend sweep of the Dodgers, driving in all of the runs in Sunday's 4-3 win.

Pence is a .340 hitter off Phillies pitching and 3 for 8 with a homer versus Lee.

San Francisco's Andres Torres, who had a season high-tying three hits Sunday, could get another start in center field should Angel Pagan miss another game with a strained hamstring.

The Giants are seeking their longest win streak since an eight-game run in September 2011.

They won four of six from the Phillies in 2012, including two of three in San Francisco.

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MLB
Short Sheet

Monday, May 6

National League

Atlanta at Cincinnati, 7:10 ET
Maholm: Atlanta 9-7 SU in road games after a win by 4 runs or more
Arroyo: Cincinnati 24-40 SU in home games after batting .225 or worse over a 15 game span

Miami at San Diego, 10:10 ET
Leblanc: Miami 42-80 SU as an underdog of +100 or higher
Cashner: San Diego 21-13 SU after having won 3 of their last 4

Arizona at LA Dodgers, 10:10 ET
Cahill: Arizona 45-27 SU after having lost 3 of their last 4
Capuano: LA Dodgers 9-17 SU after 6 consecutive games versus division rivals

Philadelphia at San Francisco, 10:15 ET
Lee: Philadelphia 21-35 SU after 3 consecutive game versus a division rival
Bumgarner: San Francisco 19-7 SU after 9 consecutive games versus division rivals


American League

Oakland at Cleveland, 7:05 ET
Parker: Oakland 43-30 SU after batting .240 or worse over a 20 game span
Jimenez: Cleveland 13-29 SU after having won 4 of their last 5

Minnesota at Boston, 7:10 ET
Worley: Minnesota 19-13 SU after 6 consecutive games versus division rivals
Buchholz: Boston 17-35 SU after having lost 3 of their last 4

Toronto at Tampa Bay, 7:10 ET
Buehrle: Toronto 4-12 SU against division opponents
Hellickson: Tampa Bay 66-46 SU against left-handed starters


Interleague

Texas at Chicago Cubs, 8:05 ET
Tepesch: Texas 116-64 SU as a favorite of -125 to -175
Feldman: CHI Cubs 23-50 SU after 2 or more consecutive losses


Write-In Game:

Chicago White Sox at Kansas City, 2:10 ET
Sale: CHI White Sox 57-70 SU when the total is 7 to 8.5
Shields: Kansas City 10-3 SU in day games
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[StarDust Bum]

Date WLT Pct Net Units Record

05/05/13 15-*11-*1 57.69% +*1790 Detail
05/04/13 11-*16-*1 40.74% -*2375 Detail
05/03/13 12-*16-*0 42.86% -*2225 Detail
05/02/13 6-*7-*0 46.15% -*1090 Detail
05/01/13 19-*11-*0 63.33% +*4395 Detail

Totals 63-*61-*2 50.81% +495


Monday, May 6

Game Score Status Pick Amount


Oakland - 7:05 PM ET Cleveland -113 500
Cleveland - Over 9 500 POD # 2

Minnesota - 7:10 PM ET Boston -208 500
Boston - Under 8.5 500

Atlanta - 7:10 PM ET Cincinnati -108 500
Cincinnati - Over 7.5 500

Toronto - 7:10 PM ET Tampa Bay -141 500
Tampa Bay - Over 7.5 500

Texas - 8:05 PM ET Chi. Cubs +108 500
Chi. Cubs - Under 7.5 500

Arizona - 10:10 PM ET Arizona -107 500
LA Dodgers - Under 7 500

Miami - 10:10 PM ET Miami +165 500 POD # 1
San Diego - Over 7 500

Philadelphia - 10:15 PM ET San Francisco -139 500
San Francisco - Over 6 500 POD # 3

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Preview: Royals (17-10) at Orioles (19-13)

Game: 1
Venue: Oriole Park at Camden Yards
Date: May 07, 2013 7:05 PM EDT


Coming off a successful road trip, the Baltimore Orioles are hoping to carry their momentum over at home.

The Orioles aim for a third straight win as they open a three-game set against the Kansas City Royals on Tuesday night.

Averaging 5.0 runs to rank near the top of the majors, Baltimore (19-13) scored an 5.3 per game and hit 14 home runs during its recently completed 11-game trek.

"Anytime you go to the West Coast for 12 days and you can walk out of there with even a .500 mark, you're feeling pretty good about yourself. But to come away with seven wins out of 11, that's pretty impressive," pitcher Jason Hammel said.

Hammel won his third straight start as the Orioles pulled out an 8-4 victory Sunday to take three of four from the Los Angeles Angels. Manny Machado and J.J. Hardy both hit two-run homers and Ryan Flaherty added two RBIs for Baltimore, which went 6 for 13 with runners in scoring position.

"For us to take three of four here is huge," reliever Darren O'Day said. "We've been consistent. We might not blow your doors off, but we're going to play baseball. And we probably haven't played our best baseball yet."

The Orioles will try to stay hot against Royals starter Ervin Santana (3-1, 2.00), who threw four scoreless innings Thursday versus Tampa Bay before the game was called due to weather. Again seeking his 100th victory, Santana is 3-0 with a 1.20 ERA over his last four outings.

"He's been pretty electric," first baseman Eric Hosmer said.

Santana, 4-5 with a 5.42 ERA in 12 starts versus Baltimore, is 2-3 with a 7.06 mark over his last five visits to Camden Yards. Hardy is 3 for 10 with two homers against the right-hander, but Matt Wieters is 1 for 11.

Chris Davis, 5 for 23 with three homers and two doubles versus Santana, went 1 for 4 with an RBI on Sunday after missing the previous game with a knee injury. He's among the major league leaders with nine homers and 30 RBIs.

The Orioles give the ball to Wei-Yin Chen (2-3, 3.50 ERA). After scattering two hits and two walks over a career-high eight innings in a 3-0 win at Oakland on April 26, Chen allowed five runs and eight hits over a career-worst four innings during Wednesday's 8-3 loss at Seattle.

"From outstanding to the worst," he told MLB's official website through his interpreter. "I tried to throw first-pitch strikes. But I tried to think too much, I tried to attack both sides of the plate and it didn't work at all."

The left-hander was also knocked around in his last matchup against Kansas City (17-11), yielding a career high-tying seven runs and nine hits over 4 2-3 innings of an 8-2 loss Aug. 9. He'll need to solve Billy Butler, who's gone 5 for 6 with two homers, a triple and a double in their matchups.

The Royals found themselves on the verge of a season-best fifth consecutive victory before coming undone Monday in a 2-1, 11-inning loss to the Chicago White Sox. Closer Greg Holland allowed the tying run in the ninth before Kelvin Herrera surrendered a go-ahead homer in the 11th.

The Royals, hitting .300 with runners in scoring position on the road, play 12 of their next 15 in opposing ballparks.

Orioles center fielder Adam Jones is batting .329 with three homers and 12 RBIs during a 20-game hitting streak in the series.

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Preview: Athletics (18-14) at Indians (14-14)

Game: 2
Venue: Progressive Field
Date: May 07, 2013 7:05 PM EDT


The Cleveland Indians' losing streak to the Oakland Athletics is over.

The Indians will now try to hand Tommy Milone a career-worst fourth straight loss.

Cleveland could also move a season high-tying two games above .500 on Tuesday night when this four-game series continues at Progressive Field.

Asdrubal Cabrera had a career high-tying two homers, Mark Reynolds' AL-leading 10th home run went an estimated 460 feet and Jason Kipnis added a solo shot as the Indians (15-14) won Monday's opener 7-3.

Cleveland, the AL leader with 44 home runs, had dropped five in a row at Progressive Field to the A's (18-15) and eight in a row overall in since a 5-1 road win last April 12.

The Indians, winners of seven of eight, can now move two games above the break-even point for the first time since opening 2-0 with a pair of victories in Toronto.

Milone (3-3, 3.69 ERA) will try to prevent that from happening and halt his personal three-start skid. The left-hander, though, can't be solely blamed for his recent results, as the A's have totaled five runs in his losing streak after plating 28 in his first three.

Milone takes the ball for the first time since surrendering a career high-tying three home runs in Wednesday's 5-4 loss to the Los Angeles Angels. The southpaw also struck out 10 - matching a career high - and walked none in seven innings.

"I wanted to go as deep into the game as I could,' Milone said. "The bullpen has been out there a lot the last few days. I needed to go out and throw strikes. I felt good throughout the game, it was just a few bad pitches.'

Milone is 1-0 with a 3.27 ERA in two starts against Cleveland, both coming last season.

Scheduled starter Zach McAllister (2-3, 3.30) was on the mound for the Indians in both of those contests, going 0-1 with a 7.84 ERA after giving up five runs in a 7-0 home loss on Aug. 28.

The right-hander has lasted five or more innings in all five starts this season, giving up three earned runs or fewer each time. McAllister picked up his second victory of the season last Tuesday when Cleveland hit a season-high seven homers in a 14-2 victory over Philadelphia.

"That was a lot of fun," he told the Indians' official website after going seven strong innings. "I think any pitcher will tell you they're happy to have offense like that, and they'd gladly have more time in the dugout with longer innings than not having any runs and going out there to try to pitch."

McAllister could be spending plenty of time in dugout, as the Indians are batting .344 and averaging 7.8 runs during their 7-1 run.

AL player of the week Ryan Raburn is hitting .560 (14 for 25) with four homers and 10 RBIs in his last six games after driving in a run on Monday.

Raburn, though, is hitless in three at_bats off Milone.

A's center fielder Yoenis Cespedes, who could match a career high by homering in a third straight game, is 2 for 6 with a double versus McAllister.

Third baseman Josh Donaldson has four hits in five at_bats against the right-hander, while Brandon Moss - a .417 hitter outside Oakland - is 2 for 5 with a homer.