SportSpies Thursday MLB Report - Best You'll Find Anywhere!

[Sport Spies]

Minnesota Twins

* Minnesota is 26-26 on the road this season and will travel to Cleveland and Chicago as part of a 10-game, 11-day road trip after today’s game.
* The Twins scattered 10 hits and left 11 runners on base in last night’s 2-1, 13-inning victory over the Rays. Minnesota is still just 13-18 versus the AL East.
* Snapped a four-game losing streak to the Rays, which was their longest losing streak versus Tampa since 2001.
* Catcher Joe Mauer has hit safely in five of six games against Tampa Bay this season, going 9-for-24 (.375) with three RBI. In 33 career games against the Rays, he is batting .402 with three home runs and 23 RBI. His .402 average is his highest against any AL opponent.
* The Twins are 14-6 since the All-Star break, with the second-most wins in baseball over that span behind the Giants (15). Their team ERA of 3.18 is fifth-lowest among all MLB teams over that span.
* Since August 8, 2008, SP Kevin Slowey has won 25 of his 36 decisions while the Twins are 28-20 in his starts. His .694 winning percentage since then is fourth-best in the American League.
* Since coming into the league in 2007, he has been supported with 309 runs in 437.1 innings for a run support average of 6.36, which leads the Twins staff over that time and is second in all of baseball (Kyle Kendrick - Philadelphia)

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[Sport Spies]

Detroit Tigers

* The Tigers suffered a 4-1 loss to the White sox last night at Comerica Park, as they will continue a 10-game homestand with the final game of a four-game series this afternoon.
* Detroit has won 21 of its last 30 games at home dating back to June 2. For the season, the Tigers have compiled a 36-19 record at Comerica Park and is second among all AL clubs with a .655 winning percentage at home.
* 1B Miguel Cabrera has hit safely in 18 of his last 20 games at Comerica Park dating back to June 19. He is fourth among all AL players with a .344 batting average at home.
* Cabrera and Johnny Damon have both belted three home runs against Freddy Garcia in their careers. They are tied for sixth among all active ML players with three home runs off the right-hander.
* Over the club’s last 12 games dating back to July 25, the Tigers have compiled a .993 fielding percentage. Detroit is third among all AL clubs with a .993 fielding percentage.
* Detroit is 17-23 against the AL Central division this season.
* SP Max Scherzer is making his ninth start of the season during the day, posting an even 3-3 mark and 2.63 ERA in the previous eight outings.
* Scherzer has won each of his last six starts at home dating back to May 30. He has compiled a 1.33 ERA and 49 strikeouts during that stretch.

[Sport Spies]

Chicago White Sox

* Chicago has won eight of its last 10 games and 20 of 28, as they continue an eight-game trip this afternoon in Detroit.
* The White Sox are a major-league best 37-13 since June 9.
* The team is 22-12 in day games this season, the fourth-best winning percentage in the major leagues. OF Alex Rios leads the majors with a .423 average during the day.
* Starting rotation is 30-11 with a 2.80 ERA and 40 quality starts in the last 51 games.
* The White Sox are 2-1 on this road trip, hitting .311 with a 3.12 ERA and 17-10 edge in runs scored.
* Chicago is 63-36 versus Detroit since the start of the 2005 season, going 31-19 at Comerica Park.
* Hitting .299 with 41 home runs and 171 runs scored (5.3 rpg) in 32 games since June 29, the second-best average in the major leagues behind Minnesota (.303).
* SP Freddy Garcia is 8-3 with a 3.78 ERA in 13 career starts at Comerica Park since 2000, owning an 8-1 record and 3.06 ERA in his last 10 starts here.
* Garcia is 8-0 with a 2.80 ERA in his last eight road starts versus Detroit.

[Sport Spies]

Tampa Bay Rays

* Tampa Bay is 8-2 on its current 11-game homestand. The Rays have won 10 of their last 12 games since July 24, erasing a four-game deficit from the Yankees.
* A win this afternoon will give the Rays their best homestand (3 or more teams) in club history and the 2nd nine-win stand in club history.
* The pitching staff has a 2.11 ERA during the homestand and the bullpen has compiled an 0.76 ERA. Tampa Bay owns the best bullpen ERA in the AL at 3.09.
* Today’s starter Wade Davis was named AL Rookie of the Month for July, going 4-0 with a 3.03 ERA in five starts. With a win today, Davis would give the Rays five pitchers with 10 or more wins - no other team has more than 3.
* Tampa owns a 5-2 season series advantage over the Twins, with each game being decided by three runs or less.
* The Rays are 22-9 against the AL Central this season, the best record in the league versus that division.
* Davis will make his second career start against the Twins, earning a no decision in a 8-6 victory over Francisco Liriano at Target Field on July 3. He gave up four runs and eight hits over 4.1 innings, with all four scored on three home runs.

[Sport Spies]

Pittsburgh Pirates

* The Pirates have lost six of their last seven games after winning back-to-back games against the Rockies in Colorado on July 27-28. Pittsburgh has lost 10 of their last 13 games overall.
* Pittsburgh has gone 21-13 all-time against the Rockies here at PNC Park and have lost just one series in the 10-year history of the park (0-3 in 2007).
* With tonight’s assignment, James McDonald becomes the 11th different starting pitcher for the Pirates this season - the most used since 2008 (13).
* McDonald worked two innings of scoreless relief in his last appearance as a member of the Dodgers one week ago today at San Diego. He has made each of his last three appearances in relief since making his last start on 7/19.
* The right-hander began the year with Triple-A Albuquerque in the Dodgers organization, posting a 6-1 record and 4.41 ERA.

[Sport Spies]

Baltimore Orioles

* The Orioles are 2-0 since Buck Showalter took over as manager on Tuesday.
* Baltimore has won six consecutive games against AL West opponents and have more wins against the West (11) than any other division.
* Offense has scored four or more runs in nine of SP Jake Arrieta’s 10 starts.
* The Orioles are 11-for-23 with runners in scoring position in the last two games, after recording just 13 hits with RISP in their previous 13 games combined.
* In his five career home starts, Arrieta is 1-2 with a 7.01 ERA. Two of his five home starts have been quality starts. He has allowed 10 earned runs on 11 hits in 9.1 over his last two home starts.


Cleveland Indians

* Cleveland has lost 28 of its last 46 road games and are 22-35 on the road this year.
* The Indians have won 20 of their last 35 games and are 12-8 in the second half.
* OF Shin-Soo Choo is 16-for-48 (.333) since returning from the disabled list on July 23 in 13 games.
* Closer Chris Perez has not allowed a run since June 28, covering 14.1 innings. He has saved eight straight save chances, which is a season-high by an Indians pitcher.
* Indians relievers have allowed just 32 earned runs in their last 104.2 innings (2.75 ERA). The bullpen ranks 10th in the AL with a 4.34 ERA.

[Sport Spies]

Seattle Mariners

* Seattle continues a three-team, nine-game homestand tonight with the third (1-1) of three games against the Texas Rangers.
* The Mariners lost last night after snapping a seven-game losing streak with a 3-2 win on Tuesday. The team has lost 24 of its last 31 games and are 1-2 in August, after finishing July with a 6-22 record.
* Seattle and Texas meet for the 13th time (3-9) of 19 games this season. The Mariners have dropped 20 of the their last 31 games against Texas dating back to the start of the season.
* In the first two games of this series, the top third of the order has been productive - going a combined 12-for-23 (.522) with five runs scored.
* 2B Chone Figgins is batting .308 with a home run and seven RBI from the right side of the plate this season, compared to .216 with 18 RBI from the left side.
* SP Felix Hernandez has received a total of seven runs scored in his eight losses this season.
* Hernandez is 10-3 with a 2.35 ERA over his last 16 starts at Safeco Field.

[Sport Spies]

Los Angeles Angels

* The Angels play the third game (0-2) of a six-game road trip to Baltimore (0-2) and Detroit. Los Angeles has dropped six of the last seven road games and are 7-11 since the All-Star break.
* After tying for the MLB-lead with 48 road wins in 2009, Los Angeles is 25-30 away from the Big A this season. The Halos are 3-13 in their last 16 road affairs. The last time the Angels won a series on the road was June 16-18 at Wrigley.
* Starting pitchers have held opponents to two earned runs or less in eight of the last 11 games. The Halos bullpen has surrendered 17 earned runs and 17 walks in their last eight games (5.04 ERA).
* Newly acquired 3B Alberto Callaspo has hits in nine of 11 games since joining the club (.282). Prior to the trade, Angels’ third basemen owned a collective .216 average.
* Los Angeles has won 21 of its last 31 contests and are 11-6 in their last 17 games at Camden Yards.
* SP Dan Haren is 4-2 with a 3.30 ERA in seven career starts versus the Orioles, but most of that success took place in 2007 (3-0, 2.18 ERA).

[Sport Spies]

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[Sport Spies]

Texas Rangers

* The Rangers beat the Mariners 11-6 last night to even this series entering tonight’s rubber game. The win snapped the club’s first losing streak (two games) since the All-Star break.
* Bullpen has a 2.10 ERA since the All-Star break to drop the season figure from 3.39 to a season-low 3.17, third-lowest in the AL.
* Texas offense scored 11 runs on 15 hits last night, after scoring five runs and 14 hits in the previous three games combined.
* The club has won six of its last eight road series since the beginning of June, with the only series losses in that span coming in Anaheim. The Rangers have won 16 of their last 23 away from home and have the fourth-best road record in the AL (26-24).
* Lead the season series 9-3 with the Mariners, having won eight of the last 10 meetings, including a 4-1 mark at Safeco.
* Texas is in a stretch of 16 straight versus the West division (7-5), having gone 21-12 against the division in 2010, including 7-7 on the road.
* SP Tommy Hunter ranks 15th in the AL with a 3.31 ERA since his season debut on June 5. He’s also only one of three pitchers in the league with eight wins since the beginning of June (Sabathia 9, Pavano 8).

[Sport Spies]

San Diego Padres

* The Padres travel to Arizona for a three-game set after tonight’s game. The three-game series is part of a 25-game stretch over the next few weeks during which the Padres play 19 games against teams that are under .500.
* San Diego looks to avoid losing three straight for just the second time all season tonight. In the 43 games the Padres have played following a loss this season, they are 29-14 (.674), having only lost three consecutive games the one time versus the Dodgers.
* Pitching staff leads all MLB clubs with a 3.31 ERA, which would rank the mark fourth in franchise history. San Diego leads the Majors with a 2.81 relief ERA.
* The club leads all MLB teams with 40 pinch-hits this season.
* SP Kevin Correia is making his third start against the Dodgers this season. He is 0-2 with a 6.35 ERA. Over his career, he has a 4-3 record and 4.36 ERA in facing them 23 times.
* The Padres 91 stolen bases this year, ranks second in the National League (NYM).
* Correia is 8-2 with a 4.32 ERA in his last 14 away games since 7/28/09, with the Padres going 11-3 in that span.

[Sport Spies]

San Francisco Giants

* Enter tonight’s game with a 62-46 (.574) record, which is second-best winning percentage in the National League, trailing only San Diego (.585).
* Lead the NL Wild Card race by two games, having won 21 of their last 27 contests and 22 of their last 29 games.
* Since the All-Star break, San Francisco has gone 15-5, which is the best mark in the majors.
* San Francisco is 37-32 versus teams above .500 and 25-14 against those that are below .500.
* The Giants have the best record in the league against the NL East division (17-9, .654).
* SP Tim Lincecum owns a career record of 6-1 with a 2.70 ERA in seven starts against Atlanta. Five of his seven outings have been quality starts and he’s held the Braves to 5 hits-or-fewer in five of seven contests.
* Lincecum is 2-0 with a 2.83 ERA in four games since the All-Star break.