Dave Malinsky
Top of the Ticket - Day Total
UNDER 9 RUNS,LOS ANGELES ANGELS(Lackey)-vs- Texas Rangers (Millwood)10/1/2009 6:05:00 PM
4* #966 ANGELS/TEXAS Under
We expect a couple of veteran starting pitchers to bring a lot of pride to the table in this one. We also expect a couple of flat lineups. Add in the Anaheim shadows for this unusual starting time, and the runs are difficult to find. The Rangers are just trying to limp their way home at the end of a disappointing finish, and have managed only two runs through this entire series. With Josh Hamilton done for the season, and Nelson Cruz and Hank Blalock already scratched for today, that form is not going to change, especially as John lackey brings a bit of a chip on his shoulder to the proceedings. Lackey had been one of baseball?s best since the All Star break until falling off in back-to-back starts, allowing six runs on 10 hits from this mound in his last outing vs. Oakland. We can back him to bring the right focus to get back on track before facing the Red Sox next week, with this being much more than just a tune-up for him. Meanwhile Kevin Millwood had some physical issues that took his game off track in mid-August, but he has kept battling to get back to form and we see it right now ? in his last two starts he held the Athletics (one of the best September offenses out there) and Rays to two earned runs over 14 innings, on just 10 hits, with the kind of ground ball ratio we expect from him when he is on his game. We can count on him to be a ?Pro?s Pro? in this setting, and we expect to see the Angel lineup deteriorate over the course of the late afternoon, as Mike Scioscia has most of his starters in the game early on Fan Appreciation Day, but then pulls most of them after an at-bat or two.
