Most of the talking heads spent the vast majority of their air time around the trade leadline drooling over the deal that sent Manny Ramirez from the Boston Red Sox to the Los Angeles Dodgers. But the deal that has had the biggest impact on the playoff races so far was Adam Dunn going from the Cincinnati Reds to the Arizona Diamondbacks. Will the Snakes continue to get it 'Dunn' in the NL West?
It looks like Adam Dunn has added a fourth outcome: winning.
Dunn is one of the patron saints of the seamhead community. The beat writers following the Cincinnati Reds didn’t care much for Dunn and his .233 batting average. Never mind that he had 80 walks this year for the Reds, giving Dunn a .373 on-base percentage – the highest among Cincinnati regulars. And in this allegedly post-steroid age, nobody seemed interested in his 32 home runs, after four consecutive seasons of clubbing 40 or more.
Nobody except true fans of baseball, that is. Dunn is known as a “three outcomes” hitter: a walk, a strikeout, or a home run waiting to happen. And all three are now on display for the Arizona Diamondbacks. In his first 11 games for the Snakes, Dunn struck out 11 times. But he also drew 14 walks and hit a pair of homers, posting a 1.008 OPS and leading Arizona to an 8-3 record.
The Diamondbacks picked up 3.97 units against the MLB betting odds and two games on the Los Angeles Dodgers in the tight National League West race. Manny Who?
Coming up this week...
Indians at Tigers Game 1: Monday, 7:05 p.m. Eastern
CLE: Zach Jackson
DET: Armando Galarraga
Game 2: Tuesday, 7:05 p.m.
CLE: Cliff Lee
DET: Chris Lambert
These two teams were supposed to challenge one another for the American League Central division title. Instead, they’re challenging one another for third place. The Tigers are 64-66 (–14.71 units), while the Indians are 62-67 (–14.78 units). Both clubs are hot right now; Detroit went 4-2 on its six-game road trip, but Cleveland is even hotter after winning seven straight.
Zach Jackson (5.17 ERA, 1.98 tRA) is one of the players Cleveland got back from Milwaukee in the CC Sabathia trade. The southpaw is making his third start of the season on Monday (the Tribe split the other two) and just the ninth in his brief career. Detroit hits better against lefthanders with a .818 team OPS, compared to .777 against righthanders. The Tigers are –210 favorites with a total of 10 runs in this matchup.
The Tigers respond with their own Triple-A call-up in Game 2. Chris Lambert was selected in the first round of the 2004 draft by St. Louis; the Boston College product then went to Detroit in the Mike Maroth deal. Lambert was Pitcher of the Year as a rookie in the Big East, but he’s been prone to fatigue in the pros, causing his fastball to drop from the mid-90s to the low 90s. Tuesday is his major-league debut.
Mets at Phillies Game 1: Tuesday, 7:05 p.m. ET
NYM: Pedro Martinez
PHI: Jamie Moyer
Game 2: Wednesday, 7:05 p.m.
NYM: Johan Santana
PHI: Kyle Kendrick
It’s crunch time in the NL East. The Mets are in front at 72-59 (–2.72 units), a half-game up on the 71-59 Phillies (–1.71 units). Whichever team fails to win the division probably won’t get the Wild Card, either. New York has dropped two games in a row to Houston as part of their four-game series, which wraps up on Monday. The Phillies have taken three in a row off the Dodgers and will go for the sweep before hosting the Mets Tuesday night.
This was supposed to be the end of the road for Pedro Martinez (4.97 ERA, 6.57 tRA). But the oft-injured 36-year-old still has some magic in that right arm. Martinez has a 3.16 ERA since the All-Star Game, striking out 21 batters and walking 11 in 31.1 innings of work. He’ll pitch the opener against another survivor: 45-year-old Jamie Moyer (3.54 ERA, 4.67 tRA).
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MLB Midweek Preview: Well Dunn
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