in MLB Articles
American League Monsters - Red Sox and Angels from Fenway
by Ian James
Tuesday's MLB betting board is highlighted by a matchup between two American League monsters. The Boston Red Sox, who lead the AL Wild Card race, host the West-leading Los Angeles Angels at Fenway Park.
Boston welcomes pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka back to the bump. The Japanese hurler hasn't pitched since June after nagging shoulder injuries slowed his pitching arm. In his limited work this season, Dice-K has a record of 1-5 with an ERA north of 8.00.
Los Angeles knows Matsuzaka well, after facing the righthander in the postseason each of the past two years. The starter was solid in those outings, with his only shaky start versus the Halos coming in the 2008 regular season when he was beat up for six runs on seven hits in five innings of work.
Los Angeles counters with their steady righty, John Lackey, who boasts a career 3-6 record and 5.54 ERA against the Red Sox. Recently Lackey has pitched well, going undefeated in his last three starts with a 2-0 record and an impressive ERA of 0.35. He is coming off a complete-game shutout of the Seattle Mariners in which he allowed just five hits while striking out seven batters last Thursday.
The Angels come into Tuesday's series opener having won eight of their last 10 games, behind consistent work from their pitching staff. Los Angeles is posting a collective 1.98 ERA this month and has given up more than three runs just twice in September. That boost from the bump has kept the Halos afloat. The team's offense, which ranks near the top in the majors, is averaging just over three runs per game this month and hitting a combined .247 over those 12 games.
Los Angeles needs to find its swing if it wants to keep pace with Boston's bats. The Red Sox have come alive at the plate in recent games. They've won five in a row and are scoring almost seven runs per game during that stretch. However, in the six games with the Angels this season, Boston has averaged only four runs and has gone 2-4 in those contests.
In the National League, a battle of NL West foes has a ton of postseason implications attached. The Colorado Rockies, who lead the NL Wild Card race, visit the San Francisco Giants – the team that trails them by 4.5 games heading into Monday's series opener.
The Rockies’ red-hot run in September came to an abrupt halt in San Diego this weekend. Colorado dropped two of three games against the Padres. The offense mustered just nine total runs that series after hitting .265 and scoring more than five runs per game this month. The Rockies struck out 13 times versus San Diego and posted a feeble batting average of .184 during the series.
That's bad news coming into San Francisco, where the Giants own the second-best ERA in the bigs. The Giants send veteran starter Barry Zito to the hill Tuesday. Zito, who is 9-12 with a 3.99 ERA, has struggled to go deep in his recent starts. The lefthander is 1-1 in his last three outings, lasting just 17 1-3 innings while allowing 17 runs and six earned runs. Zito is 5-5 with a 3.80 ERA in 15 career starts versus Colorado.
The Rockies counter with starter Ubaldo Jimenez. He's also 1-1 in his last three appearances with a 3.00 ERA. The righthander's most recent outing was a six-inning effort in which he allowed three runs on six hits on September 7. However, due to a tender hamstring Jimenez was passed over this weekend and will start Tuesday instead. He has faced San Francisco four times this year, going 2-2 with a 2.48 ERA.
