The Yankees look to breakthrough against tonight’s starter in the first game of a three-game set at Yankee Stadium.
Seattle Mariners at New York Yankees
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).
The Washington Redskins have already taken on a new identity under new head coach Mike Shanahan, starting with the treatment of former All-Pro DT Albert Haynesworth. Shanahan is a no-nonsense leader who was able to churn out a couple Super Bowl titles with an older John Elway that played three more seasons than new QB Donovan McNabb has under his belt heading into this year before winning his first championship. McNabb gives the Redskins their best quarterback since they won their last Super Bowl with Mark Rypien under center 19 years ago. But Shanahan’s biggest challenge will be trying to provide McNabb with enough weapons to give him a real chance to win in the toughest division in all of football.
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).
