I hope everyone enjoyed the long weekend as much as I did. Had my fill of BBQ, swimming with my family in our pool, watching baseball and even took a few naps. I'm feeling rested and refreshed, and ready to turn things around with my wagers.
Cleveland Indians at Toronto Blue Jays
Over 8.5 + 100
Rationale: The Blue Jays are one of the hottest hitting teams, tallying 22 runs on 33 hits in the final 2 games of its weekend series with the Chicago White Sox. Toronto kept rolling offensively on Monday with an 11-1 pounding of the Indians. The Blue Jays logged 58 hits and outscored the White Sox and Indians 37-15 during a 4 game stretch. Meanwhile, Cleveland has been outscored 44-12 in their last 6 games. Jose Bautista has led the charge for Toronto, batting. 450 with 6 RBI in his last 6 games, and is hitting .412 with 7 RBI in his last 5 games against Cleveland. I see no let up against Mitch Talbot (1-1, 5.87 ERA), who allowed 8 runs and 12 hits over 3 innings of a 14-2 loss to Boston in his first appearance since missing more than a month with an elbow strain. In his only appearance against Toronto (last season), Talbot gave up 5 runs and 3 HR in 8 innings. Brandon Morrow (2-2, 4.38 ERA) takes the hill for Toronto. He 0-1 with a 4.76 ERA in 2 career starts against the Indians (both last season). The Over is 28-21-2 overall for Cleveland and 13-6-1 in their last 20 games. The Over is 28-24-2 overall for Toronto and 6-2 in their last 8 games.
New York Yankees + 120
New York: (29-23, 12-10 A); Freddy Garcia (3-4, 3.26, 1.29)
Oakland: (27-28, 14-13 H); Brett Anderson (3-4, 2.84, 1.18)
Rationale: The Yankees have won the last 8 games in this series, and look to do something they have not done since 1944, when the A's were based in Philadelphia -- shut them out 3 consecutive times. New York is 22-4 overall against the A's since 2008. During the 8 game streak Oakland has been outscored 49-15 by New York, including 10-0 in the last 2 meetings. Garcia is looking for his second straight victory after giving up 3 runs in 6+ innings against Toronto on Wednesday; he has given up 3 or fewer runs in 3 of his last 4 starts. In his last start against Oakland (last season while with the White Sox) Garcia allowed 5 runs in 1+ innings of a 10-2 loss. Anderson hopes to avoid a fourth consecutive losing start to the Yankees; he is 0-3 with a 4.68 ERA in 4 career starts versus New York. He'll face a Yankee lineup that includes a smoldering Mark Teixeira, who homered for the fourth time in 5 games. Tex has 7 HR and 16 RBI in his last 11 games, and is batting .406 with 6 HR and 14 RBI in his last 9 games against Oakland. He and Derek Jeter are a combined 12 for 26 versus Anderson with 1 HR each. New York is 9-4 in their last 13 games and 41-18 in their last 59 against Oakland.
SEASON RECORD: 11-12-1 (48|PERCENT|), - 420