Larry Ness' Weekend Wipeout Winner (23-7 run since May 6!)
My Weekend Wipeout Winner is on the Oak A's at 4:05 ET. The A's entered their weekend series with the Royals on a four-game winning streak but have lost the first two games of the three-game set. Only the Devil Rays own a worse road record than the Royals this decade but Kansas City improved to 9-2 in its last 11 visits to Oakland on Saturday with their 55th win, a total the Royals didn't reach last season until Sept. 12. Completing the sweep however, will be no easy task. Oakland pitcher Lenny DiNardo has had a very good season for the A's. He pitched exclusively out of the bullpen until late May but 14 of his last 15 appearances have been in the role of a starter. He's allowed three ERs or less in 11 of those 14 starts and since the break (save one start), has been extremely effective. He's allowed three ERs or less in six of seven post-break starts and is 4-0 over his last six (team is 5-1). In those five team wins, DiNardo's ERA is 2.64. Oakland hasn't hit well as a team (.251) and is not 100% healthy but scoring off Kyle Davies should be no problem. Davies went 7-6 in 21 appearances (14 starts) for the Braves in 2005 and then in 14 starts last year, was 3-7 with an 8.38 ERA. He's spent most of this year with the Braves, with only his last three starts coming as a Royal. In 20 starts in '07, he's 5-9 with a 5.72 ERA (teams are 8-12). In 11 away starts, his ERA is a bloated 7.32 (10.13 in two road starts for KC), as his two teams have gone a combined 3-8! Weekend Wipeout Winner on the Oak A's. Good Luck...Larry
Larry Ness' 15* Situational Game of the Week (14-1 run since Aug 7 / now 97-31 with 15* TY!)
My 15* play is on the SD Padres at 4:05 ET. The Astros won 3-2 last night to take the first two games of this three-game series in San Diego. Meanwhile, the Padres have dropped three of four to fall a season-high five games behind NL West-leading Arizona. San Diego has scored three runs in its last three losses and its 529 runs this season are the third fewest in the NL. The team's .244 batting average, is a ML-low! So is it a Houston sweep? No way.Despite the wins Friday and Saturday, the Astros are still only 24-40 on the road and their minus-$1,189 moneyline record ranks as the second-worst figure in all of MLB in away games. The Astros will be facing veteran right-hander Greg Maddux and on the season, they are only 17-28 vs righties away from home. Delve deeper and you'll find that the team is 3-11 (minus-$915) vs righties in day games on the road! Matt Albers gets the start for Houston and he's the kind of pitcher the light-hitting Padres can get to. A three-start stint in late May, in which he went 0-3 with an 11.68 ERA, got him demoted to the minors. He's spent most of his time in the bullpen, since returning to Houston in late June). He's made three post-break starts and in 10 overall starts in '07, owns a 5.76 ERA. Greg Maddux goes for the Padres and he pitched fairly well for most of the first half, before struggling around the break (three-start stretch with an 8.80 ERA). He has however, been just fine lately, allowing a total of 10 ERs in his last six starts (2.57 ERA), despite a 1-2 mark (team is 3-3). Houston hasn't swept a three-game series in San Diego since Aug. 9-11, 1982 and the Astros are NOT about to do it here! Situational Game of the Week 15* SD Padres. Good Luck...Larry