MLB
Sunday, June 20
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Hot Lines: Today's best MLB bets
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Milwaukee Brewers at Colorado Rockies (-148)
Rocky times might be ahead for Colorado backers. The club just learned that shortstop Troy Tulowitzki is expected to miss six weeks because of a broken bone in his left wrist.
"It's a major blow,” Rockies first baseman Todd Helton told the Denver Post. “You are talking about losing your best player. Somehow, we have to find a way to get through this."
Tulowitzki was batting in the three- and four-holes for Colorado, so they’ll have to be some lineup dancing and someone will have to step up in his place. Rumor has it that Rockies GM Dan O’Dowd is already looking for trade options, which tells us he’s not all that confident in his offense without Tulo.
Pick: Under
Minnesota Twins at Philadelphia Phillies (-179)
The Minnesota Twins sure are glad to have Orlando Hudson back in the lineup. The second baseman missed 16 games with a wrist injury before returning last night against the Phillies.
And even though O-Dog isn’t 100 percent healthy, Twins manager Ron Gardenhire knew he couldn’t live any longer without his two-hole hitter. The St. Paul Pioneer Press point out that fill-in batters in the two-hole hit just .131 with a .194 on-base percentage while Hudson was out.
Another reason to fade the Phillies: They’re just 2-5 Roy Halladay’s last seven starts and 0-7 on the runline during the same streak.
Pick: Twins on the runline
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Streaking and Slumping Pitchers
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Streakers
CC Sabathia, New York Yankees
After getting off to a rocky start in the season, Sabathia (7-3, 4.00) has found his groove and is 3-0 for the month of June.
In his last outing, a rematch of last year's World Series against the Phillies, he outdueled Roy Halladay despite being hit in the left hand by a comebacker.
"For the first three innings, he was as sharp as we've seen him all year, and then he gets hit in the hand," Girardi said of Sabathia. "I always wonder how that affects a guy. I can't tell you, and you probably won't get that out of him, either."
Sabathia soldiered on to earn his first victory since April 16 over a team not named the Orioles, against whom he has earned four of his seven wins this season. His last loss came on May 23 against these same Mets.
David Price, Tampa Bay Rays
Sometimes we run across a streaker who thinks he's a slumper. In this case, Price (10-2, 2.31) is wrong.
The AL's first 10-game winner was rough on himself after giving up eight hits and two earned runs in a win over the Braves for this third straight victory. His winning streak has seen him hold teams to three earned runs over 19 innings, but it doesn't meet his lofty standards.
"I've had a rough stretch here, I'd say about the last month," Price said. "I've thrown well. I just haven't thrown as well as I've wanted to. I can throw better, and I want to get back to that point where I was."
The mark of a great pitcher is that good isn't good enough.
Slumping
Jon Garland, San Diego Padres
Garland had rattled off six consecutive wins entering the month of June, but he has dropped three decisions in a row. His issues seem to be more mental than mechanical.
In his last outing against the Blue Jays on June 15, not even a 5.7 magnitude earthquake shook Garland as bad as a blown call by umpire Larry Vanover. A called ball with two outs and two strikes in the second inning ultimately put Garland in a 4-0 hole the Padres couldn't overcome.
"I mentally lost it," Garland said. "I was frustrated and upset, because I felt I did what I needed to do. It almost seemed like (Vanover) kind of let me down. ... I was out of that inning on a pitch (Vanover) had already given me, and he didn't give it to me."
Garland admitted to losing his composure in the five-inning outing, which is what can happen when frustration sets in. After giving up 13 earned runs in his last 18 innings, Garland desperately needs a strong outing to put the righthander back in the right mindset.
Kyle Davies, Kansas City Royals
Davies (4-5, 6.05) is 0-2 in his three starts in June and the no-decision, in his last outing against the Astros, was a loss that got a way.
Davies was rocked for six runs in just three innings and only dodged the bullet because the Royals struck for seven runs in the fourth in a wild 15-7 victory.
"Kyle was struggling to get the ball down, and they were ambushing him," Royals manager Ned Yost said. "The bullpen came in a did a great job."
Davies has lasted a total of just 13.2 innings in his last three starts, surrendering 22 hits and 16 earned runs during that span.
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Sunday Night Baseball: Dodgers at Red Sox
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Los Angeles Dodgers at Boston Red Sox (-155, 9.5)
Los Angeles and Boston conclude their three-game series at Fenway Park under the ESPN Sunday night lights this evening.
Manny happy, returns
Though he rarely speaks to reporters these days, indications are Dodgers OF Manny Ramirez, once again, is a happy man.
After helping the Red Sox to two World Series championships and ending 86 years of frustration, Ramirez’s homecoming this weekend marked his return to Boston for the first time since he was traded two years ago.
Manny’s greatness, when he hit .312 with 274 home runs and 868 RBI during an eight-year career with the Bosox, turned to sadness when he was sent packing to Los Angeles after the love affair ran its course in 2007.
To make matters worse, he was suspended for 50 games last season due to a highly publicized fertility-drug-induced rampage.
Entering the weekend, in 124 games since returning last July 3 from the suspension, Ramirez has hit .278 with 20 homers and 76 RBIs. While the numbers have declined, so too has Ramirez’s depression.
The question is are the numbers of a lesser man no longer using performance-enhancing drugs, or the normal declining production of a 38-year-old man no longer able to out-hit Father Time?
"I think the suspension hurt him a lot," Dodgers manager Joe Torre said. "I think it embarrassed him. When he came back, the work stuff was pretty much the same. He’s a little more serious-minded. I know he didn't like the way he played after the suspension [.269, 13 homers and 43 RBI in 77 games in '09]."
Still, Torre says he thinks Ramirez has yet to get his "swagger" back since the suspension.
As Manny is learning these days, time waits for no man. He’s just happy being Manny.
Dodger doings
• The Dodgers are the only team to tag Mike Leake and Ubaldo Jimenez with a loss this season.
• SS Rafael Furcal was placed on the bereavement list Thursday and returned to his native Dominican Republic to be with an ailing family member. No other details were given. Furcal will miss this series. Chin-lung Hu was recalled from Class AAA Albuquerque.
• RHP Chad Billingsley was put on the 15-day DL because of a groin strain, retroactive to June 12th.
Yo, Adrian
When the Red Sox acquired 3B Adrian Beltre during the offseason there were doubts lingering about his offense and his ability to stay healthy.
They have been put aside. Beltre is among the American League's top 10 hitters with a .337 average and his hustle has dazzled teammates. Entering this series, he was riding a seven-game hitting streak and had hit safely in 12 of his last 13 games.
As a result his high-energy effort has him on pace for 22 home runs and 113 RBIs.
"When you talk about consistent at about a .380 (on-base) clip, that's pretty good," said Sox manager Terry Francona. "He plays as hard as any player I think I've ever seen. He just goes 100 mph all the time every time he's out on the field.
“I think he feels really good about himself. It took him a little while to get going when he got here like it does a lot of guys, but he's been a force."
Arm wrestling
Dodger southpaw Hiroki Kuroda is 9-4 in his team starts this season, including 4-2 away.
Kuroda has issued two walks against 23 strikeouts in his last three road starts during the month of June.
Red Sox right-hander Clay Buchholz started the campaign respectably at 3-3 with a 3.82 ERA.
Since then he is 6-1 in his last seven team starts with a 1.84 ERA, including 3-0 at Fenway with a 2.18 ERA.
By the numbers
Entering this series:
• In 590 career games at Fenway Park, Ramirez was a .315 hitter with 141 home runs and 471 RBIs. He had a .583 slugging percentage there and a 1.005 on-base-plus-slugging percentage.
• Red Sox hitters lead the AL in seeing 4.09 pitches per plate appearance.
• The Dodgers are 13 games under .500 (103-116) all-time in interleague play, including 4-6 this year. The last time the Dodgers had a winning record in interleague play was in 2004, when they went 10-8.
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This Day in Baseball
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On June 20 in Baseball History...
1932 - Roger Cramer of the A's has six hits in consecutive times at bat in a nine-inning game. Cramer will do this again in 1935, the only A.L. player to repeat the feat.
1948 - Cleveland draws 82,781 for a doubleheader, a major league record for a regular season game that will be broken by the same club in 1954. The Indians will attract 2.6 million for the season.
1956 - At Detroit's Briggs Stadium, Mickey Mantle poles two Billy Hoeft pitches into the right center field bleachers, something no other player had done since the bleachers were built in the late 1930s. New York wins 7-4.
1973 - Bobby Bonds leads off with a home run, but the Giants lose 7-5 to the Reds. It is Bonds's 22nd leadoff home run, breaking Lou Brock's N.L. record.
1973 - Chicago's Cy Acosta becomes the first A.L. pitcher to bat since the DH rule went into effect. Acosta strikes out in the eighth inning, but is credited with an 8-3 victory over California.
1982 - Pete Rose plays in his 3,000th major league game (a 3-1 loss to the Pirates), joining Ty Cobb, Stan Musial, Hank Aaron, and Carl Yastrzemski as the only players to reach that plateau.
1986 - After leading the club to a 26-38 record, Tony LaRussa is fired as manager of the White Sox and replaced by Jim Fregosi. LaRussa will be hired to manage the A's early next month.
1991 - The Reds lose the MVP of the 1990 World Series when Jose Rijo breaks his ankle in a steal attempt. Cincinnati also loses the game to Montreal 1-0.
