Saturday's MLB National League Betting Cheat Sheet
By Covers.com
Cincinnati Reds at New York Mets (+125)
Cold pitching stat: Mets right-hander Dillon Gee surrendered four runs over 6 2/3 innings en route to a no-decision in his season debut.
Hot batting stat: Members of the Cincinnati roster are hitting a collective .316 with three homers against Gee.
Weather: Temperatures will be in the mid-40s under partly cloudy skies with wind blowing from left to right field at 15 mph.
Key betting stat: Reds are 24-9 in starter Johnny Cueto's last 33 appearances following a quality start in his previous outing.
Philadelphia Phillies at Chicago Cubs (+119)
Hot pitching stat: Cubs right-hander Jeff Samardzija twirled seven shutout innings in his season-opening start against Pittsburgh.
Cold batting stat: Chicago shortstop Starlin Castro has struck out six times in 12 at-bats against Phillies lefty Cliff Lee.
Weather: Temperatures will be in the mid-40s with sunny skies and wind blowing in from left field at 6 mph.
Key betting stat: Phillies are 2-8 in Lee's last 10 starts against the National League Central.
San Francisco Giants at Los Angeles Dodgers (+102)
Hot pitching stat: Giants lefty Madison Bumgarner held opponents to a .203 batting average in 2013.
Cold batting stat: Dodgers outfielder Matt Kemp is just 4-for-19 lifetime versus Bumgarner.
Weather: Temperatures will be in the low-70s with clear skies and wind blowing out to right-center field at 9 mph.
Key betting stat: Giants are 4-1 in Bumgarner's last five starts versus the Dodgers.
St. Louis Cardinals at Pittsburgh Pirates (-137)
Hot pitching stat: Pittsburgh is 10-1 in left-hander Francisco Liriano's previous 11 home starts.
Cold batting stat: Cardinals outfielder Matt Holliday hit .298 but had just one homer in 121 at-bats versus left-handed pitchers in 2013.
Weather: Temperatures will be in the low-40s under sunny skies with wind blowing out to right field at 6 mph.
Key betting stat: Over is 4-0 in St. Louis starter Joe Kelly's last four meetings with Pittsburgh.
Atlanta Braves at Washington Nationals (-167)
Hot pitching stat: Nationals right-hander Stephen Strasburg racked up 10 strikeouts over six innings in his first start of 2014.
Hot batting stat: Braves second baseman Dan Uggla is a .407 hitter with two home runs and eight RBIs in 27 at-bats versus Strasburg.
Weather: Temperatures will be in the low-50s with clear skies and wind blowing in from left field at 7 mph.
Key betting stat: Nationals are 1-6 in their last seven games with umpire Jim Joyce behind home plate.
San Diego Padres at Miami Marlins (-144)
Hot pitching stat: Marlins right-hander is 9-0 with a 1.19 ERA in 15 career starts at Marlins Park.
Cold batting stat: Members of the Florida roster are batting just .205 in 39 at-bats against Padres starter Andrew Cashner.
Weather: Temperatures will be in the high-70s with sunny skies and wind blowing out to center field at 8 mph.
Key betting stat: Under is 8-1-1 in San Diego's last 10 in the second game of a series.
Arizona Diamondbacks at Colorado Rockies (-134)
Hot pitching stat: Rockies lefty Jorge De La Rosa went 10-1 with a 2.76 ERA in 14 home starts a season ago.
Hot batting stat: Diamondbacks first baseman Paul Goldschmidt hit .288 with four home runs and 18 RBIs in 73 at-bats against Colorado in 2013.
Weather: Temperatures will be in the low-50s with cloudy skies and wind blowing in from center field at 5 mph.
Key betting stat: Rockies are 9-0 in De La Rosa's last nine home starts versus Arizona.
Saturday's MLB American League Betting Cheat Sheet
By Covers.com
Minnesota Twins at Cleveland Indians (-157)
Cold pitching stat: Twins right-hander Kyle Gibson allowed hitters to bat .327 in 211 at-bats against him last season.
Hot batting stat: Minnesota catcher/first baseman Joe Mauer hit .333 in 48 at-bats against the Indians in 2013.
Weather: Temperatures will be in the mid-40s with partly cloudy skies and wind blowing from left to right field at 13 mph.
Key betting note: Twins are 2-14 in their last sixteen in the second game of a series.
New York Yankees at Toronto Blue Jays (-108)
Cold pitching stat: Toronto knuckleballer R.A. Dickey was tagged for six runs over five innings in his first start of the season.
Hot batting stat: Yankees outfielder Alfonso Soriano is 5-for-15 with a pair of home runs lifetime versus Dickey.
Weather: N/A
Key betting note: Under is 4-0 in Dickey's last four starts against the Yankees.
Baltimore Orioles at Detroit Tigers (-137)
Hot pitching stat: The Tigers have gone 6-1 in right-hander Rick Porcello's last seven home starts.
Cold batting stat: Detroit third baseman Miguel Cabrera is just 1-for-6 against Orioles starter Bud Norris.
Weather: Temperatures will be in the mid-40s with partly cloudy skies and wind blowing out to left field at 13 mph.
Key betting note: Over is 4-0 in Porcello's last four Saturday starts.
Chicago White Sox at Kansas City Royals (-144)
Hot pitching stat: Royals southpaw Bruce Chen limited right-handed hitters to a .224 average in 299 at-bats last season.
Hot batting stat: White Sox first baseman Paul Konerko has five home runs in 49 all-time at-bats versus Chen.
Weather: Temperatures will be in the low-50s with clear skies and wind blowing out to left field at 7 mph.
Key betting note: White Sox are 1-7 in their last eight games versus a left-handed starter.
Seattle Mariners at Oakland Athletics (+114)
Hot pitching stat: Mariners right-hander Felix Hernandez allowed one run while striking out 11 over six innings to win his first start of the year.
Cold batting stat: Athletics outfielder Josh Reddick is a .148 hitter in 27 at-bats against Hernandez.
Weather: Temperatures will be in the low-60s under sunny skies with wind blowing out to right field at 7 mph.
Key betting note: Mariners are 4-0 in their last four games against a left-handed starter.
Los Angeles Angels at Houston Astros (+127)
Cold pitching stat: Astros left-hander Dallas Keuchel was 2-0 but posted a 6.50 ERA in 18 innings against the Angels last season.
Hot batting stat: Angels outfielder Mike Trout hit .297 with 16 walks in 64 at-bats against Houston in 2013.
Weather: Temperatures will be in the mid-60s with a 60 percent chance of thunderstorms and wind blowing from right to left field at 7 mph.
Key betting note: Astros are 1-7 in Keuchel's last eight starts.
Texas Rangers at Tampa Bay Rays (-177)
Hot pitching stat: The Rays are 5-1 in left-hander David Price's previous six home starts.
Hot batting stat: White Sox outfielder Alex Rios is 11-for-27 with two home runs lifetime against Price.
Weather: N/A
Key betting note: Under is 4-1 in Price's last five starts versus the Rangers.
Interleague
Milwaukee Brewers at Boston Red Sox (-173)
Hot pitching stat: Rex Sox right-hander Clay Buchholz limited opponents to a .199 average in his breakout 2013 campaign.
Cold batting stat: Boston designated hitter David Ortiz hit just .236 in 68 interleague at-bats a season ago.
Weather: Temperatures will be in the mid-40s with partly cloudy skies and wind blowing out to right field at 13 mph.
Key betting note: Red Sox are 9-2 in Buchholz's last 11 home starts.
MLB: Streaks, Tips, Notes
Sportspic.com
New York Yankees at Toronto Blue Jays
Last night, the Blue Jays and Yankees lit up the scoreboard for plenty of runs. There’s usually a good chance that scoring the following night may dry up. We certainly see it that way. Evidence is the key in making any case and the numbers spewed out by our MLB Betting Database tells us 'Under' is the way to go as the series is 7-2-1 'Under' the past ten encounters. The number crunching machine adds these clinchers. Jays were 4-0 'Under' vs New York with Dickey last year with the knuckler's teams now 6-1 'Under' vs Bronx Bombers (Tor/NYM). Dickey had a horrendous opening start but here's a hidden gem among a sea of baseball betting numbers. The Jays are 3-0 'Under' after a non quality start by the hurler as he held opponents to 2 runs with 15 K over 18.9 innings of work. Final convincing betting nugget. The Yankees are 20-5 'Under' on the road in game-two of a series.
Saturday MLB Picks
By: Micah Roberts
Sportingnews.com
LAS VEGAS -- It may be a new baseball season, but on Friday at Washington the Braves showed that some things remain the same. The Braves (3-1) have now beaten the Nationals 18 of the last 24 meetings and nine of the past 11 at Washington. Things don't figure to get any easier tonight for the Nationals (3-1), who took their first loss of the season with a big assist from a questionable replay call that took a run off the board in the 2-1 loss.
Despite the Braves' recent success against their NL East division rival, the Nationals come in as a large -160 favorite tonight because Stephen Strasburg is on the hill against Julio Teheran. This is a number that is simply too high based on the recent history between the two teams, especially Strasburg's performances in particular. There's no denying that he has some of the best stuff of any pitcher in baseball, but for some reason, it hasn't translated to a winning profit margin for bettors.
Last April, Strasburg was brilliant in his first start against the Marlins, but then the Nationals lost his next five starts and he wouldn't string together three winning starts in a row until August. In five starts against the Braves last season he was 0-1 with a 2.86 ERA.
Tonight's match also has an underlying theme from Strasburg's last start against the Braves on Aug. 17 where he hit Justin Upton in the first inning and then threw back-to-back pitches behind Andrelton Simmons' back in the second, earning an ejection. That will be fresh on the minds of every Atlanta player and it will be fun to watch what unfolds between the two teams. Baseball is just better when two teams don't like each other.
One thing we have been able to expect from Atlanta thus far is that they don't hit much, but they know how to win close games and if they take a lead into the ninth, it's lights out with Craig Kimbrel, just like it was Friday afternoon. All four of the Braves' games this season have stayed UNDER the total and that looks to be the best bet in this game where the number is set at 6.5 OVER -115.
The UNDER play rests mostly with Teheran, who was sharp through spring, but lost the season opener 2-0 at Milwaukee. In five starts against the Nationals last season, Teheran got progressively better as the season went on, winning his final two starts against them by identical 2-1 scores. Between the five starts, he allowed only 10 earned runs with four of the five staying UNDER the total.
The UNDER looks good, and a smaller play on the Braves to win at +150 wouldn't be a bad investment either.
Saturday selections:
Braves/Nationals UNDER 6.5 (-105)
Giants (Bumgarner) -110 at Dodgers
Pirates (Liriano) -140 vs. Cardinals
Small lean:
Braves (Teheran) +150 at Nationals
Note: The selections we have given out here since the season started have gone 12-2 for a +1077 profit.