MONDAY FIRST 5 INNINGS PLAY (YTD 0-4)

[jimmythegreek]

Toronto/Baltimore over 4.5 -130:

The Blue Jays (16-16) come off taking 2 out of 3 at Rogers Centre against Boston and the Yankees for a 4-2 homestand. Home runs by Pablo Sandoval and Mike Napoli did in RA Dickey, who gave up 6 ER on 7 hits over 6 IP in a 6-3 loss to the Red Sox. Clay Buchholz went back to his winning ways improving to 2-4 yielding 3 runs on 6 hits in 61/3 IP. Baltimore (13-16) returns home after dropping 3 of 4 from the Yankees winding up 3-6 overall on their extended road trip. The O's, who haven't played in Camden since April 29th defeated the Chicago White Sox 8-2 in front of an empty crowd due to violence in the Baltimore area.

 

Toronto sends Marco Estrada (1-1 2.93) to make his second start of the season. Last time out the 31 year old right-hander yielded 5 ER on 8 hits in 4 2/3 innings in a 6-3 loss to the Yankees. Estrada faces an Orioles lineup hitting .269 overall and is tied for second in the AL with the Yankees belting 38 HR. Even though the offense has somewhat cooled down, the O's are still averaging nearly 4.8 runs per contest. Adam Jones (.360 5 22) leads the AL in hitting and the team in RBI recently ending a 2 for 17 mini slump with 2 hits yesterday. Jimmy Paredes (.355 5 15) extended his hitting streak to 9 games homering on Saturday in Baltimore's only win of the series in the Bronx. Manny Machado (.272 5 14) is 5 for his last 13 (.385) over his last 3 games seeing more playing time from the hot corner. Chris Davis (.243 7 19) leads the team in HR but was mired in a 5 for 26 slump (.192) last week. Caleb Joseph (.299 3 9) has done a good job so far behind the plate playing some good defense and picking up on some timely hitting.

 

Baltimore counters with Ubaldo Jimemez (2-2 2.36) who has pitched well despite losing 2 of his last 3 and not picking up much run support. Jimemez, also 31 yielded 3 runs on 6 hits in just 4 IP of a 5-1 defeat at CitField at the hands of the NY Mets. He'll be facing a Toronto lineup hitting just .261 with 37 HR overall, good for 3rd in the AL and averaging about 5.4 runs per game. Josh Donaldson (.317 7 21) is tied for the team lead in HR with Russell Martin (.293 7 19) while supreme in club batting average. The third baseman cites his 7/17 surge (.412) on the grounds of better carry at Rogers Centre along with fairly close distance in left field where he is a good pull hitter. Edwin Encarnarcion (.242 5 18) is 8 for his last 25 (.320) but has just one HR over his last 16 games. Check in with him around early to mid June and we should see his production soar to qualify eventually among the leaders. Jose Bautista (.220 5 18) will likely sit tonight but is available to pinch hit. Dealing with a sore shoulder, the 34 year old 13 year veteran is just 2 for 29 lifetime against Jimenez (.069). Devon Travis (.288 7 25) has done a splendid job at second base leading the team in RBI despite going just 5 for his last 28 (.179).

 

We get one of the more expensive prices so far this young season with neither starter exactly showing their best stuff as of late. As we creep more towards the summer months, the ball carries especially well to right center over an otherwise short porch to the corner especially at just 318 feet. It's also fairly favorable to left center at 364 but gets a bit lengthy straight away at 400 and 410. Baltimore is looking to get out of a funk where they've lost 6 of their last 9 while Toronto seems to break out the heavy sticks especially away from home. Both teams tonight will feature hitters who have had up and down results all season long fill in for veteran sluggers that are going through the motions at the plate as of late. We've also had some tough luck so far during the young season and have been pretty selective as of late. However, we feel that one month is way too long to break the ice, and our confidence is at it's full brim to finally put one on the left side before the first half is done. Best of luck however you play!

[Mofome]

Gl Jimmy! Time to get hot brother. Ubaldo has been lucky as hell so far, it could be implosion time for him.