Baseball Information
National League
Pirates @ Mets
Morton is 1-2, 5.04 in his last five starts; under is 4-2-1 in his last seven
Niese is 2-0, 1.80 in his last three starts; under is 7-3 in his last ten.
Pittsburgh won six of last eight games (over 5-2-1). Mets won 12 of last 15 games; four of last five stayed under. Pirates won seven of last eight games vs New York; seven of last ten series games stayed under.
Diamondbacks @ Braves
Corbin is 1-1, 3.54 in his last four starts; four of his last six stayed under.
Foltynewicz is 1-1, 5.09 in his last three starts; five of his last six went over.
Arizona won three of last five games with Atlanta; over is 3-2-1 in last six in series. D'backs won three of last five games, with three of last four going over total. Braves lost three of last four games; over is 6-3-1 in their last ten.
Phillies @ Brewers
Williams is 1-0, 1.50 in his last two starts; under is 3-1-1 in his last five.
Nelson is 3-0, 2.38 in his last five starts.
Road team won 10 of last 11 Philly-Milwaukee games, with Brewers winning last five; over is 4-1-1 in last six series games. Phillies are 17-8 in their last 25 games; six of their last eight went over. Brewers lost five of their last seven.
Marlins @ Cardinals
Hand is 2-2, 3.57 in his five starts (under 4-1).
Lackey is 0-2, 3.15 in his last three starts; Cards scored six runs in the three games. .
Miami lost its last five games with St Louis; under is 4-1-1 in last six series games. Marlins won thee of last four games; eight of their last 11 went over total. Cardinals won seven of last nine games; under is 8-2-1 in their last 11.
Padres @ Rockies
Cashner is 0-2, 6.11 in his last three starts; over is 6-3-1 in his last ten.
Gray is 0-0, 3.60 in his first two MLB starts (10 IP).
San Diego won its last six games with Colorado, scoring 44 runs; Padres are 3-7 in last ten games overall-- seven of their last nine went over. Rockies lost six of their last seven games (under 4-3).
Reds @ Dodgers
Holmberg is 1-1, 3.06 in his three starts (under 2-1).
Anderson is 1-2, 5.20 in his last five starts (under 3-1-1).
Cincinnati is 7-5 in its last 12 games with the Dodgers; four of last seven went under the total. Reds lost seven of last ten games; nine of last 13 went under total. Dodgers lost five of last eight games; seven of their last nine games went over the total.
Nationals @ Giants
Gonzalez is 3-0, 2.51 in his last five starts (over 4-1).
Peavy is 0-1, 1.59 in his last three starts; over is 6-4 in his last ten.
Nationals lost five of last six games; three of their last four stayed under. San Francisco lost five of last eight games; four of their last five stayed under. Washington won four of last seven games with the Giants; seven of last nine in series stayed under total.
American League
A's @ Orioles
Bassitt is 1-0, 0.66 in his last two starts; five of his last seven stayed under.
Gonzalez is 0-2, 8.10 in his last three starts; seven of his last nine went over.
Oakland lost last four games, scoring 13 runs- four of their last seven games stayed under. A's are 5-6 in last eleven games with Baltimore- nine of last 11 went over total. Orioles lost three of their last five games overall.
Bronx @ Blue Jays
Tanaka is 1-2, 4.50 in his last three starts; four of his last six stayed under.
Estrada is 3-0, 1.45 in his last three starts; under is 7-3 in his last ten.
Bronx lost six of last nine games; seven of nine stayed under. Toronto won 11 of last 12 games; four of last six stayed under- they've won five of their last seven games with New York, with four of last five staying under the total.
Mariners @ Red Sox
Hernandez is 4-1, 3.57 in his last six starts (over 5-1).
Boston lost last six Miley starts (0-2, 5.15-- over 4-2).
Seattle won five of last eight games with Boston; four of last five in series stayed under total. Mariners won three of last five games overall (under 3-2). Red Sox lost three of their last five games (over 5-0).
Rays @ Rangers
Archer is 1-2, 2.73 in his last five starts (under 3-2).
Lewis is 1-1, 7.07 in his last two starts; three of his last four stayed under.
Tampa Bay won four of last seven games with Texas (over 4-2-1); Rays are 7-3 in last ten games- seven of last nine went over. Rangers lost three of last five games; four of their last seven went over the total.
Indians @ Twins
Tomlin is 29-28, 4.89 in 70 MLB starts, last of which was for Indians (16 starts) LY-- he is 1-2, 4.22 in four AAA starts this year.
Duffey allowed six runs in two PT (60 PT) in his only '15 start.
Cleveland won four of last five games with Minnesota; over is 7-0-1 in last eight series games. Indians won five of last six games overall; over is 5-1-1 in last seven. Twins lost nine of last 12 games; over is 7-1-1 in last nine.
Angels @ Royals
Shoemaker is 1-1, 2.55 in his last four starts; six of his last seven went under.
Cueto is 1-1, 2.05 in three starts for the Royals (under 2-1).
Royals won eight of last nine games with the Angels; four of last six went over the total. KC won six of its last eight games overall; four of last seven got over the total. Halos lost five of last seven overall (under 6-4 in last ten).
Tigers @ Astros
Detroit is 1-9 in Verlander starts (1-2, 2.79 in last four-- under 3-1).
McHugh is 4-1, 3.19 in his last five starts (under 5-1 in last six).
Tigers are 3-6 in last nine games with Houston; over is 3-2-1 in last six series games. Detroit lost four of last five games; over is 4-3-1 in their last eight. Astros lost seven of last ten games; five of last six stayed under.
Interleague
Cubs @ White Sox
Arrieta is 6-1, 1.41 in his last eight starts; under is 5-0-1 in his last six.
Quintana is 2-0, 2.57 in his last four starts; his last three went over.
Cubs lost five of last eight games with the White Sox (under 4-3-1) but they won 13 of its last 14 games overall; seven of last nine went over total. Pale Hose won three of last four, allowing ten runs; over is 8-3 in their last 11.
Win-loss records this year for team with this starting pitcher:
Pitt-NY-- Morton 10-4; Niese 9-13
Az-Atl-- Corbin 3-4; Foltynewicz 6-6
Phil-Mil-- Williams 7-11; Nelson 11-12 (4-1 last 5)
Mia-StL-- Hand 2-3; Lackey 12-11 (0-3 last 3)
SD-Colo- Cashner 8-14; Gray 0-2
Cin-LA-- Holmberg 1-2; Anderson 11-11
Wsh-SF-- Gonzalez 13-8; Peavy 5-4 (5-0 last 5)
A's-Balt-- Bassitt 3-4; Gonzalez 11-10
NY-Tor-- Tanaka 11-5; Estrada 10-8
Sea-Bos-- Hernandez 16-7; Miley 10-13 (0-6 last 6)
TB-Tex-- Archer 14-10; Lewis 11-12 (4-1 last 5)
Clev-Minn-- Tomlin 0-0; Duffey 0-1
LA-KC-- Shoemaker 9-11; Cueto 12-10/1-2
Det-Hst-- Verlander 1-9; McHugh 15-8
Chi-Chi-- Arrieta 15-8 (7-1 last 8); Quintana 13-23
Times this starting pitcher allowed a run in first inning:
Pitt-NY-- Morton 8-14; Niese 7-22
Az-Atl-- Corbin 1-7; Foltynewicz 5-12
Phil-Mil-- Williams 6-18; Nelson 7-23
Mia-StL-- Hand 1-5; Lackey 4-23
SD-Colo- Cashner 9-23; Gray 1-2
Cin-LA-- Holmberg 0-3; Anderson 8-22
Wsh-SF-- Gonzalez 2-21; Peavy 1-9
A's-Balt-- Bassitt 1-7; Gonzalez 5-21
NY-Tor-- Tanaka 4-16; Estrada 3-18
Sea-Bos-- Hernandez 7-23; Miley 7-23
TB-Tex-- Archer 5-24; Lewis 5-21
Clev-Minn-- Tomlin 0-0; Duffey 1-1
LA-KC-- Shoemaker 5-20; Cueto 5-22
Det-Hst-- Verlander 3-10; McHugh 8-23
Chi-Chi-- Arrieta 4-23; Quintana 13-23
Umpires
Pitt-NY-- Eight of last ten Davidson games went over.
Az-Atl-- Under is 8-2-1 in last eleven Bellino games.
Phil-Mil-- Five of last seven Gonzalez games went over.
Mia-StL-- Under is 4-1-1 in last six Randazzo games.
SD-Col-- Underdogs are 10-10 in Scott games this year.
Cin-LA-- Last three Demuth games stayed under total.
Wsh-SF-- Five of last seven Blaser games went over.
NY-Tor-- Home side won last six Baker games.
Sea-Bos-- Under is 8-5 in Blakney games this year.
A's-Balt-- Under is 8-4-1 in last thirteen Hamari games.
Det-Hst-- Underdogs are 8-7 in last fifteen Miller games.
LA-KC-- Home side won eight of last eleven Barksdale games.
Cle-Min-- Four of last five Holbrook games went over.
TB-Tex-- Underdogs won 10 of last 14 Cooper games.
Chi-Chi-- Three of last four West games stayed under.
Armadillosports.com
Saturday Scouting Edge
By Coach Fletcher
Philadelphia Phillies at Milwaukee Brewers
Here’s a game you won’t want to miss as the Phillies try to climb over the Brewers to escape the worst record in the major leagues. The Phils send Jerome Williams to the mound. Gosh, Williams must be one hell of a nice guy. Williams is 52-62 in his MLB career with a 4.53 era. He’s only had a winning record 3 times since his career started in 2003. He’s had a losing record each of the past 4 years. And somehow he finds himself on a roster year after year. Maybe the wait has paid off. In his last 3 starts Williams has a 1-1 record with a 3.24 era. But his last 2 starts have been gems – short gems but gems nevertheless. On August 4th Jerome went 5 against the 1st place Dodgers and gave up 1 run on 7 hits. He came back on August 9th and took down the Padres with 7 innings of 5 hit ball allowing only 1 run. Maybe Williams has found his groove! Nevertheless, the Brewers opened at -173 favorites.
Miami Marlins at St. Louis Cardinals
Two things you can count on – the Cards are awesome at home is the first. John Lackey and his fondness for home cookin’ is the second. The Cards are a remarkable 42-17 at home. In the last 3 years St. Louis has gone 156-78 at home. Lackey is pretty much the same. This year he is 9-7 with a 2.91 era which is nothing to sneeze at. But at home Lackey is 7-3 with a 1.89 era. He’s only allowed 18 runs at home in 85 innings. And no need to look at pitcher’s past performances in this one. The Fish send Brad Hand to the Hill who has never pitched against the Cards. Lackey has a 1.35 era against the Marlins but that came on a start he made in 2005.
Tampa Bay Rays at Texas Rangers
The Rays and the Rangers both have plenty of time left to grab a wild card spot. The Rays are sending their #1 guy, Chris Archer, against the Rangers today. Archer has pitched well throughout the year, much better than his 10-8 record would indicate. His 2.62 era is one of the league’s best. He’s dropped off slightly with a 3.35 average and a 1-3 record in his last 7 starts. He’s 7-2 on the road with a 2.30 era. Archer is holding LH to a .207 average and RH to a .205 mark. Lewis is just the opposite of Archer. He’s got the flashy record but the era is nothing to write home about. Lewis is 12-5 on the year with a 4.61 era. Incredibly he is 8-2 with a 4.55 era in his last 13 starts. He’s 5-1 at home with an era of 5.27. Clearly the Rangers score runs when Lewis is on the mound. Lewis is 4-2 with a 5.67 era in his last 7. In August Lewis is 1-1 with a 6.43 era. Lewis has obviously fooled a few batters, but he hasn’t fooled the linemakers here. Tampa opened at -138 as visitors.
Cincinnati Reds at Los Angeles Dodgers
You are probably sick of hearing about it, but I can’t remember a team doing this. The Reds have decided to go with an all-rookie rotation. I believe they are on their 3rd cycle now. On Thursday it worked just fine as rookie Keyvius Sampson got the win. On Friday, John Lamb made it through the first 4 innings giving up a single run, but was roughed up for 4 runs in the 5th. On Saturday the Reds are sending out David Holmberg . Holmberg has made 3 starts and given up just a pair of runs in each game. He is 1-1 with a 3.06 era and a 1.25 whip which looks better than the Dodgers Brett Anderson who is 6-7 with a 3.50 era and a 1.32 whip. Holmberg too on the Pirates and gave up 2 runs and 5 hits in 6 innings. He gave up 2 runs on just 2 hits against the Cardinals. That’s a tough pair of teams to draw for your first 2 starts. Against the Padres, Holmberg last 6 2/3 giving up 6 hits and 2 runs. Anderson has a 3.82 era at home and a 5.00 era in his last 3. Holmberg and the Reds are not getting any respect from the linemakers as the LAD opened as -180 favorites.
Washington Nationals at San Francisco Giants
The Giants and the Nationals are battling for their playoff lives. They both send out pitchers who have been besting the hitters for the second half of the season. Gio Gonzalez takes the bump for the Nationals. He’s 904 with a 3.50 era. He’s had a 1.53 era in his last 3 starts, 2 of which were on the road. Gonzalez only allowed 1 runs in 12 2/3 innings in his last 2 road efforts. They came against 2 first place teams in the LAD and the NY Mets. In his last start, Gio shut out the Dodgers for 8 innings on 7 hits. This shows real progress for Gonzalez whose road era is 4.24. The Giants go with Jack Peavy who has also been hot. Peavy is just 2-5 with a 3.76 era. But in his last 3 his era has been 1.59. He’s limited opponents to 3 runs on 13 hits in 17 innings. Gonzalez has gone against the Giants 1 time each of the past 3 years allowing only 1 earned run in 15 innings. Peavy has also faced the Nats 1 time each of the past 3 years and has given up 8 runs in 17 1/3 innings. Washington opened as a slim -109 favorite but the action went quickly to the Giants at -105. After knocking around Max Scherzer on Friday, the Giants may be ready to make their move.
Steve's Screen Shot
By Steve Merril
Diamondbacks @ Braves -- Arizona’s Patrick Corbin will face an Atlanta team that struggles mightily versus left-handed starters. The Braves are only averaging 2.7 runs per game against lefties this season. Mike Foltynewicz has a 5.17 ERA and 1.55 WHIP in 12 starts for the Braves. He lost in Arizona back in June after giving up 5 runs and eight hits in 5.2 innings of work. The Diamondbacks’ offense has scored 38 runs in their last five games, so they are in terrific current form. The only way I can look in this game is Arizona -145.
Marlins @ Cardinals -- St. Louis’ offense isn’t in the best of form right now, but the bats may wake up in this game. Miami’s Brad Hand just beat the Braves in Atlanta, but as mentioned above, that team is terrible against lefties. Hand has a 4.97 ERA in three road starts; he has just 11 strikeouts in five starts overall. John Lackey is 7-3 with a 1.89 ERA and 1.12 WHIP in 12 home starts this season. No line posted as of yet, but expect the Cardinals to be right around -200 over the Marlins.
Padres @ Rockies -- I’d really like to take Colorado on Saturday with Jon Gray on the mound, but I’m concerned about his pitch count and the lack of support on the backend. He has thrown 152 pitches in his last two games. Gray held the Mets to 1 run and one hit in six innings, but he was taken out in order to keep his pitch count low. Gray is not the concern while he’s in there. Colorado’s bullpen owning a 4.97 ERA and 1.50 WHIP at home is a major liability. San Diego’s Andrew Cashner is 1-3 with a 4.50 ERA in five career starts versus Colorado. The Rockies (+105) has value, but Gray being on a pitch count and Colorado’s poor bullpen kept me off this game as a Best Bet.
Indians @ Twins -- Josh Tomlin is back in the Majors for Cleveland after making seven minor league starts over four levels. Tomlin went 1-3 with a 4.55 ERA while striking out 25 and walking 4 in 29.2 innings of work. Minnesota’s Tyler Duffey gave up 6 runs and five hits in two innings pitched to the Blue Jays in Toronto back on August 5th. Duffey will be backed by a Twins’ bullpen that had to cover multiple innings on Friday night. This game has slugfest written all over it, so I like Over 9 (-115).
MLB: Streaks, Tips, Notes
Sportspic.com
Cleveland Indians at Minnesota Twins
When the Cleveland Indians visit the Minnesota Twins Saturday night there is an 'Over-Whelming' chance 'Over' gamblers will rejoice in cashing another ticket. In the past eight meetings 'Over' has been the right choice seven times. Another positive for 'Over' gamblers, Twins platting 5.0 runs/game while its pitching staff has allowed 7.7 per/contest have played 7 'Over', 2 'Under' the past 9 games. Indians behind a suddenly potent offense crossing 7.5 per/game have played 'Over' in five of its last seven.
Chicago White Sox at Chicago Cubs
Chicago White Sox and Chicago Cubs go at it in the second game of this series on the south side of Chicago. Jose Quintana carrying a 6-9 record, 3.59 ERA toes the rubber for Pale Hose. Quintana has not done well at U.S. Cellular Field posting a 1-4 record over 10 starts in front of the friendly crowd (4-6 TSR). Quintana's mound opponent will be Jake Arrieta heading to the hill with a 13-6 record, 2.38 ERA. In contrast, Arrieta has put up outstanding numbers in enemy territory going 8-1 with a 2.02 ERA in 12 starts away from Wrigley Field (10-2 TSR). The two pitchers are meeting for the second time this season, the first coming back on July 12th with Quintana taking the loss as Arrieta tossed 9 inning of 2 hit 1 run ball for the victory.
The Cubbies are listed as -$1.30 road favorites, with the total set at 7.5 runs. Taking a road favorite can be a perilous road in baseball betting. But, there is enough in Cubbies favor to counteract such concerns. Arrieta in great form has a 4-1 team start record in five career starts vs Pale Hose. Cubbies in the midst of a smocking hot 14-1 streak have won 6-of-8 on the south side of Chicago. The fact Quintana is a portside is one more nod for Cubbies, as they've won 4 of their last 5 away from Wrigely Field against a left-handed starter.