The Rockies look to move a step closer to wrapping up the N.L. wild-card berth when they send ace Ubaldo Jimenez (13-10, 3.32 ERA) to the mound against the Giants’ Barry Zito (9-12, 3.99) at AT&T Park.
Colorado has followed up an eight-game winning streak with three straight losses – two in San Diego over the weekend and last night’s 9-1 setback to the Giants. The Rockies are in additional funks of 1-6 on the road, 0-4 on the highway against lefty starters and 0-6 versus winning teams, though they have won four in a row on Tuesday.
San Francisco remains 3½ games behind Colorado in the wild-card race, having lost five of its last eight, including four of six to N.L. West opponents at home. The Giants do hold a slim 9-7 lead in the season series against the Rockies, including five straight wins at home. In fact, the host has won seven straight and nine of 10 in this rivalry.
Jimenez delivered his 12th consecutive quality start on Sept. 7 at home against Cincinnati, allowing three runs on six hits in six innings, getting a no-decision as Colorado won 4-3. Jimenez has allowed three earned runs or fewer in 21 of his last 25 starts, giving up two earned or less in 15 of those contests. Colorado is 7-1 in Jimenez’s last eight starts overall, but they’ve lost 10 of his 15 road efforts this year, where the right-hander is 5-6 with a 3.42 ERA.
Jimenez has faced the Giants four times this season – including twice in the last three weeks – going 2-2 with a 2.48 ERA, but 0-2 with a 3.21 ERA at AT&T Park. For his career, he’s 3-3 with a 2.43 ERA in nine starts against the Giants (1-2, 3.55 ERA in San Francisco), never allowing more than three runs in any of those nine contests.
Zito suffered a 4-2 home loss to the Padres on Wednesday, allowing three runs in five innings. The veteran southpaw has pitched very well in the second half of the season, going 4-3 with a 2.34 ERA in 11 starts since the All-Star break, allowing three runs or fewer in every start. With Wednesday’s loss to San Diego, Zito is now 5-5 with a 3.80 ERA in 14 home starts this year (4-1, 2.61 ERA last five at home).
With Zito on the mound, the Giants are on runs of 7-3 overall, 4-1 on Tuesday, 4-1 against teams with a winning record and 4-1 when he faces Colorado at home (2-0 this year at home). In fact, Zito has owned the Rockies, going 3-2 with a 1.92 ERA in 10 lifetime starts. In three outings this year against the Rockies, the former Cy Young winner has allowed just two runs (one earned) in 21 1/3 innings (0.42 ERA)
Colorado carries “under” trends of 6-2 overall, 7-3 on the highway, 8-4 versus N.L. West rivals, 10-4-1 on Tuesday, 45-22 overall behind Jimenez, 5-2 when Jimenez throws on the road, 4-1 when he pitches on Tuesday and 5-1 when he faces divisional foes. The over is 6-2 in San Francisco’s last eight at home, but with Zito pitching, the Giants are on “under” runs of 5-1 overall, 4-1 at home and 20-8 in Game 2 of a series.
In this rivalry, the “under” is on runs of 6-2 in San Francisco, 6-2-1 when Zito faces the Rockies (4-0 last four at home) and 7-2 when Jimenez takes on the Giants.
ATS ADVANTAGE: SAN FRANCISCO and UNDER
AMERICAN LEAGUE
L.A. Angels (86-57) at Boston (84-58)
A potential divisional-round playoff preview is set for Fenway Park, where Daisuke Matsuzaka (0-2, 9.88 ERA) is scheduled to pitch in the big leagues for the first time in nearly three months when he and the Red Sox match up against the Angels and John Lackey (10-7, 3.53).
After capping a 5-1 homestand with a 3-2 victory over the White Sox on Sunday, the Angels went to New York for a makeup game against the Yankees and fell 5-3, allowing the winning runs to score in the bottom of the eighth inning. Los Angeles is still 8-3 in its last 11 and is on further runs of 57-28 overall, 27-13 on the road, 20-8 in series openers, 47-24 against the A.L. East and 6-2 versus right-handed starters.
Boston took Monday off after an impressive three-game weekend sweep of the Rays in which the pitching staff surrendered just two runs. The Red Sox have won five straight – all during their current homestand – and are on additional upticks of 49-19 at Fenway, 41-19 in series openers, 43-14 after an off day and 36-17 on Tuesday, but Terry Francona’s squad has lost seven of its last 10 to A.L. West foes.
The Angels have taken four of six against Boston this season, all in Anaheim, and they’re 13-5 in the last 18 meetings overall and 6-2 in the last eight at Fenway. However, three of those five losses (including two in Boston) came in last year’s first-round, best-of-5 playoff series, which the Red Sox won in four games.
Lackey has delivered back-to-back complete games, including Thursday’s 3-0 shutout win over Seattle in which he scattered five hits and one walk while striking out seven. The veteran right-hander is 2-0 with a 0.35 ERA in his last three starts (all L.A. victories), giving up just 16 hits and three walks while whiffing 17 in 26 innings. Lackey is 4-2 with a 3.77 ERA in 12 road starts, with the Angels going 5-2 in his last seven on the highway.
Los Angeles is also 4-1 in Lackey’s last five against the A.L. East, but they’ve lost 11 of his last 15 outings against winning teams and four straight behind the big man on Tuesday. Also, L.A. is 3-13 in Lackey’s 16 career starts against the Red Sox (playoffs included), going 2-8 at Fenway Park. Last year, the Texas native faced the Red Sox four times, going 2-0 with a 2.81 ERA in two regular season starts (one home, one road) but 0-1 with a 2.63 ERA in two playoff outings (one home, one road, with the Angels losing both). He’s 3-6 with a 5.54 ERA in 13 regular-season games against the BoSox.
This has been a nightmare season for Matsuzaka, who has battled shoulder pain and ineffectiveness all year. He’s made nine starts – the last being an 8-2 home loss to Atlanta on June 19 – and hasn’t made it through six innings in any game. He’s 0-2 with a 9.88 ERA in his last three trips to the mound, and he’s 0-4 with an 8.55 ERA in four home starts.
The Sox are still 33-13 in Matsuzaka’s last 46 starts overall and 9-4 in his last 13 against A.L. West opponents. He’s faced the Angels three times (including in Game 2 of last year’s ALDS), allowing 12 runs in 14 2/3 innings (7.36 ERA), with Boston going 2-1.
With Lackey pitching, the Angels are on “under” runs of 5-2 overall, 4-1-1 on the road, 6-2-2 on Tuesday and 4-1 when he faces Boston. Similarly, the under is 4-1-1 in Dice-K’s last six starts overall, 8-2-1 in his last 11 at home and 10-3-1 in his last 14 on Tuesday.
L.A. is riding “under” streaks of 15-3-1 overall, 6-0 on the road, 11-1-1 against right-handed starters and 5-0 on Tuesday, but the over is 36-18-4 in the Halos’ last 58 against the A.L. East. Conversely, the over is 16-7 in Boston’s last 23 at Fenway Park, 12-1 in its last 13 series openers, 5-2 in its last seven against the A.L. West and 4-1 in its last five on Tuesday.
The sports advisors 9/15
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