Wednesday MLB Handicapper Report

• The Orioles are coming off a 4-4 homestand against Seattle (2-1), Cleveland (1-2) and Kansas City (1-1).  Baltimore is 11-11 in its last 22 games, after starting the year 2-16.
• IF Ty Wigginton has set a team-high by hitting in nine straight games, going 14-for-36 (.389) with two homers and six RBI.
• Team has posted a 3-9 record versus left-handed starters this season and 10-18 against righties.
• In their last 15 games, the Orioles have been held to one run five times and were held scoreless once.  Overall, the team has had 12 games this year where they scored one run or fewer.
• Defense has made just one error in the last 62.2 innings of play.  The Orioles are fifth in the AL in fielding percentage (.984).
• After going 1-6 in their first seven one-run games, the O’s have won six of their last seven one-run games.
• Three Orioles starters rank in the Top 26 in the AL in strikeout-to-walk ratio.  Kevin Milwood is 10th (3.20), Jeremy Guthrie is 11th (3.00) and Brian Matusz is 26th (2.17)
• In five career starts against Texas, SP Jeremy Guthrie is 3-0 with a 3.16 ERA.  He has not started a game in Arlington since 7/6/07.
• The right-hander snapped his career-high eight game losing streak on May 8 at Minnesota, outdueling Minnesota LHP Francisco Liriano.  He has won his last two starts since the skid.

• The Red Sox begin a short two-game homestand with the first of two games against the Minnesota Twins.
• Of the club’s 27 games from 5/14-6/10, 18 will be played on the road.  Boston has played just 17 road games this season, tied with Houston and San Francisco for the second-fewest in the majors behind Cincinnati.
• Boston has won seven of the last eight, eight of the last 10 and 11 of the last 15 matchups with the Twins at Fenway Park.
• The Sox have played 15 games this season against teams with a .600 winning percentage or better, second-most in the Majors behind Baltimore (16).  Boston is 4-11 (.267) in those games.
• SP Clay Buchholz leads all Sox starters with a 3.46 ERA this year.  He is tied with John Lackey (4-2) for the club lead in wins.
• Offensively, the Red Sox have averaged 6.39 runs of support per 9 innings in his career, which began in 2007, fourth-highest among AL hurlers with at least 200 innings pitched in that span.

Chicago Cubs

• Chicago is 4-9 against the NL East this season and is looking for its first season victory against the division since taking two-of-three from the New York Mets (8/28-8/30/09).  The Cubs have dropped their last five series against the NL East since then.
• In the club’s last four games, the bullpen has logged a 1.59 ERA while holding opponents to a .111 batting average.
• Seven of their last nine games have been decided by two runs or fewer, including four by a single run (2-2 in those games).
• SP Tom Gorzelanny has received two or fewer runs of support in five of his seven starts.  

• The Reds just completed a stretch of playing 17 of their last 20 games against the National League Central.  Cincinnati went 15-5 overall during this stretch, including 13-4 within the division.
• Through 39 games this season, the Reds have used only five starting pitchers.  In 2009, the team didn’t use a sixth starter until the 42nd game.
• In the last 10 games, the pitching staff is 9-1 with a 2.20 ERA, including an 8-1 mark and 2.08 ERA by Reds starters.
• Offensively, the team is hitting .299 over the last 14 games, raising its combined average from .239 to .261.
• Team has won four straight games, 16 of their last 21 games and each of their last five series.  At 23-16, they are seven games over .500 for the first time since 7/8/06.
• Produced a 3-0 record on their last road trip and 7-2 on their previous two road trips.
• SP Aaron Harang has produced three quality starts in his last four appearances (2-2, 4.01), after going 0-3 with a 8.31 ERA in his first four starts.
• The veteran right-hander is 1-2 with a 3.28 ERA in six career starts against Atlanta, including 0-1 with a 3.45 ERA in two outings at Turner Field.

• Get set to play the third game (0-2) of a seven-game road trip.  The Angels started the season 4-2 on the road, but have dropped 10 of their last 12 road games.  Los Angeles led the majors with 48 road wins in 2009).
• Posted a disappointing 2-5 mark in their last seven games at U.S. Cellular Field. 
• OF Bobby Abreu is a career .381 hitter (48-126) hitter versus Chicago, including a .370 mark at the Cell.
• The Angels are 6-5 versus AL West opponents this year, outscoring those teams 55-48.  The team has compiled a 12-18 mark against the American League’s other divisions, being outscored 116-159.
• Despite an ERA of 4.51 by the starting staff, the unit has allowed three earned runs or less in 14 of 21 games.  In those 14 games, starters have a 1.65 ERA (98 IP – 18 ER).
• SP Joe Saunders has allowed one earned run in his last two starts (14.2 IP), after allowing 15 earned runs in his previous three starts.
• Saunders’ .649 career winning percentage is third among active pitchers in the AL with a minimum of 50 victories.

Milwaukee Brewers

• Milwaukee is in Game 3 (0-2) of a seven-game trip to Cincinnati, Pittsburgh and Minnesota.
• The Brewers enter tonight’s contest on a season-high eight-game losing streak, which is their longest since dropping 10 in a row in 2006.
• Team has dropped six games this season when either leading in the eighth inning or having the least after eight innings.
• Starting rotation hasn’t produced a complete game since 4/24 last season.  The team has gone a franchise-record 185 straight games without a complete game, the longest current streak in the majors.
• Bullpen has an 11.92 ERA over the last eight games, raising its overall ERA from 4.85 to 6.25.
• SP Randy Wolf is 8-1 with a 3.07 ERA in 14 career starts against Pittsburgh, including a 1-0 mark and 1.29 ERA in two starts this season.  The left-hander is 4-0 with a 3.75 ERA in six career starts at PNC Park.

• Philadelphia lost to Pittsburgh, 2-1, at Citizens Bank Park last night.  It was the first loss for ace Roy Halladay in his first four home starts.
• The Phillies are 12-4 in May thus far.  During the 2009 season, they compiled a 17-11 mark.
• Be opposed by a left-handed starter for just the 12th time this season.  The Phillies are 5-6 in games started by lefties this season, but are just 1-5 at home and 4-1 on the road.  Batting an NL-best .283 against left-handed pitching this season.
• Starting staff has compiled a 19-9 record this season (.679), giving them the most wins and highest winning percentage of all staffs in the NL.
• This month, the bullpen is posting a National League-leading 1.69 ERA.  Only Tampa Bay has a lower ERA (1.36) among all MLB teams in that span.
• SP Jamie Moyer has a 24-16 record in 53 games (50 starts) at Citizens Bank Park.
• Moyer is 14-4 with a 4.04 ERA in 30 career games (27 starts) against NL Central teams.

Pittsburgh Pirates

• The Pirates have won three of their last five games, after losing four in a row and five-of-six.  Pittsburgh has gone 10-10 in their last 20 games overall since 4/27.
• In his last three appearances at PNC Park this season, LHP Brian Burres has been charged with two earned runs in 12 innings of work (1.50 ERA).  He enters tonight’s action with eight scoreless innings in Pittsburgh.
• Pittsburgh meets Milwaukee for the seventh time this season.  The Pirates have won the last two games after dropping the first four, which included a three-game sweep by Milwaukee at PNC Park on 4/20-4/22.
• In his 17 games played at PNC Park this season, OF Andrew McCutchen has tallied a .350 batting average, going 21-for-60.  In 72 career home games, he is hitting .325 with eight home runs and 33 RBI.

• The Padres won three of their final four contests at Dodger Stadium in 2009, including two wins against Clayton Kershaw (tomorrow’s starter).  San Diego is 11-7 overall on the road this season.
• In four career starts at Dodger Stadium, SP Jon Garland has gone 3-1 with a 1.67 ERA having never allowed more than two earned runs.
• San Diego has won seven of their last eight road games.  The pitching staff has posted a 1.60 ERA and is limiting opponents to a .193 average.
• Team has had six different pitchers post scoreless innings streaks of at least 10 innings this season.
• Leads all Major League teams with eight shutouts.  The team currently leads all NL clubs in overall ERA (2.69).
• Garland is 4-0 with a 0.95 ERA and a .180 opponents average over his last six starts.