Oakland As (5-7) Dana Eveland +165, 10 O/U at New York Yankees
(7-6) Andy Pettitte -175, 10 O/U, Yankee Stadium, New York, N.Y.,
7:05 PM EST, Monday
by Badger of Predictem.com
The Oakland As will get their first glimpse of the new billion
dollar Yankee Stadium on Monday when they continue their East Coast
road trip with the first of three games versus the New York Yankees.
A pair of lefties are set to duel on the bump, as the As will send
Dana Eveland out against Yankees veteran Andy Pettitte.
Despite their highly publicized 22-4 loss to the Cleveland Indians on
Saturday, the game where the Indians scored 14 runs in the second
inning, the Yankees come into the As series playing decent baseball.
The Yanks have won four of their last six games, including a come-
from-behind 7-3 victory over Cleveland in the series finale Sunday.
The As enter the Yankee series as losers of their last two games,
dropping two of three to the Toronto Blue Jays including Sundays 1-0
decision. After taking two of three against the Boston Red Sox the
series before, the As have now lost three of their last four and
have scored only four runs total in those three losses.
Baseball oddsmakers opened tonights contest with the Yankees and
Pettitte as large -200 favorites on the moneyline. The number has
dropped at most sportsbooks already, as New York is now just -190 to
-175 favorites across the various offshore sportsbooks on the
Internet, with the As catching anywhere from +170 to +155 as
underdogs. The over/under total opened at 9.5 and has gone up the
hook to 10 runs at most of the books listing a total.
Tonights game will also mark the return of Jason Giambi to New York,
as the former Yankee returned to the As as a free agent in the
offseason after spending his last seven years in pinstripes. Giambi,
who hit 209 homeruns and drove in 514 runs as a Yankee, is off to a
slow start in his second go-around as an A as he is hitting just .227
with five runs batted in and no homers in his first 44 at bats.
The pitching matchup tonight favors the Yankees, as Pettitte has
pitched much better than his counterpart Eveland in the early going
this season. Pettitte also has a strong history versus the As in his
career.
Pettitte threw seven-plus innings allowing six hits and three runs in
his last start, a no-decision in the Yankees 4-3 victory over Tampa
Bay last Wednesday. In two starts this season Pettitte is 1-0 with a
2.51 ERA, a 0.77 WHIP and just a .212 OBP. Both of his starts have
been victories for the Yankees, and both have come in under the total.
Pettittes history versus the As is a good one, as he is 10-5 in 19
career starts against them with a 3.27 ERA, a .239 OBA and a .284
OBP. There are a few As that have had solid histories against him
though, as Nomar Garciaparra (.308, 5 2B, 2 3B, HR, 11 RBI), Eric
Chavez (.375, 6-for-16), Mark Ellis (.500, 6-for-12) and Orlando
Cabrera (.333, 3-for-9, HR, 4 RBI) are all hitting over .300 versus
the veteran lefty.
Eveland on the other hand has had a rough start to his 2009 season,
even though the As have won both games he has started. Eveland has
yet to get a decision, but has given up 16 hits in just 10.2 innings
with a 6.75 ERA, a 1.97 WHIP and a .404 OBP. He has faced the Yankees
once in his young career, going six innings and allowing just two
runs on four hits. But he also gave up six walks in the game, which
ended up as a loss.
Tonights game should also be interesting to watch from an offensive
standpoint because the As come into the game with an MLB-worst OPS (.
230) and just three homeruns as a team. So far the new Yankee Stadium
has been a bandbox, with 20 homeruns in just four games, and it will
be interesting to see if the As can take advantage of the short
porches and friendly confines.
There are a few strong betting trends to watch, as the under is 13-3
in the last 16 meeting between these two team in New York. The under
is also 6-2 in Pettittes last eight starts versus the As, but
remember, were talking the old Yankee Stadium here and not the new
one. So you can file those numbers wherever you want, as they could
end up being irrelevant by most bettors standards.
Both teams have played over the total more often than not thus far in
2009, as Oakland is 8-4 versus the total and the Yankees are 9-4
versus the total.
Badgers Pick: At -175 thats too much juice to wager on the hometown Yankees tonight in my opinion, even though I think they will win the
game. So if youre going to bet on this game, take the safe route and
take the over of 10 as Eveland wont make it out of the fourth inning
against the Yankee lineup tonight. Take the over of 10.
