MLB – Key National League Games
MLB – Key National League Games
The Milwaukee Brewers and San Diego Padres are both in second place as play resumes tonight2007-09-20
The Milwaukee Brewers and San Diego Padres are both in second place as play resumes tonight, but are in position to pick up ground on the division leaders.
The fact is both are tied for the division lead in the loss column, which is more important since ultimately they will play the regulation 162 games. Both Milwaukee and San Diego have to play every day in the final 10 days of the season while Chicago and Arizona will enjoy a pair of off days, including today.
The Padres go for the four game sweep of Pittsburgh in day baseball and look to extend winning streak to a season high seven games with a win. San Diego has been hot at Petco Park with 12-2 record in last 14 ballgames. The Padres pitching at home is always superlative and in this hot streak the run production has been much improved scoring 4.7 runs a game.
San Diego is a -160 favorite at Sportsbook.com with Brett Tomko (3-11, 5.40) on the mound in this matinee. Tomko was released by the Los Angeles Dodgers on Aug. 31 and made three appearances out of the bullpen for San Diego before he pitched six strong innings in a 6-0 win over San Francisco last Saturday. "It's nice from where I was 3 1/2 weeks ago and how I felt I was throwing the ball. It's a complete turnaround," Tomko said. "To help the team in the heat of a pennant race, it was a big game for us."
Pittsburgh came to San Diego the most productive offense in the National League since August 1 scoring 5.8 runs per game. A combination of factors, Petco Park, Padres pitching and the cool ocean breezes have slowed the Bucs hitting to a crawl with six total runs in the series. With the total at Under 9 for this series finale, Pittsburgh is just 19-48 against the money line on the road when the total is 9 to 9.5. The Pirates will send veteran Matt Morris (9-10, 4.84 ERA) to the hill who is 8-3 lifetime against the Padres.
The Milwaukee hitters tried to bail out the Brewers bullpen scoring two runs in the top of the ninth to tie Houston, only to lose 5-4 in extra innings. This dropped their pen record to 21-29 on the season. The Brewers will face third straight pitcher with little major league experience in the opener of a four game series in Atlanta. The Braves purchased the contract of Jeff Bennett from Triple-A Richmond yesterday and are throwing him right into the rotation. Bennett last pitched in the big leagues in 2004, ironically for Milwaukee and went 1-5 with a 4.79 ERA in 60 relief outings. He went on to have elbow ligament replacement surgery and was released. For Richmond he was 3-5 with a 3.35 ERA in 36 games, including six starts.
The Brew Crew nearly swept the Astros and will try to close the road portion of the schedule on a high note after a dismal season. Ned Yost club is 31-46 (-15.6) on the road this year and will send Jeff Suppan (10-11, 4.72 ERA) up to the bump. Suppan has been on a roll, allowing three earned runs or fewer in five straight starts and six of his last seven, with this late season surge reminiscent of the one he put together last season for St. Louis. He’ll face an Atlanta lineup that has won four in a row and five of six, scoring 5.8 runs a game.
The Braves open as slight -110 favorite and have beaten Suppan all three times they have faced him, hanging a 9.22 ERA on him in the process. This is Milwaukee’s one and only trip into Atlanta, having lost three game series at home to the Braves back in the end of May. The Brewers are 6-2 in last eight after allowing five or more runs, however are miserable 19-44 as road underdogs.
These are important games for both San Diego and Milwaukee, who as luck would have it, will meet each other in their final four games of the season.
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