Coach Fletcher’s Monday Scouting Edge
Monday, August 31
4:05 pm Tampa Bay Rays at Baltimore Orioles
Rays and Orioles Try to Hold On
Tampa Bay has dropped 10 games behind the Toronto Blue Jays and the Orioles have fallen 11 behind. The NYY also stand between both teams and the first spot. Things are not looking good for either team as August did them both in. Chris Archer takes the mound for the Rays. He’s pitched well this year even if his record doesn’t show it. Archer is 11-10 but he has a sparkling 2.88 era. His last start was somewhat typical of his season. Facing the Twins Archer struck out 12, but he allowed 4 runs and 9 hits in 6 innings and took the loss. In his previous start Archer took down the Astros allowing just 1 hit and 0 runs in 9 innings. He fanned 11 Astros. Archer is 8-3 with a 2.67 era on the road. Lefties are hitting only .218 against Archer while righties are hitting just .208. Archer opened as a -115 favorite but the bettors have driven the line up to -125 early on.
4:07 pm Cleveland Indians at Toronto Blue Jays
Who’s Gonna Stop Those Jays?
Danny Salazar has had an excellent year for the Cleveland Indians. Salazar is 11-7 with an era of just 3.30. But facing the high scoring Toronto Blue Jays might be enough to make a man sick. And sick Salazar was last week missing his start because of a virus that caused him to lose “5 por 6 pounds.” Salazar’s last outing was August 22. In his last 7 games Salazar has gone 3-3 with a 2.36 era. However, his last start was a cause for concern. He went up against the NYY and definitely came out second best. Salazar only made it through 4 2/3 innings and allowed 4 runs on 8 hits while fanning 6. The Blue Jays are rolling, having won 8 of their last 9 and of their last 11. They scored 24 runs in the last two games at home against Detroit. It was the second time in their last 12 games that the Jays have put 15 on the board and they have scored an even dozen 2 more times in their last 12. Salazar is 1-1 with a fine 2.70 era against Toronto in 2 tries. The Jays opened as -180 favorites but have been bet up to -200 or better in some places.
4:10 pm Boston Red Sox at New York Yankees
Red Sox Looking to Play Spoiler
Sitting in last place 14 games behind the Yankees is not where the Bosox hoped to be at the end of August. But it is what it is and Boston has been reduced to the role of a spoiler. And there is no doubt that they’d love to spoil the NYY season. With the Yankees sending Ivan Nova to the bump, the Red Sox have a definite opportunity to take it to the Bronx Bombers. Nova returned recently from Tommy John surgery and things haven’t gone all that well. He’s allowed 3 or more runs in each of his 4 starts. In Nova’s last start against the Astros, he was punished for 7 runs and 7 hits in just 4 innings. He is 5-6 with a 4.50 era. Nova has gone 1-2 with an era of 7.31 in his last 3 starts. In one start against Boston this season Nova was pummeled for 4 runs and 8 hits in 6 2/3 innings. Boston opened as -125 favorites but the line dropped 10 points in the Yankees’ favor almost immediately.
5:05 pm Cincinnati Reds at Chicago Cubs
Two Pitchers with Problems Go At It in Wrigley
Michael Lorenzen was having a tough time in the big leagues. He was 3-8 with a 5.34 era with the Reds. His whip was a fairly atrocious 1.64. His era on the road was 6.38 and in his last 3 games the era was sky-high at 11.25. In his last 8 starts Lorenzen went 0-6 with an era of 8.49. He’s faced the Cubs twice this year and is 0-1 with an 8.68 era and a 1.929 whip. I’m sure you are thinking, why would the Reds give this guy another shot? I actually have the answer. In early August the Reds sent Lorenzen down to Triple-A Louisville. At Louisville Lorenzen went 2-1 with a 1.13 era and pitched a complete game to boot. The Cubs are sending out Kyle Henricks and he too has had his problems. His era is 5.40 in 5 August starts. Overall, Hendricks is 6-6 with a 4.11 era. But his era boomed to 7.54 for his past 3 starts and his whip was 1.884. Hendricks has had trouble in the first inning all season. You might want to think about the ‘score in first inning’ prop. In the first inning of his starts this year Hendricks has given up 14 runs and 27 hits in 25 starts. In his last start at Cincinnati, Hendricks was torched for 5 runs and 7 hits in 6 innings. The Cubs opened at -210 and are hovering around -200 at most places now.
7:05 pm Los Angeles Angels at Oakland Athletics
Santiago, Angels Try to Regain Form
Hector Santiago had an all star first half. He was 6-4 with a splendid 2.33 era at the break. Not much has gone right for Santiago or the Angels after the break. Post All-Star break, Santiago is 0-4 with a 5.23 era. In August he’s 0-3 with a 5.13 era. In his last start against Detroit, Santiago gave up 5 runs and 7 hits while walking 4 in 4 1/3 innings. The Angels have collapsed as well. After reaching first place for a brief time in July, things have gone from bad to worse. The Halos have lost 25 of their last 36 games. On the road they’ve lost 16 of their last 19. They’ve gone from first place to 3rd place, 6.5 behind the Astros and 3.5 behind the Rangers. The only positive for the Angels is that they have won 5 of their last 7 versus Oakland.