Florida Marlins (34-45) AT Oakland A’s (36-44)
June 29, 2011 at 10:05 PM EST
Opening Moneyline:  EVEN
Current Moneyline:  OAK -114, FLA -105
Opening Total:  7.5
Current Total:  7

SP:  FLA- Ricky Nolasco; OAK- Guillermo Moscoso

As I closed last night’s article about this series, I commented:

…it would be a stretch to call it (last night’s game) a true pitcher’s battle in light of the fact that the low total has more to do with two horrid offenses that provide their starters with little to no run support

Also commenting on Javier Vasquez’ decline, I expected him to get rattled for at least a few runs (while he only allowed one), while correctly selecting the winner of the contest.

“It’s just been a tough month, man, that’s all I’ve got to say really,” Vasquez said following the frustrating loss. “It’s unexplainable. We were playing such good baseball the first couple of months and now it seems like we’re doing something that costs us the game.”

The reason for recapping this is that tonight doesn’t seem to have the makings of a much hiring scoring game.  Last night’s opening total was set at 5.5, two runs lower than tonight’s opening total of 7.5, but the A’s have won 7 straight at home now, and the Florida Marlins have shown little to no signs of breaking out a slump that has already decimated their chances at making any kind of post season run.

At least with the A’s there is reason for hope.  The team’s staff has one of the best ERAs in the majors at 3.13 and over the last 12 games the A’s have won 8 of them while the staff has held opponents to a .196 Batting average, while maintaining an ERA under 2.00 during that stretch (1.56 ERA).  While their offense is struggling, last night’s contest only further proved the fact that
Tonight’s starter Guillermo Moscoso is 2-3 with a 2.68 ERAa strong pitcher can win a game for a team by virtue of shutting out the opponent.

Guillermo Moscoso will take the mound for the A’s tonight.  Baseball Prospectus had this to say about Moscoso:

“Armed with little more than a phantom fastball with average-to-plus velocity and crazy life, Moscoso looks to be a better fit out of the pen…if his curveball can find some consistency, Moscoso might be able to stick on a major league roster…”

Stick on a major league roster, he has.  So far this season his ERA is 2.68, a nice caveat for a pitcher who spent his entire career in the minors and is now only starting to pitch well at a major league level at age 27.  Friday night, Moscoso held a no hitter through five innings, before giving up 2 hits in the 6th and 7th innings, and exiting the game, and then the bullpen went on to blow the game, giving up a run, while the offensively hapless A’s failed to score a run.

“I’m trying to push myself into the rotation to stay all year,” Moscoso commented. “The guys on the (disabled list) are coming very soon, and that’s going to be a tough decision. I wish I can stay here, so we’ll see what happens.”

The Marlins are hoping Ricky Nolasco can help right the ship before it completely sinks.  He’s 4-4 on the season with a 4.44 ERA, but has lost his last 4 decisions while giving up 7.29 earned runs int hat span.  Nolasco realizes he has to be near-perfect for the Marlins to have a shot.  He commented “I told myself I can’t give up a run if I want to win…”

Some betting trends:

The Florida Marlins are 2-14-1 SU in their last 17 games and they are 0-4-1 SU in their last 5 on the road, while they are 2-3-1 SU in their last 6 against the A’s.

The A’s are 1-4-1 SU in their last 6 games and they are 5-0-1 SU in their last 6 games at home.

As I have already said, tonight’s game is most likely going to be a low scoring affair.  Given the teams’ offensive struggles and the fact that last night featured only 1 run between them, the totat at 7.5 may be a bit too high.  A bet on the ‘under’ in this one seems like a very profitable proposition.