Sunday's Diamond Notes
July 3, 2016
Hottest team: Indians (14-1 last last 15)
For the first time since June 15, we’ll see how the Tribe responds after a loss. For perspective as to how long ago that was, the Cavs were still down 3-2 in the NBA Finals at that point. Cleveland had just been swept in Kansas City, but bounced back to set a franchise record with 14 consecutive wins before falling 9-6 on Saturday afternoon, surrendering the game’s final four runs. The Indians bullpen is a concern after Friday’s 19-inning win and a host of close games they’ve been involved with, but the team’s starting pitching and offense has been the best in baseball for over two weeks. In all, Terry Francona’s team outscored opponents 82-27 during their winning streak and will look to bounce back with rotation mainstay Corey Kluber (8-7, 3.50 ERA) after being forced to give Zach McAllister a spot start yesterday. The 2014 Cy Young Award winner went 4-1 with a 2.19 ERA in June but lost his only start against the Blue Jays last year. Lefty J.A. Happ (10-3, 3.70) will pitch for Toronto, looking to claim his fifth straight decision, extending his team lead in wins.
Coldest team: Rays (0-3 last 3, 2-15 last 17)
Tampa Bay hoped it had finally snapped out of its funk earlier this week when Matt Moore outdueled good buddy and former teammate David Price to help take two of three games from visiting Boston, but the Tigers came into town with other ideas. After scoring 10 runs in each of the first two games, winning the series opener with eight in the ninth, Detroit held off the Rays 3-2 on Saturday, riding Justin Verlander. Banged up and getting limited crowd support, Tampa Bay will turn to Chris Archer (4-11, 4.76) as it tries to avoid being swept in this four-game set, but has just won once in his last eight starts, scoring more than three runs only twice. The Rays do have the good fortune of running into Mike Pelfrey (2-7, 5.02), Detroit’s most vulnerable starter.
Hottest pitcher: Jon Lester (9-3, 2.03 ERA)
After losing another Jake Arrieta start, Chicago looks to avoid a four-game sweep at the hands of the Mets by turning to Lester, their ERA leader and lone lefty starter. The Cubs have lost only once in Lester’s last seven outings and watched him go 4-0 with a 1.41 ERA in June to move into second behind L.A.’s Clayton Kershaw among MLB’s ERA leaders. Lester lost a 4-2 decision to New York and Matt Harvey in Game 1 of last year’s NLCS and will look to stop a seven-game losing streak at the hands of the Mets that started last postseason. He’ll face Noah Syndergaard (8-3, 2.49), who outdueled Arrieta in NLCS Game 2 and has been New York’s best pitcher this year. Syndergaard is coming off surrendering five runs in just three innings to snap a personal six-game winning streak in an 11-4 loss at Washington on June 27. Although there have been rumors he’s been dealing with elbow pain, his velocity was normal and he reported feeling good. This is by far Sunday’s top pitching matchup.
Coldest pitcher: Francisco Liriano (4-8, 5.33 ERA)
The Pirates have won the first two games in their series at Oakland after splitting in Seattle, so their West Coast trip is going extremely well, delivering them to within a game of .500 as they look for a sweep of the A’s. They’ll need to overcome Liriano’s slumping ways to get the job done since he’s pitched in a single victory over his last nine starts. The Dominican lefty has gotten through six innings only twice in his last seven and has surrendered at least four runs in five of six. Liriano has been even worse on the road, giving up 11 home runs in just 38.2 innings and is 1-4 with a 6.98 ERA outside of Pittsburgh. He’s had a pretty solid run with the Pirates, but the manner in which he’s coming apart is similar to how the bottom fell out for him in Minnesota. Oakland slugger Khris Davis is 4-for-12 against him with two homers.
Biggest UNDER run: Cardinals (4-0 last 4)
Brewers starter Chase Anderson (4-8, 5.45) may threaten this St. Louis run since he’s been flammable in his last three starts, all Milwaukee losses. Anderson has surrendered 17 runs in his last 11.1 innings and will be seeing the Cardinals for the first time this season. He’s 1-5 with a 6.30 ERA on the road, but did get through six innings of two-run ball in his only career Busch Stadium appearance. The Cardinals have pitched extremely well on their current homestand, giving up a single run in this series and losing tight games against Kansas City due to their bats betraying them. The Pirates come in next for a key four-game set, but St. Louis has its eyes set on a sweep of the Brewers as they send Michael Wacha (4-7, 4.42) to the mound. He’s had the ‘over’ prevail in seven of his last eight starts despite giving up more than three runs only once in his five June starts. This total has been set at 8.5.
Biggest OVER run: Twins (18-5-2 last 25)
Minnesota exploded for a season-high 17 runs against the Rangers on Saturday, riding a breakout 2-home run, 7-RBI game from rookie Max Kepler. Despite the worst record in baseball, the Twins have been involved in an astounding amount of high-scoring games since May 23. In a 37-game stretch, either Minnesota or its opponent has scored at least five runs in 31 of them, leading to the ‘over’ going 27-8-2. The Twins and Rangers are in the midst of seeing one another seven times between now and the All-Star break, which could lead to plenty of fireworks since Texas has scored at least five runs in eight of its last 10 games. Kyle Gibson (1-5, 5.12) shut out the White Sox over seven innings in his last start, but had been involved in games that climbed ‘over’ the posted total in three of his previous four outings. Rangers ace Cole Hamels (9-1, 2.60) might squash any hope of another big day at the plate for Minnesota, however, since he’s given up two earned runs or less in each of his last five starts, all wins. This total has been set at 8.5.
Matchup to watch: Marlins vs. Braves
Where they’re playing is more important than who is playing in this one. Fort Bragg Stadium, as its being referred to, is a temporary structure on the largest military base in the world that Major League Baseball funded solely for this event in North Carolina. It will be converted into a multi-purpose facility post-game, having been built on land that used to be a golf course. The facility will host the first regular-season MLB game ever played on a military instillation in celebration of July 4th weekend. The 12,500-seat stadium will welcome in mostly soldiers and U.S. Department of Defense personnel in a game that will feature Atlanta as the home team. Both the Braves and Marlins arrived late after playing a 9-1 game at Turner Field that Atlanta surprisingly won as a +235 underdog against Miami ace Jose Fernandez in the biggest shocker of an upset-filled Saturday. The Braves have won only 28 games this season, but are 8-3 against the Marlins, keeping their NL East rival from a firm grip on a Wild Card spot. Lefty Adam Conley (4-5, 3.90) and Matt Wisler (3-7, 4.14) will take the mound on the Sunday night stage for their respective teams. The total has been set at 8.5.
Betcha didn’t know: Brandon McCarthy is undefeated as a member of the Dodgers despite a 5.87 ERA. L.A., notorious for its lack of run support last season, averaged 7.75 runs per game in McCarthy's starts last April before he tore the UCL in his elbow and underwent Tommy John Surgery. McCarthy, who missed the entire 2010 season due to a shoulder surgery, will be pitching in the bigs for the first time in over 14 months following a rehab stint at Class A Rancho Cucamonga that begin on June 12. McCarthy went 0-1 with a 4.61 ERA in Class-A, striking out 11 and walking three. Colorado, who McCarthy shut out 7-0 in his best Dodgers start, will counter with Jon Gray (5-3, 4.83) to try and avoid a sweep. The Rockies have scored a single run in the first two games of the series.
Biggest public favorite: Rangers (-160) at Twins
Biggest public underdog: Rockies (+115) at Dodgers
Biggest line move: Rays (-140 to -155) vs. Tigers
July 3, 2016
Hottest team: Indians (14-1 last last 15)
For the first time since June 15, we’ll see how the Tribe responds after a loss. For perspective as to how long ago that was, the Cavs were still down 3-2 in the NBA Finals at that point. Cleveland had just been swept in Kansas City, but bounced back to set a franchise record with 14 consecutive wins before falling 9-6 on Saturday afternoon, surrendering the game’s final four runs. The Indians bullpen is a concern after Friday’s 19-inning win and a host of close games they’ve been involved with, but the team’s starting pitching and offense has been the best in baseball for over two weeks. In all, Terry Francona’s team outscored opponents 82-27 during their winning streak and will look to bounce back with rotation mainstay Corey Kluber (8-7, 3.50 ERA) after being forced to give Zach McAllister a spot start yesterday. The 2014 Cy Young Award winner went 4-1 with a 2.19 ERA in June but lost his only start against the Blue Jays last year. Lefty J.A. Happ (10-3, 3.70) will pitch for Toronto, looking to claim his fifth straight decision, extending his team lead in wins.
Coldest team: Rays (0-3 last 3, 2-15 last 17)
Tampa Bay hoped it had finally snapped out of its funk earlier this week when Matt Moore outdueled good buddy and former teammate David Price to help take two of three games from visiting Boston, but the Tigers came into town with other ideas. After scoring 10 runs in each of the first two games, winning the series opener with eight in the ninth, Detroit held off the Rays 3-2 on Saturday, riding Justin Verlander. Banged up and getting limited crowd support, Tampa Bay will turn to Chris Archer (4-11, 4.76) as it tries to avoid being swept in this four-game set, but has just won once in his last eight starts, scoring more than three runs only twice. The Rays do have the good fortune of running into Mike Pelfrey (2-7, 5.02), Detroit’s most vulnerable starter.
Hottest pitcher: Jon Lester (9-3, 2.03 ERA)
After losing another Jake Arrieta start, Chicago looks to avoid a four-game sweep at the hands of the Mets by turning to Lester, their ERA leader and lone lefty starter. The Cubs have lost only once in Lester’s last seven outings and watched him go 4-0 with a 1.41 ERA in June to move into second behind L.A.’s Clayton Kershaw among MLB’s ERA leaders. Lester lost a 4-2 decision to New York and Matt Harvey in Game 1 of last year’s NLCS and will look to stop a seven-game losing streak at the hands of the Mets that started last postseason. He’ll face Noah Syndergaard (8-3, 2.49), who outdueled Arrieta in NLCS Game 2 and has been New York’s best pitcher this year. Syndergaard is coming off surrendering five runs in just three innings to snap a personal six-game winning streak in an 11-4 loss at Washington on June 27. Although there have been rumors he’s been dealing with elbow pain, his velocity was normal and he reported feeling good. This is by far Sunday’s top pitching matchup.
Coldest pitcher: Francisco Liriano (4-8, 5.33 ERA)
The Pirates have won the first two games in their series at Oakland after splitting in Seattle, so their West Coast trip is going extremely well, delivering them to within a game of .500 as they look for a sweep of the A’s. They’ll need to overcome Liriano’s slumping ways to get the job done since he’s pitched in a single victory over his last nine starts. The Dominican lefty has gotten through six innings only twice in his last seven and has surrendered at least four runs in five of six. Liriano has been even worse on the road, giving up 11 home runs in just 38.2 innings and is 1-4 with a 6.98 ERA outside of Pittsburgh. He’s had a pretty solid run with the Pirates, but the manner in which he’s coming apart is similar to how the bottom fell out for him in Minnesota. Oakland slugger Khris Davis is 4-for-12 against him with two homers.
Biggest UNDER run: Cardinals (4-0 last 4)
Brewers starter Chase Anderson (4-8, 5.45) may threaten this St. Louis run since he’s been flammable in his last three starts, all Milwaukee losses. Anderson has surrendered 17 runs in his last 11.1 innings and will be seeing the Cardinals for the first time this season. He’s 1-5 with a 6.30 ERA on the road, but did get through six innings of two-run ball in his only career Busch Stadium appearance. The Cardinals have pitched extremely well on their current homestand, giving up a single run in this series and losing tight games against Kansas City due to their bats betraying them. The Pirates come in next for a key four-game set, but St. Louis has its eyes set on a sweep of the Brewers as they send Michael Wacha (4-7, 4.42) to the mound. He’s had the ‘over’ prevail in seven of his last eight starts despite giving up more than three runs only once in his five June starts. This total has been set at 8.5.
Biggest OVER run: Twins (18-5-2 last 25)
Minnesota exploded for a season-high 17 runs against the Rangers on Saturday, riding a breakout 2-home run, 7-RBI game from rookie Max Kepler. Despite the worst record in baseball, the Twins have been involved in an astounding amount of high-scoring games since May 23. In a 37-game stretch, either Minnesota or its opponent has scored at least five runs in 31 of them, leading to the ‘over’ going 27-8-2. The Twins and Rangers are in the midst of seeing one another seven times between now and the All-Star break, which could lead to plenty of fireworks since Texas has scored at least five runs in eight of its last 10 games. Kyle Gibson (1-5, 5.12) shut out the White Sox over seven innings in his last start, but had been involved in games that climbed ‘over’ the posted total in three of his previous four outings. Rangers ace Cole Hamels (9-1, 2.60) might squash any hope of another big day at the plate for Minnesota, however, since he’s given up two earned runs or less in each of his last five starts, all wins. This total has been set at 8.5.
Matchup to watch: Marlins vs. Braves
Where they’re playing is more important than who is playing in this one. Fort Bragg Stadium, as its being referred to, is a temporary structure on the largest military base in the world that Major League Baseball funded solely for this event in North Carolina. It will be converted into a multi-purpose facility post-game, having been built on land that used to be a golf course. The facility will host the first regular-season MLB game ever played on a military instillation in celebration of July 4th weekend. The 12,500-seat stadium will welcome in mostly soldiers and U.S. Department of Defense personnel in a game that will feature Atlanta as the home team. Both the Braves and Marlins arrived late after playing a 9-1 game at Turner Field that Atlanta surprisingly won as a +235 underdog against Miami ace Jose Fernandez in the biggest shocker of an upset-filled Saturday. The Braves have won only 28 games this season, but are 8-3 against the Marlins, keeping their NL East rival from a firm grip on a Wild Card spot. Lefty Adam Conley (4-5, 3.90) and Matt Wisler (3-7, 4.14) will take the mound on the Sunday night stage for their respective teams. The total has been set at 8.5.
Betcha didn’t know: Brandon McCarthy is undefeated as a member of the Dodgers despite a 5.87 ERA. L.A., notorious for its lack of run support last season, averaged 7.75 runs per game in McCarthy's starts last April before he tore the UCL in his elbow and underwent Tommy John Surgery. McCarthy, who missed the entire 2010 season due to a shoulder surgery, will be pitching in the bigs for the first time in over 14 months following a rehab stint at Class A Rancho Cucamonga that begin on June 12. McCarthy went 0-1 with a 4.61 ERA in Class-A, striking out 11 and walking three. Colorado, who McCarthy shut out 7-0 in his best Dodgers start, will counter with Jon Gray (5-3, 4.83) to try and avoid a sweep. The Rockies have scored a single run in the first two games of the series.
Biggest public favorite: Rangers (-160) at Twins
Biggest public underdog: Rockies (+115) at Dodgers
Biggest line move: Rays (-140 to -155) vs. Tigers
