Season Record for Toronto Games: 4-3, +2.51 units
Every time I see the Rangers coming up on the schedule, I cringe. Then I cringe some more... then I hope the Jays don't get embarrassed too much that they become ESPN headlines for getting demolished by Texas yet again. I don't know what it is, but the Jays in Arlington is never pretty. The one good thing that usually happens when these two hook up is Vernon Wells shows up and has a big series. Luckily for Rangers fans, you won't have to worry about that, as Vernon is on the DL (as usual.)
Tommy Hunter makes his major league debut. Now I haven't seen this kid pitch ever, and I've only read a few reports on his stuff... but the Jays make average pitchers look like Nolan Ryan, so when and if they face above average pitchers, they're lucky to dodge a no-hitter. All I've heard about Hunter is that he pounds the zone and keeps the ball down. If he can steer clear of the debut-jitters and butterflies, the Rangers are going to be talking about making Tommy Hunter their ace as I have no doubt that he can shut them down (which isn't saying much with their marvelous hitting.)
Marcum is back up for the Jays, and has been hammered since returning from the DL. He's lost his out pitch, which was his nasty 2-seamer, and his struggles without that pitch are very obvious. He's allowed 10 earned in the 10.2 he's pitched since returning... not very Marcum like. Combine that with the #1 offense and a hitters ballpark, and you've got the makings of a disaster in progress. Furthermore, the Rangers big hitters have hammered Marcum in their limited PA's against him thus far:
NAME PA AB H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO BA
Ian Kinsler 6 5 3 1 0 1 2 1 2 .600
Michael Young 7 7 3 1 0 0 2 0 2 .429
He's never faced Josh Hamilton. Yes, I know this is a small sample size, but if they've hit this well off his "A game" then it's scary what they might do to his "B game."
Other stats to consider:
TOR are 8-22 in the last 30 meetings in Texas.
TOR is 24-31 on the road, TEX 27-23 at home.
Marcum's last 3 is 0-2 with: 7.71 ERA, 16.1 IP, 20 H, 15 R, 14 ER, 11 SO, 7 BB, 6 HR. Ouch.
Yes, I'm a Jays fan, and I'm terrified of what the final score of this game will be. Smash the Rangers!
Game Leans
TEXAS -108
TEXAS -1.5 +173
TEXAS 1H pk -113
TEXAS TT OVER 5 -113
Official Plays: TEXAS ML 1.08 to win 1, TEXAS -1.5 1 to win 1.73
I hope you like Bird, because there's going to be a slaughtering tonight. Please note that I do not "like" the Texas Rangers, in fact I'm quite the Blue Jays enthusiast... however when you see a freight train coming, you should get the hell out of the way! And so, here's to the Blue Jays... I hope to hell they don't lose by more than 10.
GL all!
Every time I see the Rangers coming up on the schedule, I cringe. Then I cringe some more... then I hope the Jays don't get embarrassed too much that they become ESPN headlines for getting demolished by Texas yet again. I don't know what it is, but the Jays in Arlington is never pretty. The one good thing that usually happens when these two hook up is Vernon Wells shows up and has a big series. Luckily for Rangers fans, you won't have to worry about that, as Vernon is on the DL (as usual.)
Tommy Hunter makes his major league debut. Now I haven't seen this kid pitch ever, and I've only read a few reports on his stuff... but the Jays make average pitchers look like Nolan Ryan, so when and if they face above average pitchers, they're lucky to dodge a no-hitter. All I've heard about Hunter is that he pounds the zone and keeps the ball down. If he can steer clear of the debut-jitters and butterflies, the Rangers are going to be talking about making Tommy Hunter their ace as I have no doubt that he can shut them down (which isn't saying much with their marvelous hitting.)
Marcum is back up for the Jays, and has been hammered since returning from the DL. He's lost his out pitch, which was his nasty 2-seamer, and his struggles without that pitch are very obvious. He's allowed 10 earned in the 10.2 he's pitched since returning... not very Marcum like. Combine that with the #1 offense and a hitters ballpark, and you've got the makings of a disaster in progress. Furthermore, the Rangers big hitters have hammered Marcum in their limited PA's against him thus far:
NAME PA AB H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO BA
Ian Kinsler 6 5 3 1 0 1 2 1 2 .600
Michael Young 7 7 3 1 0 0 2 0 2 .429
He's never faced Josh Hamilton. Yes, I know this is a small sample size, but if they've hit this well off his "A game" then it's scary what they might do to his "B game."
Other stats to consider:
TOR are 8-22 in the last 30 meetings in Texas.
TOR is 24-31 on the road, TEX 27-23 at home.
Marcum's last 3 is 0-2 with: 7.71 ERA, 16.1 IP, 20 H, 15 R, 14 ER, 11 SO, 7 BB, 6 HR. Ouch.
Yes, I'm a Jays fan, and I'm terrified of what the final score of this game will be. Smash the Rangers!
Game Leans
TEXAS -108
TEXAS -1.5 +173
TEXAS 1H pk -113
TEXAS TT OVER 5 -113
Official Plays: TEXAS ML 1.08 to win 1, TEXAS -1.5 1 to win 1.73
I hope you like Bird, because there's going to be a slaughtering tonight. Please note that I do not "like" the Texas Rangers, in fact I'm quite the Blue Jays enthusiast... however when you see a freight train coming, you should get the hell out of the way! And so, here's to the Blue Jays... I hope to hell they don't lose by more than 10.
GL all!
