Joe D’s record is safe from his latest challenge as Philadelphia’s Jimmy Rollins went 0-for-4 last night against the Cardinals. He snapped his 38-game hitting streak, the eighth-longest in MLB history. He’s just 18 shy of DiMaggio’s record streak, set in 1941.
My free game for Friday is NO Hornets over Tor Raptors at 8:05 ET. Even though I bumped into the Heat last night in the NBA, I’m still on an 8-2 NBA run since 3/28! Tonight, I will file another Triple 15 Report* (it was 3-0 on Tuesday) and it should be noted that I have cashed in my last three 3 game reports dating back to 3/10. In MLB, I’m back with my second Las Vegas Insider Play (I won my first last night) and my first MLB over/under play of 2006 (cashed 64% of my MLB totals in 2005).
While Rollins’ record challenging streak ended last night, Texas pitcher RA Dickey allowed six home runs (five solo) in the Rangers’ 10-6 loss to the Tigers. He ties the post-record for 1900 LF for HR allowed by a pitcher in a single game.
Other highlights of Thursday’s action included Mark Hendrickson’s three-hit shutout of the Orioles (2-0), a team that had scored 25 games in its first two games of 2006. Additionally, Arizona’s Miguel Batista, in his first start in nearly two seasons, struck out a career-high 11 batters as the Diamondbacks beat the Rockies, 12-5.
The Twins lost in Toronto 6-3 and Carlos Silva, who walked just nine batters in 188 1/3 innings last year, walked two in 5 2/3 innings. It’s the first time he’s walked more than one batter in a game since September 26, 2004 (a 28-game span!). The Giants beat the Braves 6-4 yesterday, getting all six runs in the 4th inning. Bonds went 0-2 with two intentional walks and is now 1-for-7 .143 on the year, with no HR or RBI.
All 30 teams will be in action Friday with the Cards and Cubs playing at 2:20 ET in Wrigley on WGN and the Braves and Giants playing tonight in San Francisco at 10:15 ET on WTBS. A three-game series opener this weekend sees the Yankees in Anaheim take on the Angels. The Angels eliminated the Yankees in the ALDS last year, three games to two.
Heading into the weekend, the Tigers are the AL’s only unbeaten team to go 3-0, while the Royals are the youth tour’s only winless team to go 0-2. In the National League, both Milwaukee and St Louis opened 3-0, while the Phils (0-3) and Pirates (0-4) remain the only winless teams in the league. Philadelphia is 0-3 for the first time since 2000 and is 0-3 at home for the first time since 1982. Pittsburgh is 0-4 for the first time since 1994 and is 0-4 for the seventh time in franchise history.
The Nets won their 14th straight game last night, outscoring the Hornets by 11 points. It ties a franchise record for most consecutive wins and is the longest winning streak this year for any team. New Jersey had allowed just 82 points per game in winning the first 13 games of the streak, but allowed 102 points last night. The Nets’ 14-game skid (10-3-1 ATS) has brought them within 2 1/2 games of the Heat for the second-best record in the East.
Speaking of the Heat, they couldn’t beat the Pistons last night, losing 95-82. Detroit is now 61-14 and leads the Spurs by three games for the best record in the NBA with just seven games remaining. Detroit is just two wins behind the 1988-89 team that won a franchise-best 63 games and the road win was its 27th on the year (11 losses), breaking a franchise record for road wins in a single season.
The Nuggets beat the Lakers 110-108 in overtime last night, when Carmelo scored the game-winner with 3.8 seconds remaining. His 38 points led the Nuggets (Kobe had 42), who are now on the verge of clinching the Northwest Division title. It would be Denver’s first division crown from 1987-88. Denver’s “magic number” has been reduced to two.
Tonight’s NBA schedule features a 12-game schedule and all but two games (Seattle at Portland and Houston at Golden St) involve at least one team still fighting for a playoff spot or playoff position. ESPN runs a doubleheader with the night’s featured game, Dallas at San Antonio (the Spurs are five-point favorites on 186 1/2 total), beginning at 8:05 ET. The Lakers at the Suns (Phoenix is the nine-point favorite with a total of 222) will follow at 10:35 ET.
The Dallas/San Antonio game features the two best teams in the West. The Spurs enter the game at 58-17, while Dallas enters two games behind at 56-19. With just seven games remaining for both teams, this is a “must win” for the Mavs as the Spurs face only one better-than-.500 team the rest of the way (Memphis on Sunday). As for Dallas, the Mavs still have two games left with the Clippers (44-30) and one with the Suns (49-25).
San Antonio is 31-5 at home but only 18-18 ATS, while the Mavs are 24-13 SU on the road. However, the Spurs have won six of the last eight meetings between the two teams and the last four have been played in San Antonio. While the Mavs have never finished with the best record in the West, the Spurs have done so five times since 1994-95. The team that ‘loses’ the Southwest Division will be the fourth seed in the West, despite having a better record than the Suns and Nuggets!
The Suns enter their game with the Lakers having lost four of their last six games, three times by 14 points or more. Since winning a season-high 11 straight games, the Suns have gone 7-8. However, they have won six straight games over the Lakers, including the last four by 10 points or more. The Pistons are in Orlando (7:05 ET) to take on the Magic. Since losing 18 of 20 games from late January to early March, the Magic have gone 10-4, including 8-0 at home. Detroit is favored by 4 1/2 points (187 1/2).
Ness’s notes are available Monday through Friday at 1:00 ET.
