Interleague Action - Round 2
By Kevin Rogers
Following a three-week pause in Interleague Action, the two leagues will meet up in great frequency over the next two weeks to wrap up the month of June. The traditional rivalries will be spread out, so don't expect to see Mets/Yankees and Dodgers/Angels on the same weekend. Instead, you'll catch the Subway Series and Rockies/A's on a given interleague weekend. There are plenty of things to keep an eye out for during this time of abnormal matchups that can help you make money, even if it's that Reds/Royals series coming up the first weekend.
For the normal baseball fan to figure out the scheduling tactics for Interleague is beyond comprehension, so we'll try to make things a bit easier to understand. Since the National League has two more teams than the American League, obviously it's difficult for every team to matchup with a team from the opposite league. Twelve of the 16 NL clubs will each play a total of five interleague series, while the other four teams (Dodgers, Marlins, Phillies, and Nationals) will play six series against the AL. The one team that gets the shaft in interleague play is the World Champion Phillies, who after taking two of three from the Yankees in mid-May, play six games against Toronto, three at home against the Red Sox, as well as three in a World Series rematch with Tampa Bay at Tropicana Field June 23-25.
The Dodgers, who have played the first round of their annual Freeway Series with the Angels, still have to travel to Anaheim for another three-game set with the Halos, as well as a three-game series with the AL West-leading Rangers this weekend in Arlington. Inexplicably, Joe Torre's team travels to Chicago to battle the White Sox from June 23-26, playing on the South Side for only the second time ever in interleague play. In the nine interleague matchups between the Dodgers and White Sox, Chicago is 7-2, while the 'under' has hit eight of nine times, including all three last season at Chavez Ravine.
Houston is the lone team that misses out on two interleague division opponents, as the Astros avoid the White Sox and Indians, thanks to a home-and-home series with the Rangers.
American League home favorites have hit the 'under' at a consistent rate through the first cycle of interleague play, doing so 16 of 19 times. AL home chalk was the breadwinner in IL action in 2008, putting together a 72-44 record. National League home underdogs over the last three seasons have not been a solid play, compiling a 31-50 mark (38%) since the start of the 2007 season.
The Subway Series will highlight this weekend of interleague, when the Mets and Yankees hook up in the Bronx. The Mets captured all three meetings last season at the old Yankee Stadium, tallying 33 runs in the three-game sweep. Look for high totals this weekend, as the New York neighbors have hit the 'over' in 14 of the last 19 meetings in the Bronx, pre-jet stream at the new stadium.
The Tigers have been road warriors in IL play over the years, going 17-2 the last five seasons as road favorites, including a sterling 10-0 mark the last two years in that role. Detroit travels to Pittsburgh this weekend, in which they will most likely be favored in every game. Unfortunately, Justin Verlander will not pitch until the second interleague series due to his turn being up against the White Sox. Verlander is slated to take the hill at St. Louis in a rematch of the 2006 World Series, as the Tigers are 9-1 in Verlander's ten career regular season interleague starts. However, Detroit was on the losing end of Verlander's two starts in the Fall Classic against St. Louis.
The Bay Area teams are nearly polar opposites in IL play, with the A's being the solid play, and the Giants resembling fade material. Oakland is 9-1 the last ten meetings at AT&T Park, as they head to San Francisco this weekend. The Giants, meanwhile, are 2-8 the last two years as a home 'dog in interleague, but will likely be favored in all three games against the A's, as San Francisco's top three pitchers, Tim Lincecum, Randy Johnson, and Matt Cain are all scheduled to take the hill. The Giants then host the Angels and Rangers the next six games, as there can be some good fade opportunities for San Francisco as home 'dogs. The A's look to be road 'dogs when they battle the Dodgers in Los Angeles next Tuesday, but have opportunities to potentially be listed as road favorites on June 19-21 taking on the Padres in San Diego.
The information is usually limited with new matchups during interleague play, but zeroing in on teams that have good (or bad) track records when facing the opposite league can do wonders for the bettors' psyche over the next two weeks of baseball.
VegasInsider.com