Sunday 9/25/16 service plays chatter/comps/requests & other stuff...

[Can'tPickaWinner2]

Preview: Reds (64-90) at Brewers (70-85)

Game: 3
Venue: Miller Park
Date: September 25, 2016 2:10 PM EDT

MILWAUKEE -- Jonathan Villar is struggling -- badly -- but Milwaukee Brewers manager Craig Counsell isn't worried.

One the more pleasant surprises on Milwaukee's roster this season, Villar entrenched himself in the leadoff spot early on in 2016 and kept on hitting, carrying a .297 average into the final month of the season. But in his last 16 games, Villar has gone 5-for-52 at the plate.

"What Jonathan -- and a couple of guys -- are going through is just the grind of a major league season," Counsell said. "From my perspective, they need to go through it because it's what's going to happen next year and the years after that.

"You need to go through it, you need to experience some of this stuff for the first time. You can't take it away from guys, they have to experience it for the first time."

Villar went 0-for-3 with a walk and a strikeout on Saturday but also stole his 59th base, moving past injured Cincinnati outfielder Billy Hamilton for the National League lead.

"I want him to experience some of this a little bit," Counsell said. "Not the feeling of failure, but to know that this is what September feels like. It's important and it's going to help him next year as he goes through the course of a season. That's kind of how I'm thinking about it.

"You're not going to put guys out there who are completely washed out, but I do think that this is part of a 162-game season and when we get to a point when these last 10 games are determining a playoff spot, you want guys who have been through this a bit."

Villar will try to dig out of his funk Sunday against Cincinnati right-hander Brandon Finnegan as the Brewers and Reds wrap up their season series with a matinee at Miller Park.

It will be the final start of the season for Finnegan, who has thrown 167 innings this season in 31 starts for the Reds. He'd like to finish on a high note, especially after lasting only 2 1/3 innings his last time out.

That was supposed to be Finnegan's final outing, but with the Reds short on starting pitching, even with expanded September rosters, manager Bryan Price opted to give Finnegan one more start.

"I'm not going to be sitting around for two weeks, that's the good thing about it," said Finnegan, who is 9-11 with a 4.30 ERA this season. "If I was doing that, I probably would just sit around and get fat. It's just the truth."

Price had considered using Homer Bailey, who hasn't pitched since experiencing arm soreness during an Aug. 28 start, but opted against it for the time being.

"I'm just not ready to commit that he's in the rotation. That's all," Price said. "We haven't gotten to that point yet where we have universal confirmation that that's the way we want to go."

Wily Peralta gets the ball for Milwaukee, his seventh start since returning from a two-month demotion in the minor leagues. Peralta was 4-7 with a 6.68 ERA when he was optioned to Triple-A Colorado Springs on June 11, but since returning to Milwaukee on Aug. 9, he has gone 3-3 with a 3.26 ERA in eight starts.

Peralta has faced the Reds 13 times in his career and twice already this season, going 1-1 with a 3.00 ERA.

 

[Can'tPickaWinner2]

Preview: Angels (69-86) at Astros (81-74)

Game: 4
Venue: Minute Maid Park
Date: September 25, 2016 2:10 PM EDT

HOUSTON -- This wasn't how the weekend seemed destined to play out, not with the Houston Astros in dogged pursuit of a postseason berth as an American League wild card and not with the lowly Los Angeles Angels playing out the string in a disappointing season.

On Saturday night, the Angels set the stage for a series sweep on Sunday with a 10-4 victory over the fading Astros (81-74), scoring nine runs in their final two at-bats to erase a three-run deficit and stun Houston for a second consecutive game.

In dropping their third successive game to the Angels, the Astros fell three games behind the Orioles for the second wild-card spot with seven games to play. Also between the Astros and Orioles are the Tigers (83-71) and Mariners (81-73), a sour turn of events for the Astros after they entered the weekend one game out of the postseason and hosting a team they'd defeated 11 times in 12 meetings.

"Obviously, it's tough," said Astros right fielder George Springer, who finished 4-for-5 with a triple and an RBI. "This is a tough stretch for us, but that's a good team over there. You can never count them out. They always play us tough and they have the last three days. But we have to come out tomorrow and it has to happen."

Rookie right-hander Joe Musgrove (3-4, 4.42 ERA) will make his first career start against the Angels (69-86) looking to help the Astros avert the sweep. Musgrove allowed one run and two hits in 5 1/3 innings on Sept. 20 at Oakland while pitching Houston to a 2-1 win.

Musgrove has enjoyed a strong start to his career at Minute Maid Park, surrendering just six runs in 29 innings in five appearances (four starts) at home.

Like Musgrove against Los Angeles, Angels right-hander Daniel Wright (0-4, 7.48 ERA) will make his first career appearance against the Astros. Wright, claimed off waivers from the Cincinnati Reds on Sept. 4, will make his fourth appearance for the Angels, his eighth appearance overall and sixth start on the season.

Wright made his Angels debut on Sept. 10 against the Rangers and did not factor in the decision. He made his major league debut with Cincinnati on May 24 at Dodger Stadium and pitched in four games (two starts) with the Reds before his release.

Behind solid starts from Ricky Nolasco, Alex Meyer and Jhoulys Chacin, and consecutive late-inning rallies against the Houston bullpen, the Angels have built surprising momentum heading into the series finale and the final week of the season. Whether they can carry that momentum into Sunday remains to be seen, but at this juncture, the Angels have made significant strides at the Astros' expense.

"It always gives you confidence when you're playing at a level, especially when you're coming back to win some games," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. "But every game is it's only little story. You need to build momentum from pitch one of tomorrow's game to keep going. The first three games we've done a good job of that."

 

[Can'tPickaWinner2]

Preview: Mariners (81-73) at Twins (56-99)

Game: 3
Venue: Target Field
Date: September 25, 2016 2:10 PM EDT

MINNEAPOLIS -- While the Seattle Mariners are trying to avoid an early end to their season, the Minnesota Twins need a late-season win streak to avoid an ugly bit of franchise history.

The Mariners remain in the thick of the American League wild-card race heading into Sunday's series finale at Target Field but cannot have slip-ups like Saturday night's power outage if they are to make the postseason for the first time since 2001.

"They're all important," Mariners manager Scott Servais said after Saturday's 3-2 loss cost Seattle a chance to advance on the Detroit Tigers, who also lost. "Tonight was important, tomorrow's important, the next one's important. It's just where we are in the season."

For the Twins, who head into their final home game of the season with 99 losses, the task is to avoid becoming just the second team in franchise history to reach triple-digit losses. The 1982 Twins lost 102 games -- a mark that this team could eclipse with seven games to play.

The 1982 Twins were the first to play indoor baseball in Minnesota, with the Metrodome opening that season. They were hard to watch but included young players like Kent Hrbek, Frank Viola, Tim Laudner, Tom Brunansky and Gary Gaetti, who formed the nucleus of the team that would win a World Series five years later.

If the Twins are to avoid that dubious distinction, they'll need to keep hitting home runs. They now have 192 this season, which is the most the franchise has recorded since that 1987 World Series championship team hit 196.

"This is a moment when I see my team play hard and I play hard too," said Twins slugger Miguel Sano, who blasted his 24th homer of the season on Saturday.

On Sunday, the Twins will send left-hander Hector Santiago (12-9, 4.82 ERA) out to face Seattle right-hander Taijuan Walker (6-11, 4.32).

Working on the mound at Target Field might bring back good memories for Walker, whose only previous start in Minnesota came July 31, 2015, when he threw a complete game, allowing just one hit and striking out 11.

Of course, none of that will matter if the Mariners can't score runs, which was their problem in Saturday's loss that dropped them to 1-4 against the Twins this season. Nelson Cruz's towering homer, measured at 493 feet, was their only offense.

After giving up the go-ahead homer to the Twins in the fourth inning, the Mariners pitchers retired the last 15 Minnesota batters in a row, but couldn't score again.

"Our bullpen did a nice job of keeping us right there, but offensively we just couldn't get much going," Servais said. "Obviously, Nellie hit the big homer, but other than that there weren't a whole lot of chances."

The Seattle loss, coupled with a Baltimore win, has the Mariners 2 1/2 games back of the final wild-card spot, but the task is tougher, as they would need to leap-frog Houston, Detroit and Baltimore to get to play games after their Oct. 2 regular-season finale with Oakland at Safeco Field.

 

[Can'tPickaWinner2]

Preview: Rangers (92-63) at Athletics (66-88)

Game: 3
Venue: Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum
Date: September 25, 2016 4:05 PM EDT

OAKLAND, Calif. -- Left-hander Cole Hamels and right-hander Yu Darvish were struggling before pitching gems in the first two games of the Texas Rangers' three-game series against the Oakland A's.

Hamels pitched seven shutout innings in a 3-0 victory on Friday night when the Rangers clinched the American League West title. Darvish blanked the A's for seven inning in a 5-0 win on Saturday afternoon.

Both pitchers got back on track in what were likely their next-to-last starts before the postseason begins.

On Sunday, right-hander Colby Lewis will try to regain his pitching groove when the Rangers go for a series sweep at the Oakland Coliseum.

"He's a real important guy on our team, too," Rangers shortstop Elvis Andrus said of Lewis after hitting a pair of two-run homers. "He carried our team in the first half."

Lewis will make his third start since returning from a two-month stint on the disabled list with a strained lat muscle in the back of his pitching shoulder. Lewis went 0-2 with a 5.06 ERA in his past two starts. In his last start, he gave up three runs and three hits in 5 1/3 innings in a 6-3 loss to the A's.

Lewis is 12-5 with a 2.87 ERA in 29 games, including 27 starts, in his career against Oakland. He has more career wins and starts against the A's than any other team.

In his last start at the Coliseum on June 16, Lewis took a no-hitter into the ninth inning and settled for a two-hit shutout in a 6-0 victory. He improved to 6-0 with that win but has lost his past three starts.

A's rookie right-hander Jharel Cotton will make his fourth career major-league start and try to pitch his fourth straight gem. He's 1-0 with a 1.50 ERA and has allowed one earned run in each of his three starts.

"It's been good," Cotton said. "My confidence is now higher, but the job's not done. I think I have one or two more starts to go and I want to go out there and give my team a chance to win and go out there and pitch the way I know how to pitch and have fun out there on the mound."

Cotton joined John Henry Johnson and Rich Harden as the only pitchers in Oakland history to start their careers with three straight outings of at least five innings and one or fewer earned runs.

A's manager Bob Melvin said what has stood out most about Cotton is the poise he has had from the minute he took the mound in his debut on Sept. 7 in a 4-1 victory over the Los Angeles Angels in Oakland.

"I know he was a little nervous in the bullpen, but once he got on the mound, he looked like he was really comfortable," Melvin said. "He's with a new organization, he's pitching at the big leagues for a first time. There's a lot of things that can unnerve you on the mound, and it didn't look like that was the case with him.

"The stuff you see. The stuff is good, but I think the confidence that he had when he first took the mound probably impressed me the most. He's another guy that definitely we'll take a hard look next year in the rotation."

Cotton is one of three pitchers the A's acquired from the Dodgers earlier this season in exchange for outfielder Josh Reddick and left-hander Rich Hill.

 

[Can'tPickaWinner2]

Preview: Rockies (73-82) at Dodgers (89-66)

Game: 4
Venue: Dodger Stadium
Date: September 25, 2016 4:10 PM EDT

LOS ANGELES -- In the City of Angels of all places, the Baseball Gods seemed to have aligned the stars for Vin Scully and the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Scully, the Hall of Fame broadcaster, works the final home game of his legendary career Sunday when Los Angeles can clinch the National League West title when it hosts the Colorado Rockies to cap a four-game series.

A win by Los Angeles or a loss by San Francisco in San Diego on Sunday allows Los Angeles to claim its fourth consecutive National League West championship.

No NL West club has accomplished that feat.

"Any team would want to clinch anywhere but it's always sweeter to clinch at home," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. "For that great man, that wonderful human to watch it in person here in his home, in his house, I think it's only fitting."

Rockies manager Walt Weiss doesn't share in Roberts' enthusiasm, but believes playing for an opportunity to prevent such a title celebration can benefit his players.

"I think it goes without saying that it's good for the young players to play down the stretch against some of these teams in (seeking) the playoffs," Weiss said. "It's good for your players to see that, the young players especially. Chalk it up to experience and persepective."

Brandon McCarthy (2-2 3.63 ERA) gets the start for the Dodgers instead of Rich Hill. Hill is being skipped for his scheduled start for precautionary reasons since he has had a recurrence of blisters on his index pitching finger. Hill probably will pitch in the Dodgers' final regular-season series in San Francisco next weekend.

McCarthy hasn't pitched since Aug. 13, when a sore right hip forced him out of a loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates and landed him on the disabled list. McCarthy lasted only 1 2/3 innings and allowed three runs on two hits with five walks against the Pirates. He hasn't earned a win since July 9 when he beat the Padres.

McCarthy is 2-3 with a 4.74 ERA in seven starts against the Rockies. He pitched five scoreless innings on two hits in a victory over Colorado on July 2.

"We've got McCarthy going (Sunday),' Roberts said. "The energy was great (Saturday) and obviously a carry-over from the (celebration) we had for Vin (Friday night) and the expectation and anticipation for clinching a fourth division title in a row."

Rookie Tyler Anderson (5-5, 3.58) stands between the Dodgers and their bid for history. Anderson is 0-4 with a 5.10 ERA in six road starts and beat Los Angeles twice this season at Coors Field. Anderson's last win was Aug. 31, when he blanked the Dodgers for 6 1/3 innings on six hits with five strikeouts and no walks in a 7-0 win.

Anderson also defeated Los Angeles on Aug. 3, when he struck out six, walked two and allowed two runs in a 12-2 romp.

Anderson pitches at Dodger Stadium for the first time.

 

[Can'tPickaWinner2]

Preview: Giants (82-73) at Padres (65-90)

Game: 4
Venue: PETCO Park
Date: September 25, 2016 4:40 PM EDT

SAN DIEGO -- Johnny Cueto has been more of an ace than Madison Bumgarner on San Francisco's pitching staff this season.

Cueto is 17-9 with a 2.79 ERA and the Giants are 22-9 when he starts. Bumgarner is 14-9, 2.71 after Saturday night's 9-6, 10-inning win over the Padres at Petco Park, improving San Francisco to 20-14 in his turns.

Cueto was scheduled to start in Sunday's finale of a four-game series against the Padres, but rookie left-hander Ty Blach will take his place.

Giants manager Bruce Bochy officially announced Saturday what everyone expected: The groin injury that Cueto suffered in his last start would prevent him from pitching Sunday. He will probably miss only one start.

The Giants go into Sunday tied with the New York Mets for the top spot in the National League wild-card race. The St. Louis Cardinals trail the Mets and Giants by one-half game. San Francisco is eliminated from NL West contention with a loss or a Dodgers' victory at home over Colorado.

Blach gets the call to face resurging veteran left-hander Clayton Richard, who is 3-2 with a 1.87 ERA in nine games (seven starts) since rejoining the Padres on Aug. 6 following a three-year absence from San Diego and Petco Park.

Richard, who is throwing from a new arm slot with a sinker added to his repertoire, has already faced the Giants since his return to the Padres. On Sept. 13, he held them to three runs on 11 hits and three walks in 5 2/3 innings at AT&T Park. That was one of five straight games the Padres have won with Richards starting.

"Clayton's put himself in our plans moving forward," Padres manager Andy Green recently said of the 33-year-old.

Bochy picked Blach over Jake Peavy and Matt Cain to make Sunday's start.

"Ty has started more recently then either Peavy or Cain," Bochy said. Blach has made two, three-inning appearances for the Giants since being promoted from Triple-A Sacramento.

Blach was 14-7 with a 3.43 ERA in 26 starts with Sacramento. His 14 wins tied a Sacramento franchise record. With San Francisco, Blach has allowed one hit over six scoreless innings with a walk and a strikeout.

Blach should be familiar with half the starters deployed by the Padres on Sunday.

Catcher Austin Hedges, right fielder Hunter Renfroe (who hit his first major league homer Saturday night off Bumgarner), center fielder Manuel Margot (who had his first major league hit and RBI on Saturday) and second baseman Carlos Asuaje all faced Sacramento while members of the Padres' El Paso affiliate that won the Pacific Coast League title.

San Diego left fielder Alex Dickerson and infielder Ryan Schimpf also played for El Paso earlier in the season.

 

[Can'tPickaWinner2]

Preview: Cardinals (81-73) at Cubs (98-56)

Game: 3
Venue: Wrigley Field
Date: September 25, 2016 8:08 PM EDT

CHICAGO -- The National League Central champion Chicago Cubs have lost just 24 of their 80 home games this season.

The St. Louis Cardinals have delivered six of those losses. They're 6-3 at Wrigley Field this season.

The Cardinals can steal another victory Sunday night when they play the rubber match of their three-game series against the Cubs.

With their unlikely success at the famed ballpark, the Cardinals (81-73) remain focused on the NL wild-card race. They are one-half game behind New York and San Francisco, who are tied for the top spot.

"The records and all that don't mean that much," said Cardinals manager Mike Matheny, whose team is 9-9 against the Cubs. "We've got a whole lot of fighting left to do."

Catcher Yadier Molina echoed that sentiment.

"We don't think about numbers," he said. "We just come here and try to win games. Obviously, we know what kind of team they are. They're obviously the best team in the league. We respect that, but at the same time, we come here thinking about winning."

The Cubs have their own goals in mind. After securing home-field advantage in the NL playoffs, the team is aiming for 100 victories.

The Cubs are 98-56 after falling 10-4 to the Cardinals on Saturday. The Cubs last won 99 games in 1935, when they reached 100 victories.

"When you start the year, you think 90 wins; that should get you to the dance pretty much," said Cubs manager Joe Maddon, who won 97 in 2008 with Tampa and last year with Chicago. "When you get a chance to do 100, that is special.

"First of all, you have to be good. Then second of all, you do have to really approach the day properly. Because we have rested our guys. Everybody has played. We've been fortunate with our starting pitching that they've been able to get their normal turn. That's probably the most important thing."

Left-hander Jon Lester, who is scheduled to start Sunday, and the rest of the Cubs rotation have been able to stay relatively healthy.

"The biggest surprise overall is health, general health," Maddon said.

"When you get a starting group that has a chance to pitch 1,000 innings or close to it among five pitchers, that's the part that's really special."

Lester (18-4, 2.36 ERA) posted his league-leading 18th victory on Tuesday when he held the Cincinnati Reds to one run in seven innings.

His ERA ranks second in the majors behind teammate -- and fellow NL Cy Young contender -- Kyle Hendricks' 2.06.

"It's a huge, huge honor to even be in consideration," Lester told reporters.

Lester also owns a nine-game winning streak and is 9-2 with a 1.86 ERA at Wrigley this season. In eight career starts against the Cardinals, he owns a 2.22 ERA. With Lester and 2015 NL Cy Young winner Jake Arrieta, the Cubs are the first NL team with two 18-game winners since the 2004 Astros and first Cubs team with such a pair since 1989.

For St. Louis, right-hander Carlos Martinez (15-8, 3.16) is scheduled to start Sunday. In his last outing, he allowed two runs in five innings against Colorado. The right-hander is 3-2 with a 4.85 ERA in 18 career games, including eight starts, against the Cubs.

 

[Can'tPickaWinner2]

MLB

Sunday’s games

National League

Cardinals @ Cubs
Martinez is 5-1, 2.80 in his last seven starts; his last four stayed under. Cardinals are 7-1 in his last eight road starts.

Lester is 6-0, 0.72 in his last seven starts; his last eight stayed under the total. Chicago won his last eight home starts.

Cardinals won five of last seven games; five of their last seven games stayed under. Chicago won four of last five games; four of their last six games stayed under.

Nationals @ Pirates
Cole is 0-1, 5.79 in his last three starts; three of his last four stayed under.

Glasnow is 0-1, 6.48 in two MLB starts (over 1-1).

Nationals lost five of last seven games; under is 11-4-1 in their last 15 road games. Pittsburgh won seven of last ten games; over is 6-3-1 in their last ten games.

Braves @ Marlins
Teheran is 3-1, 2.87 in his last five starts; seven of his last eight went over. Atlanta is 6-5 in his road starts.

Fernandez is 3-0, 1.64 in his last three starts; four of his last six stayed under the total. Miami is 12-4 in his home starts.

Braves won seven of last eight games; over is 10-3 in their last 13 road games. Miami lost three of last four games; under is 14-4 in Miami’s last 18 home games.

Phillies @ Mets
Thompson is 2-1, 3.09 in his last four starts; under is 3-1-1 in his last five. He is 0-2, 9.00 in three road starts.

Gsellman is 1-1, 2.86 in his last four starts (under 3-2).

Phillies lost five of last six road games; their last six games went over. Mets lost four of last six games; five of their last six games went over.

Reds @ Brewers
Finnegan is 1-2, 3.91 in his last five starts (under 4-1). Reds are 6-9 in his road starts.

Peralta is 2-1, 3.04 in his last four starts; four of his last five stayed under. Milwaukee is 4-5 in his home starts.

Reds lost eight of last ten games; under is 8-3 in their last 11 road games. Milwaukee is 6-4 in its last ten games; under is 4-1-1 in their last six home games.

Giants @ Padres
Blach is making first MLB start; he was 14-7, 3.43 in 26 AAA starts this year, he’s thrown six scoreless innings in two relief stints.

Richard is 3-0, 1.74 in his last five starts (under 5-2). he is 2-1, 1.86 in three home starts.

Giants lost five of last eight games; three of their last four games went over. San Diego is 6-10 in last 16 home games; six of last eight Padre games stayed under the total.

Rockies @ Dodgers
Anderson 0-1, 6.27 in his last three starts; four of his last five stayed under. Colorado is 1-5 in his road starts.

Hill is 3-2, 1.53 in five starts for the Dodgers (under 4-1).

Colorado is 4-15 in last 19 road games; over is 9-4 in their last 13 road games. Dodgers won ten of last 11 home games; under is 12-6 in their last 18 games.


American League

New York @ Toronto
Pineda is 0-1, 4.13 in his last five starts; New York is 6-8 in his road starts. Over is 7-3 in his last ten starts.

Estrada is 1-3, 5.95 in his last four starts; over is 5-2-1 in his last eight. Toronto is 1-5 in his last six home starts.

New York lost eight of last ten games; over is 6-3 in their last nine games. Blue Jays won four of last five games; under is 8-2-2 in Jays’ last 12 games.

Red Sox @ Rays
Rodriguez is 1-1, 3.57 in his last four starts; under is 10-2 in his last 12. Boston is 6-4 in his road starts.

Odorizzi is 0-1, 5.09 in his last four starts; four of his last five stayed under the total. Rays won his last five home starts.

Tampa Bay lost five of last six games; under is 7-2-2 in their last 11 home games. Boston won its last ten games; six of last seven Boston games stayed under the total.

Royals @ Tigers
Volquez is 0-1, 7.92 in his last five starts; over is 8-2-1 in his last 11 starts. Royals won three of his last four road
starts.

Boyd is 1-2, 4.82 in his last three starts; under is 5-2-1 in his last eight. Detroit is 6-2 in his home starts.

Royals are 6-11 in last 17 games; four of KC’s last six road games stayed under the total. Detroit won five of its last six games; under is 15-7-2 in Tigers’ last 24 home games.

White Sox @ Indians
Rodon is 0-2, 12.00 in his last two starts; over is 5-2 in his last seven. Chicago is 3-9 in his road starts.

Tomlin is 1-0, 1.54 in his last two starts; under is 4-1-1 in his last six. Indians are 9-4 in his home starts.

White Sox lost six of last seven games; over is 11-1 in their last 12 road games. Cleveland won eight of last ten home games; over is 8-6 in their last 14 home games.

Angels @ Astros
Wright is 0-2, 7.36 in his three starts for the Angels. (over 1-1-1).

Musgrove is 1-0, 3.09 in his last two starts (under 5-3-1). Astros are 2-2 in his home starts.

Angels won their last four games; under is 9-2-1 in Halos’ last 12 games. Astros lost their last three games; their bullpen allowed 14 runs the last two days. Three of last four Houston games went over the total.

Mariners @ Twins
Walker is 2-1, 2.79 in his last three starts; three of his last four went over. Seattle is 2-7 in his road starts.

Santiago is 2-1, 3.26 in his last five starts (under 4-1). Twins are 2-3 in his home starts.

Mariners are 9-5 in last 14 games, 7-1 in last eight on road; under is 7-3-2 in their last 12 road games. Minnesota lost seven of last eight games; five of their last seven games stayed under.

Rangers @ A’s
Lewis is 0-3, 6.89 in his last three starts; four of his last five stayed under. Texas is 5-3 in his road starts.

Cotton is 1-0, 2.50 in his first three MLB starts (under 2-1).

Rangers are 9-5 in last 14 games; under is 9-3 in their last 11 games. Oakland lost its last eight home games- they got shut out last two days; eight of last ten Oakland home games stayed under the total.


Interleague

Diamondbacks @ Orioles
Miller is 0-6, 8.36 in his last seven starts; three of his last four stayed under. Three of his last four road starts stayed under.

Gallardo is 1-4, 9.13 in his last five starts; three of his last four went over. Baltimore lost his last four home starts.

Arizona lost seven of last eight road games; six of last seven Arizona road games stayed under. Orioles lost four of last six games; under is 17-1-1 in last 19 games at Camden Yards.


Teams’ record when this pitcher starts:

StL-Chi– Martinez 16-13; Lester 23-7
Wsh-Pitt– Cole 1-5; Glasnow 1-1
Atl-Mia– Teheran 8-20; Fernandez 18-11
Phil-NY– Thompson 3-6; Gsellman 2-3
Cin-Mil– Finnegan 12-19; Peralta 8-13
Colo-LA– Anderson 8-10; Hill 3-2/9-5
SF-SD– Blach 0-0; Richard 5-2

NY-Tor– Pineda 15-15; Estrada 14-13
Bos-TB– Rodriguez 7-11; Odorizzi 15-16
KC-Det– Volquez 16-16; Boyd 10-7
Chi-Clev– Rodon 11-15; Tomlin 19-8
LA-Hst– Wright 0-3; Musgrove 4-5
Sea-Min– Walker 9-14; Santiago 4-5/16-6
Tex-A’s– Lewis 10-7; Cotton 2-1

Az-Balt– Shipley 5-4; Bundy 7-6


# of time pitcher allows 1+ runs in first inning:

StL-Chi– Martinez 5-29; Lester 7-30
Wsh-Pitt– Cole 0-6; Glasnow 1-2
Atl-Mia– Teheran 7-28; Fernandez 7-29
Phil-NY– Thompson 3-9; Gsellman 1-5
Cin-Mil– Finnegan 8-31; Peralta 9-21
Colo-LA– Anderson 5-18; Hill 4-18
SF-SD– Blach 0-0; Richard 0-7

NY-Tor– Pineda 10-30; Estrada 10-27
Bos-TB– Rodriguez 4-18; Odorizzi 5-31
KC-Det– Volquez 8-32; Boyd 3-17
Chi-Clev– Rodon 7-26; Tomlin 12-27
LA-Hst– Wright 2-3; Musgrove 2-9
Sea-Min– Walker 4-23; Santiago 14-31
Tex-A’s– Lewis 8-17; Cotton 0-3

Az-Balt– Shipley 1-9; Bundy 4-13


Umpires

Wsh-Pitt– Over is 9-3 in last twelve Baker games.
Atl-Mia– Five of last seven Eddings games went over.
Phil-NY– Under is 11-4 in last fifteen West games.
Cin-Mil– Over is 6-3 in May’s last nine games.
Colo-LA– Six of last seven Ripperger games went over.
SF-SD– Five of last six Fagan games went over total.
StL-Chi– Favorites won six of last eight Culbreth games

NY-Tor– Over is 7-4 in last eleven Cuzzi games.
Bos-TB– Under is 5-2-1 in last eight Holbrook games.
KC-Det– Four of last six Iassogna games went over.
Chi-Clev– Underdogs are 6-4 in last ten Miller games.
LA-Hst– Underdogs are 7-4 in last eleven Fairchild games.
Sea-Min– Underdogs are 6-4 in last ten Layne games.
Tex-A’s– Under is 8-4 in last twelve Morales games.

Az-Balt– Four of last six Hickox games stayed under.


Teams’ records in first five innings:

Team (road-home-total)- thru 9/24

Arizona 25-39-11…..34-39-6…….59-77
Atlanta 29-40-11…..26-35-13……55-75
Cubs 39-25-10……47-24-10…….86-49
Reds 23-44-9……35-38-5…….58-82
Colo 28-36-13…..36-36-4……..64-72
LA 31-33-11……49-24-8…….79-57
Miami 32-34-10…..34-27-17…….66-61
Milw 25-42-10……41-28-10…..66-70
Mets 32-44-10……38-29-12……70-63
Philly 25-33-19…..30-34-14……55-67
Pitt 25-41-13…..42-27-7……67-67
St. Louis 37-36-7……28-33-13…….65-69
SD 24-50-5…..35-35-7……..59-85
SF 36-37-8…….38-22-14……74-59
Wash 40-24-16….30-22-22……69-46

Orioles 30-37-9…….39-34-8…….69-71
Boston 34-32-11……45-23-9…….79-55
White Sox 32-37-10…….39-31-6……..71-68
Cleveland 38-27-10……39-31-8……..77-58
Detroit 32-33-12…….33-36-5……..65-69
Astros 30-35-14…..35-31-8……..65-66
KC 28-40-13……32-28-14……60-68
Angels 33-40-7…….27-35-13…….60-75
Twins 29-37-13…….26-40-15…..55-77
NYY 27-42-9……34-31-13……..61-73
A’s 27-40-8……27-36-17……54-75
Seattle 36-30-11……35-28-13……71-58
Tampa Bay 28-32-13……35-35-12……63-67
Texas 29-39-12…….38-27-9……67-66
Toronto 46-27-5……..41-30-6……87-57

 

[Can'tPickaWinner2]

Sunday’s six-pack

Top 6 selections in the Westgate Super Contest this week:

6) Miami Dolphins (395) -9.5

5) San Diego Chargers (418) +3

4) Jacksonville Jaguars (477) even

3) Tampa Bay Buccaneers (502) -5.5

2) Arizona Cardinals (536) -4

1) Pittsburgh Steelers (663) -3.5

Top 6 so far this year: 4-8 vs spread