Friday MLB Handicapper Report - 7/27

[Jeff Grant]

Early Friday MLB Info

-Cardinals SP Lance Lynn is 7-1 with a 2.34 ERA in nine starts versus NL Central opponents this year
-Lynn is 3-0 with a 0.93 ERA in three starts against the Cubs this season
-Cubs SP Travis Wood is 2-1 with a 3.91 ERA in four career starts against the Cardinals
-Marlins SP Carlos Zambrano has the second-lowest ERA among active players (min. 13 starts) against the Padres
-Padres SP Kip Wells’ 2.39 ERA versus the Marlins is his best career ERA against any team he’s faced (10 games, nine starts)
-Yankees SP Phil Hughes owns just one victory in nine career starts against the Red Sox (1-5, 7.12 ERA)
-Hughes is 0-2 with a 4.30 ERA in four career home starts against the Red Sox
-Braves SP Ben Sheets is 2-4 with a 4.88 ERA in eight career starts against the Phillies
-Tigers SP Rick Porcello is 1-1 with a 3.75 ERA in two career starts at the Rogers Centre
-Blue Jays SP Carlos Villanueva is 3-0 with a 2.90 ERA in 14 home games (three starts) this year
-Pirates SP Jeff Karstens is 5-2 with a 2.83 ERA in nine career games (eight starts) against the Astros
-Astros SP Jordan Lyles is 2-3 with a 4.76 ERA against NL Central teams in his career
-White Sox SP Chris Sale is 1-0 with a 1.69 ERA in five career games (one start) versus the Rangers
-Rangers SP Yu Darvish is 8-1 with a 2.51 ERA when facing a team for the first time
-Brewers SP Mike Fiers has a 0.89 ERA over his last six starts
-Reds SP Bronson Arroyo is 0-2 with a 8.84 ERA in four career starts against the Rockies at Coors Field
-Twins SP Scott Diamond is 1-1 with a 3.38 ERA in three career starts against the Indians
-Mets SP Jonathon Niese is 1-1 with a 6.06 ERA in three starts versus the Diamondbacks
-Diamondbacks SP Josh Collmenter is 2-0 with a 1.51 ERA in his last 15 games (four starts)
-Giants SP Matt Cain is 3-0 with a 1.80 ERA in his last five starts against the Dodgers

Check out the early SBR Odds and Matchup Pages for Friday's action

[Jeff Grant]

Thursday MLB Recap

-Baltimore has scored more than four runs in just two of its last 10 games
-The Rays went 1 for 12 with RISP and ground into three double plays
-Orioles C Matt Wieters is mired in a 1-for-30 slump
-Tampa Bay’s bullpen has a run of 21 straight scoreless innings snapped
-St. Louis had a season-high 18 hits
-Dodgers 3B Hanley Ramirez is 2 for 6 with three walks with his new team
-Cleveland is 7-2 against Detroit this year, with closer Chris Perez earning a save in each win
-Detroit was 6 for 35 with RISP in its series against Cleveland
-The Astros have lost a season-high 10 games, while also dropping 23 of 25
-Washington has matched a season-high by winning six straight games
-Mets SP Matt Harvey set a franchise record for strikeouts (11) in a debut
-Mariners SP Jason Vargas is now 10-2 with a 2.76 ERA in 14 starts following a team loss this year
-Seattle 1B Mike Carp hit .286 with 12 HRs and 46 RBIs after the All-Star break in 2011

[Jeff Grant]

Detroit Tigers
-Won 10 of their last 16 games against the Blue Jays, five of eight at the Rogers Centre
-OF Austin Jackson is a .418 career hitter in 14 games against the Blue Jays
-Posted a 13-10 record versus AL East opponents
-SP Rick Porcello is 4-1 with a 3.40 ERA in his last seven starts
-Porcello has allowed just one HR in his last 11 starts (64.2 innings)


Pittsburgh Pirates
-SP Jeff Karstens didn’t allow a run in 15.2 innings of work in two starts in Houston last year
-Homered in 16 consecutive road games (35 total HR)
-Gone 7-1 against the Astros this season
-Bullpen has a 0.77 ERA over the last nine games (2.55 overall)
-Karstens has won his last three decisions, posting a 1.86 ERA over his last four outings overall

Check out the SBR Forum articles for Friday's MLB action

[Jeff Grant]

Washington Nationals
-Snapped an eight-game slide at Miller Park last night
-Outscored opponents by a 40-12 margin over its six-game win streak
-OF Michael Morse has hit five HRs and knocked in 14 runs in seven career games in Milwaukee
-14 days into a stretch of playing 35 games in 34 days
-SP Ross Detwiler’s 3.01 ERA is tops among NL left-handed pitchers that have made at least 10 starts
-Detwiler is 1-0 with a 0.64 ERA in two starts since the All-Star break
-Detwiler hasn’t allowed a first-inning run in 10 consecutive starts


Oakland Athletics
-Gone 31-15 over their last 46 games, best mark in the majors (Yankees, 31-16)
-Lead the majors in HRs since the All-Star break, while having 107 through 98 games (53 at this point last year)
-Pitching staff has a 2.71 ERA over the last 35 games
-Registered a 15-9 mark against AL East opponents
-SP Jarrod Parker is 4-0 with a 1.70 ERA in seven starts on five days rest (3-4, 4.21 ERA on four days or fewer)

Check out what my early thoughts were on three of tonight's games


Baltimore Orioles
-Haven’t won a season series against Oakland since 1998, while going 16-31 at home against the Athletics since 2001
-One of seven teams in the majors with more strikeouts (815) than hits (805)
-Gone 7-12 versus AL West opponents this year
-SP Zach Britton is 1-1 with a 5.25 ERA in two career starts versus the Athletics


Boston Red Sox
-Won seven of nine against New York at Yankee Stadium last year (10-3 L13)
-Gone 23-17 on the road since April 23, tops in the AL in that span
-Pitching staff is second in the AL with a 3.67 ERA on the road
-SP Aaron Cook has a 2.16 ERA over his last five starts (33.1 IP, 8 ER)


Chicago White Sox
-Only team in the majors with five players with 15 or more HRs
-Lead all 3-4-5-6 combinations in baseball in HRs, while being third in average and RBI
-Tied with the Tigers for the best batting average with RISP (.294)
-SP Chris Sale ranks third in the AL with a 3.03 ERA on the road
-Sale has limited hitters to a .161 average in innings 1-3, but .261 in innings 4-6, which is the fourth-highest differential in the AL


Cleveland Indians
-Pitching staff has a 2.67 ERA over the last six games
-Gone 1-4-1 in their last six road series
-Average 4.62 runs per game on the road (4.10 at home), which is the sixth-most in the AL
-SP Josh Tomlin has allowed 11 of his 14 HRs to left-handed hitters

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