3DW Line Moves – Crucial Betting Info
By Doug Upstone
For the most part, online sports bettors are in agreement with money line numbers oddsmakers placed on the 15 games on the baseball board. However, there is greater division in thought about how the Totals should play out and I’ll examine those three contests along with money line adjustments.
Atlanta at Washington 7:05 EDT
After registering 6.4 runs in the past five games, Atlanta was all geared to see Stephen Strasburg of Washington. With S-squared a late scratch, Braves’ hitters must have been disappointed and tallied only five hits in 3-0 shutout last night. This evening it is a pair of veteran pitchers on the hill with Tim Hudson (10-5, 2.47 ERA) squaring off against Livan Hernandez (7-6, 3.12). The total opened at 8 and has since fallen to 7.5, with solid provocation. Hudson is 9-1 with a 1.51 ERA in 15 career starts against the Nationals and Hernandez is 3-0 with a 2.96 ERA in his last four matchups with Braves. With Atlanta 13-4 UNDER vs. NL teams scoring 4.3 or less runs a game and the Nats 10-1 UNDER after a contest with a combined score of four runs or less this season, the direction of the money appears accurate.
Arizona at Philadelphia 7:05 EDT
The Phillies offense is crackling like expected, impressing those betting on sports with 6 runs per game during six-game winning streak. Roy Halladay (11-8, 2.28) will attempt to do his part in limiting the Arizona offense and the right-hander has permitted one or less runs in four of his last six starts. The Philadelphia hitters will look to dial in on the tosses of Edwin Jackson (6-9, 5.01), who has 6.85 ERA since throwing no-hitter on June 25. The total has headed downward for this NL conflict, starting at 8 and now at 7.5. Halladay could be expected to limit the D-Backs offensive output and is 19-8 UNDER vs. teams whose hitters strike out seven or more times a game over the last two seasons. (Team's Record) However, Jackson is very hittable and the Snakes bullpen ERA has 7.81 on the road and the club is 13-5 OVER after four or more consecutive losses this year. Not certain if the total is going the right way.
St. Louis at N.Y. Mets 7:10 EDT
In theory, the Mets were a sound underdog play on Tuesday, playing well at home against a Cardinals club that has failed in the road greys. New York won 8-2, raising home record to 31-16 (+12.8 units) and St. Louis fell to 21-29 (-6.6) as visitors. A matchup of left-handers has left sports bettors feeling more comfortable with the Metropolitans chances in Game 2 of the series. New York was a -119 ML choice at daybreak and has since jumped to -130 or higher. The Mets are 8-0 in home contests after batting .240 or worse over a 15-game span this campaign. While Jaime Garcia (9-4, 2.21) is having a brilliant rookie season, with the second lowest ERA among starting pitchers in baseball, Johan Santana (8-5, 2.79) is 50-16 after walking one or fewer hitters in each of his last two outings during his career. (Team's Record)
Baltimore at Toronto 7:05 EDT
Not sure what to make of this total sinking southward. This AL affair opened at 9.5 and has since gone to 9, which sort of made sense when Shawn Marcum was the scheduled starting pitcher for Toronto. The Blue Jays made a change to Brad Mills (7-4, 4.13 ERA in 16 starts for Triple-A Las Vegas), giving him his third Major League start and first of 2010. If you forget about the pitching switch, the Blue Jays are still 11-2 OVER at the Rogers Center vs. AL clubs scoring 4.7 or less runs game in the second half of the season since last year. Baltimore was again hammered 8-2 by Toronto and is 25-14 UNDER after scoring two runs or less and even with Jeremy Guthrie (4-10, 4.46) pitching better lately, the Orioles are 2-8 on the road with the lefty starter, who sports a 5.01 ERA in road uniform. Guthrie however, is 20-8 UNDER when the total is 9 to 9.5 since last year with average score 7.4 total runs.
L.A. Dodgers at San Diego 10:05 EDT
It’s unusual to say the least a team would win five of six while scoring a grand total of 11 runs, yet that is precisely what the Dodgers have done in pulling to within six games in the loss column of San Diego. Linemakers had the team from L.A. as +114 underdogs, but sports betting online fans have preferred the pedigree of the Dodgers and they now sit +100 pooches. Los Angeles is a stellar 26-8 after batting .240 or worse over a 10-game span and thought provoking 15-1 after five straight times where they had less than 10 hits. With Hiroki Kuroda (8-8, 3.48) in better form than Clayton Richard (7.13 ERA in four July starts), the visitor might well be the right play.
3DW Bonus Info
Money Line Nugget
Seattle is 4-23 against the money line after allowing 10 runs or more since 2008.
Totals Nugget
Florida is 14-2 UNDER as a road underdog of +100 to +150 this season, with average total score of 6.9 RPG.
Run Line Nugget
Arizona is 0-11 against the run line in road games vs. good fielding teams, averaging 0.6 or fewer errors a game in 2010, losing by alarming 5.3 RPG.