MistaFlava's 2010 MLB Baseball Record: 34-35 (+116.15 Units)
Monday, July 26
Los Angeles Angels ML -127 (25 Units) ***PLAY OF THE WEEK***
The Boston Red Sox continue to struggle with Victor Martinez, Dustin Pedroia, Jacoby Ellsbury, Mike Lowell and Jason Varitek out of the lineup and that's not a surprise at all. The Red Sox are coming off a 2-2 series tie with the Seattle Mariners losing the last two of the series on the weekend as they now fly into Los Angeles to take on a team that has struggled just as much as them. The Sox are 4-6 in their last 10 games since the All-Star Break and they are only 25-24 away from home this season. The came out of the break and lost a home series against Texas, they then went to Oakland and lost a series there and then went to Seattle and managed a series tie. On the mound tonight is Clay Buchholz who is 10-5 on the season (the team is 11-5 when he is on the mound) but who has somewhat struggled with control and command in his last three starts allowing 10 hits in only 11.2 innings of work with an ERA of 3.86 in those games and a WHIP of 1.46. Boston is hitting only .232 in their last 10 games and batting only .218 agianst right handed pitchers in those games. Buchholz was rocked in his first start back from injury as the Athletics beat him up for 5 ER's in 4.0 innings pitched in a 6-4 loss in that series. Before the injury Buchholz had been the Red Sox best pitcher but it's going to take him a bit of time to get his act together and the Angels are a team that he has always had problems with in his career. The Red Sox can't hit lately and I don't see that changing until they head back home.
The Los Angeles Angels have their fans a bit worried right now because they are only 52-49, one of their worst records at this point in the season in quite some time and they have now lost four of their last five games overall. Much like the Red Sox the Angels have struggled to put together a valid effort for a full nine innings and it has cost them in the standings. Having said that, unlike the Red Sox, the Angels are actually hitting the ball as they are batting .284 over the course of the last 10 games and they have managed to hit right handed pitchers .317 in those 10 games. The Angels are finally back home after losing three of four in a crucial series with the Texas Rangers this week and it's now or never in terms of winning. They looked good coming out of the All-Star Break winning three of four at home against Seattle and it's no secret they prefer playing at home and should put things back together quite easily in this setting. Dan Haren makes his debut tonight after being acquired in a trade with Arizona yesterday and if that wasn't a big boost for this team I don't know what is. Haren is no stranger to the Red Sox because he used to play for Oakland and I can tell you he won his last two starts against these guys as an Oakland Athletic playing at home. Haren has three quality starts in the month of July pitching for Arizona and his last five home starts for the D-Backs were quality starts that saw the team go 2-3 which shows you how much run support Haren actually lacked playing for the horrendous Diamondbacks. The Red Sox batters are going to be whiffing quite a bit tonight because Haren throws some hard stuff and has 16 strikeouts in his last two starts for Arizona. I think he makes a grand debut for the Angels and gets them back on track in their run for the playoffs.
Under most circumstances this would be an outstanding pitching matchup and it still might be a pretty good one but Clay Buchholz got rocked in his last start, first since back from injury, and his career numbers against the Angels are horrendous. The Red Sox youngster has made four career starts against the Angels and he is 2-2 in those starts with an ERA of 6.35, a WHIP of 1.81 and the Angels have hit .326 in those games against him. Haren has made 7 career starts against the Red Sox and he is 2-4 in those starts but has an ERA of 3.14, a WHIP of 1.14 and the Red Sox have hit .230 in those games. It's obvious that most of his losses were because of lack of run support and that probably won't be a problem tonight for Haren in his Angels debut. Boston comes into this game 1-4 in their last five games versus right handed starters, they are 1-5 in their last six games as a road underdog and they are 1-7 in their last eight games versus a team with a winning record on the season. In Clay Buchholz's last 7 starts versus AL West opponents, the Red Sox are 1-6 and that's a good indication of how badly he has struggled against these teams. The Angels are 12-4 in their last 16 home games versus a right handed starter and they are 4-0 in their last four home games against the Red Sox. I know this looks like a tight game but the Angels are hitting much better than the Red Sox right now and I have to back them in Haren's debut.
Trend of the Game: Boston is 1-6 in Clay Buchholz's last seven starts versus AL West opponents.
LA Angels 5, Boston 2
:toast:
Monday, July 26
Los Angeles Angels ML -127 (25 Units) ***PLAY OF THE WEEK***
The Boston Red Sox continue to struggle with Victor Martinez, Dustin Pedroia, Jacoby Ellsbury, Mike Lowell and Jason Varitek out of the lineup and that's not a surprise at all. The Red Sox are coming off a 2-2 series tie with the Seattle Mariners losing the last two of the series on the weekend as they now fly into Los Angeles to take on a team that has struggled just as much as them. The Sox are 4-6 in their last 10 games since the All-Star Break and they are only 25-24 away from home this season. The came out of the break and lost a home series against Texas, they then went to Oakland and lost a series there and then went to Seattle and managed a series tie. On the mound tonight is Clay Buchholz who is 10-5 on the season (the team is 11-5 when he is on the mound) but who has somewhat struggled with control and command in his last three starts allowing 10 hits in only 11.2 innings of work with an ERA of 3.86 in those games and a WHIP of 1.46. Boston is hitting only .232 in their last 10 games and batting only .218 agianst right handed pitchers in those games. Buchholz was rocked in his first start back from injury as the Athletics beat him up for 5 ER's in 4.0 innings pitched in a 6-4 loss in that series. Before the injury Buchholz had been the Red Sox best pitcher but it's going to take him a bit of time to get his act together and the Angels are a team that he has always had problems with in his career. The Red Sox can't hit lately and I don't see that changing until they head back home.
The Los Angeles Angels have their fans a bit worried right now because they are only 52-49, one of their worst records at this point in the season in quite some time and they have now lost four of their last five games overall. Much like the Red Sox the Angels have struggled to put together a valid effort for a full nine innings and it has cost them in the standings. Having said that, unlike the Red Sox, the Angels are actually hitting the ball as they are batting .284 over the course of the last 10 games and they have managed to hit right handed pitchers .317 in those 10 games. The Angels are finally back home after losing three of four in a crucial series with the Texas Rangers this week and it's now or never in terms of winning. They looked good coming out of the All-Star Break winning three of four at home against Seattle and it's no secret they prefer playing at home and should put things back together quite easily in this setting. Dan Haren makes his debut tonight after being acquired in a trade with Arizona yesterday and if that wasn't a big boost for this team I don't know what is. Haren is no stranger to the Red Sox because he used to play for Oakland and I can tell you he won his last two starts against these guys as an Oakland Athletic playing at home. Haren has three quality starts in the month of July pitching for Arizona and his last five home starts for the D-Backs were quality starts that saw the team go 2-3 which shows you how much run support Haren actually lacked playing for the horrendous Diamondbacks. The Red Sox batters are going to be whiffing quite a bit tonight because Haren throws some hard stuff and has 16 strikeouts in his last two starts for Arizona. I think he makes a grand debut for the Angels and gets them back on track in their run for the playoffs.
Under most circumstances this would be an outstanding pitching matchup and it still might be a pretty good one but Clay Buchholz got rocked in his last start, first since back from injury, and his career numbers against the Angels are horrendous. The Red Sox youngster has made four career starts against the Angels and he is 2-2 in those starts with an ERA of 6.35, a WHIP of 1.81 and the Angels have hit .326 in those games against him. Haren has made 7 career starts against the Red Sox and he is 2-4 in those starts but has an ERA of 3.14, a WHIP of 1.14 and the Red Sox have hit .230 in those games. It's obvious that most of his losses were because of lack of run support and that probably won't be a problem tonight for Haren in his Angels debut. Boston comes into this game 1-4 in their last five games versus right handed starters, they are 1-5 in their last six games as a road underdog and they are 1-7 in their last eight games versus a team with a winning record on the season. In Clay Buchholz's last 7 starts versus AL West opponents, the Red Sox are 1-6 and that's a good indication of how badly he has struggled against these teams. The Angels are 12-4 in their last 16 home games versus a right handed starter and they are 4-0 in their last four home games against the Red Sox. I know this looks like a tight game but the Angels are hitting much better than the Red Sox right now and I have to back them in Haren's debut.
Trend of the Game: Boston is 1-6 in Clay Buchholz's last seven starts versus AL West opponents.
LA Angels 5, Boston 2
:toast:
