MLB
Sunday, August 8
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Streaking and Slumping Pitchers
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Streaking
R.A. Dickey (7-4, 2.36 ERA), New York Mets
Who’s the Mets most consistent starting pitcher? Johan Santana? Mike Pelfrey? Guess again. It’s the 35-year-old knuckleballer at the end of the rotation.
The Mets are 2-0 in his last two outings but they’ve failed to take advantage of a number of Dickey’s quality starts because of a lack of run support.
New York is averaging just 1.8 runs in Dickey’s last six appearances. The under is 6-0 over that period.
Jeremy Guthrie (5-11, 4.21 ERA), Baltimore Orioles
Guthrie is on a modest little streak right now. The 31-year-old righty is 2-1 with a 1.95 ERA and 0.94 WHIP (walks + hits per inning) over his last four starts.
Not surprising, the under is also 4-0 in those four games.
Trevor Cahill (11-4, 2.72 ERA), Oakland Athletics
Oakland’s ace is on a 17-inning shutout streak. Cahill pitched a complete game shutout against the Royals in his last start and held the hard-hitting Rangers off the scoreboard in eight innings of work in the start before.
"The sinker is the key to my success all the time," Cahill told the Associated Press following his three-hitter performance against the Royals. "I was able to keep it down in the zone. I walked a few guys but I also caught a break and got the double plays."
The A’s are 8-2 in Cahill’s last 10 outings and they were underdogs in four of those games.
Slumping
Derek Lowe (10-9, 4.44 ERA), Atlanta Braves
Look, it’s the year of the pitcher and that means finding a hurler in bad form is like trying to find a straight guy at an ABBA concert. So apologies to Lowe because he’s not dealing duds every time he toes the rubber.
The former Dodger allowed one run and no walks in six innings in his last start. But the final outcome wasn’t a good one for the Braves, something that’s been happening way too often when Lowe takes the hill.
Atlanta is just 1-7 in Lowe’s last eight appearances, and the NL East-leading club was the favorite in six of those games.
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Sunday Night Baseball: Red Sox at Yankees
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Boston Red Sox at New York Yankees
The most celebrated rivalry in the American League resumes Sunday night when the Yankees and Red Sox meet in Game 3 of an extended four-game series at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx.
Blood rivalry
Whether it’s Yale-Harvard, Ali-Frazier or even the Bruins-Canadiens, rivalry games are all special.
While we tend to focus on the here and now, you can’t help but look to those games against hated rivals. It’s because, first and foremost, players and teams want nothing more than to beat their rivals.
Aside from the teams playing with a greater level of intensity, fans put on their best face for blood-rivals, too. The players know it and they respond accordingly.
This series rivalry formed back in the 1920 when the Red Sox sold legendary Hall of Famer Babe Ruth to the Yankees and each season it seems like another meaningful chapter is added.
Last year Josh Beckett hit a number of Yankee players and blamed it on “poor control”. He even decked Derek Jeter with the bases loaded.
Did you know
With the addition of Kerry Wood, Austin Kearns and Lance Berkman at the trade deadline, the Yanks have 10 players on their roster who were selected in the first round of the draft.
Down but not out
Entering this series, the Bronx Bombers dropped two of three to the Rays and Blue Jays, the first time this season that they have lost consecutive series of at least three games.
The last time the Yankees lost two three-game series in a row was June 16-21, 2009, when they dropped two of three to both the Nationals and Marlins.
Meanwhile, Boston entered the series six games behind the Yankees having just lost 1B Kevin Youkilis to a thumb injury for the year.
Youkilis is one of three Red Sox players who have played more than 95 games this season. The Yankees, on the other hand, have six players who have played more than 95 games.
Mike Lowell, returning off the disabled list, will now step into Youkilis’ shoes, and he is ready.
"As tough as it is to lose Youkilis, I think we're pretty fortunate," Red Sox manager Terry Francona said. "I don't know how many teams can take a Youkilis out and put a Lowell in. I guess that's how I prefer to look at it."
Through it all, Yankees manager Joe Girardi refuses to take Boston for granted, even after watching his team win 14 of its last 18 against its divisional foe.
"I think they've dealt with it well," Girardi said of Boston's recent rash of injuries. "They've had a number of injuries to key players. Their rotation has continued to pitch well, they've continued to stay in it with all these injuries."
Yo, Adrian
Boston third baseman Adrian Beltre has stepped up to fill the recent holes caused by injuries.
Beltre blasted a grand slam in Thursday's win over Cleveland, extending his hitting streak to 11 games, his longest of the season.
He is hitting .341 with four home runs and 13 RBIs over the course of the streak.
The blast also gave Beltre 20 home runs and 75 RBIs on the season.
It's the eighth time he has cracked 20 homers in a season and the ninth time he's tallied at least 75 RBIs.
Only 10 other third basemen since 1901 have managed to put together as many seasons in each of those statistical categories.
Stay tuned
Boston GM Theo Epstein was disappointed but not overwrought with bitterness at not being able to pull the trigger at this year’s trade deadline.
"In past years we've been able to make trades that immediately impact our big league team. That's a really satisfying feeling. Other years we haven't been able to and come away with a bit of an empty feeling. Today is more the latter. It's not the end of the story."
Tale of the tape
Former Marlins, A.J. Burnett (9-9, 4.93) and Josh Beckett (3-1, 5.70), toe the rubber this evening in a matchup of struggling right-handers.
Burnett suffered from a horrible June where he was 0-5 with a 9.00 ERA. If you remove those numbers, during which pitching coach Dave Eiland was away from the team, his season stats are more than serviceable at 9-4 with a 3.50 ERA.
The 33-year-old Burnett is 8-6 with a 4.92 ERA in 14 career team starts against the Red Sox, including 4-2 at home.
Beltre is 10-for-31 (.323) with six doubles and seven RBIs off the righty, but Lowell is just 4-for-20 (.200).
Beckett has pitched well since coming off the 60-day DL on July 23. He is 3-0 with a 2.18 ERA in his past three team starts.
The right-hander's last two outings before going on the DL were against the Yankees and he did not pitch well in either of them. In fact, in three outings this season vs. New York, Beckett owns a 10.43 ERA.
In his career, Beckett is 9-6 with a 5.95 against the Bombers, but has pitched well at the new Yankee Stadium, going 2-1 with a 3.06 in three starts.
Robinson Cano is 18-for-52 (.346) with seven doubles, three homers and 12 RBIs off Beckett. Posada is 11-for-33 (.333) against the right-hander, but has struck out 10 times.
Mark Teixeira is 4-for-28 (.143), while the recently acquire Berkman is 3-for-18 (.167) with seven strikeouts against Beckett.
