MLB betting trends, odds and predictions for Friday, April 7th, 2017 from various handicappers and websites
MLB Knowledge
National League
Braves @ Pirates
Foltynewicz is 3-0, 3.49 in his last five starts; 10 of his last 11 starts went over total.
Nova is 0-2, 6.87 in his last four starts; under was 7-3-1 in his starts LY.
Atlanta lost two of its first three games (under 2-1). Pirates were outscored 8-3 in losing their first two games (under 2-0). This is a 1:00 start; Braves played in NYC last nite.
Nationals @ Phillies
Scherzer is 8-0, 2.97 in his last nine regular season starts; three of his last four starts went over.
Velasquez is 0-5, 6.18 in his last eight starts; over is 3-1-1 in his last five starts.
Washington won two of its first three games (under 2-1). Phillies lost two of their first three games (under 2-1).
Dodgers @ Rockies
Ryu is 28-16, 3.25 in 57 career starts, but has started only one game the last two years because of arm injuries.
Freeland is making his MLB debut here; he was 5-7, 3.87 in 14 AA starts LY, then 6-3, 3.91 in 12 AAA starts.
Dodgers won three of first four games (over 2-2). Colorado won three of its first four games (over 2-2).
Giants @ Padres
Cain was 0-2, 11.42 in his last two starts LY. Over is 4-2-1 in his last seven starts.
Perdomo is 2-3, 5.23 in his last five starts; five of his last six starts stayed under.
San Francisco lost three of its first four games (over 4-0). San Diego lost three of its first four games (over 2-2).
Marlins @ Mets
Chen is 0-2, 5.47 in his last five starts; three of his last four starts stayed under.
Wheeler is making his first start since 2014, due to injuries; he is 18-16, 3.50 in 49 career starts.
Marlins lost two of their first three games (under 2-1). Mets won two of their first three games (under 2-1).
Cubs @ Brewers
Anderson threw 11.1 innings in four games (3 starts) for the Dodgers LY; he is 38-43, 3.86 in 115 starts in an injury-riddled career.
Nelson is is 1-3, 6.45 in his last four starts; over is 6-4-1 in his last 11 starts.
Chicago won two of its first three games (over 1-1-1). Milwaukee lost three of its first four games (over 2-2).
Reds @ Cardinals
Garrett is making his MLB debut; the former St John’s basketball player was
Leake is 0-3, 5.84 in his last five starts; his last five starts stayed under.
Cincinnati won two of its first three games (under 2-1). St Louis lost two of its first three games (over 1-1-1).
American League
Red Sox @ Tigers
Wright is 1-1, 6.28 in his last five starts; over is 4-1-1 in his last six starts.
Fulmer is 1-4, 5.54 in his last seven starts; under is 7-3-1 in his last 11 starts.
Boston won its first two games, allowing three runs (under 2-0). Detroit split their first two games (over 2-0).
Bronx @ Baltimore
Severino was 0-8, 9.06 in 11 starts LY; four of his last five starts went over.
Jimenez is 3-1, 2.83 in his last five starts; under is 5-2-1 in his last eight starts.
Bronx lost two of its first three games (under 2-1). Orioles won their first two games (under 2-0).
Blue Jays @ Rays
Liriano is 1-1, 2.19 in his last four starts; six of his last eight starts stayed under.
Andriese is is 2-1, 3.32 in his last four starts (under 3-1).
Toronto lost its first two games (under 2-0). Tampa Bay won two of its first three games (under 2-1).
A’s @ Rangers
Alcantara was 1-3, 7.59 in five starts LY (under 3-2).
Former Athletic Griffin is 0-1, 9.00 in his last four starts; under is 5-3-2 in his last ten starts.
Oakland split its first four games (under 3-1). Texas lost its first three games (over 2-1).
Twins @ White Sox
Hughes was 1-7, 6.34 in eleven starts LY; over is 5-1-1 in his last seven starts.
Holland was 0-3, 8.59 in his last three starts for Texas LY; three of his last four starts went over.
Minnesota won its first three games, allowing five runs (under 1-0-2). White Sox split its first two games (over 2-0).
Royals @ Astros
Vargas was 1-1, 2.25 in three starts for the Royals LY (under 3-0).
Fiers is 1-2, 5.95 in his last four starts; four of his last six starts stayed under.
Kansas City lost its first three games (under 1-0-2). Houston won three of its first four games (under 3-1).
Mariners @ Angels
Gallardo was 1-0, 2.25 in his last two starts for Baltimore LY; under is 5-3-1 in his last nine starts.
Chavez has started 49 MLB games, but none since 2015 with the A’s. He threw 67 innings in 62 games LY, for the Blue Jays/Dodgers.
Mariners lost three of their first four games (under 3-1). Angels split their first four games (under 3-1).
Interleague
Indians @ Diamondbacks
Tomlin is 2-1, 2.10 in his last four regular season starts; his last five starts stayed under.
Miller threw 11.2 scoreless innings in his last two starts LY; under is 4-1-1 in his last six starts.
Cleveland won its first three games, in Texas (over 2-1). Arizona won three of its first four games (over 4-0).
Record with this pitcher starting in 2016
National League
Atl-Pitt: Foltynewicz 11-11; Nova 8-12
Wsh-Phil: Scherzer 24-10; Velasquez 11-13
LA-Colo: Ryu 0-1 (hurt); Freeland 0-0
SF-SD: Cain 7-10; Perdomo 11-9
Mia-NY: Chen 13-9; Wheeler 0-0 (hurt)
Chi-Mil: Anderson (LAD) 1-2; Nelson 12-20
Cin-StL: Garrett (0-0); Leake 13-17
American League
Bos-Det: Wright 15-9; Fulmer 19-7
NY-Balt: Severino 2-9; Jimenez 13-12
Tor-TB: Liriano 4-4; Andriese 8-11
A’s-Tex: Alcantara 1-4; Griffin 16-7
Min-Chi: Hughes 3-8; Holland (Tex 10-10)
KC-Hst: Vargas 2-1; Fiers 10-12
Sea-LAA: Gallardo (Balt) 12-11; Chavez 0-0
Interleague
Clev-Az: Tomlin 20-9; Miller 6-14
Armadillosports.com
MLB: Streaks, Tips, Notes
Sportspic.com
Washington Nationals at Philadelphia Phillies
When Washington visits Philadelphia Friday afternoon, expect Nationals to do what they typically do in this series, and that's win. The Nationals have dominated the series recenty posting a 12-1 record the past thirteen meetings. Additionally, Nationals are a sparkling 11-1 last twelve trips into Philadelphia.
According to current betting odds at Bodog.eu the Nationals are -$1.70 road favorites with the total set at 7.0 runs
The fact Washington hands the ball to Max Scherzer is yet another nod towards the Nationals, since the team has compiled an 8-1 record vs Phillies with the righty and are on a 9-1 streak with the hurler as road chalk in the -$1.50 to -$1.75 range.
Weekend Outlook
By Micah Roberts
VegasInsider.com
Should Win Total bettors that took the Minnesota Twins Under 70.5 be concerned about a perfect 3-0 start to the season? No need to sweat just yet with 159 games to go, but as for the next two weeks the Twins might be a good team to support while getting longer plus-money prices. Keep the rally going while it's hot.
The Twins hit the road this weekend to take on the White Sox and a sweep against a team figured by Las Vegas to win 68.5 games isn't beyond the realm of reality.
The big question for Minnesota moving forward is how its starting pitching will hold up. After three games; so far, so good.
But we'll get a look at that back-end of the rotation with Phil Hughes on Friday who comes off a spring of allowing opponents to bat .353. And then on Saturday left-handed rookie Adaiberto Mejia, who was sensational in spring, gets the nod. Then its back to the top of the order on Sunday with ace Ervin Santana facing Jose Quintana, who just allowed six runs to Detroit on opening day.
Because of the Twins No. 4 and 5 starters, the White Sox are going to be favorites to win the series. Sox No. 4 Derek Holland and No. 5 Miguel Gonzalez just don't evoke enough fear to halt making a wager on the Twins to win the series as an underdog while momentum is in their favor. You just have to win two out of three.
Momentum, Sunday's Santana start and possibly the bats bailing out Hughes is what's at stake.
Here's a look at a few series I'll be keeping a close eye on this weekend:
Cleveland (3-0) at Arizona (3-1)
Scheduled rotation: Tomlin vs Miller, Bauer vs Greinke, Kluber vs Corbin
Arizona had high expectations out of the gate last season and failed, but this year we're seeing a little bit of the line-up production expected which has had all four of its games go 'over' the total. They came from behind to win three of four against the visiting Giants to start the season and it's something to think about when Cleveland visits this weekend when just handicapping pitchers. A.J. Pollock back in the lineup after missing all of last season has been huge so far. So has Chris Ownings, Jake Lamb and Paul Goldschmidt.
So before just thinking about the great Indians rotation that won the A.L. Pennant last season, think about a hot team like Arizona hitting well at home. However, Cleveland just comes off a successful campaign 3-0 campaign at Texas. It's just part of the reason why Arizona will be a significant underdog in the series.
NY Yankees (1-2) at Baltimore (2-0)
Schedule rotation: Severino vs Jimenez, Tanaka vs. Gausman, Sabathia vs. Miley
C.C. Sabathia gave a nice five inning shutout performance against Tampa Bay is his first start to get the win and it will be interesting to see how the 36-year old veteran follows it up. The good news is that Chase Headley is hitting .636 and Jacoby Ellsbury .455, which is huge while while franchise-phenom catcher Gary Sanchez (.071) finds his groove. The Yankees are a team I'm high on this season, or at least to fare better than expected which was 83.5 wins in Las Vegas.
Seattle (1-3) at Los Angeles Angels (2-2)
Scheduled rotation: Gallardo vs. Chavez, Hernandez vs. Nolasco, Iwakuma vs. Shoemaker
I'm anxiously awaiting to see how King Felix performs Saturday at Anaheim following being yanked after five innings and 65 pitches Monday at Houston. Groin tightness is the issue, maybe caused by Hernandez going through a rigorous off-season regime of building lower body strength for his legs. This could be a lingering issue despite Hernandez saying it isnt and that he'll start. As for Nolasco, his pitcher rating might be too low. He found a place that wants him enough to make him the No 1 starter based on winning his final three decisions last year and only allowing three runs in a 4-2 loss at Oakland.
San Francisco (1-3) at San Diego (1-3)
Scheduled rotation: Bumgarner vs. Perdomo, Cain vs Chacin, Cueto vs. Richard
Saturday's game is the one that looks the most intriguing with Matt Cain getting the start after seven spring appearances allowing 23 runs where opponents hit.343. But before you go jumping on the Padres to win, consider that "No. 1 starter" Jhoulys Chacin gave up nine runs in 3.1 innings opening day at Dodger Stadium. The thing that could save both their ERA's is the park itself and the 5:40 p.m. PT start time causing some unique shadows.
The other starter to take note of is the Padres' Clayton Richard on Sunday who beat the Dodgers on Tuesday with eight shutout innings after San Diego lost 14-3 the game before. He's going to present value in the first half of the season, especially at a pitchers park like Petco Park.
Boston (2-0) at Detroit (1-1)
Scheduled rotation: Wright vs. Fulmer, Rodriguez vs. Zimmermann, Porcello vs. Norris, Sale vs. Verlander.
On Monday, the fourth game of the series will have newly acquired Chris Sale against Tigers' ace Justin Verlander who comes off a solid spring where he allowed opponents to hit only .208. This past Tuesday in his season debut, he allowed two runs over 6.1 innings in a win against the White Sox.
Chris Sale went seven strong innings at home against the Pirates where at he allowing no runs and three hits over seven innings where the pitching staff let him throw 104 pitches. Boston would win in extra innings.