Tampa Bay Rays (31-29) AT Los Angeles Angels (30-32)
June 07, 2011 at 10:05 PM EST
Opening Line: LAA -150, TAM +130
Current Line: LAA -161, TAM +140
Opening Total: 7
Current Total: 7.5
SP: TAM- Alex Cobb; LAA- Dan Haren
Last night it was the Angels who started a rookie. Tonight it is Tampa Bay’s turn to send an inexperienced Alex Cobb to the mound to face off against an Angels team that could only muster one run last night against David Price. Price rebounded from a poor performance in late April to hold the Angels to only that one run over 7 innings, but the Rays are still missing Evan Longoria and B.J. Upton.
“Whenever we have some of our big players out, you know you got to step up,” Price said.
Three time all-star Dan Haren has been excellent once again this season. His ERA is down in the low 2’s (2.29) and he has won 5 of his 8 decisions, and realistically should be at least 6-2 given his ERA. He has received the least run support of any pitcher in the American League with 2.40 runs per game. His last victory was May 29th against the Twins, a game which the Angels won 6-5, but Haren failed to record a quality start by pitching only six innings.
Haren had his start pushed back but he has made 215 consecutive starts since 2005. He insists it’s “not really about any streak,” but it is impressive nonetheless. It’s good to see iron men in any sport and Haren certainly fits the mold.
Life will be easier on Haren if Evan Longoria and B.J. Upton don’t return. Upton has hit well against Haren over his career (8 of 23) and has recorded three HRs against Haren.
This will be only Cobb’s second start as a major leaguer. He struggled a little in his major league debut against the Angels on the first of May. He gave up 4 runs in 4 1/erds innings. He did hold the Rangers to only 3 runs in 6 1/3rds innings pitched on May 29th. It should be interesting to see if the rookie has learned from his last outing.
Some betting trends:
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Tampa Bay’s last 6 games and the Rays are 2-4 SU in their last 6 games. The Rays are 3-8 SU in their last 11 on the road and they are 2-5 SU in their last 7 against the LA Angels. The Rays are 7-18 SU in their last 25 road games against the Angels and they are 5-1 SU In their last 6 road games in Anaheim.
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of the Angels’ last 5 games and they are 1-5 SU in their last 6 games. The total has also gone UNDER in 4 of their last 6 at home and they are 1-4 SU in their last 5 at home. The Angels are 5-2 SU In their last 7 against Tampa Bay and they are 18-7 SU in their last 25 at home against the Rays. The Angels are 1-5 SU in their last 6 home games against the Tampa Bay Rays.
Given the fact that the Angels are starting a genuine stud on the mound while the Rays are counting on a rookie, it’s easy to see why the Angels are favorites. They will, however, need to provide Haren with more than 2 runs to work with…then again, that might be just enough if he shuts the Rays out.
