BIG AL McMORDIE
MLB TV TOTAL OF THE MONTH (87-63 THIS YEAR)
At 8:05 pm, our selection is on the Boston Red Sox and Tampa Bay Rays 'over' the total. By most accounts, the first season for righthander John Lackey in a Red Sox uniform has been a disappointment. The big veteran starter has a very solid 12-7 record after his first 26 starts, but his 4.51 ERA and 1.49 WHIP are certainly not what he or the Red Sox had hoped for. The one thing that's been there pretty consistently for Lackey all season is run support. Lackey is averaging 5.2 runs of support per start, which is the highest such number for him since his first season in the Majors nine years ago. Even lately, with Boston suffering so many injuries to their lineup (Pedroia, Youkilis, Cameron, Varitek, Ellsbury), Lackey continues to get runs when he goes to the mound. In his last seven starts, going back to July 22, the Sox have scored a total of 37 runs, and in only one of those games have they failed to score at least five runs. Rays righthander James Shields has had a similar season to Lackey's, which is to say that the veteran righthander also has 12 victories and a winning record (12-11) but has definitely not performed up to the expectations that he or the team have wanted. At 4.8 runs per game started, Shields' run support has not been quite as good as Lackey's but it's been decent enough to get him into a position to win 15 games this season for the first time in his career. Heading into Sunday's game, five of the last eight meetings have gone a total of 10 or more runs. Take the 'over.' As always, good luck...Al McMordie.
MLB TV TOTAL OF THE MONTH (87-63 THIS YEAR)
At 8:05 pm, our selection is on the Boston Red Sox and Tampa Bay Rays 'over' the total. By most accounts, the first season for righthander John Lackey in a Red Sox uniform has been a disappointment. The big veteran starter has a very solid 12-7 record after his first 26 starts, but his 4.51 ERA and 1.49 WHIP are certainly not what he or the Red Sox had hoped for. The one thing that's been there pretty consistently for Lackey all season is run support. Lackey is averaging 5.2 runs of support per start, which is the highest such number for him since his first season in the Majors nine years ago. Even lately, with Boston suffering so many injuries to their lineup (Pedroia, Youkilis, Cameron, Varitek, Ellsbury), Lackey continues to get runs when he goes to the mound. In his last seven starts, going back to July 22, the Sox have scored a total of 37 runs, and in only one of those games have they failed to score at least five runs. Rays righthander James Shields has had a similar season to Lackey's, which is to say that the veteran righthander also has 12 victories and a winning record (12-11) but has definitely not performed up to the expectations that he or the team have wanted. At 4.8 runs per game started, Shields' run support has not been quite as good as Lackey's but it's been decent enough to get him into a position to win 15 games this season for the first time in his career. Heading into Sunday's game, five of the last eight meetings have gone a total of 10 or more runs. Take the 'over.' As always, good luck...Al McMordie.
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