Game Time: 09/20/2007 07:05 PM -
By: LT Profits Sports Group | who2beton.com
The Phillies get to experience what the Mets dealt with the last three nights, the fact that the Nationals are the one also-ran that none of the contenders want to face right now. Sure, Lohse has a winning record for the Phils, but he has been bailed out by good run support, and if the bullpens come into play, the Nats have the edge.
The Philadelphia Phillies had to travel to the nation’s capital after a disappointing loss in St. Louis last night, and they now must contend with a Washington Nationals team that has relished the spoiler’s role.
The Phillies have to be disappointed about losing 2-1 in 10 innings to the Cardinals last night on a night where the division leading New York Mets won. This drops the Phils to three games back in the loss column in the National League East, as well as three games behind both Arizona and San Diego in the loss column in the wild card hunt.
Now Philadelphia has gone 7-2 in all starts made by Kyle Lohse since they acquired him from the Cincinnati Reds. However, that has been mainly due to the excellent run support he has gotten, and Lohse still has a very high 5.80 ERA and 1.54 WHIP on the road this season. He did allow only three earned runs in his last outing vs. the New York Mets, but he lasted only five innings in that contest as he required 112 pitches, thanks to four walks to go with the seven hits he allowed.
Now the consensus among National League contenders was that the one also-ran they did not want to face down the stretch was these Nationals, and the Mets just found that out first hand, as the Nats took two out of three games this week. Yes, Washington may be behind the other clubs in terms of ability, but this team always gives it their all, and they are probably the most fundamentally sound team in the league.
Their starter tonight, Jason Bergmann, has done his best pitching here at home this season, where he is 4-2 with a fine 3.60 ERA and an excellent 1.08 WHIP. Bergmann has also pitched well in three starts vs. the Phillies, allowing one, two and three earned runs respectively.
Finally, the Nationals have a huge edge in the bullpen, where they rank seventh in the entire Major Leagues with a 3.71 team ERA. Conversely, if the Phillies do not make the playoffs, the blame can be squarely placed on a bullpen that has posted a dismal 4.69 ERA for the year.
Game Time: 09/20/2007 10:05 PM -
By: Marc Lawrence | playbook.com
Jered Weaver is on the mound in Anaheim tonight to open a crucial series against Seattle. Lay the chalk on Weaver and the Angels in this contest vs. the Mariners.
The Halos send Jered Weaver to the hill against the Mariners in the first of a huge four-game series knowing they are 17-8 in home series openers this season.
Weaver (12-7, 3.90) is off a solid performance in his last outing, tossing six innings with eight strikeouts and allowing just one run to the White Sox in an Angels 2-1 win last Friday. The Halos are 2-1 in his three starts against Seattle this season, and Weaver tossed eight innings of 1-run, 5-K ball against the M's just three weeks ago.
With Weaver 6-2 in his career team starts in September, look for him to improve to 3-0 at home in his career team starts against the Mariners here tonight.
Game Time: 09/20/2007 08:10 PM -
By: Al McMordie | bigal.com
Houston's Wandy Rodriguez has been horrible on the road while St. Louis' Braden Looper has been solid of late. Cash in on the Cardinals tonight when they host the Astros.
Our Thursday night MLB selection is on the St. Louis Cardinals over the Houston Astros.
Houston left-handed starter Wandy Rodriguez should probably win the "most inconsistent pitcher of the year" award (if there were such an award that is). Rodriguez has been all over the place with a seven inning, five hit, one earned run performance followed by a four inning, eight earned run performance, followed by an eight inning, four hit, one earned run performance, etc., etc. This guy has been all over the map in 2007, although more recently, he's been more consistent.
Unfortunately for Houston, he's been more consistently bad than good. He has also had a pattern of having his best starts at home and his truly awful starts on the road, where he has only won two games in fourteen starts this year. Wandy is looking for his first win against St. Louis as the Astros are 0-4 in Rodriguez's four starts against the Cardinals dating back to 2005.
The Cards' right-handed starter Braden Looper has been quite the opposite of Rodriguez lately as Looper has thrown six quality starts in his last seven outings. Looper has been most effective at home, where he is 7-3 with a 3.05 ERA. Looper has beaten the Astros three times already in 2007 with the combined scores of those games being 18-7. Take the Cardinals.
Game Time: 09/20/2007 07:05 PM -
By: Michael Alexander | 10starpicks.com
The Mets avoided being swept in Washington and snapped a 5-game losing skid last night. Now New York will keep the wins coming in Florida behind veteran southpaw Tom Glavine.
The New York Mets look to be on the verge of self distruction as the Phillies have come within and ear shot of taking over the lead in the AL East. New York has really been struggling losing five in a row before taking an 8-4 win last night in the final game of their series with Washington. Tonight they attempt to keep that going when they visit Florida to take on the Marlins.
The Mets will pin their hopes on veteran left-hander Tom Glavine who has been spectacular lately going 2-0 with a sparkling 1.75 ERA over his last three starts. That should bode well for the Mets as the Marlins are a money losing 17-26 versus left-handed starters this season.
The Florida Marlins, the darlings of last season, have fallen on tough times this season and have long been out of the playoff race. The Marlins have not had much success against the Mets in Florida as they are 8-15 over the last three seasons including 0-5 this year. Tonight the Marlins will send their own left-hander to the hill in Dontrelle Willis. The D-Train has been somewhat of a disappointment this season going 9-15 with a rather high 5.39 ERA. He has really struggled over his last three going 1-1 with a sky high 7.72 ERA.
Supporting Angles: The Mets are 20-6 (+11.5 Units) against the moneyline in road games vs. NL teams allowing 5.3 or more runs/game on the season over the last 3 seasons. New York is 38-17 (+19.2 Units) against the line in road games vs. an overused bullpen that pitches more than 3.2 innings per game over the last two seasons. Florida is 0-8 (-8.1 Units) against the moneyline in home games vs. an NL starting pitcher whose WHIP is 1.250 to 1.350 this season. Willis is 11-22 (-15.3 Units) against the line when playing against a good team (Win Pct. 54% to 62%) since 1997.
The Marlins will be looking to be the spoilers but the Mets just have what the doctor order in Tom Glavine. I'm taking the Mets in this one.
Game Time: 09/20/2007 02:10 PM -
By: Jimmy the Moose | sportspic.com
It's a battle for the AL Central basement tonight in Kansas City when the Royals host the White Sox. Back Jon Garland and Chicago against the Royals at Kauffman Stadium.
There's not too many good things to write about these two very bad teams. The White Sox are playing better having won five of their last seven games while the Royals are 3-11 in their last 14 games.
Chicago sends Jon Garland to the mound and the White Sox have won his last three starts vs. Kansas City, and four of the last five. KC has lost eight of their last 10 home games. The Royals are 8-20 in Zack Greinke's last 28 home starts. In his last 52 starts overall, the Royals are 17-35.
Chicago has won six of their last eight visits to Kansas. Play on the White Sox.
Game Time: 09/20/2007 08:10 PM -
By: LT Profits Sports Group | who2beton.com
Both the Astros and Cardinals have had strong Under tendencies, and they also went Under in every game of a recent three-game series, so expect more of the same here.
Both the Houston Astros and St. Louis Cardinals have been going Under with regularity lately, and we expect more of the same tonight.
The Under is 8-3 in the last 11 Houston games overall, and the Astros scored just one total run in the first two games of their three-game series with the Milwaukee Brewers before scoring five runs last night in a game that still went Under. While their starter Wandy Rodriguez has pitched better at home than on the road this season, he did post a Quality Start in his only appearance here in St. Louis this year, allowing three runs on only four hits in seven innings.
The Under is also 7-2-1 in the last 10 St. Louis games overall, and their starter Braden Looper has surprisingly held his fine form all season. The converted reliever is 12-10, and he has been much better at home, where he is 7-3 with a 3.05 ERA and an outstanding 1.06 WHIP in 88.2 home innings. Looper has amazingly allowed two runs or less in six of his last seven starts, and he is three for three in Quality Starts vs. the Astros.
Finally, the Under went 3-0 in the three-game series between these clubs the last time they hooked up last month, and we look for that pattern to continue.
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