Tigers hope to regroup in Oakland
Baseball Betting Lines
06/30/2009 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) -- The Detroit Tigers hope to jump-start their slumping offense when the current American League Central leaders play the second test of a three-game series with the host Oakland Athletics this evening.
Detroit had averaged better than six runs per contest in putting together a season-best seven-game win streak from June 18-25. The club has lost three of four tilts since, however, and mustered only 10 runs total over that span.
The Tiger bats were silenced by Brett Anderson and three Oakland relievers in Monday's 7-1 loss to the A's. Detroit managed just six hits on the night and struck out 14 times as a team.
Anderson (4-7) had seven of those strikeouts and limited the Tigers to one run on four hits before exiting after 5 1/3 innings. Michael Wuertz, Brad Ziegler and Russ Springer combined to keep Detroit scoreless the rest of the way.
Ryan Sweeney finished 3-for-4 with a homer and two RBI to help Oakland put an end to a five-game slide. Mark Ellis, playing just his second game since being activated from the 60-day disabled list on Sunday, added a two-run blast for the Athletics.
Oakland tagged Tigers rookie Rick Porcello (8-5) for five runs and nine hits before the 20-year-old was lifted after just 4 1/3 innings.
"We were able to get runs off Porcello who is becoming one of the better pitchers in the American League," Anderson said. "Any time you get four or five (runs) off him in the first couple innings is good."
A's shortstop Orlando Cabrera singled in the fifth inning to extend his hitting streak to 12 games. He is batting .348 (16-for-46) over that stretch.
Detroit's struggling offense will take its swings tonight against Gio Gonzalez. The Athletics' young prospect is set to make his second major league start of the season tonight and will be striving for a better and longer result than his first turn in the rotation.
Gonzalez struggled mightily in Wednesday's 6-3 loss to San Francisco at the Coliseum, surrendering six runs (4 earned) and 10 hits before being lifted after 3 2/3 innings and 83 pitches. He did record six strikeouts before exiting, however.
The 23-year-old, a supplemental first-round draft choice of the White Sox in 2004, was recalled from Triple-A Sacramento last week to take the rotation spot of the injured Josh Outman. Prior to his promotion, Gonzalez went 4-1 with a 2.51 earned run average and 71 strikeouts in 12 starts with the River Cats.
Gonzalez did have a disastrous start against the Tigers in Detroit last September, with the left-hander getting torched for nine runs (8 earned) and three homers in only 1 2/3 innings of work.
Armando Galarraga gets the call for the Tigers and will be seeking to win back-to-back starts for the first time since April 10-15. The right-hander ended a lengthy winless drought in Thursday's 6-5 triumph over the Chicago Cubs, although he did allow four runs over a six-inning stint.
The victory was Galarraga's first since April 26. Since winning three times in his initial four starts of 2009, the native Venezuelan went 0-7 with a 7.43 ERA over a 10-game stretch before breaking through against the Cubs.
Galarraga's worst start over that span came against the Athletics, who battered the 27-year-old for five runs in just two-thirds of an inning on May 17. He is 1-1 with a 9.42 ERA over three starts and a pair of relief appearances versus Oakland.
Detroit swept a three-game series from the A's in the Motor City from May 15-17 but has lost five in a row and eight of its last nine visits to the Coliseum.
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Work left to do: Villanova, Syracuse, DePaul, West Virginia, Providence
Notre Dame and Louisville appear to have done enough to make the move, so we'll make them locks. The Cardinals, despite a modest RPI, are trending way up and have clinched at least a tie for third in the Big East, which should be more than enough with their pair of big road wins. Villanova got back to .500 and gets back to more solid footing. Syracuse got a very important road win and crippled a fellow contender in the process. West Virginia's fate could be in its hands Tuesday at Pitt.
Work left to do:
Villanova [18-9 (7-7), RPI: 21, SOS: 5] Pounded Rutgers to get back to .500. If Cats can get their last two (at UConn, vs. Syracuse), that should be enough with strong computer numbers and a host of wins away from The Pavilion. The Cats have beaten Texas and swept the Big 5 (never easy in Philly), but have a couple of losses to bubble teams (Xavier, Drexel), too. I still think they'll be OK, possibly even at 8-8.
Syracuse [20-8 (9-5), RPI: 53, SOS: 62] History says 10 wins will be plenty, but it might be hard for the Orange to get that last one with a final two vs. G'town, which is trying to win the league title, and at Villanova, which will be desperate for a W. The relative lack of nonconference heft and the weak computer numbers are still concerns, but the Orange have won four in a row and got a very, very big win at Providence on Saturday.
DePaul [16-12 (8-7), RPI: 54, SOS: 18] Beat Cincy and should get past South Florida to get to 9-7, but then what? They have beaten Kansas and Cal (right after the DeVon Hardin injury) earlier this season, but also have lost to Bradley and Purdue, among others. They'll likely need a couple of BE tourney wins, too, but we'll see ...
West Virginia [19-7 (8-6), RPI: 58, SOS: 125] The game at Pitt on Tuesday night could decide the Mountaineers' fate (barring a deep tournament run). They can still get to 9-7 in the Big East without it by beating Cincinnati, but the nine wins would be against UConn, Villanova, St. John's, South Florida, DePaul, Rutgers, Seton Hall twice and the Bearcats. Beating bubble foes is fine, but where's the beef? Outside of beating PG-less UCLA in nonconference play (still a top quality win), there's not a lot to fall back on (besides maybe NC State). WVU vs. Syracuse would be an interesting debate, as the teams don't play in the Big East regular season. WVU has the best win, but Cuse has played the much better schedule.
Providence [17-10 (7-7), RPI: 70, SOS: 33] The Friars likely saw their at-large hopes die at home in the four-point loss to Syracuse, barring an unexpected run to the Big East semis or more. The RPI, bad already, won't be helped by playing St. John's and South Florida in the final two league games.
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