MLB
Monday, July 26
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Hot Lines: Today's best MLB bets
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Detroit Tigers at Tampa Bay Rays (-165, 8.5)
Injuries are wreaking havoc on the Tigers’ starting lineup. Already down third baseman Brandon Inge, Detroit lost its DH (Magglio Ordonez) and second baseman (Carlos Guillen).
Guillen's sore ankle isn’t expected to keep him on the shelf longer than 15 days, but Ordonez, the team’s No. 3 hitter, won’t be back for at least six weeks because of a broken right ankle he suffered on Saturday.
"Anytime you lose a guy like that, it's huge,” Johnny Damon told the Detroit News. "[Ordonez’s] the No. 3 hitter. He's that bridge from me to Cabrera, so it's tough.”
Tigers manager Jim Leyland hinted after the game that Detroit GM Dave Dombrowski might have to make a few moves to cover up the club’s holes.
And things won’t get any easier for the Tigers. After a double dipper on Sunday, Detroit flies to Florida for Monday’s game at Tampa Bay.
Sounds like the Rays are catching the Tigers at just the right time.
Pick: Rays
Colorado Rockies at Philadelphia Phillies (-122, 9)
There’s good news and bad news for Colorado backers. The club will welcome back arguably its best player, shortstop Troy Tulowitzki, on Tuesday.
As for the bad news… well the Rockies appear to be dying a slow death in the NL West.
Colorado is 2-8 over its last 10 games entering Sunday’s contest against the Phils. The team has been held to two or less runs in seven of its last nine games and No. 1 hurler Ubaldo Jimenez is looking nothing like a staff ace these days.
Oh, and did we mention that the Rockies are starting a guy with five homers in 218 at bats this season at first base?
The Phillies aren’t without their own imperfections but they appear ready to fight to get back in the playoff chase.
Pick: Phillies
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Streaking and Slumping Pitchers
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Streaking
Max Scherzer (7-7, 4.43 ERA), Detroit Tigers
Scouts never doubted this Missouri native’s big league potential, but there were some concerns if he could keep his walk rate down. Scherzer is a strikeout pitcher who battles his instincts, which are to keep the ball off the plate.
The former Diamondback prospect is still walking his share of batters and he isn’t exactly breezing through innings, but he’s getting the job done.
He’s collected quality starts in six of his last eight appearances and the Tigers are 5-2 in his last seven outings. The under is 5-1 the last six times the righty has toed the rubber.
Ricky Nolasco (10-7, 4.50 ERA), Florida Marlins
Josh Johnson’s assertion as the Marlins’ No. 1 starting pitcher might have been the best thing for Nolasco’s progression. The youngster began 2009 as Florida’s Opening Day starter but struggled through an up and down campaign.
And while there have been some shaky moments, 2010 has been much kinder to the 27-year-old hurler. He remains one of the league’s top strikeout artists (50 K’s compared to just eight walks in his last 40 1/3 innings) and Florida is racking up the wins with him on the bump.
The Marlins are 5-1 in his last six appearances and the under is 4-0 the last four times he’s taken the hill.
Slumping
Carlos Silva (9-4, 3.86 ERA), Chicago Cubs
The Cubs most consistent hurler has hit a recent snag. He’s been knocked out before the end of the second inning in each of his last two starts, surrendering 11 earned runs in just 2 1/3 innings.
"I'm still human," Silva, who started the year 8-0 with a 2.93 ERA, told reporters after getting shelled in a second straight outing. "I think that's the way we have to look at it. These games are going to happen. Everything I was throwing it was hit."
The Cubbies are now 1-6 in Silva’s last seven trips to the bump.
Bradley Bergesen (3-8, 6.51 ERA), Baltimore Orioles
The 2010 Orioles are full of underachievers and Bergesen hasn’t done much to disprove the theory. The 24-year-old righty has just one quality start in his last five trips to the bump and the Orioles are 1-8 in his last nine starts.
He’s allowed five home runs in his last four outings but the under is surprisingly a perfect 4-0 in those games.
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This Day in Baseball
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On July 26 in Baseball History...
1872 - The National Association holds a special meeting, resolving that, because some teams have dropped out of the race, nine games will be played between contending teams this season instead of five.
1879 - Syracuse's Harry McCormick hits a home run in the first and then makes it stand up by beating Boston's Tommy Bond 1-0. This will be the only time in Major League history that a pitcher wins a 1-0 game with a first-inning home run.
1948 - Leo Durocher makes his first appearance at Ebbets Field since taking over the Giants, but the overflow crowd delights in a 13-4 win by the Dodgers.
1948 - Babe Ruth makes his last public appearance, at the New York premiere of the film The Babe Ruth Story. He will die three weeks later.
1950 - Brooklyn beats the Cardinals 7-5 as the Dodgers' Jim Russell switch-hits home runs, making him the first switch-hitter in history to do it more than once. Stan Musial hits in his thirtieth straight game, the longest streak of the decade.
1978 - Johnny Bench hits his 300th career home run, and Rose hits in his thirty-ninth straight game, but the Reds bow to the Mets 12-3.
1984 - Commissioner Bowie Kuhn announces that free-agent pitcher Vida Blue will be suspended for the remainder of the season as a result of his conviction on cocaine possession charges last November.
1987 - Catfish Hunter, Billy Williams, and Ray Dandridge are inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York.
1991 - After nine no-hit innings, Montreal's Mark Gardner allows two hits and a run in the tenth inning to lose at Los Angeles. Orel Hershiser, Kevin Gross, and Jay Howell also allow just two hits for the win.
1992 - The Ryan Express just keeps on rolling. Nolan Ryan strikes out his 100th batter of the season for a Major League record twenty-third consecutive year. He also gets a 6-2 win over the Orioles to pass Phil Niekro for 12th place on the all-time win list with 319.
