MLB Betting: NY Yankees Host Orioles
New York picked up its third-straight win over Baltimore last night, but the Yankees are expected to be without both Jorge Posada and Mariano Rivera for Game 2 on Tuesday from the Bronx.
Orioles left-hander Brian Matusz remembers his first start at Yankee Stadium very well. In just his eighth trip to a major league mound last Sept. 12, Matusz tossed seven strong innings to help the O's top New York, 7-3, as 250 underdogs.
The promising Baltimore hurler will get a shot at winning at The Stadium for a second time in his young career on Tuesday. He'll also get a chance to avenge his loss to the Yanks and their Tuesday starter A.J. Burnett less than a week ago.
Matusz will be the heavy underdog again on Tuesday with the earliest odds pegging the Yanks at 240-250 chalk. The total remains nine.
C.C. Sabathia and the Yanks enjoyed a 4-1 win in Monday's series opener. New York was a 300 favorite in that one and it marked the second consecutive 'under' between the two squads this year (2-1-1 'under').
It remains to be seen how costly the victory was for the Yankees. Catcher Jorge Posada was removed from the game and had an MRI on his right calf that tightened up. And Mariano Rivera was not available in the ninth due to "stiffness on his left side" as the Newark Star-Ledger reported. Neither player is expected to be available on Tuesday and possibly beyond.
The Yankees took two of three in Baltimore last week, including the Burnett, Matusz matchup on Thursday (April 29). Burnett worked eight scoreless, three-hit frames in the 4-0 win. Two Robinson Cano solos were all the Yankees needed on offense. Matusz scattered nine hits over six innings, allowing one of the Cano homers and three of New York's runs.
Matusz' win in New York last September was one of only five Baltimore victories over the Yankees in 2009, and one of just two wins the O's picked up in nine Bronx meetings.
A first-round pick (fourth overall) by Baltimore in 2008, the 23-year-old southpaw has made a fairly rapid ascent to the majors. That's partly due to the Orioles' needs, but mostly because of Matusz' talent. Single- and Double-A hitters proved no match for him in 2009 when he went 11-2 with a 1.91 ERA combined between the Frederick Keys and Bowie Baysox.
Baltimore called him up in early August 2009 and he put in eight more starting assignments. One of the most impressive stats in that span was his improved control. After walking eight in his first 13 1/3 major league innings, Matusz gave out just six free passes in his next 31 1/3 frames. He's walked 10 in his 30 2/3 innings this year, just five since his first start of 2010.
Burnett will be making just his second home start of the season. The other trip to the Yankee Stadium mound was against Texas on April 17, with Burnett's linescore showing seven scoreless innings in the 7-3 New York win.
Now in his 12th major league season, Burnett started four games against the Orioles in 2009 with the Yanks winning three. In New York, he tossed 14 innings versus the Birds and allowed eight earned, six in the losing effort against Matusz last September. Burnett's overall ERA in the four outings was 5.83 in 24 2/3 innings.
Including last week's win, New York is now 4-1 in Burnett's five starts with his ERA at 4.40.
Luke Scott will be one hitter to watch versus Burnett. The Orioles slugger is 6-for-18 lifetime with a pair of homers off the righty. Nolan Reimold, off to a very slow start for the Charm City Nine, is 3-for-7 with a dinger.
Bruce Dreckman is slated to be the umpire for Game 2 of this series with 3-1 leans on both the visitors and the 'under' in the early going. He worked the plate last Friday night in St. Louis when the Reds slipped past the Cards, 3-2.
Weathermen are calling for a 30 percent chance of rain in the NYC are during the day. Those chances should decrease by game time when the temperature will be in the upper-60s with WNW winds 10-12 mph (out to right).
NOTE: The W-L records shown for starting pitchers are their team's W-L mark when they started games in the 2010 season. Statistical sources for this article were Retrosheet.org, Baseball-Reference.com, ESPN.com and, of course, S-BEE-R-dot-com!
New York picked up its third-straight win over Baltimore last night, but the Yankees are expected to be without both Jorge Posada and Mariano Rivera for Game 2 on Tuesday from the Bronx.
Orioles left-hander Brian Matusz remembers his first start at Yankee Stadium very well. In just his eighth trip to a major league mound last Sept. 12, Matusz tossed seven strong innings to help the O's top New York, 7-3, as 250 underdogs.
The promising Baltimore hurler will get a shot at winning at The Stadium for a second time in his young career on Tuesday. He'll also get a chance to avenge his loss to the Yanks and their Tuesday starter A.J. Burnett less than a week ago.
Matusz will be the heavy underdog again on Tuesday with the earliest odds pegging the Yanks at 240-250 chalk. The total remains nine.
C.C. Sabathia and the Yanks enjoyed a 4-1 win in Monday's series opener. New York was a 300 favorite in that one and it marked the second consecutive 'under' between the two squads this year (2-1-1 'under').
It remains to be seen how costly the victory was for the Yankees. Catcher Jorge Posada was removed from the game and had an MRI on his right calf that tightened up. And Mariano Rivera was not available in the ninth due to "stiffness on his left side" as the Newark Star-Ledger reported. Neither player is expected to be available on Tuesday and possibly beyond.
The Yankees took two of three in Baltimore last week, including the Burnett, Matusz matchup on Thursday (April 29). Burnett worked eight scoreless, three-hit frames in the 4-0 win. Two Robinson Cano solos were all the Yankees needed on offense. Matusz scattered nine hits over six innings, allowing one of the Cano homers and three of New York's runs.
Matusz' win in New York last September was one of only five Baltimore victories over the Yankees in 2009, and one of just two wins the O's picked up in nine Bronx meetings.
A first-round pick (fourth overall) by Baltimore in 2008, the 23-year-old southpaw has made a fairly rapid ascent to the majors. That's partly due to the Orioles' needs, but mostly because of Matusz' talent. Single- and Double-A hitters proved no match for him in 2009 when he went 11-2 with a 1.91 ERA combined between the Frederick Keys and Bowie Baysox.
Baltimore called him up in early August 2009 and he put in eight more starting assignments. One of the most impressive stats in that span was his improved control. After walking eight in his first 13 1/3 major league innings, Matusz gave out just six free passes in his next 31 1/3 frames. He's walked 10 in his 30 2/3 innings this year, just five since his first start of 2010.
Burnett will be making just his second home start of the season. The other trip to the Yankee Stadium mound was against Texas on April 17, with Burnett's linescore showing seven scoreless innings in the 7-3 New York win.
Now in his 12th major league season, Burnett started four games against the Orioles in 2009 with the Yanks winning three. In New York, he tossed 14 innings versus the Birds and allowed eight earned, six in the losing effort against Matusz last September. Burnett's overall ERA in the four outings was 5.83 in 24 2/3 innings.
Including last week's win, New York is now 4-1 in Burnett's five starts with his ERA at 4.40.
Luke Scott will be one hitter to watch versus Burnett. The Orioles slugger is 6-for-18 lifetime with a pair of homers off the righty. Nolan Reimold, off to a very slow start for the Charm City Nine, is 3-for-7 with a dinger.
Bruce Dreckman is slated to be the umpire for Game 2 of this series with 3-1 leans on both the visitors and the 'under' in the early going. He worked the plate last Friday night in St. Louis when the Reds slipped past the Cards, 3-2.
Weathermen are calling for a 30 percent chance of rain in the NYC are during the day. Those chances should decrease by game time when the temperature will be in the upper-60s with WNW winds 10-12 mph (out to right).
NOTE: The W-L records shown for starting pitchers are their team's W-L mark when they started games in the 2010 season. Statistical sources for this article were Retrosheet.org, Baseball-Reference.com, ESPN.com and, of course, S-BEE-R-dot-com!
