Friday MLB Handicapper Report - 7/20

[Jeff Grant]

Early Friday Info

-Nationals SP Stephen Strasburg is 2-1 with a 4.20 ERA in three starts against the Braves this year
-Braves SP Tommy Hanson is 10-13 with a 3.53 ERA in 36 post All-Star game starts in his career
-Indians SP Derek Lowe has won each of his last two home decisions, while going 5-1 with a 2.86 ERA in eight outings overall at Progressive Field
-Marlins SP Ricky Nolasco has won four consecutive starts against the Pirates, with a 1.00 ERA in that span
-Nolasco is 17-10 with a 3.66 ERA during July in his career, his best marks in any calendar month
-Pirates SP Kevin Correia has gone 5-1 with a 4.03 ERA in his last nine starts
-White Sox SP Jake Peavy is 1-5 with a 3.18 ERA in his last eight starts, receiving 2.54 runs of support on average in that span
-Giants SP Tim Lincecum has worked at least six innings in nine of his 10 career outings against the Phillies (4-2, 3.08 ERA)
-Red Sox SP Josh Beckett has a 6.30 ERA and 1.46 WHIP in 16 career starts versus the Blue Jays, his highest marks against any AL club
-Dodgers SP Aaron Harang is 3-4 with a 6.09 ERA in nine career starts versus the Mets
-In five career starts versus the Dodgers, SP Johan Santana is 5-0 with a 0.50 ERA
-Yankees SP Ivan Nova is 13-1 with a 3.15 ERA in his last 18 road starts
-Athletics SP Tommy Milone has the second lowest home ERA in the majors (5-1, 1.03 ERA)
-Reds SP Homer Bailey is 0-5 with a 6.50 ERA in 10 career games versus the Brewers
-Bailey is 3-0 with a 1.99 ERA in his last three starts, but has never won four straight starts
-Brewers SP Marco Estrada is 0-1 with a 5.54 ERA in two starts against the Reds this season
-Cubs SP Ryan Dempster enters with a career-best five-game win streak and has tossed 33.0 consecutive scoreless innings
-Dempster has a 0.95 ERA in seven road starts
-Cardinals SP Kyle Lohse is 2-4 with a 5.59 ERA in 14 starts against the Cubs, with the club winning his last four efforts in the series
-Diamondbacks SP Trevor Cahill has surrendered eight HRs in his last five starts (three HRs in previous 13)
-In 13 home starts versus the Rangers, Angels SP Jered Weaver is 7-0 with a 2.23 ERA
-Rangers SP Derek Holland has a 12-4 road record since the start of 2011
-Holland is 8-2 with a 3.22 ERA in 15 career games (12 starts) in July

Check out the early SBR Odds and Matchup pages for Friday night's MLB action

[Jeff Grant]

Thursday MLB Recap

-Rays SP David Price became the AL’s first 13-game winner, as he’s won five consecutive decisions
-Hideki Matsui is just 12 for 79 with the Rays
-San Francisco still hasn’t swept a series of at least three games in Atlanta since 1988
-Cincinnati is 2-2 since All-Star 1B Joey Votto landed on the DL with a knee injury
-Reds SP Mike Leake tied a career high by allowing 11 hits and surrendered a season-high six runs
-Reds OF Jay Bruce is hitless in his last 18 at-bats
-Arizona went 2-5 on its road trip, as it returns to the desert to open up a 10-game homestand
-Detroit has won 10 of its last 12 games, including outscoring the Los Angeles Angels by a 12-3 margin in the last two contests
-Orioles closer Jim Johnson picked up his 28th save in 30 chances
-Mariners SP Felix Hernandez is 4-0 with a 1.37 ERA in his past seven starts, while leading the majors with 143 strikeouts
-The Royals have lost 13 of their last 17 games
-Red Sox SP Clay Buchholz has received the second-most run support (7.48 rpg) in the majors this year
-Oakland has won 11 of its last 13 games, moving a season-high four games over .500
-Edinson Volquez became the first Padres pitcher to throw a one-hitter at Petco Park
-Houston is batting .197 over the past 15 games

Make sure to check out the SBR Forum articles for Friday night's MLB action

[Jeff Grant]

Detroit Tigers
-Tops among all AL clubs with a .722 win percentage since June 28 (13-5)
-Won 25 of its last 35 games against the White Sox, including 12 of 16 at Comerica Park
-The Tigers are hitting .303 with 208 runs scored and 47 home runs over that 35-game stretch
-Registered a 17-14 mark versus divisional opponents
-SP Justin Verlander leads AL pitchers with a .195 batting average against and 6.33 hits per nine innints
-Verlander has won 10 of his last 11 decisions against the White Sox since June 10, 2009 (2.33 ERA)

Read more about Verlander vs. Peavy at Comerica Park


Milwaukee Brewers
-Gone 4-0-1 in their last five series, with their last loss such loss coming against the Reds at the GABP
-The Brewers are 54-63-1 all-time in Cincinnati, including a 34-43 mark at this ballpark
-Registered a 20-19 record against divisional foes
-SP Marco Estrada received a no decision in a 4-3 road loss to the Reds on June 26, allowing three runs and five hits, while striking out 12

[Jeff Grant]

Pittsburgh Pirates
-Won 18 of their last 22 games at PNC Park
-OF Andrew McCutchen is batting .491 this month, while leading the majors with a .369 batting average overall
-Tied for second with the Marlins and Brewers with 26 comeback wins this year (Yankees, 29)
-Pitching staff ranks second in the majors with a 2.39 ERA at home
-Rank 10th in the majors with 101 HRs, finished 27th in that category a year ago (107)
-SP Kevin Correia has gone 5-1 with a 4.03 ERA in his last nine starts
-Correia has a career-high tying four-game win streak coming in, third time in his career

Read more about the Marlins vs. Pirates before placing your wagers Friday night


Chicago Cubs
-Own the best record in baseball since June 25 (14-5), ahead of the Oakland Athletics (13-6)
-SP Ryan Dempster’s 33.0-inning scoreless streak is the longest in the majors since Cliff Lee’s 34-inning stretch a year ago
-Dropped 10 of their last 14 games in St. Louis
-Fifth in the majors with a .304 batting average with RISP this month
-Pitching staff has recorded a 2.34 ERA in the last eight games (1.83 from the bullpen)
-Dempster leads the majors with a 1.86 ERA


Minnesota Twins
-Played in an AL-leading 33 one-run games this year (16-17)
-Won six of the first nine meetings against the Royals this year, while going 167-167 all-time at Kauffman Stadium
-C Joe Mauer has a career .350 batting average against KC
-Scored 29 runs on 48 hits in four games against the Orioles, their most in any series all season
-SP Nick Blackburn is 1-1 with a 11.25 ERA in four starts versus division opponents this year
-Blackburn is allowing Royals batters to hit .304 against him

[JMon]

Tigers are 15-0 since Sept 26th, 2008 when Verlander starts at home against a winning team, respectively between 54-62 Win%. Taking down the likes of Beckett, Weaver, Sabathia and Wilson last year! Ave...vig -146, so a bit overpriced here.

[Jeff Grant]

Tigers are 15-0 since Sept 26th, 2008 when Verlander starts at home against a winning team, respectively between 54-62 Win%. Taking down the likes of Beckett, Weaver, Sabathia and Wilson last year! Ave...vig -146, so a bit overpriced here.

Agree about being overpriced in this matchup, but he's one of probably five pitchers that automatically get shaded in that way

[Jeff Grant]

Washington Nationals
-Washington is 20-12 against divisional foes, including a 9-4 mark at home
-The Nationals have the best intradivision winning percentage (.625) in baseball
-Gone 18-7-5 in series play this season, including 7-1-2 versus NL East opponents
-SP Stephen Strasburg is celebrating his 24th birthday today
-Strasburg is 4-1 with a 2.31 ERA in seven starts against division opponents this year (6-1 team record)


Boston Red Sox
-Each of their first 19 games of the second half are against teams with at least a .500 record at the All-Star break
-Lead the majors in scoring double-digit runs (13 times)
-Possess the second-best win percentage against left-handed starters (20-10, .667), trailing only the Giants (19-9, .679)
-Bullpen leads the majors with a 2.04 ERA since April 23
-Gone 11-6 in its last 17 home games, outscoring opponents by a 111-79 margin, while hitting 24 HRs
-SP Josh Beckett has a 10.20 ERA in the first inning this year
-Three of Beckett’s four career victories against the Blue Jays have come at Fenway Park (4-6, 6.30 ERA overall)


Chicago White Sox
-Tallied a 4-0-1 series record in their last five chances against divisional foes
-The White Sox are 26-36 versus the Tigers since 2009, including 12-18 on the road
-Lost 12 of 15 at Comerica Park, getting outscored by a 92-43 margin
-Hitting .295 with RISP, tied with Detroit for the MLB lead in that category
-SP Jake Peavy is 6-4 with a 2.45 ERA in his last 12 road starts


Seattle Mariners
-Lead the majors with 251 runs scored in road games
-Offense has scored 75 more runs this season than last through the first 94 games
-Haven’t posted a winning record on artificial turf since 2003 (31-68 L99 games, including 2-7 this year)
-Dropped eight consecutive games against the Rays, while also going 1-11 in their last 12 games at Tropicana Field


Tampa Bay Rays
-SP James Shields has allowed double-digit hits in four straight outings, longest such streak since Sept. 2007
-Playing 17 of 21 games at home (6-8 so far), including 3-4 on their current season-long 10-game homestand
-Gone 10-3 versus AL West opponents, best record in the majors against the division
-Recorded double-digit hits just 22 times this year, second-worst in the majors (Athletics, 21)
-Shields has allowed a first-inning run in nine of his 19 starts
-Shields is 1-2 with a 7.71 ERA in his last four starts against the Mariners
Texas Rangers
-Gone 9-1-1 in its last 11 series, while owning the team’s best record ever after 91 games (55-36)
-Batting .226 with 16 runs scored in the first five games of the road trip
-Scored the fewest runs in the majors this month (33)
-Posted a 7-3 record at Angel Stadium last year, their most wins in a season at the venue
-Pitching staff has a 2.59 ERA over the past nine games
-SP Derek Holland went 0-2 with a 6.00 ERA in two rehab starts with Triple-A Round Rock
-Holland has allowed three or more runs in his last four starts at Angel Stadium


New York Mets
-Come in with an 8-7 record in series openers at home
-Bullpen has the worst ERA (5.03) in the majors
-3B David Wright has reached base in 82 of 88 games this year (93.2 percent) - highest percentage for any player (min. 50 games)
-SP Johan Santana’s 0.50 ERA against the Dodgers is his lowest against any team he’s made at least four starts against (5-0, 0.50 ERA in five starts)
-Santana is 3-0 with a 0.90 ERA in four starts versus NL West teams this year (1.68 ERA in 28 games in his career)

[meader99]

Nice thread. Very informative.

[Jeff Grant]

Nice thread. Very informative.

Thank you - appreciate the support

[cpay]

thanks