Baseball News

San Francisco at Florida – under (7 1/2)
It’s quiet in the Giants clubhouse these days. Maybe a little too quiet.
“There`s not a whole lot of noise,” Manager Felipe Alou complained to the San Francisco Chronicle. “The bats are not making noise. People are not making noise.”
The Giants have barely made a peep in the first two games in Miami, and Josh Johnson is a good candidate to keep their bats silent again today whether Barry Bonds suits up or not.
Johnson makes only his sixth career start tonight, but he’s given bettors no reason to fade the Marlins so far. He has a sparkling 1.52 ERA in his first five starts, and has won both his outings at Dolphins Stadium.
The Giants should stay in the game only because Jason Schmidt is pitching even better than Johnson. Schmidt boasts a ridiculous 1.16 ERA and 0.70 WHIP over his last seven starts.
The Giants have scored only eight runs in their last six games against Florida, all of which dipped under the total.
Chicago White Sox at Cleveland – White Sox (-106)
Forget the preseason talk about Cleveland challenging for the AL pennant.
The Indians have to prove they can stay above .500 before bettors consider them a postseason threat. Their last four wins have been immediately followed by losses.
Meanwhile, the White Sox are wrestling with the Tigers and the Cardinals for MLB’s best record.
The Sox have won 19 of their last 26 at Jacobs Field, effectively showing the Indians fans what a playoff team is all about.
Freddy Garcia starts for the Sox against Cleveland’s Jake Westbrook. The pair met in April with Cleveland coming out on top as a +136 underdog.
However, since then Garcia is 7-1, while Westbrook has struggled at 3-3 with an ERA of 5.89.
New York Yankees at Detroit – Tigers (+122)
No disrespect to the Yankees, who have won six of their last seven, but the Tigers are too tempting at home to ignore.
No disrespect to Mike Mussina, either. He`s been New York`s most consistent starter this year - the Yanks have lost just one of his last eight starts.
But the Bronx Bombers` public status results in generous lines like this.
Lefty Nate Robertson goes for the Tigers tonight. He’s 4-0 in his last seven starts, with a 1.60 ERA.
The Yankees have hit left-handed pitching well this year, but their lineup has lacked punch lately. They rank in the bottom third of the show in home runs and slugging for the month of May.
They’ll also be without Gary Sheffield, bothered again by pain in his left wrist. Sheffield told MLB.com that there’s “no chance” he’ll be available, even as a pinch-hitter.
Despite Todd Jones’ dud yesterday against the Yanks, Detroit’s bullpen remains the best in the majors in both keeping runners off base and preventing the runners that get on base from scoring.
Los Angeles Dodgers at Atlanta – Dodgers (+141)
Atlanta’s Tim Hudson hasn’t missed a start this season, and has flashed his form from the earlier part of this decade on a couple of occasions.
It’s the Dodgers` throwback players, however, that make them the attractive bet tonight in Atlanta.
Nomar Garciaparra and Kenny Lofton, two players widely thought to be on the downside of their careers, must have been rejuvenated by the SoCal spring. Lofton is hitting .457 over his last 10 games, and Garciaparra is hitting .395 over that same span. Nomar hasn’t whiffed since May 9.
Los Angeles is 18-5 in their last 23 overall, winning backers 12.00 units over that span.
Los Angeles gets an offensive boost tonight from the return of Jeff Kent, 8-for-22 against Hudson in his career.
The Dodgers will want to tire Hudson so they can take another crack at the Braves’ troubled bullpen. Atlanta’s most consistent reliever this year has been Ken Ray, last spotted in the big leagues with the 1999 Kansas City Royals.