Here are 3 previews for the Sunday day baseball games. Happy wagering!
New York Mets at Florida Marlins
New York Mets look to improve upon its 27-20 record at Florida over the last three years in the final game of the series. The Mets have won just four of their first 14 road games this season, including a 2-7 mark in their last nine. The team carries the lowest road batting average in the majors (.204), which is a big disparity from the Milwaukee Brewers (.288) who lead in the category. The offense will certainly be challenged against a hard-throwing starter on Sunday afternoon, which doesn’t fit well with their 263 strikeouts as a club (11th-most in the majors).
Mets SP Jonathon Niese suffered through his worst start of the season on 5/11 at home against Washington, going just 4.1 innings and allowing six runs. The left-hander has never pitched at Sun Life Stadium and dropped his first start of the season to the Marlins, losing a 3-1 contest on 4/8 at Citi Field. The Mets have picked up victories in four of their last five games with Niese on the hill (+374), after dropping his first two starts of the season. He has proven to be effective in the afternoon, posting a 1-0 record and 3.51 ERA in five career daytime starts (5.57 at night).
Florida has been scuffling to score runs recently, with the seven runs on Friday night marking the most the team has scored in 11 games. The Marlins do have two players with over 22 RBIs this season (Hanley Ramirez – 29, Dan Uggla – 23), while their opponent doesn’t have a single player with more than that number. The starting staff has helped to keep the team afloat, allowing more than three runs in only one of 13 games during the month of May.
Marlins SP Ricky Nolasco can only do better than his previous three starts at Sun Life Stadium, going 0-2 with a 7.31 ERA over 16 innings. In those innings, the right-hander has given up an incredible six home runs. He will also have to improve upon his career numbers against the Mets, as he’s compiled a 3-6 record and 5.82 ERA in 16 appearances (14 starts). The Marlins have provided just seven runs of support for him in his last three starts, picking up losses in two of those games.
Bettors will be hard-pressed to back a Mets’ team that has cashed just once as an underdog in May (-479). Niese certainly can change their underdog appeal, with New York cashing in on three of his five starts as a dog (+274).
Against divisional foes, the Marlins are 10-4 with Nolasco on the hill, but 1-1 (-102) so far in 2010. Florida picked up a 5-3 home victory over Cincinnati in the team’s only game with umpire Larry Vanover behind the plate this season.
Boston Red Sox at Detroit Tigers
Boston’s 15-8 record since 4/20 certainly is drawing some parallels with the recent six-game hitting streak by their designated hitter. David Ortiz has gone 9-for-22 over that stretch and is hitting .333 in the month of May. The offense is also receiving help from 2B Dustin Pedroia, who has hit safely in 10 of his last 13 road games this season and ranks 5th in the AL with a .382 average away from home. The starting staff has been brilliant against the Tigers in the past at Comerica Park, posting a 7-0 record and 2.17 ERA in the last eight games (Lester pending).
Detroit possesses a solid 12-5 mark at home this season, but it has done little to help its cause against the Boston Red Sox. After Friday’s 7-2 loss, The Tigers are now 16-26 against the Red Sox at Comerica Park. OF Magglio Ordonez will be relied upon heavily, entering the game with a .350 career average and 59 RBI in 88 career against the Red Sox. Manager Jim Leyland is starting to pencil SS Ramon Santiago’s name on the lineup card more often, playing in 27 games, with SS Adam Everett appearing in 21.
Red Sox SP John Lackey has produced a 4-1 record in seven starts for the Sox, but his 4.60 ERA demonstrates that he’s been far from spectacular. He earned the win in his last outing, despite allowing six runs in six innings of work against Toronto. In his last 14 starts since 8/30/09, the former Angels’ ace is 7-2 with a 3.71 ERA, tying him for the 9th-best ERA in the AL with at least 85 innings of work over that span. The right-hander will enjoy the walk out to the mound on Sunday, as he’s won each of his four career starts at Comerica Park while posting a 3.46 ERA.
Tigers SP Armando Galarraga gets the call on Sunday to make his first start of the season. The right-hander posted a 4-2 record and 3.92 ERA in seven starts at Triple-A Toledo. He appeared in 29 games (25 starts) during the 2009 season, producing a 6-10 record and 5.64 ERA. During the final month of the ’09 campaign, he produced a 21.60 ERA (5IP/12ER), leaving the organization no choice but to start him in the minors this season.
Bettors will be in a familiar place on Sunday, with the Red Sox being a road favorite with Lackey on the hill. Boston has split the two games in that situation this year (-52), dropping a 5-4 decision at Baltimore in his last road start, while picking up a 6-3 win over Minnesota at Target Field. Both of those games resulted in a push of 9 in regards to the total.
Playing the home underdog is always appealing, but bettors must be wary with the Red Sox dominance over the Tigers of late. The Red Sox have won their last five games as a road favorite at Comerica Park (Sat. pending at the time of publish).
Seattle Mariners at Tampa Bay Rays
Seattle lost another game when holding a lead this season, as they allowed three runs in the final two innings to lose a 3-2 decision to Tampa Bay at Tropicana Field. The Mariners have now held a lead in 25 of their 36 games overall this season. Offensively on the road, the team has been led by OF Ichiro Suzuki’s .384 average away from Safeco, which ranks third in the American League. With two more hits on Saturday, Suzuki currently has a nine-game hitting streak on the road with eight consecutive multi-hit games.
Mariners SP Cliff Lee is scheduled to make his fourth start of the season. The left-hander has shown remarkable endurance since starting the season on the disabled list (foot), tossing at least seven innings in all three previous starts. Lee is a solid 6-3 with a 2.53 ERA in 11 career starts against Tampa Bay, including a perfect 3-0 and 3.45 ERA in four career starts at Tropicana Field. Pitching indoors has been a comfort to the Arkansas native, posting a remarkable 11-4 record and 3.77 ERA in 19 career starts.
Tampa Bay regained the top record in the majors, along with improving its record to 6-5 in one-run games. “That’s how you win championships. You’ve got to win the 3-2, 2-1, 4-4 games,” Rays manager Joe Maddon proclaimed after the game. The Rays will enter Sunday’s contest with confidence in trying to ruin Lee’s perfect record at the Trop, as they’ve compiled a 5-1 record in facing left-handed starts in their last six chances. One important note in this series is the fact the Rays are still just 17-19 against the Mariners under Maddon.
Rays SP Matt Garza looks to continue to carry the torch of being a part of the best pitching staff in the American League. The Rays led the AL with a 2.82 ERA (3rd MLB), with the starters allowing two earned runs or less in 24 of 36 games. Despite carrying a 2-1 overall record against the Mariners in five career starts against them, Garza has an inflated 7.01 ERA attached to it. The right-hander has certainly received his share of run support early in 2010, with the offense providing four or more runs in all seven of his starts (6.3 rpg).
With both offenses failing to click in the first two games of the series, bettors may jump at playing such a high-profile game over the number. This is certainly reflected in the linesmaker opening the total at 7. In Garza’s last game against the Mariners at Safeco Field, the teams flew over the number (6.5) with a combined 11 runs. It’s also important to note, he didn’t pitch in a game with a total of 7 or lower the entire 2009 campaign.
