Angels, Dodgers open Freeway Series, Part I
Angels, Dodgers open Freeway Series, Part I
When the Angels and Dodgers renew their annual La-La Land rivalry at Chavez Ravine on Friday, each team will be without their big sticks. Vladimir Guerrero, out since mid-April with a torn pectoral muscle, will be on his rehab assignment and possibly could return early next week for the Halos. Manny Ramirez, on the other hand, still has 37 games remaining on his 50-game suspension for a drug violation.
Welcome to Escape from L.A. All we need is a chain-link fence around Dodger Stadium and Kurt Russell with a baseball bat.
The 1996 John Carpenter film has become something of a cult classic, even if it was a box-office dud when it was unleashed on theaters. Comparing Los Angeles to an isolated prison colony might not be much of a stretch – ask anyone inside the walls of USC – but at least the two local baseball teams are doing well. The L.A. Dodgers have the best record in the majors at 29-13 (14.59 units). The L.A. Angels are two games out of first place in the American League West at 21-19 (3.76 units).
Thanks to the magic of interleague play, we get to see the Dodgers and Angels hook up every year. They split their six meetings in 2008 with the under going 5-1; this three-game set is their first encounter of 2009, and we’re going to see some live arms descend on Chavez Ravine this weekend.
Early series prices for thie weekend's Freeway Series have the Dodgers listed as -160 favorites with the Angels +140 at The Greek. Joe Torre's troops were -125 favorites for Friday night's contest to open the series.
Friday: Jered Weaver vs. Clayton Kershaw
(10:10 p.m. Eastern)
Although each of these two young pitchers has guided his team to a 4-4 record, they deserve a better fate. Kershaw (4.60 ERA, minus-1.13 units) honked a pair of road games in April, but has allowed only two runs combined in three starts at Dodger Stadium. Weaver (2.59 ERA, minus-0.69 units) has pitched three straight quality starts with just one win to show for it, thanks in part to the second-worst bullpen in the majors at a 5.82 team ERA. The Dodger firemen are ranked No. 8 with a 3.78 ERA.
Saturday: John Lackey vs. Randy Wolf
(10:10 p.m. ET)
This is Lackey’s second start of 2009; it took a while, but he made his season debut last Monday against the Seattle Mariners and got the 10-6 victory despite giving up four runs in five innings. Lackey is vulnerable as he continues to get his arm back into game shape. As for Wolf, the southpaw has been a godsend for the Dodgers with a 2.72 ERA, although it’s only earned them 0.37 units on a 5-4 team record. Six of his last seven starts were no-decisions.
Sunday: Matt Palmer vs. Chad Billingsley
(4:10 p.m. ET)
Our Sunday matinee features the surprising and very lucky Matt Palmer. The former Giants cast-off has the Halos at 5-0 for an MLB-best 7.07 units, even though Palmer has a 4.26 ERA and a pedestrian 5.27 xFIP. Billingsley, on the other hand, is putting the kibosh on enemy bats with a 2.51 ERA (3.90 xFIP) for a team record of 8-1 and a profit of 6.37 units – No. 3 in the majors. It’s Billingsley’s numbers that have the better chance of holding up in the series finale.
Both L.A. teams have overcome injuries and turnover to their starting rotations. At the plate, the world looks a lot different. The Dodgers are the highest-scoring club in the National League with 232 runs (5.52 per game) and a .370 OBP. About 20 minutes south on the I-5, the Angels are No. 17 overall in scoring with 191 runs (4.90 per game) and a .343 OBP. They’ve been decaffeinated by the absence of Vladimir Guerrero (.886 OPS, 27 HR last year) with a torn right pectoral, and Bobby Abreu (.764 OPS, zero homers) is day-to-day after hurting his left big toe on Wednesday. The Associated Press reports Abreu could be available for “spot duty” against the Dodgers.
Manny Ramirez (1.133 OPS, six HR) has been out of the lineup since May 7 after receiving his 50-game drug suspension. The Dodgers lost four of their first five games without Manny, but have bounced back with seven wins in their last eight, capped off by a three-game sweep of the visiting Mets. Juan Pierre (1.033 OPS in May) has made the most of his opportunity as a starter in left field; Pierre has six homers in the last five seasons combined to match what Manny put up in five weeks. However, Pierre already has eight doubles after hitting just 10 all of last year. Enjoy it while it lasts.
When the Angels and Dodgers renew their annual La-La Land rivalry at Chavez Ravine on Friday, each team will be without their big sticks. Vladimir Guerrero, out since mid-April with a torn pectoral muscle, will be on his rehab assignment and possibly could return early next week for the Halos. Manny Ramirez, on the other hand, still has 37 games remaining on his 50-game suspension for a drug violation.
Welcome to Escape from L.A. All we need is a chain-link fence around Dodger Stadium and Kurt Russell with a baseball bat.
The 1996 John Carpenter film has become something of a cult classic, even if it was a box-office dud when it was unleashed on theaters. Comparing Los Angeles to an isolated prison colony might not be much of a stretch – ask anyone inside the walls of USC – but at least the two local baseball teams are doing well. The L.A. Dodgers have the best record in the majors at 29-13 (14.59 units). The L.A. Angels are two games out of first place in the American League West at 21-19 (3.76 units).
Thanks to the magic of interleague play, we get to see the Dodgers and Angels hook up every year. They split their six meetings in 2008 with the under going 5-1; this three-game set is their first encounter of 2009, and we’re going to see some live arms descend on Chavez Ravine this weekend.
Early series prices for thie weekend's Freeway Series have the Dodgers listed as -160 favorites with the Angels +140 at The Greek. Joe Torre's troops were -125 favorites for Friday night's contest to open the series.
Friday: Jered Weaver vs. Clayton Kershaw
(10:10 p.m. Eastern)
Although each of these two young pitchers has guided his team to a 4-4 record, they deserve a better fate. Kershaw (4.60 ERA, minus-1.13 units) honked a pair of road games in April, but has allowed only two runs combined in three starts at Dodger Stadium. Weaver (2.59 ERA, minus-0.69 units) has pitched three straight quality starts with just one win to show for it, thanks in part to the second-worst bullpen in the majors at a 5.82 team ERA. The Dodger firemen are ranked No. 8 with a 3.78 ERA.
Saturday: John Lackey vs. Randy Wolf
(10:10 p.m. ET)
This is Lackey’s second start of 2009; it took a while, but he made his season debut last Monday against the Seattle Mariners and got the 10-6 victory despite giving up four runs in five innings. Lackey is vulnerable as he continues to get his arm back into game shape. As for Wolf, the southpaw has been a godsend for the Dodgers with a 2.72 ERA, although it’s only earned them 0.37 units on a 5-4 team record. Six of his last seven starts were no-decisions.
Sunday: Matt Palmer vs. Chad Billingsley
(4:10 p.m. ET)
Our Sunday matinee features the surprising and very lucky Matt Palmer. The former Giants cast-off has the Halos at 5-0 for an MLB-best 7.07 units, even though Palmer has a 4.26 ERA and a pedestrian 5.27 xFIP. Billingsley, on the other hand, is putting the kibosh on enemy bats with a 2.51 ERA (3.90 xFIP) for a team record of 8-1 and a profit of 6.37 units – No. 3 in the majors. It’s Billingsley’s numbers that have the better chance of holding up in the series finale.
Both L.A. teams have overcome injuries and turnover to their starting rotations. At the plate, the world looks a lot different. The Dodgers are the highest-scoring club in the National League with 232 runs (5.52 per game) and a .370 OBP. About 20 minutes south on the I-5, the Angels are No. 17 overall in scoring with 191 runs (4.90 per game) and a .343 OBP. They’ve been decaffeinated by the absence of Vladimir Guerrero (.886 OPS, 27 HR last year) with a torn right pectoral, and Bobby Abreu (.764 OPS, zero homers) is day-to-day after hurting his left big toe on Wednesday. The Associated Press reports Abreu could be available for “spot duty” against the Dodgers.
Manny Ramirez (1.133 OPS, six HR) has been out of the lineup since May 7 after receiving his 50-game drug suspension. The Dodgers lost four of their first five games without Manny, but have bounced back with seven wins in their last eight, capped off by a three-game sweep of the visiting Mets. Juan Pierre (1.033 OPS in May) has made the most of his opportunity as a starter in left field; Pierre has six homers in the last five seasons combined to match what Manny put up in five weeks. However, Pierre already has eight doubles after hitting just 10 all of last year. Enjoy it while it lasts.