The series finale finds a pair of solid right-handers facing off against each other at Fenway Park this afternoon.
Toronto Blue Jays at Boston Red Sox
Toronto fell 5-4 in 11 innings in Saturday night’s contest against the Red Sox at Fenway Park, as reliever Casey Janssen served up a walk off home run in the bottom of the 11th inning. “I just kind of talked myself out of a pitch,” Janssen said. “You can second guess. If I get him out, it’s the right pitch. If I don’t, then it’s the wrong pitch.” The Blue Jays are 4-10 against the Red Sox this season, including a 2-3 mark on the road in this series. The club is 13-27 versus Boston dating back to the middle of the 2008 season, but they’ve actually won five of the last eight contests at Fenway Park. Toronto dropped below .500 on the road with yesterday’s loss, currently standing at 33-34 away from the Rogers Centre (+590). The Blue Jays are still bring a solid 27-21 mark against division opponents into the series finale (+1,120) and the total is 22-25 O/U in those contests. It’s important to note that the team is 7-10 as a road underdog of +125 to +150 in 2010 (-60) and 18-31 in this situation the last three years (-670).
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San Francisco captured a 6-3 road victory over the Cardinals in the opening game of this three-game series in St. Louis. The Giants are now 9-9 in August after completing a 20-8 July, but the club is happy with its recent results overall. In 83 games of scoring three-or-more runs in a game, the team has produced a 62-20 record (.756), which is the second-best winning percentage in the majors in that particular situation. The club is 3-4 in its current 12-game stretch in which they play against opponents in the heart of the playoff picture. San Francisco has posted a 32-31 record on the road this season, which is the fourth-best mark in the National League behind San Diego, Cincinnati and Florida. The team has compiled a 5-7 record as a road underdog of +125 to +150 this season (-30) and the total is 8-4 O/U in those contests. It’s also important to state the Giants are 12-7 when playing on Saturday (+600).
Atlanta picked up a 5-3 victory over the Chicago Cubs to open this three-game set at Wrigley Field on Friday afternoon. Braves outfielder Rick Ankiel cleared the bases with a two-out triple in the ninth inning in order for the club to move 22 games over .500 on the year. “It’s like there’s something in the water around here,” Ankiel said. “It’s fun. It’s like no matter what, we’re never out of it. It’s fun to be a part of it.” The win also gave the club its 37th comeback victory of the season, which leads all of baseball. Atlanta is 23-16 in day games this season (+450) and 70-66 over the last three years (-320). The club is also just a game over .500 versus southpaws (22-21, -490) and the total is 20-21 O/U in those contests.
Seattle continues its season-high 12-game road trip in taking on the New York Yankees in a three-game set in the Bronx. The Mariners are averaging a league-worst 3.3 runs per game and have managed to hit just 75 home runs this season. The club is a solid 6-3 under interim manager Daren Brown and is coming off back-to-back wins over the Baltimore Orioles. Offensively, the team is being led by second baseman Chone Figgins, as he has collected a hit in 15 of his past 21 games. Over its past 11 games, the bullpen has allowed just seven earned runs on 18 hits in 28 innings, producing a 2.25 ERA in the process. Seattle is 20-41 on the road overall this season (-1,810) and the total is 30-26 O/U over that span. The Mariners are also 4-12 as a road underdog of +100 to +125 (-780) and 23-31 in this situation the last three years (-540).
Atlanta starts this three-game series with a new first baseman in the fold, as Derek Lee joins the team and will face his former ball club out of the gate. Lee spent seven seasons in Chicago and hit .298 with 179 home runs and 574 RBI over that span. “The main thing is we’ve got six weeks to go and Atlanta’s in first place,” he said. “They’re playing great baseball. A chance to go to the postseason, it’s hard to pass up.” The Braves went 5-2 on its last homestand and now head off on a six game road trip. Atlanta is 27-33 on the road this season (-800) and the total stands at 29-28 O/U in those contests. The team is also 10-9 as a road favorite of -125 to -150 (-180) in 2010 and 22-22 in this situation the last three years (-760).
Milwaukee picked up a 3-2 road victory in the first of a two-game set against the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium. Third baseman Casey McGehee was the different in last night’s contest, hitting a two-run homer off Cardinals starter Jaime Garcia. McGehee is hitting .411 with five homers and 19 RBIs in his last 14 games. “He’s on fire,” manager Ken Macha said. “I told him I didn’t want to stand next to him because I was afraid of spontaneous combustion.” Each of the last four Brewers games have been decided by just a single run, as they are 2-2 in that span and 20-14 overall in one-run contests. Since the start of the 2008 season, Milwaukee has the second-highest winning percentage at Busch Stadium of any visiting National League team (17-9, .654). The Brewers are 0-3 as a road underdog of +200 to +225 this season and 1-6 in this situation the last three years (-390).
