Free MLB Pick: Oakland Athletics vs. New York Yankees: August 19th 2009

Oakland Athletics vs. New York Yankees
Free MLB Pick: Over 9 Runs (August 19th 2009)
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New York and Oakland snuck over last night and the run production should be much more tonight. Oakland has faced A.J. Burnett and C.C. Sabathia in the first two games of this series and now it finally catches a break. As for the Yankees, it has been an up and down roadtrip as far as run production but the road has been good for a while. Over the last 26 road games, New York has averaged exactly 6.0 rpg which is very solid. Chad Gaudin makes his first start for the Yankees and it happens to come against his former team that he pitched with back from 2006-2008. He has appeared in two games for New York out of the bullpen with mixed results as he has a 5.40 ERA and 1.80 WHIP. When he pitched for San Diego, he started 19 games, going 4-10 with a 5.13 ERA and 1.53 WHIP. That included eight starts at pitcher friendly Petco Park and it was far from friendly for him as he went 1-6 with a 6.30 ERA and 1.95 WHIP. Facing the A’s lineup may not seem too daunting but they have hit .284 over their last 10 games including .301 against right-handed pitching. Oakland counters with Brett Anderson who has been pretty solid this season with a 4.55 ERA and 1.33 WHIP and his recent form has been much better. The problem is he is coming off one of his worst starts of the season as he allowed seven runs in five innings against the White Sox and now faces the Yankees for the third time this season. The first two starts did not go well as he allowed a combined nine runs in 12 innings, posting a 6.75 ERA and 1.75 WHIP in those games. The Yankees are killing lefties this season, hitting .291 overall including .299 on the road. The ‘Over’ is 7-3-1 in the Yankees last 11 road games while the ‘Over’ is 5-2 in the A’s last seven home games. Also, the ‘Over’ is 10-2 in the A’s last 12 games after allowing five runs or more in their previous game so it has been a contagious effect with the pitching. New York is 16-8 to the ‘Over’ against the American League West this season including 5-2 to the ‘Over’ in its last seven against Oakland. 3* Over New York Yankees/Oakland A’s