National League
Phillies @ Cubs
Morgan is 0-2, 8.38 in his last two starts (under 3-2).
Lester is 0-2, 5.79 in his last two starts; three of his last four starts went over.
Phillies lost four of their last six games; under is 5-3 in their last eight. Chicago is 4-6 in its last ten games; over is 7-2 in their last nine Wrigley games.
Cardinals @ Nationals
Garcia is 0-2, 9.82 in his last two starts; under is 5-2-1 in his last eight starts.
Scherzer is 2-1, 2.31 in his last three starts (over 5-3-2).
Cardinals lost four of last five games; over is 5-2-1 in their last eight. Washington won six of its last eight games; over is 3-2-1 in its last six home games.
Dodgers @ Mets
19-year old Urias is making MLB debut; he was 4-1, 1.10 in seven AAA starts. .
deGrom is 0-1, 4.63 in his last four starts (over 4-3).
Dodgers won their last four games; over is 8-3 in their last 11 road games. Mets won five of last six games; over is 5-3 in their last eight games.
Marlins @ Braves
Conley is 1-2, 6.46 in his last three starts, all of which went over.
Perez is 2-1, 2.66 in his last four starts (over 4-2)
Miami is 9-3 in its last 12 road games, last four of which stayed under. Atlanta lost 20 of 22 home games; four of their last five games stayed under total.
Reds @ Brewers
Lamb is 0-2, 5.85 in four starts this year (under 2-1-1).
Davies is 1-0, 3.97 in his last four starts, three of which went over.
Cincinnati lost its last ten games; over is 7-3-1 in their last 11. Milwaukee won its last three games; under is 5-1-1 in their last seven games at Miller Park.
Giants @ Rockies
Cain is 0-1, 1.71 in his last three starts; four of his last six starts went over.
Chatwood is 3-1, 2.70 in his last five starts (under 8-1).
Giants won 13 of last 14 games; their last seven road games stayed under. Colorado is 2-6 in last eight games but they've won last four at home- their last four games went over the total.
Padres @ Diamondbacks
Friedrich is 0-1, 2.89 in two starts this year (over 1-1).
Ray is 1-3, 5.54 in his last five starts (under 5-3-1).
San Diego lost eight of last ten games; under is 6-2 in their last eight road tilts. Arizona lost five of last six games; under is 9-1-1 in their last 11 home games. .
American League
Red Sox @ Blue Jays
Kelly is 2-0, 1.54 in his last three starts, but that covers only 12.1 IP (over 2-2). .
Sanchez is 3-0, 3.12 in his last five starts, three of which stayed under.
Red Sox won five of last seven games; over is 12-3-1 in their last 16 games. Toronto is 5-2 in its last seven games; four of last five Toronto home games went over.
Orioles @ Indians
Wright is 3-3, 5.53 in seven starts, last four of which went over. .
Bauer is 0-2, 5.40 in his last two starts (under 3-2).
Baltimore lost its last four games; nine of its last 12 road games stayed under the total. Indians won eight of last 11 games; over is 9-3 in their last 12 home games.
Bronx @ Rays
Tanaka is 1-0, 3.32 in his last six starts; six of his last eight starts stayed under.
Archer is 1-1, 7.71 in his last three starts, all of which went over.
New York won six of last eight games, but lost last two; under is 9-4-1 in their last 14 road games. Rays lost five of last six games; under is 16-5 in their last 21 home games.
White Sox @ Royals
Gonzalez is 1-1, 3.31 in his last three starts (over 3-1).
Duffy hasn't allowed a run in two starts, but lasted total of only 7.1 innings, throwing 48-63 pitches in the two games. .
Indians won seven of last ten games; over is 13-6-1 in their last 20 games. White Sox lost ten of last 14 games; six of their last eight games stayed under.
Astros @ Angels
Fiers is 2-1, 3.19 in his last five starts (over 3-1-1).
Shoemaker is 1-0, 2.19 in his last two starts (under 4-2-1 in last seven).
Houston won its last three games; five of its last seven road games went over the total. Angels are 3-8 in last 11 home games; five of their last six home games went over.
Tigers @ A's
Fulmer is 2-0, 4.96 in his last three starts; all five of his starts went over.
Manaea is 1-2, 7.62 in his five starts (over 3-2).
Detroit won seven of its last ten games; over is 8-3 in their last 11 road games. Oakland lost six of last seven games; over is 6-3 in their last nine home games.
Twins @ Mariners
Dean allowed two runs in six IP (95 PT) in his first MLB start.
Hernandez is 2-1, 2.21 in his last three starts (under 7-1-1).
Minnesota lost eight of last ten games; over is 8-2-1 in their last 11 road games. Seattle won six of last seven games; six of their last eight home games went over.
Interleague
Pirates @ Rangers
Niese is 1-2, 5.16 in his last five starts (over 6-3).
Hamels is 2-0, 3.71 in his last four starts; four of his last five starts went over.
Pirates won nine of their last 11 games; their last four games went over. Texas won 11 of last 14 home games; over is 7-3 in their last ten home games.
Teams won-lost records when this pitcher starts:
Phil-Chi-- Morgan 2-3; Lester 6-3
StL-Wsh-- Garcia 4-5; Scherzer 6-4
LA-NY-- Urias 0-0; deGrom 4-3
Mia-Atl-- Conley 5-4; Perez 4-2
Cin-Mil-- Lamb 0-4; Davies 2-5
SF-Col-- Cain 3-6; Chatwood 6-3
SD-Az-- Friedrich 1-1; Ray 3-6
Bos-Tor-- Kelly 3-1; Sanchez 5-4
Balt-Clev-- Wright 4-3; Bauer 2-3
NY-TB-- Tanaka 6-3; Archer 4-6
Chi-KC-- Gonzalez 2-2; Duffy 2-0
Hst-LA-- Fiers 4-4; Shoemaker 2-6
Det-A's-- Fulmer 4-1; Manaea 2-3
Min-Sea-- Dean 1-0; Hernandez 5-4
Pitt-Tex-- Niese 6-3; Hamels 7-2
Starting pitchers allowing 1+ runs in first inning:
Phil-Chi-- Morgan 0-5; Lester 1-9
StL-Wsh-- Garcia 2-9; Scherzer 5-10
LA-NY-- Urias 0-0; deGrom 2-7
Mia-Atl-- Conley 3-9; Perez 2-6
Cin-Mil-- Lamb 2-4; Davies 2-7
SF-Col-- Cain 2-7; Chatwood 2-9
SD-Az-- Friedrich 1-2; Ray 0-9
Bos-Tor-- Kelly 1-3; Sanchez 2-9
Balt-Clev-- Wright 1-7; Bauer 1-5
NY-TB-- Tanaka 1-9; Archer 5-10
Chi-KC-- Gonzalez 3-4; Duffy 0-2
Hst-LA-- Fiers 2-8; Shoemaker 3-8
Det-A's-- Fulmer 2-5; Manaea 1-5
Min-Sea-- Dean 0-1; Hernandez 0-9
Pitt-Tex-- Niese 2-9; Hamels 2-9
Armadillosports.com
Friday's Diamond Notes
By Tony Mejia
VegasInsider.com
Hottest team: Giants (8-0 last last eight, 13-1 last 14)
San Francisco became just the second team to 30 wins behind the Cubs after Wednesday's win over San Diego and has held opposing lineups to three runs or fewer in 13 of its last 14. The pitching has been fantastic, helping mask hamstring injuries to outfielders Hunter Pence and Angel Pagan. Pence is questionable tonight, as is 1B Brandon Belt, who suffered an ankle injury last time out.
Matt Cain (1-5, 5.37 ERA) will look to get the Giants off on the right foot as they begin a 10-game road trip in Colorado. He's given up just two runs in the last 13 innings, shaking off a terrible start.
Coldest team: Reds (0-10 last 10, 1-13 last 14)
The Reds haven't won a series outright since taking two of three from the Rockies on April 20. They've scored more than two runs only once in their last five games, and you have to figure manager Bryan Price has to be on the hot seat with his team sporting baseball's third-worst record. Since taking over for Dusty Baker, he's 61 games under .500 over the last two-plus years. Cincinnati is 12-15 at home as opposed to 3-17 on the road, so we'll see if getting back into town helps its cause. Lefty John Lamb (0-2, 5.40) takes the mound and has pitched in just two Reds wins over his 14 career starts.
Hottest pitcher: Felix Hernandez (4-3, 2.21 ERA)
King Felix has won three of his last four decisions and blanked Cincinnati over six innings in his last outing, an eventual 4-0 win. Since opening the month with a rocky start where he gave up eight runs (four earned) in just four innings at Oakland, Hernandez has allowed just five runs in the last 20.1. He's been great a Safeco Field this season, going 2-1 with a 1.55 ERA and a WHIP of 0.97, striking out 27 batters over 29 innings while walking only five.
Coldest pitcher: Sean Manaea (1-2, 7.62 ERA)
The 24-year-old lefty came into the season as one of Oakland's most prized prospects, but he's yet to get comfortable at the big league level. He's surrendered fewer than four runs only once in his five major-league starts and comes off a 5-1 home loss to the Yankees last weekend. On the bright side, Manaea hasn't given up a homer in his last 13 innings-plus, a positive sign since he surrendered four in his first 12.2.
Biggest UNDER run: Brewers (11-2-1 last 14)
Milwaukee pushed across a pair of runs in the top of the 9th on a Hernan Perez triple, but wound up stranding him and getting the final outs to push on last night’s total (8.) in a 6-2 win over the Braves at Turner Field. Since May 11, there’s only been one instance where the Brewers and their opponent have combined for over 10 runs. In contrast, either Milwaukee or its opponent have come up with two runs or fewer on 11 occasions in that same span. The Brewers return home from a six-game road trip to welcome the Reds into town this weekend. The teams split a four-game set in Cincinnati early this month and saw three of the matchups soar ‘over’ the posted total. Zach Davies (1-3, 5.75) takes the mound for Milwaukee. Only two of his seven starts this season have gone ‘under.’
Biggest OVER run: Cardinals (6-2 last 8.)
The Cardinals only managed an Aldemys Diaz fourth-inning home run against Joe Ross and the Nationals bullpen in last night’s series opener, but have been involved in games where there have been 15 or more runs scored in four of the last eight. They’ll look to fare better against Max Scherzer (5-3, 3.80) than they did the first time they saw him this season since he blanked them over seven innings in a 6-1 loss on May 1. With St. Louis sending Jaime Garcia (3-4, 3.59) to the mound as he looks to end a personal two-game losing streak, that looks like the night’s top pitching matchup, so we’ll see if the high-scoring games continue or follow last night’s lead with runs drying up.
Matchup to watch: Dodgers at Mets
Games between L.A. and New York are always exciting, especially when both teams are above .500 and in contention as is the case this season approaching the 50-game mark. These teams will be playing for the final time this regular season after splitting a four-game set at Chavez Ravine earlier this month. Tonight's starter, Jacob deGrom, pitched seven innings of two-run ball and got a no-decision in a 3-2 loss on May 10. The Dodgers won it on a Trayce Thompson walk-off homer in the bottom of the 9th and come into this one with a season-high four-game win streak. 19-year-old Mexican lefty Julio Urias will make his major-league debut tonight after being promoted earlier this week and is considered one of the organization's top prospects.
Betcha didn’t know: Cole Hamels (5-0, 2.83) is 12-1 for the Rangers since being acquired from Philadelphia in last July of last season. Texas won the last 10 regular-season games he pitched in during 2015 and has opened this season 7-2 in games he starts. He struck out 11 batters in Sunday's 9-2 rout of Houston, working a season-high eight innings and struck out 21 Pirates while walking just two over 14 innings last year, surrendering just two runs while pitching for the Phillies.
Biggest public favorite: Marlins (-135) at Braves
Biggest public underdog: Angels (+105) vs. Astros
Biggest line move: Tigers (-110 to -132) at A's
Cards, Nats open series in D.C.
By Sportsbook.ag
ST. LOUIS CARDINALS (24-24) at WASHINGTON NATIONALS (29-19)
Sportsbook.ag Line: St. Louis +150, Washington -160, Total: 7.0
The Cardinals will be hoping to avoid a fourth straight loss when they face the Nationals in Washington on Friday.
The Cardinals have hit a bit of a cold stretch, as they have now lost three straight games and four of their past five as well. They’ll be looking to get back on track against a Nationals team that has now won six of its past nine contests.
The starting pitchers in this one are set to be LHP Jaime Garcia (3-4, 3.59 ERA, 51 K) for St. Louis and RHP Max Scherzer (5-3, 3,80 ERA, 84 K) for Washington.
Both have been very solid this season, so this game could turn into a pitcher’s duel. Washington has gotten the best of this head-to-head series on the season, going 4-0 against the money line versus St. Louis on the year.
One trend that sticks out when looking at this game is that the Cardinals are 23-6 against the money line after a one run loss over the past two seasons.
They are, however, a miserable 5-12 against the money line when the total is seven or less this season.
The Cardinals will be trying to end their recent struggles on Friday and Jaime Garcia is going to be the guy that is sent out there to do that. Garcia is coming off of a brutal start against the Diamondbacks on May 22, allowing 10 hits and five earned runs in just 2.1 innings of work.
He has now allowed eight earned runs in his past 7.1 innings on the mound and he’ll need to turn it around on Friday as well.
The last time he faced Washington, Garcia allowed four earned runs in 6.1 innings. He walked three batters in that game and will need to clean things up this time around.
Offensively, the guys to keep an eye on for St. Louis are OF Stephen Piscotty (.326 BA, 5 HR, 26 RBI) and 1B Matt Adams (.320 BA, 6 HR, 21 RBI).
Both of these guys have been hitting the ball pretty well lately, as Piscotty has seen his average rise from .307 to .326 since May 17 and Adams has homered three times in the past seven contests.
Both guys will be counted on to provide some run support for Garcia in this one.
Max Scherzer has been pitching well for the Nationals lately, as he has now allowed just six earned runs in his past 23.1 innings on the mound. The truly absurd thing to point out is that he has struck out a total of 38 batters in his last three starts.
He’ll be looking to dominate the Cardinals on Friday and he should be able to do it, as he allowed zero earned runs in seven innings of work against them on May 1.
Scherzer struck out nine batters in that game and walked none, so he should be confident coming into this one.
The bats to keep an eye on for the Nationals are going to be OFs Bryce Harper (.245 BA, 12 HR, 32 RBI) and Jayson Werth (.224 BA, 6 HR, 20 RBI), as well as 2B Daniel Murphy (.394 BA, 7 HR, 30 RBI).
Harper is a threat to go yard whenever he is at the plate, so Garcia will be very careful when pitching to him. Werth, meanwhile, is 6-for-20 with two homers and six RBI against Garcia in his career.
The last player mentioned was Murphy, but he just might be the most dangerous of the three in this one. He has gotten two hits in five of the past eight games and has been the best hitter in the league all season. Murphy will be hoping to provide a spark on Friday.