Baseball Information
National League
Rockies @ Mets
Gray allowed three runs in four IP (77 PT) in his first MLB start.
Niese is 3-2, 2.38 in his last seven starts; six of his last nine stayed under.
Colorado lost last four games with the Mets; home side won nine of last ten in series, with last four staying under. Rockies won three of last four overall; five of their last six went over total. Mets won eight of last ten games, with six of last seven going over.
Phillies @ Diamondbacks
Harang is 1-7, 7.86 in his last eight starts (over 5-3).
de la Rosa is 3-0, 1.75 in his last four starts; five of his last seven went over.
Phillies are 16-5 in their last 21 games; three of last four went over. Arizona is 4-3 in last three games; last three stayed under. Phils won six of last seven in series; three of last four stayed under the total.
Nationals @ Dodgers
Gonzalez is 4-0, 2.21 in his last seven starts; three of last four went over--- he hasn't gotten an out past 5th inning in his last three starts.
Anderson is 1-1, 2.08 in his last two starts; under is 3-0-1 in his last four.
Washington-Dodgers split last ten games (over 5-5); Nationals lost seven of last ten games (over 7-1 in last eight). Dodgers lost last three games, allowing 24 runs; their last four games all went over.
Reds @ Padres
Holmberg is 1-0, 3.27 in his two starts (over 1-1) this year.
Kennedy is 2-1, 3.12 in his last four starts; eight of his last ten went under.
Cincinnati lost six of last seven games with San Diego; under is 7-3 in last 10 series games. Reds lost four of last five games; their last eight stayed under the total. Padres lost their last six games; over is 9-2 in their last 11.
American League
Tigers @ Royals
Boyd is 1-2, 7.90 in his three starts (under 2-1).
Cueto is 1-1, 2.14 in his last three starts; under is 5-3 in his last eight.
Royals won last three games, all by one run; three of their last four went over the total. Tigers are 5-3 in last eight games with Kansas City; four of last five stayed under the total. Detroit is 4-5 in last nine games (over 2-0-2 last four).
Angels @ White Sox
Shoemaker is 1-0, 0.00 (19 IP) in his last three starts; under is 5-0-1 in his last six starts.
Sale is 1-3, 7.61 in his last four starts; his last three all went over.
Angels won seven of last eight games with the White Sox (over 6-2); Halos won three of last four games overall (under 3-2 in last five). Chicago lost six of last seven games; ten of their last eleven went over the total.
Orioles @ Mariners
Chen is 1-2, 5.46 in his last five starts; under is 7-2-1 in his last ten.
Nuno allowed three runs in 3.2 IP (62 PT) in his only '15 start.
Orioles won five of last seven games with Seattle; seven of last ten in series stayed under total. Baltimore is 4-0 in games following its last four losses; over is 5-3-1 in its last nine games. Mariners won five of last seven games; over is 5-2 in their last seven.
Win-loss records this year for team with this starting pitcher:
Col-NY-- Gray 0-1; Niese 8-13
Phil-Az-- Harang 6-13 (1-10 last 11); de la Rosa 13-9
Wsh-LA-- Gonzalez 12-8; Anderson 11-10
Cin-SD-- Holmberg 1-1; Kennedy 9-11
Det-KC-- Boyd 1-2, 1-0; Cueto 11-10, 0-2
LA-Chi-- Shoemaker 9-10; Sale 12-9
Balt-Sea-- Chen 13-8; Nuno 1-0
Times this starting pitcher allowed a run in first inning:
Col-NY-- Gray 1-1; Niese 7-21
Phil-Az-- Harang 6-19; de la Rosa 6-22
Wsh-LA-- Gonzalez 2-20; Anderson 8-21
Cin-SD-- Holmberg 0-2; Kennedy 8-20
Det-KC-- Boyd 1-3; Cueto 5-21
LA-Chi-- Shoemaker 4-19; Sale 8-21
Balt-Sea-- Chen 6-21; Nuno 1-1
Armadillosports.com
Monday Scouting Edge
By Coach Fletcher
Detroit Tigers at Kansas City Royals
Last Wednesday in what could only be called an upset, Matt Boyd and the Tigers took down Johnny Cueto and the Royals. KC gets a chance for revenge tonight. If the Tigers come out on top again it will also be considered an upset, a huge upset. Boyd is now 1-2 with a 7.90 era on the season. Cueto, who pitched well in the loss, is 7-7 with a 2.69 era. Cueto is also looking for his first win as a Royal despite 2 straight quality starts. Boyd hasn’t been the greatest in the majors, but he had a good season in the minor leagues. Boyd started 19 times and had a 1.65 era. Boyd took it on the chin in his first MLB start going 6 2/3 innings against the Rangers. He gave up 4 earned runs on 9 hits. Boyd didn’t walk anybody and struck out 7. His second start against Boston was hideous at best. He didn’t record an out while giving up 6 hits, 1 walk and 7 earned runs. Of course, those starts occurred when Boyd was in a Toronto uniform. He had a 14.85 era while pitching for the Blue Jays. His 7 inning stint against KC was his first start since being acquired in the David Price trade. He gave up just one run on 7 hits. For those that care about trivia, Boyd is a distant relative of Bob Feller.
Los Angeles Angels at Chicago White Sox
Matt Shoemaker has been outstanding lately while ace Chris Sale has been hit hard in back to back starts. Shoemaker, who was 16-4, last season, started the new season off slowly. But he is making up for it now. Shoemaker has posted a 1.69 era in his last 7 appearances since June 26. He has a 19 inning scoreless streak going. In his last 3 games Shoemaker has allowed just 10 hits and walked 6 while fanning 27. Sale, on the other hand, has had back to back starts where he has given up 7 earned runs and not made it through the 6th inning. In fact Sale’s era over his last 4 starts is 7.61. However, Sale is 3-0 lifetime against the Angels with a 1.45 era.
Philadelphia Phillies at Arizona Diamondbacks
Aaron Harang has really had 2 distinctly different seasons in one this year. At the start of the season, Harang was one of the league’s top pitchers. He had an era of only 2.02 in his first 11 starts. Since then, Harang’s season has gone down-hill fast. Today Harang stands at 5-12 with a 4.11 era. In his last 3 starts Harang has gone 1-2 with a 7.80 era and a whip of 2.467. In his last 7 starts he has gone 1-6 with a 7.38 era. Aaron also went on the DL with plantar fasciitis and since returning he has not pitched more than 5 innings in either of his starts. On July 30 he threw 5 innings against Atlanta giving up 9 hits but only 1 run. In his last start against the Dodgers, Harang was hammered for 7 hits and 4 runs in 5 innings. He also awarded 5 base on balls.
Cincinnati Reds at San Diego Padres
David Holmburg will be the 11th straight rookie pitcher to take the mound for the Reds. After trades sent Johnny Cueto and Mike Leake to other teams, the Reds have gone to an all-rookie rotation. Holmburg’s start is the beginning of the third rotation. Holmburg is 1-0 with a 3.27 era and a 1.18 whip. In his first start against the Pirates Holmburg went 6 innings giving up 2 runs on 5 hits. In his last start against St. Louis Holmburg only allowed 1 hit for the first 5 innings then couldn’t get an out in the 6th and ended up giving up 2 runs on 2 hits. He has walked 3 in both of his starts. The Reds have won 4 of the first 10 games in the rookie rotation. But the offense has not cooperated as they have scored 4 runs or less in their last 9 games which included 3 shut outs.
Monday MLB Preview
By Steve Merril
Rockies @ Mets -- Jon Gray will make his first start outside of Coors Field as the Rockies take on the Mets in New York on Monday night. In his last outing, Gray allowed 3 runs and five hits to the Mariners while only lasting four innings. Now he will face a Mets offense that is only hitting .237 at home and .229 in night games. Colorado took two of three games in Washington, and they’ve scored 19 runs in their last four games overall. Five of Colorado’s last eight losses have come by exactly 1 run, and with a low posted total of 7, I think the Rockies +1.5 runs (-150 or less) is the way to go in this game.
Phillies @ Diamondbacks -- The Phillies are a decent underdog (+150) in this game after starting the second half with a 16-5 record. But Philadelphia is sending Aaron Harang to the mound. He is in poor current form, having allowed 13 runs and 30 hits in his last 15 innings of work. Harang had a couple of rough outings against Arizona last year, giving up 7 runs and 13 hits over 14 innings of work. The two teams split Harang’s two games. Arizona starter Rubby De La Rosa has been fortunate this season. He owns a winning 9-5 record despite a 4.55 ERA in 22 starts. A case can be made for playing against both pitchers in this matchup.
Nationals @ Dodgers -- A lot of times I like to play against a traveling team coming off a Sunday Night Baseball appearance. The Dodgers fit that role as they had to fly back home (coast to coast) after playing in Pittsburgh last night. The problem is that the Nationals just completed a terrible homestand with a losing series to the last place Rockies. Not only that, but Washington is also starting Gio Gonzalez who has a 4.80 ERA and 1.60 WHIP on the road. The Dodgers are in a terrible spot here, and because of that alone, I lean to Washington +120 in this game.
MLB Cheat Sheets: Aug 10-14
By Jesse Schule
Covers.com
The Invincibles
The Toronto Blue Jays have won eight straight, and 11 of their last 12. The only loss during that span was also the only game that Tulowitzki didn't play since coming over from Colorado. David Price has allowed one run on six hits, striking out 18 in 15 innings, winning his first two starts as a Blue Jay. The Jays will host the last place A's in a three game series at Rogers Center starting Tuesday, before welcoming the Yankees to town on Friday.
Houston, We Have A Problem
The Astros can't seem to win on the road. They've dropped six of seven on their current road trip, and now own a record of 23-34 away from home this season. They will be in San Francisco for the final two games of this West Coast swing on Tuesday and Wednesday. The Giants have won eight of their last nine at AT&T Park.
Home Sick
The Chicago White Sox have scored a major league low 175 runs at home at U.S. Cellular Field. They lost 4-of-6 on their most recent home stand, and they've dropped eight of their last 10 overall. The Sox will host the Angels in a home series starting Monday, and they've lost seven of the last eight versus Los Angeles.
Hitting Notes
Joey Votto is tearing up the National League since the All Star break, batting a major league best .414 with four home runs and nine RBIs. He also leads the majors in walks, and he's batting .303 for the season. He's facing Ian Kennedy in Game 1 in San Diego, and he's 5-for-12 with a pair of doubles lifetime versus the veteran.
Josh Donaldson hit his 31st home run of the season in the Bronx on Sunday, and he's now just two off the major league lead behind Nelson Cruz and Mike Trout. He's facing his former team this week, and he's hit .391 over only a combined 23 at bats versus the A's pitching staff. He's hit 20 of his 31 home runs at Rogers Center.
Pitching Notes
Eduardo Rodriguez has been a Jekyll & Hyde pitcher so far for the Red Sox, with dramatic splits in day versus night games. The 22 year old southpaw is 5-1 with a 1.75 ERA at night, but 1-3 with a 9.82 ERA during the day. His next start comes against Miami in a matinee at Marlins Park, and it might also be worth noting that the Fish are batting an NL best .278 versus left-handed pitching.
Gerrit Cole will go for his major league leading 15th win on Wednesday, and the 24 year old boasts a record of 13-1 versus National League teams not named the Cincinnati Reds. For whatever reason, Cole hasn't been able to figure out Cincinnati, going 0-3 with a 5.95 ERA against the Reds this season. His next start comes in St. Louis, and he beat the Cardinals in the only previous meeting this season.
Totals Streak
The Arizona Diamondbacks have played six straight unders at home, and they have failed to reach the total in eight straight as a home favorite. They host Philly in Game 1 of a new series starting Monday, and the Phillies have seen the total come up short in six of their last seven visits to Arizona.
Injury Notes
Jose Fernandez will land on the DL with a sore bicep, and that's a big blow to Miami. The 23 year old triumphantly returned from Tommy John surgery to go 4-0 with a 2.30 ERA in seven starts.
Edwin Encarnacion missed the series finale in New York with a sore finger on his left hand. He's officially listed as day to day, and will likely see action in the home series versus Oakland.
Game of the Day: Nationals at Dodgers
By Covers.com
Washington Nationals at Los Angeles Dodgers (-125, 7)
After a difficult end to a difficult road trip, the Los Angeles Dodgers aim to right the ship at home when they begin a series Monday against Washington. The Dodgers finished 2-4 on their trip - capped by Sunday night's 13-6 loss in a game they once led 5-1 - but still lead by three games in the National League West over the slumping San Francisco Giants.
They may need to press on without second baseman Howie Kendrick, who left Sunday's contest with a left hamstring strain. The Nationals start their second 10-game road trip in a short span and hope this one goes a bit better than the last. That 3-7 excursion dropped Washington into a tie atop the NL East and Sunday's 6-4 loss to Colorado left the club 1 1/2 games behind the New York Mets. The Nationals lost two of three against the Dodgers last month, dropping the final two games against All-Stars Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke, who start the last two contests in this series.
LINE HISTORY: Books opened the Dodgers -127 but that has moved to -125. The total opened at 7.
WEATHER WATCH: Temperatures will be in the mid-60s. Wind will blow out to right field at around 6 miles per hour.
INJURY REPORT: Dodgers - 2B Howie Kendrick (Questionable, hamstring).
WHAT CAPPERS SAY: "OF Joc Pederson, who set SoCal on fire in the first half of the season, is about as cold as a block of dry ice in an igloo right now. The Dodgers were unable to get out of Pittsburgh with a win, and now continue a tough stretch which includes eight games against the Nats, A's, and Stros. Things are looking up as Werth, Zimmerman, and Rendon have all returned from the DL and the Nats now have a proven, reliable closer in Jonathan Papelbon. But the best news is that SP Stephen Strasburg pitched a gem on Saturday with 12 strikeouts in his first start back since July 4." Covers Expert Big Al McMordie.
PITCHING MATCHUP: Nationals LH Gio Gonzalez (8-4, 3.75 ERA) vs. Dodgers LH Brett Anderson (6-6, 3.06)
Gonzalez allowed two runs in five innings with seven strikeouts in a no-decision against Arizona on Wednesday. It marked the seventh consecutive start in which he has allowed two earned runs or fewer, going 4-0 with a 1.77 ERA in that stretch. The former first-round pick has a 2.50 ERA in three career starts against the Dodgers.
Anderson, who was Gonzalez's former teammate with Oakland, has revived his career with a solid run in Los Angeles, including a win at Philadelphia on Wednesday. He allowed a run and four hits in six innings, posting his seventh quality start in the last eight overall. Anderson has never faced the Nationals.
TRENDS:
* Nationals are 6-20 in the last 26 meetings in Los Angeles.
* Nationals are 0-5 in their last five during Game 1 of a series.
* Dodgers are 5-0 in Anderson's last five starts with four days of rest.
* Over is 7-1 in Nationals' last eight overall.
CONSENSUS: Sixty-two percent of Covers users are backing the Dodgers.
Monday's Tip Sheet
By Matt Zylbert
VegasInsider.com
Colorado Rockies at New York Mets
Despite losing two in a row, and thus, ultimately their series at Tropicana Field over the weekend, the Mets have still been cruising for the most part since acquiring Yoenis Cespedes, and will have an advantageous opportunity of getting back on track by hosting the last-place Colorado Rockies at Citi Field. In the opener, New York hands the ball to Jon Niese (6-9, 3.51 ERA), who has somewhat surprisingly fit in well amongst the Mets’ handful of gifted young starters as one of the two veterans on the staff. He’s especially been holding his own as of late, with a whopping 10 quality starts in his last 11 tries, although the Mets are only 5-6 over that span. They’ll be laying a decent amount of chalk in this one, as the linesmakers sense them becoming a regular team to lean on amongst bettors. They’re -190 favorites as a result.
The Rockies will seek to steal game one behind their young starter of the future Jon Gray (0-0, 4.50 ERA), who will be making the second start of his big league career in this one. His long-awaited Major League debut came six days ago at home against the Mariners, and while Colorado ultimately lost that contest, Gray flashed some of his notable potential, as he gave up three runs (two earned) on five hits in four innings, striking out four and walking two. With his high ceiling and standing as Colorado’s No. 1 pitching prospect, he could be a sneaky underdog play, as the Rox believe he can pan out just as successfully as the Mets’ top young arms. The over/under is 7.5.
Detroit Tigers at Kansas City Royals
Making his third start with his new club, Johnny Cueto (7-7, 2.69 ERA) will try to make it three-for-three in terms of registering quality starts as a member of the Royals. He’s actually facing Kansas City’s most heated division rival, the Tigers, for the second time in six days, as these two teams hooked up only last week. In that last encounter, Cueto was his usual excellent self, holding Detroit to two runs on five hits over seven sharp innings, though he only struck out two. While Cueto has pitched well since being traded, the Royals surprisingly are 0-2 when he starts, and this will also be his home debut at Kauffman Stadium.
The pitcher who opposed -- and beat -- Cueto in that matchup on August 5, Matt Boyd (1-2, 7.90 ERA), is also slated to take the hill in this rematch. Like Cueto, Boyd experienced a change in scenery at the trade deadline, as he was one of the pitchers the Tigers acquired from the Blue Jays in the blockbuster David Price deal. Despite unpleasant numbers on the season, mostly due to one really poor relief appearance, Boyd was outstanding in his Detroit debut opposite these Royals, as he surrendered just one run on seven hits in seven impressive innings of work. Can he upset Cueto once again as an encore? The linesmakers aren’t giving him much of a shot on the road, as he’s currently a whopping +195 road ’dog. The over/under, meanwhile, is 7.
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim at Chicago White Sox
Not that long ago, White Sox ace Chris Sale (9-7, 3.52 ERA) was on top of the baseball world with a dominant extensive run that very few pitchers have ever experienced. In fact, it was that run that got him into the record books, as he became the first pitcher since Pedro Martinez over a decade ago to record eight straight double-digit strikeout performances. Since then, however, Sale has hit a bit of a rough patch, as he only has one game with ten-or-more strikeouts since then in six starts, and in each of his last two outings, the perennial Cy Young candidate has been pounded for seven runs in less than six innings of work. Even so, the dominant southpaw owns an absolutely outstanding 186/28 K/BB ratio in 143 total innings this year, and will try to get back in a rhythm in tonight’s crucial assignment with one of the Wild Card leaders that his club is currently chasing.
Opposing him will be Matt Shoemaker (5-7, 4.01 ERA), who has quietly been one of baseball’s hottest pitchers since the end of June. In six starts since that point, Shoemaker has impressively given up two runs or less, while pitching into the sixth inning or deeper in all six as well. In the process, his ERA has gone down a full run-and-change, as last year’s AL Rookie of the Year runner-up has finally settled in. Additionally, the under has cashed every time in all of Shoemaker’s previous six starts. The linesmakers have the over/under for this one set at 7, while Sale is a -140 favorite.
Washington Nationals at Los Angeles Dodgers
Not long ago, the Nationals and Dodgers were considered to have legitimate aspirations of representing the National League in the World Series this year, but if they’re not careful enough, one or both of these franchises could end up on the outside looking in as far as this year’s postseason goes. As a result, we have a high-profile series from Chavez Ravine beginning this evening, as two NL contenders try to get out of their current rut.
Los Angles is coming off a weekend where they were swept by the Pirates, but fortunately for them, their biggest competition in the NL West, the Giants, also endured a sweep as well, sustaining the Dodgers’ three-game lead for first. They’ll go with Brett Anderson (6-6, 3.06 ERA) tonight to kick off this important series, as the left-hander has provided crucial depth behind Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke in his first season as a Dodger. With seven quality starts in his past nine tries, Anderson is surging, especially since the All-Star break, as he owns a 2.30 ERA in three starts. The Nats counter with fellow veteran left-hander Gio Gonzalez (8-4, 3.75 ERA), who has been just as stingy as of late in yielding two earned runs or less in each of his past seven starts. He’s a +120 road ’dog in this one, however, while the over/under sits at 7.
MLB: Streaks, Tips, Notes
Sportspic.com
Colorado Rockies at New York Mets
In what has largely been a season to forget the Colorado Rockies haven't put up much of a fight when away from Coors Field posting a 22-33 record. Recently it's been even uglier losing 12 of the last 17 away from the comfort of home field. Improving those numbers will be a challenge heading into New York. The Rockies have lost six straight at Citi Field and eight of its last ten trips into Queens. Facing Mets' left-hander Jon Niese is another obstacle facing Colorado. The Rockies have struggled against southpaw starter's going 5-19 on the campaign including 2-9 in a hostile venue. Adding to the problem, Colorado defeated Washington yesterday. Not the best situation for Rockies as they have had problems attempting back-2-back road wins. In the last six attempts they're 0-6.
Los Angeles Angels at Chicago White Sox
The Chicago White Sox have now seen the total go over in 12 of 13 games. The White Sox 'Over' explosion is not only a product of their offense averaging 5.5 runs per game, but also pitching woes allowing 6.5 runs/contest in those 13 games. When Chicago White Sox host Los Angeles Angels Monday night on the south side 'Over' bettors should rejoiced in another cashed ticket. The series has seen 6 'Over', 2 'Under' the past eight meetings. Additionally, Halos have a 11-4 'Over' stretch last 15 in enemy territory and are 11-3-2 'Over' opening a road series. Sportsbooks have set the total at 7 runs.