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Insider Edge Sports – Report For Friday, April 30, 2004
Friday’s Free Card
We split on Thursday and end up dropping a fraction of a unit. The Giants outhit the Marlins and had their opportunities in the 8th with the bases juiced and no outs but could manage only 1 run after that. 4 Baseball plays for Friday night:
MLB
Atlanta Braves (Hampton) at Colorado Rockies (Kennedy) 9:05 PM ET
Colorado (Kennedy) –1.5 +163 (2 Units)
We all know the problems Mike Hampton had in Colorado in the two years he was there. He had a 5.71 ERA in 2001 at Coors Field and followed that up with a 5.58 ERA in 2002. He went back once last season and even though he picked up the win, he didn’t pitch well, allowing 4 runs on 11 hits over 6.2 innings. This season he is 0-2 with a 12.54 ERA and 2.57 WHIP away from Turner Field and his worse outing was against the lowly Mets if that says anything. Overall, he has just one quality stat in 4 tries as he has allowed at least 9 hits and 6 runs in 3 of his 4 starts. Atlanta is 3-5 in his last 8 starts and if not for an 18 run outburst by the Braves in that Mets game, they would be 2-6. Things should only get worse as he heads back to Colorado. Joe Kennedy has been superb for the Rockies as they are 3-1 in his 4 starts and more impressively, the only loss was on the road and even that wasn’t a bad start. He is 3-0 with a 1.86 ERA at Coors this season as he has given up only 2 runs in each of his last 2 starts. As long as Colorado can get out of the first innings, they should be just fine. The Rockies were outscored 12-1 by Florida in the first inning of that series. They have been outscored 18-1 in the first in the first nine games on the homestand and 27-9 in the first inning this season. Rockies starters have failed to pitch at least six innings in 10 of 21 games this season, including four of the past six. Kennedy is not to blame as he is a perfect 4-4 in that category making the other starters 7 out of 17 in that category.
Seattle Mariners (Garcia) at Detroit Tigers (Johnson) 7:05 PM ET
Seattle (Garcia) –1.5 +120 (2 Units)
The Mariners own this series, winning 18 of the last 21 meetings. Granted, Detroit is playing much better than they did in those past 2+ seasons but it’s a streak that is hard to overlook. Another thing hard to overlook is the way Freddy Garcia is pitching and the bad luck he is having. He has been solid in 3 of his 4 starts but has yet to walk away with a win. Dating back to last season, the Mariners are 2-6 in his last 8 starts yet he has posted an ERA of 1.65. Run support has been his downfall as the Mariners scored 16 total runs in those 8 starts and 18 runs in his last 10 starts. Receiving less than two runs of offense per outing isn’t going to get it done but things should be different here. Jason Johnson does not like facing Seattle as he has just one career win against them in 10 starts. He is 0-6 his last 6 and along with the bullpen, have allowed 45 runs in those starts (7.5 rpg). The Tigers are 1-4 in his starts this season, losing the last 4 as he has a gaudy ERA of 9.35 in those 4 losses. For the season Garcia has an ERA over 4 runs less than what Johnson is allowing. Johnson has been hampered with a blister and while it’s getting better, he’s not completely 100% yet. After an early-season callus on his right middle finger bothered him in consecutive starts and left him with little chance to throw before his last one, it bothered him again in the middle innings in his last start on Sunday. It’s time for Garcia to finally get rewarded. Sometimes struggling teams leave the impression that they're on the verge of a breakout and this is one team that shows that. This is the spot for it to happen.
Oakland Athletics (Redman) at Tampa Bay Devil Rays (Waechter) 7:15 PM ET
Tampa Bay (Waechter) +102 (2 Units)
The Devil Rays return home after a rough road trip to Baltimore, Chicago and Boston. As much as they struggled on that trip, Oakland is struggling even more and they are not done with theirs yet. They dropped three straight at home to the Angels before heading to New York and getting swept. Oakland will look to Mark Redman to try and right the ship but it may not be that easy. Redman was hit hard his last time out against the Angels after starting the season with 3 good games. Tampa Bay is tagging lefties pretty well this season, hitting .294 for the year and .304 at home. Dan Waechter will be making just his second start of the season but if it’s anything like the first, he will shine. He defeated the White Sox 4-1, going 6 strong innings allowing only 4 hits and 0 walks. He has been impressive since his call up last September, with Tampa Bay going 4-2 in his 6 starts and him posting a 3.23 ERA. Waechter is another pitcher who had to deal with a blister problem. He was sent to the minors because of it but now it is fully healed and the confidence of that first outing will be huge. ``He's throwing the ball better than he was in the spring,'' manager Lou Piniella said. ``There's no question about that. His velocity was better and also location on his breaking pitches was noticeably better.'' Oakland continues to struggle with the bat as they are hitting just .235 against righties and they have scored 3 runs or less in 6 of their last 9 games.
Anaheim Angels (Ortiz) at Minnesota Twins (Silva) 8:10 PM ET
Minnesota (Silva) –115 (2 Units)
We will go against Ramon Ortiz even though he shows he is coming off a good performance in his last outing. We went 5 innings, allowing 2 runs but his command was an issue once again as he threw 110 pitches and was forced to leave but still managed his first win of the season. The A's had Ortiz on the ropes in the first, fourth and fifth innings, but couldn't deliver the knockout blow. The A's inability to hit with runners in scoring position was made more glaringly prominent. His ERA was helped but not much as it still is up there at 9.77 to go along with his 2.30 WHIP. The Angels are now 3-6 in his last 9 starts dating back to last season with Ortiz allowing 4 earned runs or more in 6 of those starts. He has a 5.13 career ERA against Minnesota and last season he went 1-2 with a 4.44 ERA in 3 starts against the Twins. Ortiz was a 16-game winner last year, but his dreadful spring looked good compared to his first three regular-season starts. Carlos Silva has been a big surprise for the Twins as he has gotten stronger as the season has progressed. Conditioning and durability were concerns heading into this season since Silva never started before this season with the exception of one game for the Phillies last season. Minnesota is now 3-0 his last 3 starts and Silva went past the 6th inning for the first time this season in his last outing and went over 100 pitches for the first time as well. The sinkerball pitcher got 14 outs on ground balls, including three double plays, one to get out of a bases-loaded jam in the fourth inning in his last start against the Royals. The Twins are hitting .312 against righties this season while Anaheim is hitting .278 but only .259 their last 10 games.
We split on Thursday and end up dropping a fraction of a unit. The Giants outhit the Marlins and had their opportunities in the 8th with the bases juiced and no outs but could manage only 1 run after that. 4 Baseball plays for Friday night:
MLB
Atlanta Braves (Hampton) at Colorado Rockies (Kennedy) 9:05 PM ET
Colorado (Kennedy) –1.5 +163 (2 Units)
We all know the problems Mike Hampton had in Colorado in the two years he was there. He had a 5.71 ERA in 2001 at Coors Field and followed that up with a 5.58 ERA in 2002. He went back once last season and even though he picked up the win, he didn’t pitch well, allowing 4 runs on 11 hits over 6.2 innings. This season he is 0-2 with a 12.54 ERA and 2.57 WHIP away from Turner Field and his worse outing was against the lowly Mets if that says anything. Overall, he has just one quality stat in 4 tries as he has allowed at least 9 hits and 6 runs in 3 of his 4 starts. Atlanta is 3-5 in his last 8 starts and if not for an 18 run outburst by the Braves in that Mets game, they would be 2-6. Things should only get worse as he heads back to Colorado. Joe Kennedy has been superb for the Rockies as they are 3-1 in his 4 starts and more impressively, the only loss was on the road and even that wasn’t a bad start. He is 3-0 with a 1.86 ERA at Coors this season as he has given up only 2 runs in each of his last 2 starts. As long as Colorado can get out of the first innings, they should be just fine. The Rockies were outscored 12-1 by Florida in the first inning of that series. They have been outscored 18-1 in the first in the first nine games on the homestand and 27-9 in the first inning this season. Rockies starters have failed to pitch at least six innings in 10 of 21 games this season, including four of the past six. Kennedy is not to blame as he is a perfect 4-4 in that category making the other starters 7 out of 17 in that category.
Seattle Mariners (Garcia) at Detroit Tigers (Johnson) 7:05 PM ET
Seattle (Garcia) –1.5 +120 (2 Units)
The Mariners own this series, winning 18 of the last 21 meetings. Granted, Detroit is playing much better than they did in those past 2+ seasons but it’s a streak that is hard to overlook. Another thing hard to overlook is the way Freddy Garcia is pitching and the bad luck he is having. He has been solid in 3 of his 4 starts but has yet to walk away with a win. Dating back to last season, the Mariners are 2-6 in his last 8 starts yet he has posted an ERA of 1.65. Run support has been his downfall as the Mariners scored 16 total runs in those 8 starts and 18 runs in his last 10 starts. Receiving less than two runs of offense per outing isn’t going to get it done but things should be different here. Jason Johnson does not like facing Seattle as he has just one career win against them in 10 starts. He is 0-6 his last 6 and along with the bullpen, have allowed 45 runs in those starts (7.5 rpg). The Tigers are 1-4 in his starts this season, losing the last 4 as he has a gaudy ERA of 9.35 in those 4 losses. For the season Garcia has an ERA over 4 runs less than what Johnson is allowing. Johnson has been hampered with a blister and while it’s getting better, he’s not completely 100% yet. After an early-season callus on his right middle finger bothered him in consecutive starts and left him with little chance to throw before his last one, it bothered him again in the middle innings in his last start on Sunday. It’s time for Garcia to finally get rewarded. Sometimes struggling teams leave the impression that they're on the verge of a breakout and this is one team that shows that. This is the spot for it to happen.
Oakland Athletics (Redman) at Tampa Bay Devil Rays (Waechter) 7:15 PM ET
Tampa Bay (Waechter) +102 (2 Units)
The Devil Rays return home after a rough road trip to Baltimore, Chicago and Boston. As much as they struggled on that trip, Oakland is struggling even more and they are not done with theirs yet. They dropped three straight at home to the Angels before heading to New York and getting swept. Oakland will look to Mark Redman to try and right the ship but it may not be that easy. Redman was hit hard his last time out against the Angels after starting the season with 3 good games. Tampa Bay is tagging lefties pretty well this season, hitting .294 for the year and .304 at home. Dan Waechter will be making just his second start of the season but if it’s anything like the first, he will shine. He defeated the White Sox 4-1, going 6 strong innings allowing only 4 hits and 0 walks. He has been impressive since his call up last September, with Tampa Bay going 4-2 in his 6 starts and him posting a 3.23 ERA. Waechter is another pitcher who had to deal with a blister problem. He was sent to the minors because of it but now it is fully healed and the confidence of that first outing will be huge. ``He's throwing the ball better than he was in the spring,'' manager Lou Piniella said. ``There's no question about that. His velocity was better and also location on his breaking pitches was noticeably better.'' Oakland continues to struggle with the bat as they are hitting just .235 against righties and they have scored 3 runs or less in 6 of their last 9 games.
Anaheim Angels (Ortiz) at Minnesota Twins (Silva) 8:10 PM ET
Minnesota (Silva) –115 (2 Units)
We will go against Ramon Ortiz even though he shows he is coming off a good performance in his last outing. We went 5 innings, allowing 2 runs but his command was an issue once again as he threw 110 pitches and was forced to leave but still managed his first win of the season. The A's had Ortiz on the ropes in the first, fourth and fifth innings, but couldn't deliver the knockout blow. The A's inability to hit with runners in scoring position was made more glaringly prominent. His ERA was helped but not much as it still is up there at 9.77 to go along with his 2.30 WHIP. The Angels are now 3-6 in his last 9 starts dating back to last season with Ortiz allowing 4 earned runs or more in 6 of those starts. He has a 5.13 career ERA against Minnesota and last season he went 1-2 with a 4.44 ERA in 3 starts against the Twins. Ortiz was a 16-game winner last year, but his dreadful spring looked good compared to his first three regular-season starts. Carlos Silva has been a big surprise for the Twins as he has gotten stronger as the season has progressed. Conditioning and durability were concerns heading into this season since Silva never started before this season with the exception of one game for the Phillies last season. Minnesota is now 3-0 his last 3 starts and Silva went past the 6th inning for the first time this season in his last outing and went over 100 pitches for the first time as well. The sinkerball pitcher got 14 outs on ground balls, including three double plays, one to get out of a bases-loaded jam in the fourth inning in his last start against the Royals. The Twins are hitting .312 against righties this season while Anaheim is hitting .278 but only .259 their last 10 games.