New York Yankees (21-19) AT Baltimore Orioles (19-21)
May 18, 2011 at 7:05 PM EST
Opening Moneyline: NYY -130, BAL +110
Current Moneyline: BAL -122, NYY +102
Opening Total: 9
Current Total: 9
SP: NYY- Bartolo Colon, BAL- Zach Britton
Robinson Cano must be licking his chops. After hitting .228 with 1 HR and 4 RBIs over his last 16 games, he has struggled a little, but last season against Baltimore he hit .531 and over his career there his is hitting .510 with 9 HRS, 11 doubles, 19 RBIs, and 26 runs scored, over 23 games. In April, he went 4 of 10 with an RBI over a rain shortened 2 game series.
The Yankees are 4-0 this season against Baltimore and last season they were 17-5. They just snapped a 4 game losing streak yesterday against the Tampa Bay Rays, with a 6-2 victory. Joe Giradi expressed his relief in what he didn’t want to call a must-win game. “We needed a win,” Joe Girardi said. “I don’t want to say must-win, but as close as you can get to a must-win in the month of May.”
One bright spot for the Yankees has been the play of catcher Jorge Posada. He hit a double and a single as the DH and pulled him out of the funk as he was set to bat last in the order. “It feels good to be back in the lineup and be able to contribute,” Posada said.
Alex Rodriguez also broke out a funk to hit two home runs in Tuesday’s victory. “My struggles have been really unacceptable, but hopefully today was the start of good things to come,” Rodriguez said.
Baltimore rookie Zach Britton is scheduled to take the mound today, after previously having been scheduled for the meeting yesterday against the Rays. Britton is 5-2 on the year with a 2.42 ERA. He was projected to go 6-7 with a 4.98 ERA by Baseball Prospectus’ PECOTA projections. If the early season is any indication, however, he could be on the verge of a breakout season. In his last outing he held the Seattle Mariners to 3 hits and 0 walks in nine innings of a 2-1 12 inning victory.
Bartolo Colon will take the mound for the Yankees. He’s been solid this season, going 2-2 with a 3.74 ERA. In a 5-4 loss to the Red Sox on Friday, Colon gave up 3 runs in 6 innings, failing to record a quality start. Against Baltimore he is 2-2 with a 5.57 ERA.
Some betting trends:
The New York Yankees are 1-6 SU in their last 7 games and the total has gone OVER in 4 of their last 6 against the Orioles. The Yankees are 7-1 SU in their last 8 games against Baltimore and the total has gone UNDER in 8 of the last 12 against them. The total has also gone UNDER in 5 of the Yankees’ last 7 road games in Baltimore and the Yankees are 4-1 SU in their last 5 on the road in Baltimore.
The total has gone UNDER in 8 of Baltimore’s last 12 games against the New York Yankees and the total has gone OVER in 4 of Baltimore’s last 6 against the Yankees. The Orioles are 1-7 SU in their last 8 games against the Yankees and the total has gone UNDER in 5 of Baltimore’s last 7 games at home against the Yankees. The Orioles are 1-4 SU in their last 5 games at home against the New York Yankees.
Given Colon’s struggles against Baltimore, it may be that some of the sharps decided to bet against the Yankees. Britton has been nothing short of sensational this year and if Posada and Alex Rodriguez revert to their recent hitting before their breakout game last game, then this one will easily go to Baltimore.
