Sure it feels good to win my wagers, but with a winning percentage barely over 50|PERCENT| and a bankroll that is still in the red, I have to remind myself that this is a marathon, not a sprint.
Cleveland Indians at Toronto Blue Jays
Over 8.5 + 100
Indians 6, Blue Jays 3
Rationale: The Blue Jays were one of the hottest hitting teams, tallying 22 runs on 33 hits in the final 2 games of its weekend series with the Chicago White Sox. Toronto kept rolling offensively on Monday with an 11-1 pounding of the Indians. The Blue Jays logged 58 hits and outscored the White Sox and Indians 37-15 during a 4 game stretch. Meanwhile, Cleveland had been outscored 44-12 in their last 6 games. Jose Bautista had led the charge for Toronto, batting. 450 with 6 RBI in his last 6 games, and was hitting .412 with 7 RBI in his last 5 games against Cleveland. I saw no reason for a let up against Mitch Talbot (1-1, 5.87 ERA), who allowed 8 runs and 12 hits over 3 innings of a 14-2 loss to Boston in his first appearance since missing more than a month with an elbow strain. In his only appearance against Toronto (last season), Talbot gave up 5 runs and 3 HR in 8 innings. Brandon Morrow (2-2, 4.38 ERA) was taking the hill for Toronto. He was 0-1 with a 4.76 ERA in 2 career starts against the Indians (both last season). The Over was 28-21-2 overall for Cleveland and 13-6-1 in their last 20 games. The Over was 28-24-2 overall for Toronto and 6-2 in their last 8 games.
Reality: This was not the game I expected, but a win is a win. The Indians did most of the scoring, as Brandon Morrow gave up a season-high 6 runs in 5 innings. The 9 hits allowed by Morrow (2-3) matched a season high. Grady Sizemore came in to the game 0 for 12 with 7 strikeouts in 3 games since coming off the DL last week, but ended his slump with a pair of RBI doubles. He finished 2 for 4, raising his average to .255. The biggest surprise of the evening was the rebound performance by Mitch Talbot, who was blasted for 8 runs in 3 innings against Boston in his first start coming off the disabled list. This time out, Talbot (2-1) allowed just 1 run and 6 hits in 6+ innings. Thankfully, Tony Sipp gave up a solo homer to Yunel Escobar in the ninth for the Over. The homer was the sixth of the season for Escobar, who went 2 for 2 with 3 walks.
New York Yankees + 120
Yankees 10, A's 3
Rationale: The Yankees had won the last 8 games in this series, and looked to do something they have not done since 1944, when the A's were based in Philadelphia -- shut them out 3 consecutive times. New York was 22-4 overall against the A's since 2008. During the 8 game streak Oakland had been outscored 49-15 by New York, including 10-0 in the last 2 meetings. Freddy Garcia was looking for his second straight victory after giving up 3 runs in 6+ innings against Toronto on Wednesday; he had given up 3 or fewer runs in 3 of his last 4 starts. In his last start against Oakland (last season while with the White Sox) Garcia allowed 5 runs in 1+ innings of a 10-2 loss. Brett Anderson hoped to avoid a fourth consecutive losing start to the Yankees; he was 0-3 with a 4.68 ERA in 4 career starts versus New York. He was to face a Yankee lineup that included a smoldering Mark Teixeira, who homered for the fourth time in 5 games. Tex had 7 HR and 16 RBI in his last 11 games, and was batting .406 with 6 HR and 14 RBI in his last 9 games against Oakland. He and Derek Jeter were a combined 12 for 26 versus Anderson with 1 HR each. New York was 9-4 in their last 13 games and 41-18 in their last 59 against Oakland.
Reality: Anderson's struggles against the Yankees continued, as he allowed a career-worst 10 runs (9 earned) and a career-worst 11 hits in 5+ innings for the A's, who have lost 22 of 25 meetings against New York. That dropped Anderson's record to 0-4 with a 6.53 ERA in 5 career starts against the Yankees. Garcia (4-4), making his 300th career start, allowed 3 runs and 9 hits in 7 innings, to defeat the A's for just the second time in his last 10 starts against Oakland. The Yankee bats remained potent, as Curtis Granderson and Robinson Cano each hit a HR, and Alex Rodriguez added 3 hits and 3 RBI. Granderson finished the night going 3 for 5 with 2 runs and 4 RBI. Jeter had 2 hits (bringing him within 17 hits of 2,000 for his career) and scored 3 runs.
SEASON RECORD: 13-12-1 (52|PERCENT|), - 200
I like the following wagers to keep my winning streak going:
New York Yankees at Oakland A's
Over 7.5 + 110
Rationale: See my notes above regarding the Yankees hot bats. New York has scored 22 runs during a 3 game winning streak. They have hit 8 HR during a 5 game winning streak in Oakland. The Yankees look to stay hot and continue their success against Gio Gonzalez (5-2, 2.17 ERA), who gave up 10 runs and 10 walks in 8+ innings while losing both of his only home starts against them (both last season). Mark Teixeira, who had 10 HR and 22 RBI in May, is batting .375 (3 for 8) with 2 doubles and a HR run against Gonzalez. A.J. Burnett (5-3, 3.99) allowed 4 runs and matched a season high with 5 walks in 5 innings in his last outing against Seattle on Friday. The Over is 8-1-1 for the Yankees in their last 10 games, and 7-2-2 for Oakland in their last 11 games.
Colorado Rockies at Los Angeles Dodgers
Over 7 + 105
Rationale: The Dodgers are batting .356 and have scored 23 runs during a season high 3 game winning streak, including a combined 7 RBI by Casey Blake and Matt Kemp in yesterday's 8-2 victory. They'll face Ubaldo Jimenez, who is 2-6 with a 4.88 ERA in his last 9 games against Los Angeles. Jimenez (0-5, 5.86 ERA) gave up 6 runs and 12 hits during a 10-3 loss to the Cardinals on Friday. Kemp should continue his hot hitting, and is 11 for 32 (.344) against Jimenez. The Dodgers send Jon Garland (1-4, 4.31) to the hill; he is 0-3 with a 4.37 ERA in his last 6 starts. Garland has had success against the Rockies, going 2-2 with a 3.45 ERA in 5 career starts, but has lost the personal battle with Carlos Gonzalez, who is 11 for 18 (.611) with 7 doubles in his career against Garland. The Over is 29-23-2 for Colorado this season, and 29-23-4 for Los Angeles this season. The Over is 11-3-1 in Jimenez's last 15 starts against the Dodgers, and 10-3 in the last 13 games between these teams.