MLB
Monday, September 20
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Streaking and Slumping Pitchers
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Streaking
Cole Hamels (11-10, 3.01 ERA), Philadelphia Phillies
This former World Series MVP is peaking at just the right time for the Phillies. Hamels is 4-0 in his last four starts and he struck out 13 in 6 2/3 innings his last time out on the bump.
"He's locked in right now. It's fun to see," Phillies closer Brad Lidge told the Associated Press. "He has complete command and confidence with all his pitches."
Oddsmakers are pricing Hamels pretty high these days, so a look at the under might be the better option. The Phils have played below the total in seven of the southpaw’s last eight appearances.
Jered Weaver (12-11, 2.91 ERA), Los Angeles Angels
Weaver entered the season as a questionable No. 1 but he’s proven he’s a bona fide ace. The slumping Halos don’t always cash in when he takes the hill. The team is just 5-5 in his last 10 starts even though he allowed two runs or less in seven of those games.
A play on the total seems like another good option here. The under is 14-0-2 in Weaver’s last 16 starts.
Slumping
Gavin Floyd (10-13, 4.01 ERA), Chicago White Sox
Everything smells bad in the south side of Chicago these days and Gavin Floyd is no different. The White Sox are 2-5 in Floyd's last seven starts. The big righty has given up 22 hits and 11 earned runs in his last 11 1/3 innings pitched.
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Hot Lines: Today's best MLB bets
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Atlanta at Philadelphia (-165, 8)
The Atlanta Braves finally got the clutch hitting they thought they were getting when they traded for Derrek Lee. The first baseman hit a two-out grand slam in the seventh inning to give the Braves a 6-3 win over the Mets on Sunday afternoon. The win moved Atlanta three games back of the Phillies heading into this week’s huge series.
"It's always nice when you feel one come off the bat like that," Lee told reporters. "It's no secret. These are big games. We need them all. It feels nice to contribute. This was a nice start to the road trip, these three games, but we've got to keep it going."
It was only Lee’s second home run since joining the Braves on Aug. 18.
Pick: Braves
Texas at Los Angeles Angels (-145, 7.5)
Texas slugger Josh Hamilton said his bruised ribcage was feeling a bit better on Sunday, but there’s still no timetable for his return. The Rangers should know more Monday when Hamilton has another examination.
"It feels better as far as everyday stuff like rolling over in bed and getting out of bed,” Hamilton told reporters Sunday. “This is the first day since I ran and swung a little bit [on Tuesday] that I've started feeling better. But it’s one of those things that when I start to feel better, if I try to do something, I have a setback.”
Hamilton is hitting .361 with 31 homers and 97 RBIs this year.
Pick: Angels
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This Day in Baseball
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On September 20 in Baseball History...
1902 - Chicago's Jim Callahan tossed the White Sox's first no-hitter, beating Detroit 2-0.
1905 - Chicago White Sox president Charles Comiskey orders a houseboat built for the express purpose of transporting and housing the team during spring training.
1908 - Frank Smith of the Chicago White Sox threw his second career no-hitter for a 1-0 victory over the Philadelphia Athletics.
1919 - Babe Ruth ties Ned Williamson Major League mark of 27 home runs with a game-winner off Lefty Williams of the White Sox. Four days later he will hit number 28 over the roof of the Polo Grounds.
1922 - Rogers Hornsby is stopped by Burleigh Grimes of Brooklyn after hitting in 33 straight games.
1924 - Grover Alexander won his 300th game as the Chicago Cubs beat the New York Giants 7-3 in 12 innings.
1927 - Babe Ruth of the New York Yankees hit his 60th home run of the season, breaking the record he set in 1921. Ruth homered off Washington's Tom Zachary.
1931 - Lou Gehrig drives in four runs to break his old American League RBI mark of 175, set in 1927. By the season's end he will have a total of 184.
1951 - The owners elect National League President Ford Frick as the third commissioner of baseball for a seven-year term at $65,000 per annum.
1953 - Ernie Banks of the Cubs hits his first Major League home run against Gerry Staley, but the Cards win 11-6.
1955 - Giants slugger Willie Mays poles two home runs against the Pirates, giving him 50 for the year, making him the seventh player in history to accomplish this.
1958 - Hoyt Wilhelm of the Baltimore Orioles pitched a 1-0 no-hitter against the New York Yankees at Memorial Stadium, with the only run coming on a home run by Gus Triandos.
1961 - The 155th Yankees game of 1961 (including a tie) is Roger Maris' last chance to beat Babe Ruth, in compliance with Commissioner Ford Frick's statement that, for the record to be broken, Maris must do it in the same number of games as Ruth. Maris' 59th home run of the year, off Jack Fisher, is short of the record, but helps New York beat Baltimore 4-2 as the Yankees clinch their 26th American League pennant.
1968 - Mickey Mantle hit his last home run in the Major Leagues, a solo shot against Boston's Jim Lonborg. Mantle had 536 homers.
1969 - Bob Moose of the Pittsburgh Pirates pitched a 4-0 no-hitter against the New York Mets at Shea Stadium.
1980 - George Brett goes 0-for-4 in a 9-0 loss to the A's to drop his average below .400 for good. He is now hitting .396 and will finish the season at .390.
1984 - The Padres clinch their first National League West title since entering the league in 1969 with a 5-4 win over the Giants. The key blow is winning pitcher Tim Lollar's three-run home run, his third home run of the season.
1988 - Wade Boggs became the first player this century to get 200 hits in six consecutive seasons as the Boston Red Sox pounded Toronto 13-2. Boggs also joined Lou Gehrig as the only players to get 200 hits and 100 walks in three consecutive years.
1992 - Philadelphia second baseman Mickey Morandini made the first unassisted triple play in the National League in 65 years, just the ninth in Major League history, in the Phillies' 3-2, 13-inning loss to Pittsburgh.
1998 - Cal Ripken, Jr. took himself out of the starting lineup and did not play in the Baltimore Orioles' loss to the New York Yankees, ending his consecutive-game streak at 2,632 games. After nearly 16 years, Ripken said he decided the time was right to end the streak, which began on May 30, 1982.