Minnesota
Twins (Baker) (plus 105) vs. Boston Red Sox (Wakefield): The Twins enter on a 5-12 and 0-4 slide to fall out
of probably contention. That hasn’t
stopped Baker form being highly successful on this field. In 51 IP, he has a 1.78 ERA from this
mound. In his last 6 home starts, he has
a 0.22 ERA with 40/4 KBB. The Red Sox
just took 2/3 from NYY including Sunday night thriller to recapture the
Division lead. But as predicted
following their 17-3 run-up, they have lost their backers 2.85 units L14
games. In his last 4 against Minnesota,
Wakefield is 1-3 with an 8.38 ERA (4*
Pitcher Play of the Day).
San
Diego Padres (Stauffer) (EVEN) vs. NY Mets (Pelfrey): The Padres enter on a red hot run at 4-0 outscoring
the opposition 38-10. Stauffer has been
their best starter of late with a 1.97 ERA his last 11 starts. The Mets are just 1-6 recently and 5-10 of
late on this field. They will be without
their 2 best bats for tonights series opener.
Pelfrey was their #1 starter opening day but they have won just 8 of his
23 starts (4*
Momentum Dog of the Day).
San
Francisco Giants (Vogelsong) (-170) vs. Pittsburgh Pirates (Morton) 10:15 PM EST: The Pirate fans had a “rolling in the deep” love
affair with their Buccos just 3 weeks ago.
They stood 7 games over .500 because every meaningful contributor was
having a career year. Since that time,
most of them have returned to form. The
result is a 3-15 and 0-10 slide over which time they have been outscored
82-37. The slide began against quality
teams Atlanta, Philadelphia and St. Louis.
But the 0-7 week against the Cubs and Padres was inexcusable. Now they must travel cross country with their
negative vibes. Morton has gone less
than 6 IP in 8/9 starts. The Pirates
certainly will not get healthy against Vogelsong, their once priced recruit.
This season, for the Giants, he is 9-1 with a 2.19 ERA that includes a 1.30 ERA
from this mound over 69 IP. Risk 5
stars (5*
No Mercy Play).
Chicago
White Sox (Danks) (-120) vs. Baltimore Orioles (Guthrie) : After the White Sox pulled to .500 at 52-52, they
lost 6 straight to Boston and NYY. But
they rebounded smartly this weekend by sweeping the Twins. Now, they send Danks to the hill who has gone
4-1 following his 0-8 beginning. He will
be opposed by Baltimore Guthrie, the MLB loss leader with a 5-15 record. He comes off a busted start in which he
allowed 6 runs in 7 IP. Sunday’s loss
drops the Orioles to 14-35 of late. Run
line players take note: 26/31 Chicago road wins have been b 2 or more
runs. For Baltimore, 28/30 home losses
have been by 2 or more runs (4*
High Roller Play).
Courtesy of Joe Gavazzi. Joe uses a combination (or blend) of fundamental, statistical, and situational handicapping. He also has a group of close friends and associates on whom he relies for an exchange of information. Many of these are public names that you would recognize that have been in the business over 25 years. Others are Joe’s trusted private sources. Joe also gives verbal analysis of selections to his voice mail clients and on his original Pittsburgh Pipeline. Look for Joe Gavazzi to be more involved with the Pregame Community in the coming weeks!