MLB: Streaks, Tips, Notes
Sportspic.com
Pittsburgh Pirates at Milwaukee Brewers
A.J. Burnett (3-4, 2.57 ERA) tries to pitch the Pirates to it's fifth consecutive victory Friday when the club heads into Milwaukee for a weekend series vs Brewers. Burnett has chucked four consecutive 7 inning starts but is just 1-2 over the four games (1-3 TSR) including a loss to the Brewers at PNC Park. Burnett will be opposed by Marco Estrada (3-2, 5.44 ERA) the hurler who shut down Pirates over 7 innings of 1 run ball in that loss. Nothing is going right for Brewers this month as they've posted a 4-16 (-$1217) mark. But, Estrada earning two of those victories gives Milwaukee somewhat of a fighting chance here. Look for Brewers to sink Pirates ship. Brew Crew are on a 6-1 streak at home vs Pirates including 2-0 facing Burnett and a 26-7 (+$1516) stretch hosting Pittsburgh. If that were not enough, Pirates are 1-5 on the road opening a series, 1-4 after a win handing the ball to Burnett, 1-4 in May road starts with the hurler.
Three Pitchers With Value For Under Bettors Friday
By Covers.com
Following a relatively quiet Thursday in the major leagues, action picks up with a full slate of games Friday. There are a number of pitchers taking the hill who have been hot under picks in their most recent starts. Here is a look at three of them.
A.J. Burnett, Pittsburgh Pirates (3-4, 2.57 ERA)
The under is 4-0 in Burnett's last four starts and is 8-2 in his 10 starts this season. The Bucs ace barely gets any run support at all this year as the offense provides him with just 2.60 runs per game.
Burnett gets the ball against the Milwaukee Brewers Friday.
Eric Stults, San Diego Padres (4-3, 4.05 ERA)
The under is 4-0 in the lefty's previous four starts and is 5-1 in his last six. Stults has allowed just seven earned runs in his last four outings. That's good enough for a sparkling 2.39 ERA in that stretch.
The Padres are on the road to face the Arizona Diamondbacks Friday.
Chris Tillman, Baltimore Orioles (3-2, 3.52 ERA)
Tillman has also been pitching well with the under going 4-0 in his last four starts. The O's supply Tillman with the 10th lowest run support total in the American League with just 3.56 runs per start.
Tillman and the Orioles are in Toronto to face the Blue Jays Friday.
MLB Odds and Picks
By: The Linemakers
Sportingnews.com
The Indians are coming off an emotional 12-3 win at Boston last night where manager Terry Francona made a triumphant return in his first game at Fenway Park against the team he led to two World Series championships. The Red Sox organization showed Francona respect prior to the game by offering a video montage that the Sox faithful loved, but, more importantly, it also got his own players even more motivated to get their skipper the victory.
The win not only kept the Indians (27-19) on top of the AL Central over two-time reigning division champion Detroit by a half-game, it also gave them their 22nd win in their last 31 games. This was a team that finished 68-94 last season and whose season win total posted in Las Vegas for the 2013 season was at 76.5 games.
Everything has gone right for the Indians thus far. We expected the new additions to their batting order to make an impact, and they have by leading the majors with a .459 slugging percentage and scoring the second-most runs (238). But what we didn’t expect to happen was for the pitching to be so good, or at least this consistent.
Tonight, the Indians send out ace Justin Masterson (7-2, 2.83 ERA) against the Red Sox's weakest link in their rotation, John Lackey (2-4, 3.31 ERA). The Indians have won eight of Masterson’s starts this season, and he’s been Cy Young-worthy by not allowing a run in 16 combined innings of work against the Yankees and Mariners in his last two outings. He struck out 20 batters in those two games while allowing only seven hits.
One of his two losses this season came against his former Red Sox teammates on April 17 in Cleveland, where he lasted only five innings and gave up four runs in a 6-3 loss. Masterson also lost at Boston his last time there on May 13, 2012, surrendering six runs in six innings of a 12-1 defeat.
Those last two outings are part of the reason why Masterson is not favored tonight. He was -135 against Alfredo Aceves on April 17 when the Red Sox were in the midst of a seven-game winning streak while also playing with a heavy heart days after the bombings in Boston. Tonight, for some strange reason, Lackey is a -120 favorite.
It may be a little unfair to call Lackey the rotation’s weakest link, even though Felix Doubront has a better record, but the fact remains that the Red Sox have won only two of his six starts this season. He looked solid in his last outing against the Twins, when he didn’t give up an earned run in six innings, but got rocked for five runs 4.1 innings in his previous start at Tampa Bay.
Lackey’s current numbers show his WHIP (1.22) and ERA (3.31) are far better than his first three seasons in Boston. The betting line today suggests he’s back in 2007 form when he dominated for the Angels, which he isn’t.
The Indians also get a boost in their lineup with the return of Nick Swisher, who missed the past three games to be with his wife as she gave birth to the couple’s first child, a daughter, which will have him more motivated than ever to give an outstanding effort.
Despite Masterson’s recent struggles with his former team, he’s pitching too well right now not to take a shot at plus-money on the Indians tonight.
Pittsburgh tries to get Milwaukee monkey off its back
The Pirates have won 11 of their last 13 games and are a season-best 11 games over .500. Andrew McCutchen is finally hitting, the starting rotation has been stellar and the bullpen has been one of the best in the majors. However, the Bucs seem to be cursed at Miller Park, having lost 46 of their last 54 games in Milwaukee since 2007.
That trend will be put to a major test tonight as A.J. Burnett (3-4, 2.57 ERA) also tries to stop his own personal losing streak. The two losses the Bucs have had in their outstanding 13-game stretch have come behind Burnett. They've lost three straight behind Burnett, but it wasn't like he got beat up by any of his opponents. He’s allowed an average of only two runs a game in his last three starts, but the Bucs have scored only four runs combined in those games.
Between the Bucs hitting well and Burnett turning in a great outing every time, tonight should be the night the Bucs can start a win streak of their own in Milwaukee. It should help that Brewers starter Marco Estrada (3-2, 5.44 ERA) has a 9.31 ERA in four home starts this season, one of which came against the Pirates on April 30, when he gave up five runs off three homers in five innings.
McCutchen figures to have a lot going in his favor tonight. He’s currently red-hot, going 12-for 26 (.462) in his last six games. In his last 11 games at Miller Park, McCutchen is hitting .435 with five homers and 13 RBIs. Against Estrada in his career, he's 6-for-14 with two homers. If you had to pick one player to be the fantasy stud of the night -- other than the freakish talents of Miguel Cabrera, McCutchen would be your guy.
This is all about taking the value at laying only -110 with the team in better current form, rather than citing their past failures in a certain park. The mounting Miller Park losses are something that weighs on every Pittsburgh player's mind, but they're playing brilliantly right now and that should continue despite the dreary vibe the visitors locker room may present.
Friday’s selections:
Indians (Masterson) +110 at Red Sox
Pirates (Burnett) -110 at Brewers
Rangers (Grimm) -130 at Mariners
Angels (Vargas) -120 at RoyalsY
ankees (Phelps) EV at Rays
Blue Jays (Nolin) +108 vs. Orioles
Season to date record: 88-77-1 (+1250)