SportSpies: Wednesday MLB Insider Report - Best Information Anywhere!

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Early Sport Spies Report

Arizona Diamondbacks SP Daniel Hudson improved to 2-0 with the Diamondbacks after allowing just one run and three hits in a August 6th start versus the Padres. In 17 starts at Triple-A Charlotte this season, the right-hander went 11-4 with a 3.47 ERA.

Chicago Cubs SP Tom Gorzelanny has posted a 1.42 ERA as a reliever compared to a 3.65 ERA as a starter this season. He has received two or fewer runs of support 10 times this season, including no runs four times. The southpaw is 3-0 with a 1.29 ERA in three career starts against the Giants, including a 0.64 ERA in two starts at AT&T Park.

Chicago White Sox SP John Danks has allowed two earned runs or less in 15 starts this season and on or less in four of his last six. He is 5-6 with a 5.28 ERA lifetime against the Twins and 3-3 with a 5.20 ERA at home. The left-hander has gone 1-1 with a 4.74 ERA in three starts versus Minnesota this season.

Cincinnati Reds SP Bronson Arroyo hasn’t allowed an earned run in either of his last two starts, marking only the second time in his career he has made consecutive starts without allowing an earned run. He has never gone three straight starts without allowing an earned run.

Florida Marlins SP Chris Volstad is making his seventh career start against the Nationals, posting a 3-1 career mark and 4.13 ERA. Today will be his third start versus Washington this season, going 2-0 with a 1.69 ERA.

Houston Astros SP Wandy Rodriguez is 6-1 with a 1.86 ERA in his last eight starts since June 24. He ranks first in wins and 6th in ERA among NL pitchers over that span. The left-hander will be facing the Braves for the 2nd time this season, receiving a loss earlier this year by allowing five runs (two earned) in five innings.

Los Angeles Angels SP Jered Weaver has won each of his last two starts and is three strikeouts shy of a single-season best, leading the majors with 171 strikeouts. He owns a 1.70 ERA at Angel Stadium this season. The right-hander is making his ninth career start against the Royals, going 4-4 with a 2.88 ERA. He is 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA in 2010 (7IP/0ER).

Los Angeles Dodgers SP Chad Billingsley is 1-1 with a 3.24 ERA in four career starts against the Phillies, including posting a 2.25 ERA in three starts at Citizens Bank Park. He had his 24.2 scoreless innning streak snapped in a 5-0 team defeat against San Diego last time out.

New York Mets SP Jonathon Niese is an even 4-4 with a 4.04 ERA in 15 career starts at Citi Field, including a 4-3 record and 3.68 ERA this season. He has never beaten the Rockies, compiling a 0-1 record and 7.15 ERA in two starts.

New York Yankees SP Javier Vazquez recorded a 6-3 loss in his last starts versus Boston on August 6. It marked his first loss since June 30. The six runs allowed marked the most runs he allowed since his first start of the season. The right-hander is 2-2 with a 5.74 ERA in five career starts against the Rangers.

Oakland Athletics SP Dallas Braden is making his fifth start since coming off the disabled list on July 20, as he has tossed six innings or more in 15 of his 19 starts. He has received seven runs of support in his eight losses and 26 runs in his 29 career losses. The left-hander is 1-1 with a 5.18 ERA in five career appearances, four starts versus Seattle.

San Diego Padres SP Kevin Correia is 4-5 with a 4.52 ERA in 12 home starts this season and has gone 8-12 with a 4.12 ERA in his career at Petco Park. The right-hander is 2-1 with a 3.20 ERA in his career against the Pirates, including 1-0 and a 3.00 ERA this season.

San Francisco SP Barry Zito has posted a 2.02 ERA in five starts since the All-Star break, but has produced a 1-2 record. The left-hander is 1-3 with a 4.66 ERA in five career starts versus the Cubs. He has gone 0-2 with a 8.00 ERA in his last two starts against them.

Seattle Mariners SP Luke French is scheduled to make his fourth start (seven appearance) of the season. He’s in the midst of his third stint with the club this year, going 11-3 with a 2.94 ERA in 17 starts with Tacoma. The left-hander will be making his fifth appearance (third start) against the A’s, going 1-1 with a 5.84 ERA.

Texas Rangers SP Cliff Lee leads the AL with a 2.44 ERA and eight complete games, while his .227 opponents average is 8th. The left-hander has gone 5-4 with a 4.72 ERA in 10 career games against the Yankees, but earned a complete game victory in his lone start against them this season. He has gone 2-1 with a 2.55 ERA in four starts at Rangers Ballpark this season, including a 1-1 record and 2.73 ERA in three starts as a Ranger.

[Sport Spies]

St. Louis Cardinals

-The Cardinals are 7-3 in their last 10 games, 12-8 over their last 20 and 18-12 in the last 30 games.
-St. Louis is 9-5 versus the Reds, including a 5-3 mark in Cincinnati, winning four of the last five meetings overall.
-SP’s Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright are a combined 35-5 against NL Central opponents dating back to last season.
-1B Albert Pujols has homered in five of his last nine games and his 74 career home runs in August is his most for any month. He also has 336 hits and 216 runs in August, which are his highest monthly totals in his career.
-SP Adam Wainwright has posted an 8-0 record and NL-leading 1.45 ERA in day games this season.
-Wainwright has a 2-3 career record with a 4.68 ERA in 11 appearances (six starts) versus the Reds and 1-2 mark and 5.33 ERA at GABP. his last three starts versus Cincinnati have taken place here.

[Sport Spies]

Atlanta Braves

-3B Chipper Jones suffered a left knee sprain in the sixth inning of last night’s ballgame. He is scheduled to undergo an MRI on Thursday. OF Jason Heyward was scratched from last night’s starting lineup with a sore right knee and is day-to-day.
-A win today would improve the Braves overall series record to 23-10-4. It would also give the Braves their first road series win since July 9-11.
-C David Ross is making his 25th start behind the plate today, as he is batting .291 with a home run and 18 RBIs. In 38 games overall behind the dish, he has thrown out 7-of-16 base stealers.
-Lineup has combined for 13 home runs in their last seven games (most in the majors over that span), including two long balls last night.
-SP Tommy Hanson is looking for his first win since July 3 versus Florida, losing three straight decisions from 7/16-8/1. He is 4-4 with a 4.04 ERA in 12 home starts compared to 4-4 with a 3.32 ERA in 11 starts on the road.
-Hanson owns a 1-0 record and 1.13 ERA in two career starts against Houston.

[Sport Spies]

Detroit Tigers

-The Tigers suffered an 8-0 loss to the Rays last night at Comerica Park. Detroit concludes a 10-game homestand with the final game of a three-game series this afternoon.
-Detroit is 12-9 in the last 21 meetings with Tampa Bay at Comerica Park.
-SS Jhonny Peralta enters today’s game hitting .325 with 10 home runs and 36 RBI in 57 career games against the Rays.
-Enter today’s game having won 22 of their last 36 games at home and have a 37-24 overall record at today’s venue.
-Catchers have caught eight of the last 14 runners attempting to steal over the club’s last 12 games. The unit is second in the American League in throwing out 32.1 percent of base stealers this year.
-Detroit is 11-12 versus AL East opponents this year.
-SP Justin Verlander is 7-3 with a 2.88 ERA in 11 home starts this year and is 42-19 at Comerica Park since the start of the 2006 season.
-Verlander is 4-3 with a 3.52 ERA in seven lifetime starts against the Rays, but picked up a 3-2 road loss on July 27, 2010 at Tropicana Field.

[bcbadgalz]

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[Sport Spies]

Tampa Bay Rays

-The Rays are 2-3 on this six-game road trip which ends today (0-3 at Toronto and 2-0 in Detroit).
-Tampa scored eight runs last night despite going 1-for-12 with runners in scoring position.
-The team is 12-6 since July 24 despite hitting just .215. They have allowed three earned runs or less in 14 of those 18 games.
-Of the 49 games left on the schedule, 32 are against teams currently .500 or better.
-During the first four seasons under manager Joe Maddon, the Rays were 23-48 in Central ballparks. This season, Tampa is 9-3 on the road against the division and 24-10 overall.
-Tampa is 6-0 against Detroit this season and can sweep their first ever series against an opponent with a win today.
-SP Matt Garza is 0-2 with a 7.63 ERA in three starts at Comerica Park.
-Prior to his no-hitter on July 26, he had never beaten Detroit in six career starts. He was 0-4 with a 5.85 ERA.

[Sport Spies]

Los Angeles Angels

Los Angeles plays the third game (2-0) of a six-game homestand versus Kansas City (2-0) and Toronto.
The Angels have plated 27 runs on 50 hits over their last five games. The club is batting .289 this month compared to a .243 mark in July.
The team is 6-3 versus the Royals this season and 15-4 in the last 19 games against them.
Los Angeles has placed 15 different players on the disabled list this season, for a combined 697 games.
Outscored opponents 65-45 in the first inning, but have been outscored 537-522 overall this season.
SP Jered Weaver ranks second in the American League with a 1.70 home ERA and fourth with a 2.34 ERA in day games. He has thrown six-or-more innings in 15 straight starts.
Weaver is an even 4-4 with a 2.88 ERA in eight career starts versus the Royals.

[Sport Spies]

New York Mets

-The Mets notched their major league-leading 16th shutout last night and their 13th shutout at home, which also leads the majors.
-New York is 1-1 at Citi Field in August, after posting a 5-6 mark at home in July and a 9-3 record at home in June. Overall, the Mets are 34-19 and have the sixth-best winning percentage (.642) in the majors at home.
-New York has three of the Top 10 batting averages at home in the National League. Angel Pagan (.337 - 5th), David Wright (.328 - 8th) and Jose Reyes (.319 - 10th).
-The club is 1-9-1 in its last 11 series.
-Scored three runs or fewer in six of its eight games this month, going 3-5.
-Lead the National League and rank fourth in the majors with 97 stolen bases.
-SP Jonathon Niese has 10 starts this season where he has allowed one run or fewer, tied for seventh in the majors in such starts.
-Niese is 0-1 with a 7.15 ERA in two career outings versus the Rockies.

[Sport Spies]

Originally Posted by bcbadgalz

Thanks for the info!

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[Sport Spies]

New York Yankees

-The Yankees lost their second straight game, falling in 10 innings at Texas 4-3. It was their second walk-off loss of the season. New York was without 1B Mark Teixeira (birth of son) and 2B Robinson Cano (cold).
-SS Derek Jeter has hit safely in nine of his last 12 contests, scoring 12 runs over the stretch.
-New York is 16-9 versus the AL West division this season.
-Lost each of their last two games by one run and eight of their last nine defeats have been by three runs or fewer.
-The Yankees are 23-13 in series finales in 2010, winning 12 of their last 14 such contests and six of their last eight on the road.
-Facing a left-handed starter for the third straight games, as they are 10-5 in their last 15 games against southpaws. The team is 22-17 this season overall against left-handed starters, including a 10-9 mark on the road.
-SP Javier Vazquez has received an average of 4.3 runs of support every nine innings during his starts this season, ranking 51st among 70 AL pitchers.
-Since May 12, Vazquez is 8-5 with three no-decisions and a 3.39 ERA over a 15-game stretch.

[Boudreaux]

Thanks for posting SS

[Sport Spies]

Originally Posted by Boudreaux

Thanks for posting SS

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