Having to pitch with purpose

It is way too early for Major League baseball teams to hit the panic button; however it is not too early to start turning season around if your team is off to a slow start. Then there is a team like the Los Angeles Angels who play on the road for the first time and the starting pitcher is someone very different from who was expected to be taking the mound a week ago.

Its opening day in Seattle (5-2, +3.9 units), who has played fantastic baseball on the road. The Mariners have a four-game winning streak after sweeping Oakland and have managed to start fast even without Ichiro Suzuki who will join the team tomorrow from the DL, after suffering a bleeding ulcer.

Seattle is abuzz because “The Kid’ is back, as Ken Griffey Jr. returns in a Seattle uniform. The Mariners will face division rival Los Angeles (3-3, +0.2) and they will be starting Shane Loux. The 29-year right-hander hasn’t taken the ball to start a game in six years and has the added pressure of taking the spot of departed Nick Adenhart. The Angels are -110 money line favorites at Bookmaker.com, with total Ov9.5. The Halos are 26-10 after five or more consecutive home games and will face Carlos Silva (0-1, 10.80 ERA), who is 6-19 after giving up two or more home runs in last outing. (Team's Record) Seattle has lost 13 of 19 to Angels at Safeco Field.

After four miserable years in New York, Carl Pavano was seeking a new lease on life and a baseball pay check and hooked up with Cleveland (1-6, -5.8). To call Pavano’s first start rough would be an understatement since his ERA is one number higher (81) than what former Cleveland Brown Kellen Winslow wore last season (80). Pavano needed only 39 pitches to allow nine runs, six hits and walk three, last Thursday in Texas in loss. The Indians lumbering start makes them 13-21 in April the last two years and the pitching staff has been battered for 7.9 runs per game. They will look to avoid a second straight loss to Kansas City (4-3, +1.6) as +140 ML underdogs, facing a Royals club that is 17-5 in home games vs. teams outscored by a half a run or more a game on the season.

Right-hander Daisuke Matsuzaka (0-1, 6.75 ERA) suffered just three losses in 29 starts in 2008 and his team needs for him to not take another defeat early in the season. The Red Sox (2-5, -5.2) haven’t done much right to begin the season, as pitchers have been slapped around for 5.3 runs per game and offense is checking in at paltry 3.4 runs per game. Last year’s AL MVP Dustin Pedroia is well below the Mendoza line, hitting .179 and power source David Ortiz has yet to lace an extra base hit. Boston was busted up by Oakland 8-2 last evening and is 20-8 in road games after a loss by four runs or more and hopes Matsuzaka can duplicate prior efforts, with the Red Sox 12-2 in road tilts in which he started. The BoSox are -150 money line favs at Oakland to even series.

Arizona was set up to capitalize on the early season, playing 18 of first 21 games at Chase Field. A 2-5 (-4.7) beginning means the Diamondbacks will need a quick turnaround and turn to Max Scherzer to spin year around. Scherzer throws heat and if he commands his slider, he can be every bit as dominant as his major league debut in which he retired all 13 batters with seven strikeouts. Arizona isn’t doing much on offense scoring 3.4 run per game and takes on St. Louis (6-2, +2.8), being 23-38 against a team with a winning record. The Cardinals have Cris Carpenter (1-0, 0.00 ERA) back, who only pitched just over 21 innings in last two years, before throwing seven in 2-1 victory over Pittsburgh last week. The Cardinals are -140 ML favorites with total Un9, which is worth watching as Carpenter and the Cards are 10-0 UNDER vs. NL teams scoring 3.8 or less runs a game on the season.