Few Trends for today's games (7/16/07)

sawastea · Jul 16, 2007

Colorado Rockies at Pittsburgh Pirates (7:05 PM ET)

Colorado’s Taylor Buchholz is 1-3 with a 5.67 ERA as a starter this season and 7-12 with a 5.97 ERA in 26 career starts. In relief, however, Buchholz has become a valuable part of the Rockies staff, posting an 0.82 ERA in seven relief appearances.
Buchholz will try to spark a Colorado team that has lost three of four after a five-game winning streak, but he’s 1-1 with a 6.57 ERA in two career starts against the Pirates.
The Pirates were held to a total of six runs and 17 hits in their last series against the Braves, as they were swept in a three-game set after winning five of six entering the All-Star break.
Pittsburgh starter John Van Benschoten will look to bounce back from the worst of his five starts since being called up from the minors. He surrendered five runs, seven hits and three walks in 2 2/3 innings of a 7-1 loss to the Chicago Cubs.
The Rockies are 1-4 in the last five meetings in Pittsburgh.

Kansas City Royals at Boston Red Sox (7:05 PM ET)

Boston designated hitter David Ortiz is a lifetime .278 hitter against the Royals, but he’s just 22-for-90 in 25 games versus Kansas City with the Red Sox. Among AL opponents, only his .235 average against the White Sox is worse in that span.
The Red Sox have lost five of their last seven overall, but still lead the AL East by nine games over the New York Yankees.
Red Sox rookie Kason Gabbard tried to remain perfect at Fenway Park as a starter. The left-hander is 3-0 with a 2.55 ERA lifetime there, including two wins in as many starts this year.
Gabbard will be making his first-ever appearance against the Royals, who have lost 12 of their last 15 games at Boston since the start of the 2003 season.
The OVER is 10-3 in the last 13 meetings in Boston.

Toronto Blue Jays at New York Yankees (7:05 PM ET)

After losing eight of its last 10 games in June, New York has won eight of 12 in July to move over .500 for the first time since it was 36-35 on June 22nd.
The Blue Jays have played 14 of their last 17 games on the road, going 6-8 without a pair of back-to-back victories in that stretch.
Toronto has won its last four games with starter Josh Towers on the mound. He’s 2-0 with a 4.63 ERA in that stretch, which includes his best start of the year.
In three starts since his return to New York, starter Kei Igawa is 0-1 with a 6.19 ERA. The left-hander hasn’t tallied a victory since April 28.
The Blue Jays are 5-1 in the last six meetings.

Chicago White Sox at Cleveland Indians (7:05 PM ET)

The White Sox have lost seven of eight series with the Indians since the start of last season, including an 0-3-1 mark at Jacobs Field.
Cleveland has won all 11 home series against AL foes, compiling a major-league best 33-13 home record.
Chicago’s John Danks will make his first start since July 5th. He’s unbeaten in his last five starts and the White Sox have won the last three.
Indians starter Cliff lee is facing the White Sox for the first time this season, after beating them twice in September, surrendering two runs in 13 innings. He was 2-4 with a 7.04 ERA in his previous 12 starts versus Chicago.
The UNDER is 4-1 in the last five meetings in Cleveland.

San Francisco Giants at Chicago Cubs (ESPN | 7:05 PM ET)

The Cubs have won 15 of 19 overall and are 3.5 games behind NL Central-leading Milwaukee after trailing by 8.5 games on June 23rd.
San Francisco’s Barry Bonds is hitless in a season-worst 20 consecutive at-bats after an 0-for-5 showing in Monday’s 5-3 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Cubs starter Rich Hill opened the season 4-1 with a 1.73 ERA in his first six starts, but is just 1-5 with a 5.20 ERA in his last 11 outings.
Giants right-hander Tim Lincecum has allowed just three runs in 20 innings in his last three starts after allowing 22 runs in 18 2/3 innings in his previous four.
The UNDER is 6-1-2 in the last nine meetings in Chicago.

Texas Rangers at Oakland Athletics (10:05 PM ET)

Oakland is 376-221 after the All-Star game since 1999 and has reached the postseason five times over that span. However, the A’s were swept in four games by Minnesota to open up the second half of the season.
A slumping offense has been one of the biggest reasons for Oakland’s slide. The A’s matched a team record set in September 1978 by failing to score more than three runs in their tenth straight game Monday.
Texas starter Jamey Wright hasn’t received a decision in two career starts against Oakland despite allowing 16 runs in 12 innings.
The Rangers will square off against Athletics starter Dallas Braden. He made four starts earlier this year and was 1-3 with a 6.41 ERA.
The UNDER is 4-0-1 in the last five meetings.

Philadelphia Phillies at Los Angeles Dodgers (10:10 PM ET)

Los Angeles starter Brad Penny was 10-2 with a 2.91 ERA during the first-half of the season, but he’ll try to avoid repeating his second-half of 2006. He was 6-7 with a 6.25 ERA in 15 outings after the break last season.
Penny is 4-0 with a 2.13 ERA in 10 starts at home this year. He’s 7-4 with a 3.47 ERA in 18 career starts against the Phillies, including a 2-0 mark and 0.69 ERA in two outings last year.
Philadelphia’s Jamie Moyer hasn’t faced Los Angeles in more than seven years. He’s 3-4 with a 4.07 ERA in 10 career starts against the Dodgers.
Moyer fell to 0-2 with a 6.11 ERA in his last three starts after giving up five runs over 5 2/3 innings in a 6-3 loss at Colorado on July 7th.
The OVER is 4-0 in the last four meetings

Courtesy of Pregame