MLB
Saturday, June 26
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Hot Lines: Today's best MLB bets
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Boston Red Sox at San Francisco Giants (+140, 8.5)
When the Red Sox announced during the offseason the team was going to focus on pitching and defense, many expected the potent Boston lineup to regress.
"I didn't really understand the questions that we wouldn't have a good offense," Victor Martinez said. "We lost a good guy in Jason Bay. But because you lost one guy, it doesn't mean that your offense is completely lost.”
Falling behind the Rays and Yankees through the first two months of the season magnified Boston’s offensive struggles. After a resurgent June that has the Sox just two games out of first place, the team is leading MLB in runs, hits, RBIs and OPS.
"We're getting contributions from all over the map," said manager Terry Francona. "I think that's why you're starting to see more personality, more enthusiasm, more energy during the games.”
Going into Friday, the BoSox had plated 19 runs in their previous two games. San Francisco will be trotting out fresh mound meat, Joe Martinez who has only one start this season, and Boston should feast on the right-hander Saturday.
Pick: Over
Chicago Cubs at Chicago White Sox (-120, 9)
The clubhouse curse must have floated from the South Side of the Windy City to the North Side.
On a day that should have been uplifting with the return of third baseman Aramis Ramirez from the disabled list, starting pitcher Carlos Zambrano made it a gloomy one.
After giving up four runs in the first inning, the temperamental Zambrano laid into teammate Derrek Lee for not diving for a ground ball down the line. Big Z was seen screaming at the team and Lee and eventually the two players had to be separated by manager Lou Piniella and bench coach Alan Trammell.
Piniella sent Zambrano into the clubhouse and Tom Gorzelanny replaced him on the mound in the second inning. It looks as if serious repercussions will be administered.
"It's unacceptable behavior is what it is," Piniella said. "He was upset that some of our players didn't dive for those balls. He was ranting and raving and out of control. I had a discussion with our general manager to see what we do. I couldn't tolerate it."
Carlos Silva has been stellar this season for Chicago but a number this low backing a team with a 10-game win streak is a bargain. And with the state the Cubbies are currently in, the South Siders should take all three games from their counterpart in the Crosstown Classic.
Pick: White Sox
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Streaking and Slumping Pitchers
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Streaking
Carl Pavano (8-6, 3.64), Minnesota Twins
The mustache must be working for Carl Pavano. Minnesota’s right-hander is 3-0 in his last three starts and went at least seven innings in each. Pavano threw a complete game in his most recent outing, limiting the Phillies offense to four hits in a 4-1 victory.
“Pavano was fantastic,” Ron Gardenhire said after the game. “That’s an unbelievable lineup they have over there, but he kept them off balance and got his pitches over for strikes.”
Pavano and the Twins are +115 underdogs facing the New York Mets Saturday.
Clay Buchholz (10-4, 2.47), Boston Red Sox
Boston’s current ace shutout the Dodgers in his last start, giving up three hits over 6.2 innings of work for a 2-0 victory. Buchholz has won his last two starts and is 8-2 since early May.
“Just a maturing young pitcher,” manager Terry Francona said. “His stuff is so good, now that he’s got some repetition under his belt the game doesn’t speed up for him.”
Most of the Giants lineup has never seen Buchholz and the oddsmakers are well aware, making the BoSox a -155 favorite in San Fran on Saturday.
Slumping
A.J. Burnett (6-6, 4.83), New York Yankees
The wheels are falling off for New York starter A.J. Burnett. The righty has given up 23 earned runs in 20.0 innings pitched in June with only 13 strikeouts. In his last outing, Burnett was chased out of the game after only four innings after giving up three bombs in the first inning and seven runs overall.
"I don't feel like myself," Burnett said after the game. "I'm not having fun right now. Who would in a stretch like this? When you come out and take the air out of your team right away for a handful of starts, it gets quite frustrating. I'm going to keep plugging away.”
Burnett is 0-4 in four June starts and the Yankees are a pick ‘em (-110) against the Dodgers in L.A. Saturday.
Returning
Doug Fister (3-3, 2.45), Seattle Mariners
Fister was once the AL leader in ERA but has been on the disabled list since May 31 because of shoulder fatigue. Seattle manager Don Wakamatsu said that Fister will be on an 85-pitch count in his return Saturday.
Fister is a crafty righty that isn’t going to blow hitters away. He has a high ground ball rate and great control so his effectiveness comes from keeping hitters off balance. Fister was starting to get touched up a bit before going on the DL, yielding 10 runs over his last three starts.
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This Day in Baseball
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On June 26 in Baseball History...
1916 - Cleveland players, in a game with the White Sox, wear numbers on their sleeves, marking the first time players are identified by numbers corresponding to those on the scorecard.
1920 - Lou Gehrig gets his first national mention when, as a high school junior for New York City's School of Commerce, he hits a grand slam in a high school championship game against Lane Tech in Chicago. Scouts sit with open mouths as the ball sails out of the N.L. park (later known as Wrigley Field).
1935 - Lloyd Waner sets a major-league record with 18 putouts in center field in a doubleheader as the Pirates take a pair from the Braves at Boston.
1940 - More than 50,000 pack the Polo Grounds to watch the Yankees, Dodgers and Giants play each other in a six-inning contest to raise money for war bonds. Each team plays successive innings against the other two teams, then sits out an inning. The final score is Dodgers 5, Yankees 1, Giants, 0.
1960 - Hoping to speed up the election process, the Hall of Fame changes its voting procedures. The new rules allow the Special Veterans Committee to vote annually, rather than every other year, and to induct up to two players a year. The BBWAA is authorized to hold a runoff election of the top 30 vote getters if no one is elected in the first ballot.
1968 - The major league Executive Council decides that both the A.L. and N.L. will play 162-game schedules in 1969 and operate two six-team divisions.
1971 - Last year's A.L. batting king, Alex Johnson, is suspended by the Angels following a series of incidents (including five benchings and 29 fines) resulting from failure to hustle.
1994 - Kirby Puckett becomes Minnesota's all-time hits leader by getting three safeties to pass Rod Carew with his 2,088 hit as a Twin.
1997 - Tony Gwynn of the Padres breaks a seventh-inning tie with an inside-the-park grand slam as San Diego beats Los Angeles, 9-7. The opposite-field hit not only puts Gwynn back over the .400 mark, but is also the first N.L. inside-the-park grand slam in six years.
