Jeff Bonds: Sunday MLB Diamond Notes + Horseracing

I'll be posting my plays today from Hollywood Park and other tracks this afternoon - Best of luck everyone

Baltimore Orioles

• The Orioles have won seven of their last nine games overall and nine of their last 13 at home.  Baltimore leads the season series 2-1 and the Birds won four of the seven meetings in 2008.
• Baltimore's designated hitters lead the AL in average at .313, with the closest team .024 behind (Blue Jays) and homers (14) and are tied for the league lead in RBI (37).
• In his career against the Tigers, Luke Scott is batting .543 with 10 HR and 21 RBI.
• The O's are second in the major leagues with 71 home runs allowed.  Starters lead the AL in home runs allowed (47), trailing only the Phillies (56) in the big leagues.

Chicago White Sox

• Chicago has used 35 different lineups this season.
• The White Sox are 10-9 versus the AL Central this season, after going 44-29 in 2008 (29-8 at home).
• Team has gone a season-high eight straight games without committing an error.
• Won the first two games of the series versus Kansas City by a 16-5 margin to trim their season deficit to 4-3. 
• Pitching staff owns a 2.47 ERA and a .220 opponents average against in the last 13 games versus Kansas City.
• The Sox are hitting .349 with 38 runs scored and a 2.66 ERA through five games of this current road trip.

Boston Red Sox

• The Sox continue an 11-day, 10-game road trip with the last of three meetings against the Blue Jays.  Boston is 10-12 away from Fenway Park beginning April 15 - tied with the Indians for the 5th best road record in the AL.  Over the same period, Boston leads the Majors with a 16-4 mark at home.
• Offense ranks 11th in the AL with a .252 batting average on the road since April 15.  The club is 2nd in the league with a .311 clip at home during that stretch.
• The bullpen has allowed just two homers in 17 road contests this month, with a 2.30 ERA in those games.
• Boston is 10-7 during the day this year - tied with Seattle for the 4th best mark in the AL, behind Detroit, Toronto and New York.
• Today marks the 8th time in the last 15 games that Boston has opposed a left-handed starter.  The club is 4-3 in the previous seven such games.  Since April 15, the Red Sox are 10-4 against southpaw starters.

New York Yankees

• The Yankees are 4-1 thus far on their seven-game, eight-day road trip and are 17-10 in may - marking the AL's second-best record in the month.
• New York has not committed an error in 16 consecutive games.
• Own a 15-11 road record - the American League's best mark away from home.  The Yankees were one of only two AL teams with a winning road record in 2008.
• 1B Mark Teixera leads the Majors with 12 HR in May.  He also has 30 RBI this month - fourth-most in the Majors.

Florida Marlins

• Bullpen leads the Majors in innings pitched (178.1) and strikeouts (180).  The team is 2-3 following scheduled days off this year.
• Over the last seven games, Marlins starting pitchers have combined for a 2.89 ERA.  The rotation has worked five or more innings in each of the last seven games and has not allowed more than three earned runs in any of those games.
• Bullpen has a 2.04 ERA on the road, compared to a 6.27 ERA at home.

• Seattle Mariners
• Seattle is 8-7 in the last 15 games and have lost 10 of 18 and 16 of 25 games.  The Mariners are 13-9 in one-run games, 3-3 in two-run games.
• The Mariners are 10-6 versus left-handed starters and 14-20 versus right-handed starting picthers.
• Team has the 2nd best ERA in MLB from the 7th inning until the end game (3.09).  The Mets lead the category (3.09) - followed by Boston (3.14), Milwaukee (3.22) and St. Louis (3.27).
• The Mariners are 17-7 when scoring 4-or-more runs including the last three wins and 7-19 when held to three or fewer runs.

Minnesota Twins

• The Twins are now 19-11 at home and 5-15 on the road.
• C Joe Mauer has 11 home runs and 32 RBI this month - marking the first time in Twins history a player has reached 11 home rand 30 RBIs in the same month.
• Since the start of the 2002 season, the Twins have a 35-18 record versus Tampa Bay - including 27 wins in 32 games from April 2002 - September 2006.
• SP Nick Blackburn is 10-3 with a 2.98 ERA with 73 strikeouts in 22 career games at the Metrodome.

Jeff Bonds

Churchill - Race 3: 1-6/4 Exacta

Jeff Bonds

Jeff Bonds

Churchill - Race 3: 1-6/4 Exacta

Belmont - Race 2: #3 Win 3/4,7 Exacta