National League
Pirates @ Nationals
Pirates won nine of last 11 games, are 10-6 in road series openers. Four of their last five games went over total. Washington won four of last five games, is 9-4 in home series openers. Five of last seven National games stayed under.
Mets @ Phillies
Mets lost seven of last nine road games, are 7-6 in road series openers. Five of last six New York games stayed under. Philly won 10 of last 13 games, is 4-10 in first game of a home series. Under is 6-2-1 in last nine Philly home games.
Brewers @ Reds
Brewers lost seven of last ten games, are 5-9 in road series openers. Under is 4-1-1 in last six Milwaukee games. Cincinnati lost seven of last eight home games, is 6-8 in first game of a home series. Over is 13-6 in Reds' last nineteen games.
Rockies @ Braves
Rockies lost six of last seven road games, are 3-6 in last nine road series openers. Under is 8-3 in last 11 Colorado games. Atlanta won three of last four games, is 5-2 in its last seven road series openers. Under is 5-3 in Braves' last eight games.
Marlins @ Cardinals
Marlins won four of last five games, are 8-6 in road series openers. Over is 15-4 in last 19 Miami road games. St Louis won three of last four games, is 5-10 in openers of home series. Under is 8-2-2 in Cardinals' last twelve games.
Dodgers @ Diamondbacks
Dodgers won 10 of last 14 games, are 4-10 in road series openers. Under is 7-3 in last 10 LA games. Arizona lost 12 of its last 14 games, is 3-12 in home series openers. Over is 6-0-1 in their last seven home games.
Giants @ Padres
Giants won eight of last ten games, are 8-6 in road series openers. Over is 5-2-1 in last eight Giant road games. San Diego lost its last three games, is 9-6 in openers of a home series. Nine of last ten games at Petco Park went over the total.
American League
Red Sox @ New York
Red Sox won six of last seven games, are 8-5 in road series openers. Over is 5-2-1 in last eight Boston games. New York won three of its last four games, is 7-6 in home series openers. Seven of last eight Bronx games went over the total.
Royals @ Tigers
Royals lost six of last seven games, are 4-11 in road series openers. Five of last seven KC games stayed under the total. Detroit lost five of last seven games, is 7-6 in home series openers; seven of its last nine games stayed under total.
Orioles @ Rays
Orioles won four of last five games, are 7-7 in road series openers. Four of O's last five road games went over total. Tampa Bay lost 22 of last 25 games; they're 6-9 in home series openers. Six of Rays' last nine games stayed under the total.
Indians @ Twins
Indians lost four of last five games, are 9-6 in road series openers. Eight of last nine Tribe games went over the total. Minnesota won seven of last nine games; over is 20-6 in their last 26 home games. Twins are 6-9 in home series openers.
White Sox @ Angels
White Sox won five of last seven road tilts, are 1-5 in last six road series openers. Under is 7-4 in their last 11 road games. Angels lost six of last seven home games, are 5-9 in home series openers. Nine of Halos' last 11 home games went over the total.
Blue Jays @ A's
Blue Jays won eight of last nine games, are 9-5 in road series openers. Six of Toronto's last seven games stayed under. Oakland lost 10 of last 13 home games, but won four of last five home series openers. Four of A's last five games stayed under the total.
Astros @ Mariners
Astros won five of last seven games, are 6-8 in road series openers. Under is 11-3 in last 14 Houston road games. Seattle lost five of last seven games but won four home games in row; they're 8-6 in home series openers. Five of last seven Seattle games stayed under.
Interleague
Rangers @ Cubs
Texas lost nine of last 12 games, are 8-6 in road series openers. Over is 8-0-1 in last nine Ranger games. Cubs lost nine of last 11 games, are 11-3 in home series openers. Over is 13-3-1 in Chicago's last 17 games.
Armadillosports.com
MLB: Streak, Tips, Notes
Sportspic.com
Toronto Blue Jays at Oakland Athletics
Oakland Athletics and Toronto Blue Jays meet in the first of a three-game series to open the second half. Probable starter for Oakland will be lefty Rich Hill who has a 9-3 record, 2.25 ERA and has won six of his last seven starts allowing two or fewer runs six times over the span. Hill is 1-0 in three career starts vs Toronto with his teams 3-0 (Bos,Bal).
Right-hander Marcus Stroman toes the rubber for John Gibbons's team. Stroman spinning one of his finest outings of the season last effort tossing 8 innings of 3 hit, 2 run ball brings to the mound a 7-4 record, 4.89 ERA. Stoman has faced Oakland once in his career blanking A's over seven but was tagged with a no-decision as Jays lost 1-zip in extras.
As a team Toronto has had success vs Oakland. The Blue Jays won two meetings earlier this season north of the border and have been on the right side in 7 of the past 9 encounters.
Oakland has had its problems of late in front of the home audience, A's have lost four straight, five of six and seven of nine. Rich Hill has been part of the problem going 2-3 with a 3.45 ERA over six starts (2-4 TSR) as compared to a perfect 7-0 with a 1.41 ERA in his away games. One final betting nugget. Oakland off a loss at Houston before the break does not bode well for the team, since A's are 0-6 following a loss the previous effort.
Yankees - Red Sox Resume Rivalry
Sportspic.com
The New York Yankees (44-44, -$457) and Boston Red Sox (49-38, +$19) meet in a three-game series at Yankee Stadium this weekend. This will be the seventh meeting of the 2016 season in this never-lacking-for-hype rivalry with Red Sox holding the upper hand winning four of the six meetings.
Yankees' open the series handing the ball to Michael Pineda. The right-hander carrying a 3-8 record, 5.38 ERA to the hill is 4-3 in eight New York starts vs Boston (5-3 TSR) but enters 0-2 in his last three with a 1-2 Team Start Record. Pineda also enters the contest on a 0-6 skid in his last nine vs a division opponent (2-7 TSR). Bosox counter with Eduardo Rodriguez. The left-hander back from Triple-A Pawtucket is 1-3 with a 8.59 ERA in six starts but has a solid 3-1 life-time record vs New York.
Saturday, Yankees' lefty C.C. Sabathia will trade pitches with Red Sox knuckler Steven Wright. Sabathia winless in his last four starts (2-2 TSR) takes a 5-6 record, 3.77 ERA to the mound. The veteran southpaw is 2-0 in his last four vs Red Sox (4-0 TSR), 10-8 the past 25 wearing a Yankee uniform (13-12 TSR). On the other bump, Wright (11-4, 10-7 TSR) has been light's out giving up two earned runs or fewer in 11 of his 17 starts and heads to the mound undefeated in his last nine trips to the mound with Red Sox 7-2 over the span. Wright carries a 2-0 streak vs Yankees including a complete-game masterpiece earlier this season.
In Sunday's finale it's Masahiro Tanaka toes the rubber for Yankees. The right-hander undefeated in his last five starts (5-0 TSR) is 6-2 on the campaign with a 3.23 ERA. Tanaka has made eight career starts against the Red Sox, sporting a 4-2 record and 4-4 Team Start Record in those eight games. Well to note, Yankees have a 5-0 streak at home w/Tanaka, 6-1 stretch in his last seven July starts overall. Lefty David Price gets the start for Boston. Price not exactly having a banner year at 9-6 with a 4.34 ERA is 1-1 vs Yankees since joining Red Sox and will be looking to make amends for the last start at this venue where he was shelled for 6 runs over 4 2/3 innings in a Boston 8-2 loss. On a possitive note, that loss in Yankee Stadium was his first in nine trips to New York with Bos, Tor, Det, TB.
Friday's Diamond Notes
By Kevin Rogers
VegasInsider.com
Hottest team: Dodgers (7-3 last 10)
Los Angeles closed out the first half by winning the final three contests of a four-game set with San Diego. The Dodgers are hitting the road for the first time this month as L.A. has won three of its past four games away from Chavez Ravine. Recently acquired Bud Norris makes his third start for the Dodgers, as the right-hander has allowed three runs or less in each of his seven outings (five with the Braves). Los Angeles travels to Arizona on Friday as the Dodgers own a 4-2 record against the D-backs this season.
Coldest team: Royals (3-7 last 10)
Although Kansas City split its final series of the first half against Seattle, the Royals have flopped to a 16-30 record on the highway, which is second-worst in the American League. The Royals have work to do if they want to return to their third straight World Series, as the defending champions begin the second half seven games behind the Indians in the AL Central. Since grabbing a pair of games at St. Louis in late June, the Royals have put together a 1-5 road record in July as they venture to Detroit for a weekend series. The task won’t be easy for Friday’s starter, right-hander Ian Kennedy, who is winless in his last five road outings.
Hottest pitcher: Hector Santiago, Angels (6-4, 4.58 ERA)
Following a rough May, the Los Angeles southpaw has stepped up of late by allowing one earned run or less in three of his last four starts. Santiago is coming off one of his best outings of the season at Tampa Bay, yielding three hits and striking out nine in seven scoreless innings of a 5-1 victory. The Angels own a 3-1 record in his previous four home starts as he faces the White Sox on Friday. Santiago put together his best performance of the season at Chicago on April 18, striking out 10 in seven scoreless innings of a 7-0 shutout.
Coldest pitcher: Chris Archer, Rays (4-12, 4.66 ERA)
The Tampa Bay right-hander lost 13 decisions last season, but has already dropped 12 in the first half of 2016. Archer has solid strikeout numbers (130), while walking only 48 batters. However, Archer last picked up a victory on June 6 at Arizona in a 6-4 triumph, as the Rays are 0-6 in his last six trips to the mound. Archer and the Rays finished the first half with 1-10 record to sink to the bottom of the AL East, as Tampa Bay hosts Baltimore. The Orioles swept a four-game series from the Rays last month, but Archer shut down Baltimore the last time he faced them in a 2-0 home victory on April 25.
Biggest UNDER run: Blue Jays (5-0 last five)
The Dodgers and Blue Jays are tied for the most ‘unders’ in the first half of the season with 52. Toronto closed the first half with an 8-1 mark the last nine games, while allowing three runs or less in seven of the past eight contests. The Jays haven’t played a road game since June 29, as they are riding a five-game streak to the ‘under.’ Toronto has scored more runs on the highway recently, going 7-4 to the ‘over’ in the past 11 contests away from Rogers Center.
Biggest OVER run: Twins (6-2-1 last nine)
Minnesota closed out the first half in surprising fashion, winning seven of its final nine games following a disastrous start to the season. The Twins scored plenty of runs during this hot stretch, including double-digit runs four times. Minnesota’s bats caught fire in Texas in the final series prior to the All-Star break, plating 40 runs in a four-game set in Arlington, while hitting the ‘over’ three times. The Twins host the Indians to start the second half, winning four of six matchups against the AL Central leaders. Minnesota scored at least five runs in each of the past five matchups, but face right-hander Carlos Carrasco for the first time this season.
Matchup to watch: Red Sox vs. Yankees
New York finished the first half by winning three of four games at Cleveland to pull to .500 as the Yankees battle the hated Red Sox on Friday. The Sox have won six of seven since allowing 21 runs to the Angels on July 2, while picking up home series victories over the Rangers and Rays. These rivals haven’t met in over two months, as the Red Sox swept the Yankees at Fenway Park in late April before the Bronx Bombers grabbed two of three at home the following week. Michael Pineda takes the mound for New York in the opener, as the right-hander is coming off a rough outing in his last start at Chicago by allowing five earned runs in a 5-0 loss to the White Sox on July 6.
Betcha didn’t know: Playing away from Coors Field has affected Colorado’s offense recently, as the Rockies have scored one run or less in five of the past six road games. Colorado heads to Atlanta on Friday, as the Rockies have dropped nine of their previous 12 away contests. However, the Rockies captured six of seven matchups from the Braves last season, while scoring 11 runs in the final two victories at Turner Field.
Biggest public favorite: Giants (-200) at Padres
Biggest public underdog: White Sox (+115) at Angels
Royals, Tigers square off
By Sportsbook.ag
KANSAS CITY ROYALS (45-43) at DETROIT TIGERS (46-43)
Sportsbook.ag Line: Kansas City +135, Detroit -155, Total: 8.5
Both the Royals and the Tigers will be looking to come out of the break with a victory when they meet in Detroit on Friday.
The Tigers currently sit in second place in the AL Central, but they are only .5 games ahead of the Royals. Both of these teams will be looking to really get going in the second half of the year, but Kansas City needs to do some soul searching.
The Royals won the World Series last year, but they entered the All-Star break as losers in seven of their past 10 games. A road win against the Tigers could get them going, and it’s not unlikely. Kansas City has been dominant against division rivals this season, going 21-11 against Central opponents on the year.
The starters in this game are set to be RHP Ian Kennedy (6-7, 3.97 ERA 103 K) for the Royals and RHP Justin Verlander (8-6, 4.07 ERA, 120 K) for the Tigers. One thing that sticks out when looking at this game is that the Royals have struggled on the road this season, going just 16-30 against the money line when playing away from home. The Tigers, meanwhile, are a solid 23-16 against the money line at home and should be feeling confident coming into this one.
The Royals are hoping to turn things around in the second half of the season and Ian Kennedy will be the guy looking to help them get it started on Friday. Kennedy pitched pretty well heading into the break, allowing just six earned runs in 18.0 innings of work over his past three starts. He was missing a ton of bats in those games, as he struck out 29 batters in those three outings.
Kennedy should also be confident facing this Tigers team as well. In his lone meeting with Detroit this season, Kennedy allowed just two earned runs in 6.1 innings of work. He struck out seven batters in that appearance and will be hoping for another performance like that on Friday.
Some guys to watch out for offensively in this game are 1B Eric Hosmer (.299, 13 HR, 49 RBI), DH Kendrys Morales (.258, 15 HR, 47 RBI) and C Salvador Perez (.283, 14 HR, 41 RBI). Hosmer is coming off of an MVP award winning performance at the All-Star game and should be full of confidence. He is also 19-for-72 with five doubles, a homer and four RBI against Verlander in his career. Morales and Perez, meanwhile, are an impressive 34-for-83 with four homers and 23 RBI combined against the righty.
Justin Verlander will be starting for the Tigers on Friday and he pitched well heading into the break for the Tigers. Over his past two starts, Verlander allowed just three earned runs in 12.2 innings of work. He struck out 13 batters in those games and also did not allow a single homer. He’ll be hoping to pick up where he left off on Friday, but it won’t be easy against this Royals team.
The last time he faced Kansas City, Verlander allowed four earned runs in seven innings. He did, however, allow eight hits and was fortunate to allow as few of runs as he did.
Offensively, two guys to keep an eye on are 1B Miguel Cabrera (.293, 18 HR, 53 RBI) and 2B Ian Kinsler (.289, 16 HR, 52 RBI). The two of them have hit well against Kennedy in their matchups with the pitcher, going a combined 10-for-19 with five doubles and five RBI.
Another guy that should be a factor in this game is OF Cameron Maybin (.341, 2 HR, 24 RBI). Maybin has been a machine since joining Detroit and will be counted on to get on base a few times in this one.
MLB Betting Cheat Sheet
By COvers.com
Have no fear sports bettors! Major League Baseball returns from its All-Star break Friday and we have all the betting notes you need to know, as the second half of the season begins, highlighted by an intriguing interleague matchup.
Who’s Best?
The lone Interleague series of the weekend features the team with the best record in the American League (Texas) against the team that had the best record in all of baseball for much of the first half (Cubs). Both have given a little back in July with the Rangers dropping seven of 10 and the Cubs eight of 10. But what is most interesting to me in handicapping this series is the respective run differentials of the two teams. Chicago is an awesome +139 in runs scored vs. allowed while Texas is a modest +16. Based on those respective run differentials, you’d expect the Cubs to have a record of 59-29 and the Rangers should only be 47-43. Texas will get Yu Darvish back this weekend (Saturday), but I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if this was a losing weekend for them.
Daytime Domination
The Giants are the team with the best record in all of baseball right now. Having Madison Bumgarner certainly helps as does a 20-10 record in one-run games. But an overlooked factor in this team’s very strong first half is that they are 22-9 in day games, easily baseball’s best win percentage in the afternoon. This weekend, the Giants take on the team with the worst record in day games, San Diego, who is 6-23. Circle Sunday’s game as it’s a 1:40 local start time.
Ray of Hope?
Every first place team has a division lead of at least 5.5 games, except one. That would be Baltimore, who is just two games up on both Boston and Toronto in the American League East. The size of the lead alone makes the Orioles the most precarious division leader and I’ve been saying for a while now that I expect this club to fall. My biggest concern is an 18-22 road record (team is 33-14 at home). The O’s start the second half on the road, in Tampa, facing a Rays team that has lost six straight. But I would not be shocked if the home team plays spoiler this weekend. The Rays have revenge from being swept in Camden Yards (four games) last month and are actually favored on the money line for Friday’s opener.
Hitting Notes
When you think about the top offensive teams in all of baseball, the Twins probably don’t come to mind. But they should. Since June 18th, they’ve scored the most runs (140) in all of baseball and have hit 28 home runs since June 26. But a matchup this weekend with Cleveland may slow them down a bit as the Indians have allowed the fewest runs in the American League. That said, Minnesota has scored a total of 32 runs in six games vs. the Tribe this season. They are the top Over team in the American League as well.
Boston possessed the best offense in baseball in the first half (led in runs scored) and they have a ton of individual hitters getting the job done right now. Mookie Betts is batting .408 during an 11-game hitting streak, Dustin Pedroia has reached base safely in 18 consecutive games (batting .315) and Hanley Ramirez is batting .408 his last 14 games. Good luck to Yankees pitching this weekend!
Pitching Notes
ICYMI, there was a pretty significant trade made on Thursday as the Red Sox acquired Drew Pomeranz from San Diego. Pomeranz is a name that regular readers of this column should be familiar with as he has been outstanding for a bad team. Opponents are batting just .184 against him for the season, the second lowest average in the majors. But it is worth noting that the 102 innings he’s logged already mark a career-high for him in any season.
Stephen Strasburg still hasn’t dropped a decision this year (12-0!) and the Nationals have gone 15-1 overall with him starting. Strasburg toes the rubber Friday against Pittsburgh, a team that has gone 8-2 so far in July. Note that the Over is 13-3 in Strasburg’s 16 starts as well. Pittsburgh is one of three teams in baseball to have gone Over in at least 60% of their games this year.
Totals Trend
The Over is 16-9-1 since the start of last season when the Brewers and Reds match up, including a 5-1-1 mark so far in 2016.
Friday's Weather Report
In the first game out the All-Star break the Cubs host the Rangers and there is a 21 percent chance of rain. There will also be a slight 7-10 mile per hour pitchers wind gusting in from left field. The total is currently 8.0.
At Comerica Park in Detroit, there is a 27 percent chance of rain and a chance of thunderstorms in the are as the Tigers host the Royals. The total is currently 8.5.
It could get messy in Atlanta when the Braves host hte Rockies. There is a 53 percent chance of rain and a chance of thunderstorms in the area for the game. The total is currently 8.5.
Hitters could be given a hand in Seattle tonight when the Mariners host the Astros, as winds gusting between 11-14 miles per hour will be gusting out right center field. The total is currently 8.0.