MLB: Streaks, Tips, Notes
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San Francisco Giants at Colorado Rockies
San Francisco Giants try to end an ugly 0-4 skid and 1-6 slide when they visit Colorado Rockies Friday night. Slumping Giants count on Barry Zito (4-5, 4.40 ERA) in the opener while Rockies have Jhoulys Chain (6-3, 3.92 ERA) toeing the rubber. The Giants' southpaw is off a ND tossing 7 innings of 1 run ball in a 2-1 victory over Marlins at home giving the hurler a sharp 8-2 TSR in front of the home crowd. But, this contest is away from AT&T Park where Giants/Zito have demons to conquer. The portsider is 0-4 with an 11.28 ERA on the road with Giants winless over his five starts. On the flip side, Chacin throwing seven scoreless innings last outing heads to the hill on a smart 3-0 streak with a miniscule 1.74 ERA. Chacin is undefeated in seven (5-2 TSR) with his last loss coming against Giants back in May. Colorado has been a good bets at home with their right-hander posting a 6-3 mark but Rockies also have 'Ghosts of the Past' to fear. Rockies are on a 0-6 slide vs their division rival with Chacin touching toe to rubber. So, does SF snaps it's road funk w/Zito or do Rockies win one vs Giants w/Chacin ?? We're going with Colorado getting the elusive win as they've won 3-of-4 at home vs San Francisco, have won 8-of-10 as a home favorite with Chacin. Giants on the other hand not only struggle opening a road series (4-9) but have had trouble busting the win column in divisional road games (8-13).
Chicago at Seattle: Preview & Pick
Baseball handicapping experts are intrigued by a solid pitching matchup that kicks off three-game interleague series between the Seattle Mariners and Chicago Cubs tonight.
According to the current betting odds at Bovada, the Mariners are a -143 MLB pick while the run total sits at just 6.5, a handicapping nod to the quality of the two starters.
Mariners’ righthander Hisashi Iwakuma will get the start, having struggled in his last two outings. However, Iwakuma still has a 7-3 season mark and an ERA of just 2.26, and has this positive trend going for him: when Seattle lost in his previous start, the team has come back to win his next outing six of eight times.
The Mariners have also won eight of the 10 games in which Iwakuma has hurled under the lights at Safeco Field. In addition, his overall numbers at home this year show that he thrives in this venue, putting up a 3-1 record with a 1.46 ERA. Finally, Seattle is 7-3 in both the first game of a series and when it’s a home favorite of under -150 when Iwakuma starts.
Travis Wood will start for the Cubs, bringing a 5-6 record, but just a 2.85 ERA. In an odd scheduling quirk, Wood has only started two road games in the past two months. Since that last start against Miami on April 27, Wood has a 3-5 mark, but in those two starts away from Wrigley, he is 0-2 with a 5.68 ERA.
This season, Chicago is 7-13 when a road underdog of between +100 and +150, and the team is 5-10 under the lights away from home when facing a righthanded starter.
In three of four games this year at home, the Mariners have won with a total under 7 following a game that finished below the number. That number is even better when counting all this games played under those circumstances, giving it a 6-1 mark.
One final season-long trend in Seattle’s favor is a bit long-winded, but no less effective: when any major league team has begun a new series within a homestand, and is favored between -130 and -150 with a run total under 8, it is 8-3 this season.
Iwakuma has been too solid a pitcher to not be able to get back on track in front of the home fans against a rebuilding team. Therefore, the MLB pick should be
Play Seattle -143