| Range | W | L | P | +/- (Units) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yesterday | 2 | 0 | 0.00 | +4.12 |
| Last 30 Days | 39 | 36 | 0.00 | +17.10 |
| Season to Date | 43 | 43 | 0.00 | +10.90 |
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Minnesota @ CLEVELAND
CLEVELAND team total over 4 -110
[FONT=arial !important][FONT=arial !important][FONT=arial !important][FONT=arial !important]The Indians are the major’s hottest hitting team at the moment. Over the past 10 games, Cleveland is batting .324. During that span, the Indians have belted out 120 hits, 18 jacks and have scored 70 runs. They’ve also gone 7-3 during that stretch and now they get to face a pitcher with decent surface stats but beneath the surface, Pedro Hernandez is a disaster waiting to happen. An 88% very fortunate strand rate has certainly helped create a huge gap between his 2.35 ERA and 4.57 xERA. In a small sample size of 15 frames this season, Hernandez has just 7 K’s. He has a career WHIP in the majors of 1.61 to go along with a career BAA of .326. Chances are his luck runs out here against this hot-hitting Cleveland lineup at this hitter friendly venue. Play: Cleveland over 4 -110 (Risking 2.2 units to win 2). [/FONT][/FONT]
[/FONT][/FONT]CHICAGO -104 over Cincinnati
[FONT=arial !important][FONT=arial !important][FONT=arial !important][FONT=arial !important]1st 5 innings. This line is incorrect. The Reds with Mike Leake starting should not be favored over the Cubbies with Carlos Villanueva going. Not only is Villanueva the superior pitcher here but the Reds are playing like garbage while the Cubs are coming on. Cincinnati has lost two straight and they’re just a game over .500. Over their past 10 games, the Reds are dead last in the majors with a team BA of .199. During that 10-game stretch, Cinci has scored two runs or fewer in seven of those 10 games. Things don’t figure to get easier here. Carlos Villanueva is the midst of a breakout season with full skills to support it. Villanueva has a 53% groundball rate and a 2.99 xERA so far this year. On April 23, Villanueva faced the Reds in Cincinnati, where he pitched well against them (8.1 IP, 2 ER, 6/2 K/BB on April 23). Villanueva has walked just nine batters while striking out 29 in 35 innings. [/FONT][/FONT][FONT=arial !important][FONT=arial !important]
Mike Leake continues to walk a fine line between disaster and quality starts. He has just two quality starts in five tries this year, which is right in line with his history of being erratic. Leake comes into this start with a disturbing 1.52 WHIP. Current Cubbies are batting .326 against Leake in 129 career AB’s. At Wrigley Field over the past three years, Leake has a 4.66 ERA with an xERA of 5.02. Mike Leake is nothing more than a innings eater with average skills. He’ll never be elite and while Leake had some appeal when he pitched for a strong hitting Reds’ club over the past three years, it does not apply here, as Cincinnati is seeing BB’s. The Cubbies were in a position to sweep the Reds in Cincinnati just over a week ago. Now they get this laboring enemy at Wrigley, where there is something very cool about a Cubbies game on Friday afternoon. The payback begins here. Play it in five because Chicago’s bullpen is not reliable and this wager is based largely on the starters. Play: Chicago -104 (Risking 2.08 units to win 2). [/FONT][/FONT]
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Seattle -1½ +130 over TORONTO
[FONT=arial !important][FONT=arial !important][FONT=arial !important][FONT=arial !important]The Blue Jays are a complete mess. They’re not hitting with men on base, they often got smoked, they have a Mickey Mouse manager in John Gibbons and their leading hitter based on average is Colby Rasmus with a BA of .253. Brett Lawrie is hitting .220, Jose Bautista is hitting .200 Edwin Encarnacion is batting .229, Adam Lind is hitting .220 and the list of ineptitude goes on and on. The Blue Jays continue to make average pitchers look like Steve Carlton and now they have to face Felix Hernandez. Hernandez continues to throw nasty stuff with outstanding control. In 43 frames this year, King Felix has walked just 7 batters while whiffing 44. He comes into this game with a 0.96 WHIP and an ERA of 1.90. The guy is only 27 years old but it seems like he’s been around for more than a decade. He’s a sure fire ace with perhaps the best pitch movement in baseball. The Jays’ chances of getting to Hernandez are remote at best.[/FONT][/FONT][FONT=arial !important]
Ricky Romero returns to the majors after being sent down to the minors during an atrocious spring training. Romero wasn’t just sent down to triple AAA, he was sent down to pitch in A-ball to work on his mechanics. Last season Romero had an across-the-board debacle of a year, with his collapse fueled more by loss of skill than poor fortune, amid allegedly good health. Amid the carnage of last season were 105 walks in 181 innings. Romero is starting over. He’s pitching tonight because the Jays were forced to make a move because Josh Johnson cannot go. Romero has never “tested” out his new mechanics in the big leagues and he figures to be a little anxious. The Mariners are coming on with five wins in their past seven games and two series win in succession over the Angels and Mariners. Hernandez versus Romero is a complete mismatch, as is the M’s hitting (Seattle is hitting .298 over its last 10 games) and defense against these feeble Blue Jays. Play: Seattle -1½ +130 (Risking 2 units).
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