Randy Johnson (3-3, 5.89 ERA) goes after career victory No. 299 when he takes the mound for the Giants, who continue a four-game weekend series with the streaking Mets and Johan Santana (4-2, 0.78) in a battle of former Cy Young winners at AT&T Park.
After taking Thursday’s series opener 7-4, New York rallied for an 8-6 victory against Tim Lincecum and the Giants on Friday. The Mets are on a 10-2 spurt, which includes four straight road wins. Jerry Manual’s club is on additional hot streaks of 12-3 against N.L. West clubs, 5-1 versus winning teams and 5-1 when playing on Saturday.
San Francisco has now dropped three in a row – all at home – but remains on a 15-9 run, including 9-5 at AT&T Park. The Giants are still also on upticks of 12-6 against the N.L. East and 4-1 versus left-handed starters.
The Mets have dominated this rivalry the last two-plus years, winning 11 of the last 13 battles, including the last seven in a row. New York, which has taken two of three in San Francisco each of the last three seasons, has also won six of its last seven at AT&T Park.
Johnson picked up his 298th career victory in Tuesday’s 11-7 defeat of Washington, despite allowing four runs (three home runs) in just five innings of work. San Francisco is 4-1 in Johnson’s last five starts, including 3-0 at home, where the Big Unit is 3-1 with a 3.00 ERA in his first season with the Giants.
Santana is coming off yet another outstanding start, as he gave up two unearned runs in 6 1/3 innings against the Braves on Tuesday, but suffered an 8-3 defeat as the veteran lefty continued to get little run support. In fact, Santana has allowed just four earned runs this season, but New York has scored a total of 15 runs in his seven outings. Despite the loss to Atlanta, the Mets are still 14-4 in Santana’s last 18 trips to the hill, including 6-1 in his last seven on the highway. Santana is 1-1 with a 0.71 ERA in two road efforts in 2009.
Johnson is 6-6 with a 3.79 ERA in 15 career starts against New York, while Santana is 1-0 with a 2.03 ERA in three career appearances (two starts) against the Giants.
New York carries “over” trends of 8-1 overall (3-0 last three), 5-1-1 on the road, 5-0 against southpaw starters and 5-0-1 versus the N.L. West. However, with Santana on the hill, the “under” is on stretches of 7-1 overall, 5-2 on the road and 4-1 on Saturday. Meanwhile, San Francisco has topped the total in five of its last six overall (all at home), and the over is 12-5-1 in its last 18 home games against lefty starters. However, the Giants’ last four Saturday affairs have stayed low.
Lastly, the over is on a 6-2 roll in this series, with the last five head-to-head clashes at AT&T Park topping the posted total.
ATS ADVANTAGE: N.Y. METS and OVER
AMERICAN LEAGUE
L.A. Angels (18-16) at Texas (21-14)
Angels ace John Lackey (12-5, 3.75 in 2008) is slated to make his 2009 debut when he pitches opposite the Rangers’ Vicente Padilla (5-2, 4.97) in the middle game of this three-game series at Rangers Ballpark.
Los Angeles is playing solid ball, going 9-2 in its last 11 games, including three straight road wins, and it is 6-1 in its last seven against right-handed starters.
Texas built a 10-3 lead on the Angels on Friday and held on for a 10-8 victory, its fifth consecutive win. The Rangers have surged to the top of the A.L. West standings by winning 11 of 13, going 6-0 at home during this stretch. They’re also 7-1 in their last eight against A.L. West rivals.
The Angels are still 8-4 in the last 12 meetings with the Rangers, and last night’s defeat ended their four-game winning streak in Texas.
Lackey has been on the shelf for six weeks because of elbow inflammation in his right (pitching) elbow. The last time the veteran was on the mound in a big-league contest, he gave up two runs in seven innings of a 3-2 loss at Boston in Game 4 of the American League Divisional Series, a defeat that ended the Angels’ season. Including two postseason games against the Red Sox, L.A. lost six of Lackey’s last seven starts in 2008. However, they’re 20-9 in his last 29 outings on the road, 20-7 in his last 27 against divisional rivals and 6-2 in his last eight trips to the mound on Saturday.
Lackey went 7-2 with a 3.23 ERA in 12 road starts last season, as opposed to 5-3 with a 4.29 ERA in 12 home outings. He’s just 10-10 with a 5.73 ERA in 27 career starts against the Rangers (5-5, 6.00 ERA in 14 starts in Texas). Last year, he faced the Rangers four times, going 1-2 with a 9.31 ERA.
Padilla has been terrific in his last three starts, going 1-1 with a 1.71 ERA (four earned runs allowed in 21 innings), including Monday’s 7-1 victory over the White Sox in which the right-hander yielded just one run and one hit in seven innings. Despite that strong effort, Padilla is just 1-2 with a hefty 8.10 ERA in four home starts this season. He’s also 5-3 with a 4.87 ERA in his career against Los Angeles.
The Rangers are 4-1 in Padilla’s last five starts overall and 11-3 in his last 14 against the A.L. West, but they’ve dropped five of his last seven outings at home, eight of his last 10 on Saturday and four of his last five home starts versus the Halos.
With Lackey pitching, the under is on runs of 7-3 overall and 20-7-3 when he works on the road, but the over is 7-3-1 in his last 11 starts against the Rangers and 5-2-1 in his last eight outings in Texas. Also, the over is 37-18-2 in Padilla’s last 57 starts overall, 11-5 in his last 16 at home and 14-6-1 in his last 21 against the A.L. West.
The under is on streaks of 6-2 for the Angles overall (all against right-handed starters), 5-2 for Texas overall and 6-3 for Texas at home.
The sports advisors 5/16
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