The Blue Jays look to finish the month with the most home runs in baseball and pick up a fifth-straight victory on their current homestand.
Cleveland Indians at Toronto Blue Jays
Cleveland has lost six of seven games and the starting rotation has given up 16 runs over 10 innings during a current three-game skid. The Indians’ offense managed to collect just five hits, while allowing a six-run fourth inning in a 8-1 loss to the Blue Jays at the Rogers Centre last night. “I think the night belonged to Shaun Marcum,” said manager Manny Acta. “He was fantastic.” Today’s game will be the second of a seven-game road trip that has the club traveling to Toronto and Boston. The Tribe is 19-34 in road games this year (-530) and the total is 24-26 O/U in those contests. Cleveland is also 12-21 against the AL East division, while having a winning 20-18 mark against their own division. The club has been very successful playing on Saturdays, notching a 10-7 record (+660).
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Detroit has lost 13 of its last 16 games and has fallen into third place in the AL Central race. “We’re in emergency mode,” manager Jim Leyland said after Thursday’s loss in Tampa. “When I say that, I’m saying we just have to fight our tails off every day.” This three-game series at Fenway will cap an 11-game stretch against the AL East foes for the club. The Tigers are currently 2-6 in that span and 10-8 against the division this season. Detroit may find itself as a +225 to +250 road underdog for just the second time in three years, while they are a dismal 16-33 overall away from Comerica Park (-1,750). The team has lost 22 of its last 30 games in Boston and has dropped 10 straight overall on the road.
Detroit will look avoid its first 10-game losing streak away from home since it ended the 2005 campaign in that fashion. The club has dropped 12 of its last 15 games overall. One good thing going for the Tigers is the fact that the Rays have never swept them in a four-game series at Tropicana Field. Detroit is currently in a stretch of playing 11-straight games against AL East opponents, producing a 10-7 record versus the division so far this season. The Tigers have also managed to still win eight of their last 14 games in Tampa Bay despite dropping the first three games of this series. In 27 games against southpaw starters this year, the team is a solid 17-10 (+730) and the total is 15-12 O/U in those contests.
Kansas City fell four runs behind the New York Yankees in the first inning and never had a chance in coming back in a 7-1 defeat at Yankee Stadium. The Royals squandered 14 hits by leaving 14 runners on base Thursday, managed to collect just five hits last night in the second game of the series. The club has now recorded a 2-6 record since the All-Star break, after finishing out the first half with a 10-6 run. It’s hard to expect the Royals breaking through with a victory this afternoon due to the club’s 2-13 mark when playing on Saturday this season (-900) and 23-45 record the last three years (-1,550). The total in those games is 7-8 O/U and 33-34 O/U respectively. Playing during the day has been a slightly profitable situation, posting a 14-17 record in 2010 (+30) and 66-74 mark over the last three seasons (+750).
Texas missed out on having an opportunity to possibly sweep the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park, dropping a 3-2 decision in 11 innings last night. “That was a well-played game,” third baseman Michael Young said. The club is 5-9 in July (-1,360) and has lost 10 of the last 16 games beginning on June 29. The Rangers total is also 5-9 O/U this month, with the team averaging just 4.1 runs over the past seven games. Texas is 8-16 versus AL East clubs this season, dropping six of the last eight. Ironically enough, the team is 3-9 on the road against the East clubs, with all wins coming at Fenway Park. The Rangers have dropped 11 of 14 road games against the division since September 5, 2009. Offensively, outfielder Josh Hamilton remains hot in going 12-for-27 (.444) in his last seven games and is hitting an MLB-best .429 in 40 games since June 1. During his hot streak, the Rangers lead the Majors with a 13-5 record away from Arlington.
Tampa Bay picked up a 10-5 road victory over the New York Yankees on Saturday afternoon at Yankee Stadium. The Rays have won three of their last four games against the Yankees in the Bronx, after losing six straight here. The win improved the club’s record to 55-35 on the season and moved them to within two games of first place. “It was a good day, we needed this win today and I was fortunate enough to get some big hits and score some runs,” Reid Brignac said. Tampa Bay is now 23-11 against divisional foes this season (+1,020) and have won 13 of its last 16 games on the road against the AL East. The Rays also took a 4-3 season series lead over the Bronx Bombers heading into the series finale this afternoon.
