St. Louis ML (-125): Doug Davis was one of the better left-handed starters in the majors a few years ago, and he may regain that form at some time in the future, but right now, he is limping toward the All-Star break, as is the entire Arizona team.
St. Louis has some problems against lefties, but they are coming a bit back to life offensively. Miles and Taguchi should be the leadoff guys in this game, and if they are, St. Louis should be able to put some runs on the board. If Davis' control problems continue, he should help St. Louis out a bit with some extra baserunners even if their offense is sluggish.
On the other side, Wainwright is a bit of a gamble. He is ok statistically when facing weakish lineups like Arizona's but he has had arm problems this year, and that will again be a concern for this game. It's not exactly clear how much those problems are affecting him. But if he is ok for this game, he should have a solid start.
As with the game yesterday, I don't think the edge with St. Louis is huge, but I do think it is solid, accompanied by a relatively high confidence level.
Angels ML (-160), RL (-105), over (10 -105) : Robinson Tejeda has a lot of potential, but right now he's looking like the new Edwin Jackson. His numbers for May/June are terrible: an ERA over 8, BAA over .300, WHIP over 2.
The Angels have lost 2 in a row, and they have an offense that can score in bunches when it gets going. If Tejeda makes a surprise turnaround and has an unexpectedly good start, Texas will have a good chance at winning. But if he adheres to his form of the last 2 months, this one could get ugly quickly. Walking guys at Ameriquest against the Angels when they have lost 2 in a row is a recipe for disaster. Tejeda may well strike out the side in the first inning, while also giving up 4 runs on 2 hits.
On the other side, Escobar is not too well-suited to pitch at Ameriquest, but he has been effective this year, and he may well rebound from his last disastrous start.
The Angels have a pen of course that is capable of holding leads, but this game is mostly about Tejeda. If he has another bad start, the Angels should jump out to a lead that will be tough for Texas to surmount, and the ML, RL, and over should all have a good chance of winning.
St. Louis has some problems against lefties, but they are coming a bit back to life offensively. Miles and Taguchi should be the leadoff guys in this game, and if they are, St. Louis should be able to put some runs on the board. If Davis' control problems continue, he should help St. Louis out a bit with some extra baserunners even if their offense is sluggish.
On the other side, Wainwright is a bit of a gamble. He is ok statistically when facing weakish lineups like Arizona's but he has had arm problems this year, and that will again be a concern for this game. It's not exactly clear how much those problems are affecting him. But if he is ok for this game, he should have a solid start.
As with the game yesterday, I don't think the edge with St. Louis is huge, but I do think it is solid, accompanied by a relatively high confidence level.
Angels ML (-160), RL (-105), over (10 -105) : Robinson Tejeda has a lot of potential, but right now he's looking like the new Edwin Jackson. His numbers for May/June are terrible: an ERA over 8, BAA over .300, WHIP over 2.
The Angels have lost 2 in a row, and they have an offense that can score in bunches when it gets going. If Tejeda makes a surprise turnaround and has an unexpectedly good start, Texas will have a good chance at winning. But if he adheres to his form of the last 2 months, this one could get ugly quickly. Walking guys at Ameriquest against the Angels when they have lost 2 in a row is a recipe for disaster. Tejeda may well strike out the side in the first inning, while also giving up 4 runs on 2 hits.
On the other side, Escobar is not too well-suited to pitch at Ameriquest, but he has been effective this year, and he may well rebound from his last disastrous start.
The Angels have a pen of course that is capable of holding leads, but this game is mostly about Tejeda. If he has another bad start, the Angels should jump out to a lead that will be tough for Texas to surmount, and the ML, RL, and over should all have a good chance of winning.
