SportSpies.com: Friday MLB Insider Report - 9/10

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Chicago Cubs
-The Cubs begin a nine-game, 10-day road trip with the first of a three-game weekend sent in Milwaukee. Chicago has won a season-high three straight series openers and four of the last five.
-OF Marlon Byrd is hitting .328 on the road, which ranks third in the Senior Circuit.
-Chicago has a .313 batting average with 12 home runs and 39 RBI in six games at Miller Park this season.
-Owns the second-lowest ERA at Miller Park this season, an impressive 2.17 ERA.
-SP Carlos Zambrano is 4-0 with a 1.98 ERA in six outings since returning to the rotation August 9th, including a 3-0 mark with a 1.40 ERA in his last four starts.
-Team is batting .305 in its last 10 games, collecting 10 or more hits in seven of those contests.
-Zambrano is looking to win four-consecutive starts for the first time since July 13-29, 2007.
-Zambrano is 11-8 with a 3.84 ERA in 30 games (27 starts) in his career against Milwaukee.

 

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Detroit Tigers
-The Tigers knocked off the White Sox 6-3 yesterday afternoon at Comerica Park, the club’s third straight win. Detroit continues its seven-game homestand with the first game of a three-game series against Baltimore tonight.
-Detroit enters this evening’s game having won 12 of the club’s last 16 games over the Orioles at Comerica Park dating back to the start of the 2006 season.
-Starting pitchers have recorded a quality start in 11 of the club’s 12 games at Comerica Park dating back to August 10. Over that span, the team has compiled a 9-1 record and 1.70 ERA over that stretch.
-Hitters are batting .295 with 125 runs scored and 22 home runs over the club’s last 21 games dating back to August 19. Detroit leads all AL clubs in runs scored over that stretch.
-Brandon Inge enters tonight’s game against the Orioles hitting .338 with two home runs and 26 RBI over his last 42 games at Comerica Park.
-Detroit has a 15-17 record against the AL East division this season.
-SP Armando Galarraga has compiled a 1.48 ERA over his last four starts dating back to August 20.
-Galarraga is making his 13th appearance, 12th start, at home this evening versus the Orioles. In his previous 12 outings at home this season, he has compiled a 3.11 ERA.

 

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Tampa Bay Rays
-The Rays remain in 2nd place for the 10th consecutive day, 2.5 games back.
-Tampa Bay is 2-4 on its current 9-game, 10-day AL East road trip (1-2, Balt, 1-2 at Bos) that concludes this weekend. In the four defeats on the trip, the Rays starting pitchers have lasted just 4.1, 5.0, 1.2 and 4.1 innings, allowing 24 runs in 15.1 innings.
-At 41-29, the team owns the best road record in the majors and have had a winning record in six of their nine road trips.
-Tampa’s 35-24 record within the East is the best amongst their division. The Rays are also 15-10 against the current leading playoff contenders (NYY, MIN, TEX).
-The Rays are 48-36 (.571) against teams .500 or better this season, most wins in the majors and the best winning percentage in the AL
-Recorded an 8-7 record against the Blue Jays this season, after going 14-4 versus them in 2009. They are 6-3 at home, but 2-4 in Toronto. It’s the only AL East city they have a losing record.
-Rays SP James Shields 12 losses this season matches his career high (2009).
-Shields will be making his second start against the Blue Jays, with both of them occurring at the Rogers Centre. On August 7th, he lost 17-11 and tied a modern day major league record by allowing six home runs.

 

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Cincinnati Reds
-Cincinnati is 29-39 versus teams with records of .500 or above and 50-22 versus teams below .500. The Reds next 13 games and 19 of their last 22 games are versus teams with records below .500.
-Reds batters lead the National League in hitting, runs, hits, total bases, RBI, slugging and hitting with RISP (.283).
-Team has lost five straight road games, tying their season-high. They only have a winning road record in the NL Central.
-SP Homer Bailey is making his 15th start of the season and his sixth since a stint on the disabled list. In his five starts since he came off the DL, he is 2-1 with a 4.15 ERA.
-Bailey has a 5-0 career record and 1.57 ERA in five career starts versus the Pirates.

 

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Philadelphia Phillies
-The Phillies closed out their seven games homestand (5-2) with a 10-6 win over the Marlins. 1B Ryan Howard propelled the Phillies offense with a season-high tying six RBI. Philadelphia recorded a season-high 18 hits in the victory.
-Begin a six-game road trip through New York (3 games) and Florida (3 games). Overall this season, the Phillies are 36-33 on the road. Through their 21 road series in 2010, the Phillies have 10 wins, 10 losses and a tie.
-Won 12 of their last 14 games on the road after losing 12 of their previous 15. Philadelphia has won each of its last four series on the road.
-Team has 21 games remaining in 2010, all of which will be played against each of their four NL East division opponents. This season, the team is 28-23 against the NL East with 23 losses being the fewest among all teams in their division. The Phils have won 13 of their last 17 contests against NL East opponents.
-SP Roy Halladay is 10-1 with a 1.13 ERA in 11 starts against NL East opponents this season.
-Halladay has allowed 10 ER over his last three starts (4.29 ERA) after allowing just 7 ER in his previous six starts combined (6-0, 1.37 ERA).

 

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Minnesota Twins
-Finished their recent nine-game homestand with a 8-1 record.
-With three straight White Sox losses, combined with the last two Twins victories, Minnesota has extended its lead in the AL Central to six games.
-The Twins sweep of Kansas City marked their seventh sweep of the season. It was their sixth sweep at Target Field.
-Recorded a 29-21 mark in one-run games in 2010. 11 of the Twins last 15 games played have been decided by one run (7-4). The Twins were 24-20 in one-run games in 2009.
-The Twins have posted a Major League-best, 38-19 record versus the AL Central. They have gone 18-7 versus their division since the All-Star break. No team has won more games versus the division since the start of 2000.
-Over his last three games, Jim Thome has reached base safely in 11 of 12 plate appearances.
-Minnesota is 37-15 since the All-Star break.
-Twins SP Carl Pavano is third in the American League in innings pitched behind Hernandez and Sabathia.
-Pavano is making his fifth start against the Indians and fourth at Progressive Field this season. He is 6-4 with a 4.46 ERA in 12 career starts in Cleveland.

 

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Seattle Mariners
-Lost Wednesday in Oakland to fall to 3-5 in September. The Mariners have won five of the last 11 games and are 11-14 in the last 25 games. Seattle is also 7-8 in its last 15 road games.
-The Mariners have out-hit their opponent in seven of their last 10 games (4-6) and have tallied more hits in 57 of 140 games overall. The team has posted a 41-16 record in those games.
-Meet for the 17th (4-12) of 19 games this season and have lost all four series against the Angels this season, going 2-5 at Angel Stadium and 2-7 at Safeco Field.
-OF Ichiro Suzuki is riding a current 10-game hitting streak.
-After going seven consecutive games without a home run, the Mariners have homered in six of their last seven games.
-SP David Pauley was 1-4 with a 3.31 ERA in his first 10 games, including six starts. He is 1-3 with a 6.08 ERA in his last four starts. He has yet to toss more than six innings.
-Pauley has received just 12 runs of support over his 10 starts this season when on the mound, as the team is 3-7 in those games.

 

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Toronto Blue Jays
-Play the Rays 18 times this season, nine at Rogers Centre and nine at Tropicana Field. The Jays are 7-8 versus Tampa Bay and are 12-12 against the Rays at the Rogers Centre dating back to the 2008 season.
-Toronto is fourth in the AL with a .549 winning percentage since the All-Star brewak.
-The Blue Jays are 31-26 versus the AL East this season, including a 17-10 mark against the division since the break.
-Lead the majors with 218 home runs, which is 31 more than Boston who ranks 2nd with 187.
-The Jays have now hit a home run in 11 straight contest (23 total). The team hit a HR in a season high 13 straight contests from July 3-20.
-SP Brett Cecil has a 4-2 record and 3.29 ERA in seven appearances (six starts) versus the Rays.
-Cecil had a three-game stretch from June 15-27 where he went 0-3 with a 9.19 ERA. In his 21 other starts, he has produced 17 quality starts and is 12-4 with a 3.15 ERA

 

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Los Angeles Angels
-The Angels snapped a five-game home losing streak on Wednesday with a 16-inning victory over the Indians. Los Angeles is 5-11 over its last 16 contests and 7-15 in the last 22.
-Starting pitchers have held the opposition to two earned runs or less in 11 of the last 13 games and three or fewer in 12 of those 13 games. Compiled a 2.47 ERA since August 29th, the best ERA in the majors in a 10-game stretch. In that same time, the bullpen has posted a 5.72 ERA.
-Since August 1st, the club is batting .188 with RISP. The Halos have totaled 26 runs in their last 12 contests. The Angels have been held to two-or-fewer runs 47 times in 2010 and one run or less in 11 of the last 24 games.
-Los Angeles is 12-4 against Seattle this season and has a 5-2 mark at the Big A. The club has not dropped a season series to the Mariners since an 8-11 record in 2003. The club is 81-49 versus Seattle since the 2003 campaign.
-Scored a total of one run of support over SP Jered Weaver’s last four combined starts (26 IP). Over his last 14 starts, the Angels have plated 26 total runs (1.8 per start).
-Weaver is 10-3 lifetime with a 3.84 ERA versus Seattle and will be making his 18th career start.