Saturday Baseball New York at Chicago
The Yankees have pounded lefties all season especially on the road where they hit southpaws at a .304 clip. The last three seasons against John Danks they have hit .295 with a .636 slugging percentage. The Chicago lefty has been hittable as of late as he hasn't been as dominant as he was earlier in the season. In his last three starts he has allowed 9 earned runs in 17.2 innings. But what really has us concerned is his strikeout to walk ratio. Normally Danks is in the 2.5 to 1 range but in those three starts he has 10 strikeouts and 10 walks. Without his best stuff he could be in for a long day against the Yankees.
The Yankees counter with AJ Burnett who has eight straight quality starts. In fact, his last four road starts have been nearly perfect. He has permitted just three earned runs in 26.2 innings of work. He's also had great success against the pale hose. Last year while pitching for Toronto he held Chicago to a single hit as the White Sox managed a .042 batting average. In 2007 the Sox hit just .218 with a .246 slugging percentage.
After dropping the first two games of the series look for New York to turn it around Saturday afternoon.
PLAY NEW YORK Houston at St Louis
The Cardinals are a heavy favorite tonight hosting the Astros and for good reason with Chris Carpenter on the mound. But the line on this game is simply too high considering Wandy Rodriguez is on the mound for Houston. The veteran lefty has been on fire as of late. In his last five starts he has allowed 3 earned runs in 36 innings of work. His strikeout to walk ratio during that time is 34 to 7. In his first two starts against the Redbirds this year he held them to a .196 batting average and .304 slugging percentage. Last year in four starts the Cards managed just a .222 battling average and .256 slugging percentage. In two starts in 2007 it was a .208 average and .340 slugging percentage. The Cardinals are hitting just .228 on the season vs southpaws, well below their mark against righties. So we're backing a Red Hot pitcher who has dominated this club and yet we're getting roughly 2 to 1 on our money.
We all know about Chris Carpenter and how good he has been this season. But did you know St Louis is only 9-7 in his starts this year. He can be beaten and there is simply too many reasons not to take a chance today on the large underdog Astros. Houston has won 6 of the last 10 meetings in this series and are worth a serious look here.
PLAY HOUSTON Seattle at Texas
Felix Hernandez had produced 11 straight quality starts until being pounded by Toronto in his last outing. How good was he? How about allowing a single earned run or less in 8 of those 11 starts. In the other two games he allowed three earned runs at Boston and two at Cleveland, two pretty good hitting teams in their own backyard. Now off an embarrassing performance we expect King Felix to return to his normal excellent form. In his first three starts against Texas this year he held the Rangers to just 7 runs and a .218 batting average with a .308 slugging percentage. Last year in five starts the Rangers batted just .267 against him. In two starts in 2007 he held Texas to a .137 batting average and .216 slugging percentage while allowing just 4 runs. Needless to say we see a long night for the Texas hitters.
We also expect a solid outing from young Texas righty Tommy Hunter. He has been on fire as of late allowing 4 earned runs in 30.2 innings covering his last four starts. He's a big man in the mold of another pitcher from Texas Roger Clemens. While not as progressed at this point this young hurler has all the makings of a successful innings eater for the Rangers. We've had the pleasure of watching him work a few times this season and this kid has a bright future. We're backing him now before the general public catches on.
With both big men on the hill being in excellent form we expect a lot of missed bats tonight as this one stays well below the generous line. Look for a pitching battle down south tonight as two of the best tangle in the Lone Star state.
PLAY UNDER
The Yankees have pounded lefties all season especially on the road where they hit southpaws at a .304 clip. The last three seasons against John Danks they have hit .295 with a .636 slugging percentage. The Chicago lefty has been hittable as of late as he hasn't been as dominant as he was earlier in the season. In his last three starts he has allowed 9 earned runs in 17.2 innings. But what really has us concerned is his strikeout to walk ratio. Normally Danks is in the 2.5 to 1 range but in those three starts he has 10 strikeouts and 10 walks. Without his best stuff he could be in for a long day against the Yankees.
The Yankees counter with AJ Burnett who has eight straight quality starts. In fact, his last four road starts have been nearly perfect. He has permitted just three earned runs in 26.2 innings of work. He's also had great success against the pale hose. Last year while pitching for Toronto he held Chicago to a single hit as the White Sox managed a .042 batting average. In 2007 the Sox hit just .218 with a .246 slugging percentage.
After dropping the first two games of the series look for New York to turn it around Saturday afternoon.
PLAY NEW YORK Houston at St Louis
The Cardinals are a heavy favorite tonight hosting the Astros and for good reason with Chris Carpenter on the mound. But the line on this game is simply too high considering Wandy Rodriguez is on the mound for Houston. The veteran lefty has been on fire as of late. In his last five starts he has allowed 3 earned runs in 36 innings of work. His strikeout to walk ratio during that time is 34 to 7. In his first two starts against the Redbirds this year he held them to a .196 batting average and .304 slugging percentage. Last year in four starts the Cards managed just a .222 battling average and .256 slugging percentage. In two starts in 2007 it was a .208 average and .340 slugging percentage. The Cardinals are hitting just .228 on the season vs southpaws, well below their mark against righties. So we're backing a Red Hot pitcher who has dominated this club and yet we're getting roughly 2 to 1 on our money.
We all know about Chris Carpenter and how good he has been this season. But did you know St Louis is only 9-7 in his starts this year. He can be beaten and there is simply too many reasons not to take a chance today on the large underdog Astros. Houston has won 6 of the last 10 meetings in this series and are worth a serious look here.
PLAY HOUSTON Seattle at Texas
Felix Hernandez had produced 11 straight quality starts until being pounded by Toronto in his last outing. How good was he? How about allowing a single earned run or less in 8 of those 11 starts. In the other two games he allowed three earned runs at Boston and two at Cleveland, two pretty good hitting teams in their own backyard. Now off an embarrassing performance we expect King Felix to return to his normal excellent form. In his first three starts against Texas this year he held the Rangers to just 7 runs and a .218 batting average with a .308 slugging percentage. Last year in five starts the Rangers batted just .267 against him. In two starts in 2007 he held Texas to a .137 batting average and .216 slugging percentage while allowing just 4 runs. Needless to say we see a long night for the Texas hitters.
We also expect a solid outing from young Texas righty Tommy Hunter. He has been on fire as of late allowing 4 earned runs in 30.2 innings covering his last four starts. He's a big man in the mold of another pitcher from Texas Roger Clemens. While not as progressed at this point this young hurler has all the makings of a successful innings eater for the Rangers. We've had the pleasure of watching him work a few times this season and this kid has a bright future. We're backing him now before the general public catches on.
With both big men on the hill being in excellent form we expect a lot of missed bats tonight as this one stays well below the generous line. Look for a pitching battle down south tonight as two of the best tangle in the Lone Star state.
PLAY UNDER
