Both of today’s starters have thrived in their respective situations this year, as division rivals finish a four-game series at Comerica Park.
Chicago White Sox at Detroit Tigers
Chicago picked up a 4-1 victory in yesterday’s contest over the Tigers, as the team has won eight of its last 10 games. The White Sox currently hold a 1.5-game lead over the Twins in the division and are eight games ahead of the Tigers. The club holds a 5-2 season series advantage over today’s opponent, outscoring them by a 43-21 margin. Offensively, the team is batting .300 and the pitching staff has recorded a 3.05 ERA against the Tigers this season. The White Sox are 9-1-1 in the last 11 season series versus their division rivals. Even more impressive, the South Siders are 31-19 in their last 50 games at Comerica Park. Chicago is 22-12 in day games this season, which is the fourth-best record in the league and the total is 18-16 O/U in those contests. The team is 18-21 against the AL Central division in 2010 (-7000 and 96-88 over the last three years (-80).
Continue reading “Thursday MLB Preview – White Sox at Tigers”
Minnesota captured a 2-1 victory in the third game of this four-game series against the Rays at Tropicana Field, overcoming a blown save in the ninth from new closer Matt Capps. “An exciting baseball game,” manager Ron Gardenhire said. “Well pitched by both sides.” Catcher Joe Mauer was back in the lineup for a second straight day, after missing two games with a shoulder injury. The win last night snapped a four-game losing streak for the Twins against the Rays, which was their longest losing streak against Tampa Bay since August 2001. The club is 21-18 in day games this season (-50) and the total is 17-18 O/U in those contests. Minnesota has also played just three games this season in domes due to moving into Target Field from the Metrodome this year, posting a 1-2 mark in this series thus far (-40). The Twins are still a dismal 13-18 against AL East opponents.
Los Angeles lost for the ninth time in 12 games and could possibly drop below .500 for the first time since June 2. The game also marked the move of Torii Hunter going from his regular position of center field to right. “It was different, but I was still in the game in the outfield,” Hunter said. The Angels have been unable to collect back-to-back victories since June 16-17 and are 7-10 since the All-Star break. Los Angeles is an even 1-1 this month (-20) and is 33-26 in August the past three years (-420). The club will be a road favorite of -125 to -150 for just the fourth time this year (1-2, -170), but has excelled in his role the past three seasons, producing a 29-16 record (+620). Despite the 6-3 loss in the series opener, the team is 10-4 in their last 14 games in Baltimore.
Milwaukee dropped five in a row before Monday’s 18-1 blowout victory over the Cubs and followed that performance up with a 4-3 win last night. “We’ve had a real good approach in this series,” third baseman Casey McGehee said. Today’s game will be the final of a six-game road trip that saw the club suffer a sweep in Houston. The Brewers are 26-30 on the road (-20) and have posted a 4-9-4 mark in series play away from Miller Park. Milwaukee is 2-1 early in August and a dominating 35-22 during this calendar month the last three seasons (+930). A win today would give the Brewers four consecutive victories over the Cubs for the first time since 2006. They may be hard-pressed to accomplish that feat, with a 14-25 daytime record (-1,290).
Toronto has captured the first two games of this series and the offense has managed to generate eight runs in each contest. “We’re doing a good job offensively,” Jose Bautista said. “We’re coming up with big hits when we need them and solo shots here and there.” He hit his MLB-best 33rd home run last night in the ninth inning, as the Blue Jays have hit 23 of their 167 home runs during their current 8-3 stretch. The pitching staff has held its own recently, ranking second in the American League with a 3.05 ERA since the All-Star break. The team is now 5-3 against the Yankees this season and have won eight of their last 13 meetings dating back to last year. Toronto stands at 22-16 versus division opponents (+1,010) and the total is 17-20 O/U in those contests.
Cincinnati fell 7-6 in the second game of this three-game set against the Pirates in Pittsburgh, but the club has still won five of its last eight games. It’s also important to note that the Reds are 9-1-1 in their previous 11 series, including 4-0-1 in their first five series of the second half. The team hasn’t made the playoffs since 1995 and haven’t finished above .500 since 2000, currently features the NL’s top lineup and best defense. “This is why I came here, for this point and purpose,” manager Dusty Baker said. All-Star first baseman Joey Votto didn’t start for a second straight game on Tuesday with a sprained wrist. Cincinnati is a dominating 30-17 against division opponents this season and the total is 21-22 O/U in those games. In 36 day games, the Reds have compiled an even 18-18 mark and the total is 10-21 O/U.
Philadelphia continues to be bit by the injury bug, as All-Star first baseman Ryan Howard has traveled back home to have his left ankle examined by the team physician. “It’s just swollen. It’s tight, sore. Other than that, it’s not too, too bad,” Howard said. The Phillies are already without the services of second baseman Chase Utley and outfielder Shane Victorino. The club has earned an even 4-4 record in its first eight meetings with the Marlins, but took two out of three at Sun Life Stadium in May. The Phillies are 11-3 in their last 14 games in Miami. Philadelphia enjoyed an off day on Monday and looks to even up its record in this situation, as the team is 5-6 this season after receiving a day off (-290). The Phillies are 34-24 after a day of rest the last three seasons overall (+660).
Chicago opens up a four-game series with a day-night doubleheader against the Tigers on Tuesday. The White Sox haven’t been very successful against divisional opponents this year, posting a 17-20 mark (-700) and the total is 16-18 O/U in those games. The team did finish its last homestand with a 6-1 record and are 20-2 over their last 22 games at U.S. Cellular Field. “We are playing good baseball all over,” said reliever Matt Thornton. Chicago has compiled a dominating 35-12 record since June 9, helping to erase a 9.5 game deficit in the divisional race in the process. It must not be lost that the White Sox are just an even 25-25 on the road this season (+390) and 96-118 away from Chicago the last three years (-1,080).
San Diego picked up an exciting 5-4 win over the Florida Marlins on Sunday in the series finale at Petco Park. The Padres lead the division by 1.5 games over the second-place San Francisco Giants and their pitching staff leads the majors with a 3.25 ERA. “We’re a confident group,” said infielder Jerry Hairston Jr. “The last couple of days have been a little crazy.” The club has the best road record in the National League at 28-20 (+1,440), joining the Giants and Reds as the only teams playing over .500 away from their home ball parks. San Diego is an even 4-4 on the road when the total is 7 or less (+200) and the total is 2-5 O/U in those games. The team has posted a 4-3 record over the last seven games due to limiting opponents to 3.1 runs per game and a .181 combined average.
New York has dropped 15 of its last 21 games, including a 14-1 blowout loss to the last-place Arizona Diamondbacks on Sunday. “It definitely hurts your pride a little bit when you perform in that manner,” manager Jerry Manuel said. “We didn’t pitch, we didn’t hit, we didn’t play defense.” The Mets now head to a field where they’ve dropped 15 of their last 20 meetings. The team has taken five of the first eight meetings between the two clubs, but they’ve yet to win a season series over the Braves since the 2006 season. Offensively, the club is hitting just .210 with 54 runs scored and 15 home runs in 17 games since the All-Star break. New York is 19-20 against divisional opponents this season (-350) and the total is 16-22 O/U in those contests. The Mets will try to avoid dropping to the .500 mark for the first time since June 2, when the team stood at 27-27.
