Larry Ness' Terrific Tuesday Total (21-7 or 75% TY with MLB totals!)
My Terrific Tuesday Total is on TB/Bal Over at 7:05 ET. The Devil Rays must be happy to have escaped Yankee Stadium. Tampa Bay started a four-game series against the Yankees on Friday with a 14-4 victory for its third win in four games. However, the team was swept in a doubleheader on Saturday, losing the opener 7-3 and the nightcap 17-5. Sunday's series finale was even uglier, as New York pounded out 25 hits, including six homers, in a 21-4 rout. However, I'm sure you've heard the phrase "out of the frying pan into the fire," before. Tampa Bay owns the worst record in the majors and has lost 20 of its last 25 games. Facing the Orioles hasn't provided much relief for the Devil Rays lately, as they've lost five of six meetings this season and 11 of the past 13. Tampa Bay also has dropped six straight at Camden Yards and 17 of 21 since the start of the 2005 season! Scott Kazmir gets the start and the left-hander has been outstanding in his past two outings, allowing one earned run and seven hits in 13 innings while striking out 13. That being said, Kazmir's road ERA is 4.72 this season and he's had NO success vs the Orioles these last two seasons. He's lasted four innings or less in THREE of four starts vs Baltimore, posting a 7.41 ERA. That's worrisome, as Tampa's bullpen ERA is the worst in MLB at 6.44 plus it owns a .309 opponents' BA. The Orioles hardly own a feared lineup but the team is averaging 5.3 RPG vs left-handers at night in Camden. As for Baltimore, the Orioles will start Daniel Cabrera. He has not pitched well in '07, posting a 5.91 ERA is 12 home starts. Tampa, like Baltimore, is not much of an offensive power, but the Devil Rays have averaged 5.2 RPG vs right-handed starters in 35 road games this year. Terrific Tuesday Total on TB/Bal Over.
Good Luck...Larry
Larry Ness' Las Vegas Insider (19-10 or 66% since May 21!)
My Las Vegas Insider is on the Chi Cubs at 8:10 ET. Chicago lost 3-0 to Arizona on Sunday to drop the final two games of the series but finished 7-3 on its homestand. The Cubs haven't lost three straight since losing a season-high six in a row (May 27-June 2), going 29-15 since to close in on the Brewers in the Central (trail by just three games). The Cubs went 3-2 while Derrek Lee (hitting .337 TY) served a five-game suspension for his role in a skirmish with San Diego on June 16. He's back in the lineup tonight and Carlos Zambrano will be on the mound. Zambrano didn't allow a run in his second straight start, giving up two hits before being pulled after five innings because of heat exhaustion in the Cubs' 12-1 win over San Francisco on Wednesday. He hasn't allowed a run in 15.2 innings dating to a 6-2 loss at Pittsburgh on July 8. He's 7-2 in his last nine outings, allowing two ERs or less eight times, while posting a 1.86 ERA in that stretch! Zambrano is 6-4 with a 2.43 ERA in 17 games (16 starts) against St Louis, including a 5-0 mark with a 1.38 ERA in his last eight starts against the Cardinals dating to 2005. Kip Wells (4-12, 5.75) will take the mound for St Louis in the opening game of a seven-game homestand against the NL Central's top two teams (Milwaukee is next). Wells, looking to avoid becoming the majors' first 13-game loser, will try to post consecutive wins for the first time in 2007. He allowed two hits in eight innings of a 6-0 victory at Florida on Wednesday. However, don't be fooled by one good outing. The Cards are 3-14 in his 17 starts this year and at minus-$1,209 on the season, only San Francisco's Matt Cain (3-17 and minus-$1,666) has lost more money among MLB's starters in '07! Las Vegas Insider on the Chi Cubs.
Good Luck...Larry
Larry Ness' 15* AL Game of the Week (now 76-25 since Opening Day!)
My 15* play is on the Cle Indians at 7:05 ET. The Red Sox totaled 29 runs while winning the last three games of their home series with the White Sox and opened a seven-game road trip with a 6-2 victory over the Indians on Monday night. However, there are a number of reasons I'm going against them here. Boston starter Daisuke Matsuzaka (11-7, 3.99) is trying to work out of a rough patch in his season. After a stretch of six consecutive outings in which he yielded two runs or fewer, he's s 1-2 with a 7.31 ERA in his last three starts, failing to last longer than six innings in any of them. On Thursday against Chicago, Matsuzaka walked a season-high six in five innings, allowing three runs and two hits as the Red Sox fell 4-2. He also fared poorly in his May 30 start against Cleveland, suffering an 8-4 loss after giving up six runs and a season-high 12 hits in 5.2 innings. While Cleveland starter CC Sabathia is 1-2 with an 8.47 ERA in three July starts, he's 13-4 with a 3.81 ERA in 21 starts this year. Cleveland is 16-5 in his starts TY and at plus-$773, he's ranked 7th among MLB starters in money won. Also note that he's 9-2 with a 3.36 ERA in 13 home starts, with the Indians going 11-2 in those games. Boston is just 14-14 vs left-handers this year, including a poor 4-10 mark (minus-$905) away from Fenway, where the Red Sox have averaged just 3.8 RPG. AL Game of the Week 15* Cle Indians.
Good Luck...Larry