Friday's National League Betting Cheat Sheet
By Covers.com
Arizona Diamondbacks at Philadelphia Phillies (-122, 7.5)
Hot pitching stat: Phillies left-hander Cole Hamels has recorded five straight quality starts, allowing seven runs over 38 innings in that span.
Cold batting stat: Members of the Philadelphia roster are hitting just .235 with one RBI in 17 at-bats against DBacks starter Wade Miley.
Weather: Temperatures will be in the mid-70s under sunny skies. Wind will blow in from left field at 6 mph.
Key betting note: Arizona has won just two of its last 13 visits to Philadelphia.
Colorado Rockies at Miami Marlins (+128, 7.5)
Cold pitching stat: Miami right-hander Tom Koehler dominated Colorado in their last encounter July 22, allowing one run while scattering eight hits over seven innings of a 3-1 triumph.
Hot batting stat: Marlins rookies OF Christian Yelich is 3-for-3 with a pair of RBIs in his career against Colorado starter Jhoulys Chacin.
Weather: With a 30 percent chance of a shower or thunderstorm, the roof at Marlins Park may be closed. Temperatures will be in the mid-80s while the wind will blow from right to left field at 7 mph.
Key betting note: The under is 19-6-2 in Chacin's last 27 road starts.
Milwaukee Brewers at Cincinnati Reds (-182, 8)
Hot pitching stat: Milwaukee right-hander Yovani Gallardo tamed the Reds in their previous meeting Saturday evening, allowing just three hits over 6 1/3 scoreless innings en route to a 2-0 win.
Hot batting stat: Reds 1B Joey Votto is a .310 career hitter with 16 home runs and 60 RBIs in 284 at-bats against Milwaukee.
Weather: Temperatures will be in the mid-70s under partly cloudy skies. Wind will blow in from left field at 5 mph.
Key betting note: Cincinnati is 2-9 in starter Homer Bailey's last 11 outings on four days' rest.
Atlanta Braves at St. Louis Cardinals (-165, 7)
Hot pitching stat: Cardinals right-hander Adam Wainwright is 6-2 with a 3.09 ERA in eight starts and three relief appearances against Atlanta.
Cold batting stat: Atlanta 2B Dan Uggla is 5-for-25 with eight strikeouts all-time against Wainwright.
Weather: Temperatures will be in the mid-80s with partly cloudy skies. Wind will blow in from right field at 6 mph.
Key betting note: The over is 11-2-1 in the Braves' last 14 road games against teams with winning records.
Chicago Cubs at San Diego Padres (-120, 7.5)
Hot pitching stat: Padres right-hander Edinson Volquez has dominated the Cubs in his career, going 5-0 with a 2.76 ERA in seven starts.
Hot batting stat: San Diego 1B Yonder Alonso is 5-for-9 with two doubles and one homer in his career against Chicago starter Edwin Jackson.
Weather: Temperatures will be in the mid-60s under sunny skies. Wind will blow in from left field at 6 mph.
Key betting note: San Diego is 11-1 in Volquez's last 12 starts against the National League Central.
Pittsburgh Pirates at San Francisco Giants (-139, 6.5)
Hot pitching stat: Giants right-hander Madison Bumgarner is 4-3 with a 2.40 ERA and a .192 opposition batting average in 11 home starts.
Cold batting stat: San Francisco 3B Pablo Sandoval has four hits in 21 at-bats against Pirates starter Charlie Morton.
Weather: Temperatures will be in the low-60s with sunny skies. Wind will blow out to center field at 13 mph.
Key betting note: The under is 9-2 in Bumgarner's last 11 starts on grass.
Interleague
Detroit Tigers at New York Mets (+148, OFF)
Hot pitching stat: The Tigers are 3-1 in Doug Fister's four August starts.
Hot batting stat: New York 1B Ike Davis has a .310/.477/.536 slash line in the second half after going just .165/.255/.250 prior to the All-Star break.
Weather: Temperatures will be in the mid-70s with sunny skies. Wind will blow in from center field at 7 mph.
Key betting note: The under is 10-1 in Fister's last 11 outings against teams with losing records.
Boston Red Sox at Los Angeles Dodgers (-115, 7.5)
Cold pitching stat: Dodgers right-hander Ricky Nolasco is 1-2 with an 8.16 ERA in three career outings against the Red Sox.
Hot batting stat: Los Angeles OF Carl Crawford has had Boston starter John Lackey's number, batting .467 with two home runs and nine RBIs in 45 career at-bats against him.
Weather: Temperatures will be in the high-60s with sunny skies. Wind will blow out to center field at 4 mph.
Key betting note: Boston is 80-29 in its last 109 interleague games against a right-handed starter.
Friday's American League Betting Cheat Sheet
By Covers.com
Oakland Athletics at Baltimore Orioles (-129, 9)
Cold pitching stat: Athletics right-hander Dan Straily lost his only prior start against Baltimore, allowing four runs over 4 2/3 innings last Sept. 16.
Cold batting stat: Members of the Oakland roster are batting just .216 in 74 at-bats against Orioles starter Bud Norris.
Weather: Temperatures will be in the high-70s with partly cloudy skies. Wind will blow in from left field at 6 mph.
Key betting note: Oakland is 20-8 in its last 28 series-opening games.
Minnesota Twins at Cleveland Indians (-157, 8.5)
Cold pitching stat: Twins right-hander Samuel Deduno was rocked in his last start against Cleveland on Aug. 13, charged with five runs on five hits over six innings of a 5-2 loss.
Cold batting stat: Indians 3B Lonnie Chisenhall is hitting just .136 with one home run and three RBIs in August.
Weather: Temperatures will be in the high-60s with sunny skies. Wind will blow in from center field at 6 mph.
Key betting note: The under is 10-1-1 in Deduno's last 12 starts against the American League Central.
New York Yankees at Tampa Bay Rays (-115, 7)
Cold pitching stat: Yankees right-hander Hiroki Kuroda is 1-2 with a 6.11 ERA - his highest against any major-league team other than the Yankees - in three starts versus the Rays.
Hot batting stat: New York OF Brett Gardner is batting .300 with four doubles and two homers in 50 at-bats against Tampa Bay this season.
Weather: Dome.
Key betting note: The under is 22-4-1 in Kuroda's last 27 road starts.
Toronto Blue Jays at Houston Astros (+124, 8.5)
Hot pitching stat: Toronto right-hander Todd Redmond hasn't registered a decision since July 7, but has a 2.70 ERA over his last five outings.
Cold batting stat: Astros hitters have struck out a league-high 1,195 times this season - over 100 times more than the next closest team.
Weather: Temperatures will be in the mid-80s with a 35 percent chance of showers or thunderstorms. Wind will blow out to left-center field at 11 mph.
Key betting note: The over is 6-0 in the Blue Jays' last six Friday games.
Texas Rangers at Chicago White Sox (-116, 7.5)
Hot pitching stat: White Sox left-hander Chris Sale has won three consecutive starts, surrendering five runs over 23 1/3 innings in that span.
Hot batting stat: Rangers SS Adam Rosales is 4-for-7 with a homer against Sale.
Weather: Temperatures will be in the mid-60s under sunny skies. Wind will blow from left to right field at 6 mph.
Key betting note: Texas has lost five straight games in Chicago.
Los Angeles Angels at Seattle Mariners (-178, 7)
Cold pitching stat: Mariners right-hander Felix Hernandez has struggled against the Angels in his career, going 8-12 with a 3.97 ERA - nearly a run higher than his career mark.
Hot batting stat: Seattle 2B Dustin Ackley is batting .309 since the All-Star break after hitting just .205 in the first half.
Weather: Temperatures will be in the high-60s with mostly cloudy skies. Wind will blow out to center field at 6 mph.
Key betting note: Seattle has won 14 of its last 17 games against divisional opponents.
Interleague
Washington Nationals at Kansas City Royals (-104, 7)
Cold pitching stat: Royals right-hander Bruce Chen is coming off his worst outing of the season, getting torched for six runs on eight hits over 5 1/3 innings in a 6-3 loss to Detroit.
batting stat: Kansas City DH Billy Butler is just 3-for-15 lifetime against Nationals starter Gio Gonzalez.
Weather: Temperatures will be in the mid-80s with partly cloudy skies. Wind will blow from right to left field at 6 mph.
Key betting note: The under is 4-0-2 in the Royals' last six interleague home games.
Friday's Interleague Action
By Kevin Rogers
VegasInsider.com
Tigers at Mets
Probables: D. Fister (10-6, 3.63 ERA) vs. D. Matsuzaka (NR)
Previous series recap: Detroit dropped two of three to struggling Minnesota, including Thursday's 7-6 defeat as $2.60 home favorites. The Tigers still control the AL Central, while wrapping up their eight-game homestand at 4-4. The Mets split a pair of games with the Braves, while losing the finale in extra innings on Wednesday, 4-1. New York owns a 4-6 record the last 10 games, as the Mets continue a nine-game homestand.
Pitching notes: The Tigers have won six of Doug Fister's last seven starts, with the lone loss coming as a road favorite against the White Sox on August 12. Detroit is 2-1 in Fister's three interleague starts, but the defeat came at Pittsburgh in 12 innings, in spite of the right-hander striking out 12 batters in seven innings. The 'over' is 4-1 in Fister's past five road outings, as the Tigers have allowed at least five runs in four of those contests.
The return of Daisuke Matsuzaka is finally here as the former Red Sox hurler makes his first start since last October. Dice-K spent time in the Indians' minor league system before getting released and ultimately landing with the Mets, as the righty gave up 25 earned runs in his final five starts as a member of the Red Sox to wrap up 2012.
Nationals at Royals
Probables: G. Gonzalez (7-6, 3.38 ERA) vs. B. Chen (5-1, 2.20 ERA)
Previous series recap: Washington grabbed three of four from Chicago, while holding off the Cubs on Thursday, 5-4 in 13 innings. The Cubs scored three runs in the ninth inning to force extra innings, but the Nationals came through in the 13th to win three consecutive road games for the first time this season. Kansas City's playoff hopes are fading by the day after the Royals were swept at home by the White Sox, capped off by a 12-inning defeat last night as $1.70 favorites.
Pitching notes: The Nationals have lost to the Braves five times when Gio Gonzalez took the mound, but the team is 14-6 when the southpaw faces anybody other than the Braves. However, the Nats are 0-4 in Gonzalez's four interleague starts, including road defeats at Detroit and Cleveland. The 'under' is 5-2 in Gonzalez's past seven starts overall, while the Nats are 1-4 in his last five outings as a road underdog.
Bruce Chen finally suffered a poor start in his last outing at Detroit, allowing six earned runs, two more runs than he allowed in the previous five starts combined. The Royals' southpaw is 6-1 to the 'under' in seven starts, including 'unders' in all three home starts. Chen faces a Washington lineup that has struggled against left-handed pitching, hitting just .223 this season.
Red Sox at Dodgers
Probables: J. Lackey (8-10, 3.22 ERA) vs. R. Nolasco (9-9, 3.60 ERA)
Previous series recap: Boston has alternated wins and losses in each of his last six games, while beating San Francisco in two of three contests. The Sox haven't won consecutive road games in their last four tries, while the 'under' is 6-1-1 in the past eight road contests. The Dodgers continue to stay hot after winning three of four games at Miami, improving to 9-0-1 in the last 10 series since the All-Star break.
Pitching notes: John Lackey shut down the Yankees in his last trip to the mound, scattering six hits and allowing one earned run in 6.2 innings of a 6-1 home victory. The Sox are 11-1 to the 'under' in Lackey's last 12 starts, including a run of seven straight 'unders' on the highway. However, Boston owns a 1-5 mark in Lackey's past six starts away from Fenway Park.
Ricky Nolasco has turned into a nice complimentary piece to this Dodgers' rotation, as Los Angeles has won six of his eight starts since getting acquired from Miami. Nolasco is making only his third home start in this stretch, splitting his first two outings at Dodger Stadium with a loss to the Rockies and a win over the Mets. The right-hander lost twice to the Red Sox last season, allowing 12 earned runs in just 9.1 innings or work.
MLB Odds and Picks - Sales looks to cool off Rangers
By: The Linemakers
Sportingnews.com
Before making baseball wagers for the day, it's always a good idea to take notice of streaking teams -- whether they're winning or losing -- and then go into the handicapping mode of the pitchers while keeping the streaks in the back of your mind. A good starting point is to take notice of streaks of at least three games. A bettor should factor a streak into any price, which is already considering the starting pitchers and expected lineups.
We've got a couple of streaks going right now with the White Sox winning six in a row and the Yankees winning five straight, while the Blue Jays and Royals have each dropped five in a row and the Angels appear to have completely given up by losing four straight and nine of their last 11. Lesser streaks include the Indians, Nationals, Dodgers and Rangers, all of whom have won three straight, while the Cubs, Marlins and Astros have all lost three in a row.
Two of the teams on that list meet, Washington and Kansas City, and they're going in opposite directions -- the Nats are winning and the Royals losing. Then we have the suddenly hot White Sox as a short -123 favorite behind Chris Sale facing the Rangers, who have been hot for over a month. On the lose-lose end of it, there's Toronto as a -137 favorite at Houston, holders of baseball's worst record at 41-85.
Ride the Sox or Rangers streak?
The Rangers are tough team to go against, even with Sale (9-11, 2.78 ERA) winning his past three games while compiling a 1.98 ERA. In Sale's previous 11 outings, he went 1-9, despite a respectable 3.23 ERA and striking out 94 batters in 78 innings. The big reason he didn't get more wins is simply because his squad didn't hit for him -- or anyone for that matter. He ranks last in the majors among qualified starters with only a 2.9 run-support average.
We thought that the Rangers would be affected greatly by losing Nelson Cruz for the regular season with a 50-game suspension for use of performance enhancing drugs. Really, how can a team contending for a division not miss 27 homers in their lineup? But they haven't. In fact they've been better than ever, going 12-3 since the suspension came down and averaging 6.3 runs a game. The Rangers can tie a club record with their ninth straight road win with a victory tonight.
Sale has been very good against the Rangers over his career, going 3-0 with a 3.48 ERA. On May 1, he allowed only two runs in seven innings during a 5-2 win at Texas. That seems hard to go against, especially with the streak the Sox (and Sale) are on. However, we can discount the Sox run a little based on their opponents. They started the streak last week at Minnesota and carried it over into Kansas City, a team that has run out of gas.
We don't get many opportunities to back the Rangers at plus-money, and while Sale is a major hurdle, the Rangers have plenty of positives going with tonight's starter, lefthander Martin Perez, who has won his past three starts. In his last start on Saturday, he beat Felix Hernandez at Seattle and has accumulated a 2.12 ERA over his last four outings.
Big Series for Yankees
In 17 games since Alex Rodriguez returned to the Yankees lineup, they have batted .290 with 21 homers and averaged 5.4 runs a game, which has pulled them within 3.5 games of an AL wild-card spot. There is life again in the Yankees bats, something we haven't consistently seen since the end of the regular season last year. A-Rod has only been a small piece of the equation, but it's a starting point that has stirred this team onto another level of play. Trading for Alfonso Soriano and getting Curtis Granderson back has surely helped, but somehow it almost seems like the swirling controversy around A-Rod has helped revive this team -- as if the clever newspaper headlines in the Post and Daily News have motivated the team.
Tonight, the Yankees start a critical six-game road trip that begins at Tampa Bay, a team that is a half-game behind Boston in the AL East, and a team that is 7-6 against the Yankees this season. If the Yankees can take two out of three this weekend, or even sweep, before heading into sluggish Toronto on Monday, the thought of the Yankees making the playoffs for the 18th time in 20 seasons doesn't seem too far off, and it makes 50-to-1 odds on their World Series futures appear attractive.
Friday's selections:
Rangers (Perez) +113 at White Sox
Yankees (Kuroda) EV at Rays
Nationals (-102) at Royals
Second-half record: 60-55 (+871)