Jeff Mattingly: Sunday MLB Handicapper Report - Best You'll Find Anywhere!

Saturday MLB Recap
-Minnesota SP Francisco Liriano has not allowed a regular-season home run in 48 1/3 innings, second to Texas' C.J. Wilson (51.3IP) among starters.
-New York will push back Javier Vazquez's start to Friday against the Mets. Girardi said it's because of a rainout and he wanted to keep the rest of his starters on schedule.
-Pittsburgh OF Andrew McCutchen went 2-for-3 with a walk and is now 11-for-14 against the Cubs this season.
-Blue Jays SP Ricky Romeo got eight of his 12 strikeouts via the changeup, his most in a start in his career. He allowed just five singles, lowering his ERA to 2.88 and extending his unbeaten streak to five starts.
-Texas SP Scott Feldman is winless in his last six starts, after surrendering five runs and nine hits over 7.1 innings.
-The Rangers were shutout for the first time this season. Only the Florida Marlins and Los Angeles Angels have not been shutout.
-Colorado SP Ubaldo Jimenez threw eight sharp innings in a 6-2 win on Saturday, which actually saw his season ERA climb from 0.93 to 1.12 - still the best in baseball.
-Philadelphia RP Jose Contreras earned his first save in a career that span 22 years in Cuba and the majors.
-Milwaukee fell to 4-13 at Miller Park with Saturday's 10-6 loss to Philadelphia.
-Brewers SP Chris Narveson threw 130 pitches, tops in the majors this season, but failed to get out of the sixth inning.
-San Francisco SP Tim Lincecum struck out five and walked five, leading the Giants to a 2-1 home victory over the Astros, moving their record to 5-0 against them this season.
-Astros SP Roy Oswalt came into Saturday's start with the third-lowest run support in the National League (2.44).
-The Mariners have seven homers in the past three games after hitting just 13 in the first 33.
-Baltimore RP Alfredo Simon had been 5-for-5 in save opportunities this season, before the Indians blasted the Orioles for eight runs in the ninth inning.
-Cleveland had scored just a single run in its previous 17 innings of play before scoring eight in the final frame on Saturday.
-Detroit was trailing 6-1 after five innings and 6-4 going into the bottom of the eighth, only to pick up its sixth victory of the season when trailing after six innings.
-Chicago White Sox rank last in the AL in hitting, but batted around in a four-run seventh to help secure a 5-4 victory over the Royals.
-The Royals have yielded 32 runs in the seventh inning this season.
-An effective Rodrigo Lopez allowed Arizona manager A.J. Hinch to rest a bullpen that had a 12.94 ERA over its previous six games.
-St. Louis 1B Albert Pujols leads the NL with 12 intentional walks.
-The first homer by a left-handed batter for the Marlins, by Coghlan, came in their 36th game Friday.
-The Dodgers have won 11 of 14 and are two games above .500 for the first time this year.
-Angels 1B Kedry Morales hit a pair of homers giving him 28 since last year's All-Star break, the most by any other player over that stretch.

Cleveland Indians
-Conclude a three-game set with Baltimore, which is part of an eight-game road trip to Kansas City, Baltimore and Tampa Bay. The Indians are currently 3-2 on the trip.
-Cleveland plated eight runs in the 9th inning last night to win 8-2. It was the most runs scored in the 9th to win since plating 11 on 8/9/05 agianst Kansas City.
-The Indians have hit two or more homers in a game three times this year. They have hit 13 of their 20 home runs on the road this season.
-DH Travis Hafner has reached base safely in 23 of his 40 plate appearances. Over his last nine games, he is 12-for-29 with a home runs and 3 RBI.
-Over the last seven games, Cleveland's pitching staff has a 3.78 ERA. The bullpen has allowed just 3ER in their last 18 innings of work. The unit currently ranks fifth in the American League with a 3.66 ERA overall. On the year, they've allowed just seven of 67 inherited runners to score, which leads the majors.
-Team batting average has gone from .223 to .249 over their last 15 games.
-SP Jake Westbrook is 1-2 with a 5.40 ERA in five road starts this year. The Indians are 2-5 in games when he starts overall.

Chicago Cubs
-After going 7-3 from April 23-May 2, Chicago has just two victories in its last 11 games. During their last 11 contests, the Cubs have hit .257 with a team ERA of 5.65
-The Cubs have allowed three first-inning runs in each of the first two games of this Pirates series, but have logged a 3.38 ERA from the second inning and later.
-Since 2007, Cubs teammates Ted Lilly and Ryan Dempster are tied with Atlanta's Derek Lowe, Philadelphia's Cole Hamels, San Francisco's Tim Lincecum and St. Louis' Adam Wainwright for the National League lead with 24 home victories apiece.
-The pitching staff's 5.54 ERA in May is over one and a half runs higher than its 3.88 April ERA.
-Chicago SP Ted Lilly has walked just 40 batters since the beginning of the 2009 campaign, good for second-fewest among big league starters (min. 200 IP).
-Lilly is an even 1-1 with a 3.00 ERA against NL Central foes this season in two starts. The left-hander dropped a 4-2 decision at PNC Park against the Pirates on 5/5, allowing a season-high nine hits in six innings of work.

Chicago White Sox
-Chicago is 10-10 in their last 20 games as they continue a seven-game trip today. RHP Gavin Floyd takes the hill, with a 1-5 record and 7.28 ERA in his last nine starts.
-The White Sox are 6-10 against the AL Central this season, going 3-2 vs KC, 2-3 vs Minnesota and 1-5 vs Cleveland.
-OF Alex Rios has reached safely in 17 of his last 18 games and is batting .333 with five HR and 14 RBI in his last 26 games.
-The team is 11-13 versus opponents with a winning record and 4-8 versus clubs below .500.
-Compiled an even 6-6 daytime record this season, while going 9-15 under the lights.
-Floyd owns a 6.30 career ERA in April and a 5.72 ERA in May, his two highest monthly ERAs. He went 2-4 with a 7.71 ERA in his first eight starts last year, compared to 9-6 with a 2.84 ERA in his final 21.

Arizona Diamondbacks
-The Diamondbacks posted an 11-1 win over the Braves on Saturday, snapping a season-high-tying seven-game losing streak. Arizona was 6-for-13 with runners in scoring position.
-Today is the third of seven meetings with the Braves in 2010. The D-Backs trail the all-time series 40-49, but are 17-11 since 2006.
-Arizona leads the league by seeing an average of 4.04 pitchers per plate appearance.
-Team has posted a 5-6 record in series finale's this season.
-The combined 15 home runs and 47 RBI by Adam LaRoche and Kelly Johnson ranked tied for first and second respectively among all first base-second base combinations in the NL.
-In three starts in May this season, SP Dan Haren is 1-1 with a 3.80 ERA and a .314 opponents average. In 31 career starts, he is 11-12 with a 3.45 ERA.

New York Yankees
-The Yankees have now won all five of their series at Yankee Stadium this season.
-New York has won nine straight regular season games against the Twins and 12-straight total games, dating back to the start of the 2009 season.
-The club's 92-3 record when leading after six innings is the best such mark in the Majors (St. Louis, 82-7 - 2nd).
-Currently enjoying a season-high six-game home winning streak, owning the best home record in baseball at 12-2. In home games since the All-Star break, the Yankees are 43-10 in regular season games and 50-11 overall (incl. postseason).
-OF Brett Gardner (.390) and SS Derek Jeter (.379) rank third and sixth, respectively, in the AL in home batting average.
-New York's foursome of RHP Phil Hughes, LHP CC Sabathia, RHP AJ Burnett and LHP Andy Pettitte have a combined 18-3 record and 2.66 ERA.
-Catchers Jorge Posada and Francisco Cervellin have combined to post a .352 batting average while playing the position, the best such mark in the majors.
-SP Sergio Mitre has allowed at least one run in the first inning of seven of his 10 starts with the Yankees. He has compiled an 8.10 first-inning ERA in his Yankees' starts and a 6.81 ERA in his starts from the second inning onward.

Boston Red Sox

-If the Red Sox beat the Tigers today, they will have won six of their last eight series beginning on 4/20. The club is tied with teh Yankees for the 2nd-best record in the AL in that time at 15-9 (.625) behind only Tampa Bay (15-8, .652).

-Boston is second in the majors with 348 hits (MIL - 349) and ranks among the AL leaders in times on base (1st - 516) and extra-base hits (2nd - 135).

-The Sox are 26-17 all-time at Comerica park, the 2nd-best record by any team, trailing only Toronto (23-15).

-Starting rotation has thrown 6.0 innings or more in each of the last six games and 7.0 innings or more in four of those contests.

-Boston has knocked out each of the last five, and six of the last seven opposing left-handed starters out of the game before the end of the fifth inning.

-The Red Sox are 2-8 (.200) in day games this season, the worst record in the Major Leagues.

-SP John Lackey has posted a 3.27 ERA in five night starts this season compared to a 9.00 mark in two day outings. Of his 106 career wins, 75 have come at night.

New York Mets
-Since ending April with a 14-9 mark, the Mets have gone 4-10 this month.
-New York's four road wins (4-11) are the fewest in the Majors. The Mets have played 15 games away from Citi Field this year, the third-fewest in the majors.
-Team has dropped five straight contests to Florida after winning 7-1 on Opening Day. The Mets have won the overall season series against the Marlins in four of the last five years.
-OF Jason Bay has hit in nine straight games. During that span, Bay is batting .371 with three doubles and seven RBI.
-The Mets have allowed 23 home runs in 15 road games this season, as the 23 road long balls are the fifth-most in the majors.
-3B David Wright slugged his eighth home run of the year last night. He didn't collect his eighth home run of the year last season until August 5th.
-Pitching staff has issued 164 walks, the most in the majors. At the plate, New York has drawn 133 walks, 12th in the majors.
-SP Jonathon Niese is winless in the month of May at the major league level. He has gone 0-0 in four starts, compiling a 7.29 ERA and allowed a .360 batting average.

Philadelphia Phillies
-Tonight's matchup with the Brewers marks the Phillies 2nd apperance on ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball in 2010. The Phillies are 10-3 in their last 13 such games.
-Enter play tonight leading the National League in average (.278) and runs per game (5.60).
-At 14-7, the Phillies have the best record among NL teams in night games this season. Phillies pitchers have posted a 3.95 ERA at night, which ranks sixth among all NL staffs.
-Team is a dominating 8-1 against NL Central teams this season.
-Homered in 11 of their 13 games this month, leading all NL teams with 22 home runs overall in May. Over the last five seasons, the Phillies lead the Majors with 910 HR (White Sox - 888).
-SP Cole Hamels has the lowest ERA (.371) and most strikeouts (725) of any National League starter since 2006. He is a dominating 11-2 with a 4.12 ERA in 21 career starts in May, which is the most wins and best winning percentage of any month.
-Hamels is 16-7 with a 3.49 ERA in 34 career starts against NL Central teams.

Washington Nationals
-The Nationals dropped both games of a twinbill at Colorado on Saturday, falling 2-6 in the early game and 3-4 in the nightcap.
-Washington needs a win today to secure a series tie and even the season series (3-4 entering today). The Nationals have won three straight season series and are 6-1-1 over their last eight series. Washington is 8-3 in series finales this season.
-Not allowed a first-inning run in its last 11 contests (6-5 record), outscoring opponents 9-0 in the first frame over that period.
-Including home runs in both games of yesterday's doubleheader, Washington OF Adam Dunn has eight longballs in his last 21 contests. Over that period, he has homered every 9.75 at-bats and is now tied for 4th in the NL with 9 HR this season.
-With a .353 batting average in 28 contests, C Ivan Rodriguez would rank 2nd in the NL (6th in MLB) in hitting if he had enough plate appearances.
-SP Scott Olsen has allowed two or less runs in four straight assignments. In those same four assignments, the left-hander has not allowed a home run.

Colorado Rockies
-The Rockies will complete their third homestand of the 2010 season this afternoon. The club is 3-2 during this stretch at home.
-Colorado is 54-24 (.692) at home since manager Jim Tracey took over the club on 5/29/09.
-Won both games of a split doubleheader against Washington yesterday. For the Rockies, it marks the first doubleheader sweep since 9/18/07.
-Pitching staff issued a total of one walk in 18 innings pitched on Saturday.
-The Rox are hitting .305 on this homestand after hitting .227 in nine games during their last road trip.
-C Miguel Olivo hit his team-leading 8th home run in Game 1 yesterday, his 3rd consecutive game with a homer. Olivo is hitting .420 with six home runs and 15 RBI in 13 games at Coors Field. Since the start of the 2009 season, he has 31 homers, the most of any MLB catcher.
-SP Jeff Francis will make his first MLB start since 9/12/08. He will be making his 5th career start against Washington, going 1-1 with a 6.04 ERA, as the Rockies have won three of his previous four starts.

Oakland Athletics
-Oakland has lost a season-high tying four consecutive games and has been outscored 28-5 during the streak.
-The A's are just 1-4 on this six-game road trip against Texas (1-2) and Los Angeles (0-2) and have now lost 11 of the last 13 road games.
-Team has lost five of six road series, but has won five of six home series. A big reason for this is the team possessing the lowest home ERA in the AL and the highest road ERA.
-Oakland is 10-4 (.714) in day games, which is the 2nd-best record in the Majors (Detroit, 13-5). Consequently, they have an 8-15 (.348) record at night, which is the 3rd-worst in the American League.
-Team is batting .240 with 46 runs scored over the last 15 games. They also have the 3rd-fewest home runs (23) and extra-base hits (88) in the American League.
-SP Trevor Cahill has allowed four home runs in three starts this year after allowing an Oakland rookie record 27 last year.
-Cahill is 1-0 with a 2.70 ERA in three career starts against Los Angeles, with all of those happening last year.

San Diego Padres
-The Padres dropped a 4-1 decision to the Dodgers last night. The loss gives the Dodgers a series victory and hands the Padres their first consecutive defeats since 4/25-26. The Padres have yet to lose three consecutive games this season.
-San Diego looks to avoid their first sweep at home since 7/20-22/09.
-Team has compiled a 7-5 record during the day, while going 15-9 under the lights.
-Along with their 22-14 record that includes a 19-8 stretch, the Padres have outscored their opponents 150-109 this season.
-SP Wade LeBlanc takes the hill today, making his fifth career starts versus the Dodgers. The left-hander is 1-2 with a 6.27 ERA, having faced them in three of his first four MLB starts (all in 2008).
-Today marks LeBlanc's sixth start of the season, allowing two or fewer runs in each of his outings.
-Pitching staff leads all Major League teams with eight shutouts. The team currently leads the NL in overall ERA (2.65), relief ERA (2.55) and road ERA (3.16).
-C Yorvit Torrealba has started 16 games behind home plate this season, with San Diego going 11-5 in those games.
-San Diego is undefeated in LeBlanc's five outings hits season and 10-2 over his last 12 starts.

San Francisco Giants
-The Giants currently own the 3rd-best winning percentage in the National League, behind Philadelphia and San Diego.
-SF is looking to sweep the Astros for the second time this season. The Giants have outscored them 27-9 and have out-hit them 56-32. Offensively the team is batting .329 while averaging 5.6 runs per game. Overall, San Francisco is 9-2 against NL Central opponents this season, including 6-2 at AT&T Park.
-Starting staff has held opponents to 3-runs-or-fewer in 30 of 35 games this season, including three-straight. LHP Barry Zito is 124-42 with a 2.01 ERA when holding opponents to 3-or-fewer runs.
-San Francisco is currently batting .248 with runners in scoring position on the season, including .242 (8-33) on the current homestand.
-Bullpen has been unscored upon in the last five games and 10.0 innings, after surrendering 13 runs in the previuos eight contests.

Houston Astros
-Today's starter RHP Brett Myers has thrown 6.0 innings or more in each of his seven starts to begin the season.
-The Astros have lost seven straight games against the Giants dating back to last season.
-Houston is currently 6-7 during daytime games this season and comes in with a 2-3 record against left-handed starters (Zito).
-Today will be the Astros first game against a left-handed starter since 4/23 against Pittsburgh. Since that date, the club has faced 20 consecutive right-handed pitchers. In the club's 14 games in the month of May, the Astros only have 19 plate appearance against lefties.
-OF Hunter Pence is hitting .295 in the month of May, as he owns a career .347 average during the month, trailing only Ichiro (.367) and Joe Mauer (.364).
-SP Brett Myers has a 3.56 career ERA in May, which is his lowest for any calendar month. This is even more impressive considering his 248 career innings in the month is his most as a professional.
-Myers' .643 career winning percentage (27-15) in day games ranks 6th among active pitchers.