MLB
Saturday, September 4
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Streaking and Slumping Pitchers
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Streaking
Jon Garland (13-8, 3.29 ERA), San Diego Padres
There have been plenty of nice surprises for the Padres this season and Jon Garland might have to be at the top of that list. Paying a potential 15-game winner who’s got an ERA under 3.30 for $4.7 million dollars seems like a steal.
Sure he walks too many (he’s flirting with a career-high season total) but he always seems to limit the damage. San Diego is 6-3 in his last nine starts and seven of those nine outings were quality starts too.
Rick Porcello (7-11, 5.20 ERA), Detroit Tigers
Porcello’s final 2010 numbers will look pretty ugly compared to his banner rookie season. Still, Detroit backers have to be happy with the way he’s ending his sophomore campaign. Porcello has allowed just one run and one walk in his last two starts.
The Tigers are 4-1 in his last five outings and he was a dog in three of those games.
Slumping
Travis Wood (4-2, 3.53 ERA), Cincinnati Reds
Wood is a solid young talent but if you’re a Cincy backer, you’ve got to be worried about him pitching for your club in October. Sure, the Reds have won six of his last seven times he toed the rubber but Wood’s given up 10 runs on 17 hits over his last nine innings pitched.
Not surprisingly, the over is 6-1 in his last seven starts.
Josh Johnson (11-5, 2.28 ERA), Florida Marlins
Look, Josh Johnson isn’t really pitching terribly. It’s just that the Marlins never seem to be able to win whenever the big righthander is on the mound. Florida is 2-5 in Johnson’s last seven appearances and the over is 6-1 over the same stretch.
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Hot Lines: Today's best MLB bets
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Toronto Blue Jays at New York Yankees (-186, 10)
Don’t balk at the double-digit total. Let’s see what the stats have to say first – and they say a lot.
The teams have combined to go 6-2-1 against the total in their past 10 meetings, scoring at least a combined 10 runs six times. And both teams are in a role very comfortable to them on Saturday.
The Blue Jays are 7-3-1 against the total in their past 11 as an underdog. As a favorite, the Yankees are a staggering 8-2-1 against the number in their past 11.
And the pitching? Gas cans Marc Rzepczynski and Javier Vasquez have combined to see five of their past six starts to over the total. Over that span they have an 8.31 and 9.53 ERA respectively.
Also, the Yankees have scored a league-leading 726 runs, while the Blue Jays have smacked a Major League-best 202 gopher balls.
Need I go on?
Pick: Over.
Houston Astros at Arizona Diamondbacks (-140, 9)
To put it simply, the Astros are snake-bit when they visit Arizona.
Houston has lost 11 of its past 14 trips to the desert and is a horrendous 1-7 in its past eight overall against the D-backs.
The Astros think they should be able to buck that trend by winning eight of their past 10, but the Diamondbacks have claimed six of their past seven and are surging offensively. The snakes have rattled off at least six runs over that span and are hitting way above their season average of .252.
"The guys have been playing good baseball and hopefully we can keep it going," Centerfielder Chris Young told the Associated Press. "It's nice to know we can make a difference."
If you need anymore convincing, then here is this: the Astros are one of the worst road hitting teams in the Majors. Houston is hitting a meager .244 in opponents yards this season and have scored a paltry 248 runs away from Minute Maid Park.
Look for the Astros to be grounded.
Pick: Diamondbacks.
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This Day in Baseball
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On September 4 in Baseball History...
1891 - Cap Anson shows up for today's game wearing a wig and a long white beard, much to the delight of the Chicago crowd. Anson wears the costume throughout the game, which his Colts win over the Beaneaters 5-3.
1899 - The Superbas, already famous for their late rallies, stage "Brooklyn finishes" in two different boroughs. They win the morning game at home with two in the ninth, and then take the afternoon game in Manhattan with four in the eighth.
1908 - The Pirates and Cubs are tied 0-0 in the last of the tenth at Pittsburgh. With two outs and the bases loaded, Pittsburgh's Chief Wilson singles to center, scoring Fred Clarke with the winning run. Warren Gill, on first base, does not get to second base buts stops short, turns, and heads for the dugout, a common practice. The Cubs' Johnny Evers calls for the ball from Jimmy Slagle, touches second base, and claims the run does not count as Gill has been forced. The lone umpire, Hank O'Day, has left the field. When queried, he rules that Clarke had already scored, so the run counts. The Cubs protest the game, but are denied. This is the first time the Cubs try this tactic, but not the last.
1916 - Longtime pitching rivals Christy Mathewson and Mordecai Brown closed out their careers, by special arrangement, in the same game. Mathewson won the game, 10-8.
1928 - The Boston Braves started a grueling string in which they played nine straight doubleheaders, a Major League record.
1941 - The New York Yankees clinched their third straight pennant on the earliest date in baseball history with a 6-3 victory over Boston.
1966 - Los Angeles became the first team in Major League history to draw more than 2 million at home and on the road as the Dodgers beat the Reds, 8-6, before 18,670 fans in Cincinnati.
1969 - After hitting in 31 straight games, the third-best streak to date in modern National League history, Willie Davis of the Dodgers is stopped in a 3-0 loss to San Diego.
1974 - Don Wilson of the Houston Astros was replaced by a pinch hitter after pitching eight no-hit innings against Cincinnati. Mike Cosgrove pitched the ninth inning and gave up a leadoff single to Tony Perez for the only hit as the Reds won the game, 2-1.
1985 - Gary Carter hit a pair of solo home runs to tie a Major League record and singled in another run to lead the New York Mets to a 9-2 victory over San Diego. Carter's feat followed a three-homer performance the night before as he became the 11th player in Major League history to hit five home runs in two games.
1992 - Eddie Murray ties Al Simmons for most consecutive years (16) with at least 75 RBI.
1993 - Jim Abbott pitched the New York Yankees' first no-hitter in 10 years in a 4-0 victory over the Cleveland Indians.
1995 - Robin Ventura became the eighth player in Major League history - and the first in 25 years - to hit two grand slams in one game as the Chicago White Sox beat Texas, 14-3.
1998 - The New York Yankees reached 100 wins on the earliest date in Major League history - five days before the 1906 Chicago Cubs and 1954 Cleveland Indians - with an 11-6 victory over the Chicago White Sox. The '06 Cubs set the Major League record for fewest games to reach 100 victories (132).