Friday, May 16

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INTERLEAGUE

N.Y. Mets (20-19) at N.Y. Yankees (20-22)

The Mets send star left-hander Johan Santana (4-2, 3.10 ERA) to the hill against the cross-town rival Yankees and a much-less experienced right-hander in Darrell Rasner (2-0, 3.00) to open a three-game interleague series at Yankee Stadium.

The Mets head to the Bronx after having dropped three of four at home against Washington, getting shut out 1-0 on Thursday in the series finale. They have lost four of their last six games. The Yanks, meanwhile, lost three of four games at Tampa Bay, including Thursday's 5-2 setback to cap the series, and they are 3-6 in their last nine games.

These two teams split their two series in 2007, with each winning three games and each taking one contest on the road. In fact, over the last three years, the series is tied 9-9, with the home team going 10-8. However, the Yankees are 18-7 in the last 25 head-to-head clashes in the Bronx.

Santana, who will make his ninth start of the season, has helped the Mets to wins in each of his last five starts, going 3-0 with a pair of no decisions. On Saturday against Cincinnati, he scattered 10 hits and allowed three runs in six innings as New York won 12-6 at home. Santana is 3-1 with a more-than-respectable 2.38 ERA in five starts on the highway this season, and he is 3-0 with a 2.66 ERA in five lifetime starts (eight appearances) against the Yankees.

Rasner, a 27-year-old who has just 12 starts and 19 total appearances over the past four years, moved back into the rotation this season and has won both his outings. He allowed two runs on four hits in six innings Saturday in a 5-2 win at Detroit, which followed a two-run, five-hit effort in an 8-2 victory over Seattle on May 4. Rasner is 0-1 against the Mets, having given up two hits and two runs before suffering a hand injury without recording an out in a 10-7 loss last May. That ended up being his final big-league of the 2007 season.

The Mets are on streaks of 9-4 as a road favorite, 4-1 as an interleague chalk, 8-3 in Friday contests, 5-0 with Santana starting a series opener and 4-1 with Santana a road favorite. On the negative side, the Mets are 10-26 in their last 26 interleague roadies and 6-19 in their last 25 on the highway overall.

The Yankees are on impressive runs of 23-5 at home facing lefties in interleague play, 47-14 in interleague home games, 14-6 at home against winning teams, 37-16 at home after a road trip of seven or more days, 6-2 as an underdog, 4-1 in Rasner's last five starts against winning teams and 5-2 in Rasner's last seven starts overall. However, the Yanks are in slumps of 1-5 as a home pup, 1-5 in interleague play, 1-5 in series openers and 2-7 on Friday.

With Santana pitching, the over for the Mets is on streaks of 5-0 in series openers and 5-1 overall. Behind Rasner, the over is 4-1 for the Yankees against winning teams, but the under is 5-2-1 in his last eight outings overall.

The "over" trends run heavy for the Mets, including 6-3 overall, 4-1 in interleague road games, 8-3 against losing teams, 18-6 on the highway against losing teams and 12-5 as a road chalk. The under, though, is 11-4-1 in the Mets' last 16 interleague games against losing teams, 40-19-5 in their last 64 Friday contests and 27-13-3 in their past 43 an interleague favorite.

For the Yankees, the under is on streaks of 40-10-1 overall, 5-0 in the Bronx, 6-1 with the Yanks as a dog, 4-1 on Friday, 8-2 in interleague play against winning teams, 4-1-1 in series openers and 13-5 against winning teams.

ATS ADVANTAGE: N.Y. METS

L.A. Dodgers (21-19) at L.A. Angels (24-19)

Right-hander Hiroki Kuroda (1-2, 3.59 ERA) will toe the slab for the Dodgers when they travel to Angel Stadium to face the neighboring rival Angels, who will hand the ball to solid left-hander Joe Saunders (6-1, 2.48) to start a three-game interleague set.

The Dodgers enter this series having just taken two of three on the road against Milwaukee, losing the opener and winning the next two, including a 7-2 rout Thursday afternoon. Those wins snapped a five-game slide for the Dodgers, who are just 4-6 in their last 10.

The Angels have dropped six of their last eight games after Thursday's 4-3 setback to the White Sox, which capped a four-game home series.

The Angels took five of six in this Southern California rivalry last season, sweeping a three-game home series in May. Each of the Angels' five victories came by at least three runs, as the Halos bookended the six games with a 9-1 home win and a 10-4 road win. The Angels are 7-1 in the last eight clashes against the Dodgers and 17-5 in the last 22 battles at Angel Stadium.

Kuroda, a Japanese hurler in his first year in the majors, is making his ninth start of the year, but he hasn't gotten a decision in more than three weeks. The Dodgers are 3-1 in his last four starts, all no-decisions for Kuroda, who yielded just one run on one hit in 6 2/3 innings Sunday, then watched his bullpen implode in an 8-5 home loss to Houston. Kuroda's 1-2 mark this year has all come on the road, where he has a 2.81 ERA.

The Angels prevailed in each of Saunders' first seven outings of the year, with the starter nabbing six wins and a no-decision. On Saturday, Saunders allowed just one run on four hits in six innings at Tampa Bay, but the Angels gave him no offensive support in a 2-0 loss. Saunders, who has never faced the Dodgers, is 3-0 with a 2.79 ERA in four starts at home this year, improving his brief career home numbers to 11-5 with a 4.43 ERA in 16 starts.

The Dodgers are on an 8-0 tear against left-handed starters and are 5-0 in their last five roadies against lefties, 6-2 in their last eight series openers and 7-2 in their last eight on the highway. But the trends turn negative from there, including 19-37 as a road underdog, 14-37 as an interleague pup, 10-29 overall in interleague play, 4-23 in interleague road matchups and 1-10 against lefties in interleague play.

The Angels sport a bunch of positive trends, including 10-1 in interleague home games, 14-3 as an interleague chalk, 7-1 against the National League West, 5-2 as a favorite, 4-2 at home and 35-17 at home against winning teams. In addition, the Angels are 21-8 in Saunders' last 29 starts overall, 4-0 with Saunders starting at home, 5-0 with Saunders favored, 12-2 in Saunders' last 14 series openers and 11-2 with Saunders going on five days' rest.

The over is on streaks of 4-0 in Kuroda's last four starts on four days' rest, 6-1 with Saunders going on five days' rest, 4-1-1 for Saunders in series openers, 5-2-1 against winning teams and 9-4-1 with Saunders a favorite.

In addition, the over for the Dodgers is on runs of 9-2 on Friday, 18-6 in series openers, 5-2 in roadies against winning teams, 10-4 overall against winning teams and 5-2 in interleague play. The under, though, is 35-17-3 in the Dodgers' last 55 interleague road games. For the Angels, the under is on spurts of 18-8-2 overall, 11-4-1 at home and 7-2-2 on Friday, but the over is 5-2 in their last seven in interleague play.

ATS ADVANTAGE: L.A. ANGELS and OVER

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