Saturday's National League Betting Cheat Sheet
Covers.com
Los Angeles Dodgers at Chicago Cubs (+100, OFF)
Hot pitching stat: In two of Dodgers' SP Chris Capuano's last three starts, he has not given up an earned run. The Dodgers are 3-0 in those three outings.
Hot batting stat: Dodgers SS Hanley Ramirez is 8-for-15 (.533) in his career versus Cubs starter Jeff Samardzija.
Weather: Temperatures will be in the mid-70s with partly cloudy skies. Wind will blow in from center field at 10 mph. There is a 20 percent chance of rain in the forecast for gametime.
Key betting stat: The over is 8-2-1 in Capuano's last 11 starts as a favorite.
Atlanta Braves at Philadelphia Phillies (OFF, OFF)
Cold pitching stat: Braves starter Brandon Beachy was shelled in his last outing. He gave up seven earned runs on eight hits, including two home runs, in just 3 2/3 innings of work.
Cold batting stat: Phillies 2B Chase Utley is 2-for-11 in his career versus Beachy.
Weather: There is a 30 percent chance of thunderstorms in the forecast. Temperatures will be in the high-70s and wind will blow out to right field at 12 mph.
Key betting note: The over is 7-3 when the wind blows out to right field at Philly's Citizens Bank Park.
Colorado Rockies at Pittsburgh Pirates (-181, 7)
Hot pitching stat: Pirates starter Francisco Liriano is 2-0 with a 0.61 ERA in his last two starts.
Hot batting stat: Rockies SS Troy Tulowitzki is a lifetime .392 hitter (21 games) at PNC Park in Pittsburgh. He went 2-for-3 with a dinger in Friday's 4-2 victory.
Weather: There is a 40 percent chance of thunderstorms in the forecast. Temperatures will be in the low-70s and wind will blow out to right field at 6 mph.
Key betting note: The Rockies are 2-9 in SP Jorge De La Rosa's last 11 road starts versus a team with a winning record.
St. Louis Cardinals at Cincinnati Reds (-146, 8)
Hot pitching stat: Cards starter Jake Westbrook tossed a complete game, five-hit shutout against the Reds in his only start against the Central Division rival this season. The Cards won the game by a score 10-0 on April 10.
Hot batting stat: Reds OF Chris Heisey is 6-for-16 (.375) and has three solo home runs in his career against Westbrook.
Weather: There is a 40 percent chance of thunderstorms in the forecast. Temperatures will be in the high-70s and wind will blow out to center field at 6 mph.
Key betting note: The over is 7-1 in Westbrook's last eight road starts.
Washington Nationals at Milwaukee Brewers (+105, 8.5)
Hot pitching stat: Is Dan Haren turning his bleak season around? The Nats starter went seven excellent innings scattering three hits and one earned run en route to a 4-1 victory over the New York Mets in his last start.
Hot batting stat: Nats SS Ian Desmond is 3-for-3 in his career versus Brewers starter Donovan Hand.
Weather: Temperatures will be in the low-70s with partly cloudy skies. Wind will blow from left field to right field at 5 mph.
Key betting note: The Nationals are 0-7 in Haren's last seven road starts.
Interleague
Kansas City Royals at New York Mets (+110, 8)
Cold pitching stat: Mets starter Carlos Torres was awful in his last start. The righty gave up eight earned runs on nine hits in three innings in a 14-1 loss against the Nats.
Hot batting stat: Only two Mets have faced Royals starter Bruce Chen; John Buck and Marlon Byrd. They are a combined 5-for-8 with a double and three RBIs versus the Royals lefty.
Weather: Temperatures will be in the high-70s with mostly cloudy skies. Wind will blow out to right field at 14 mph.
Key betting note: The Royals are 7-0 in Chen's last seven starts as a favorite.
Cleveland Indians at Miami Marlins (+105, 7.5)
Cold pitching stat: The Marlins are 1-4 in Jacob Turner's previous five starts.
Hot batting stat: Marlins 1B Logan Morrison went 4-for-5 with a double, triple and four RBIs in Friday's 10-0 drubbing of the Tribe.
Weather: Due to a 30 percent chance of thunderstorms in the forecast, the roof could be close at Marlins Park in Miami.
Key betting note: The Indians are 3-9 in SP Zach McAllister's last 12 road starts.
New York Yankees at San Diego Padres (-103, 7)
Hot pitching stat: Yanks starter Ivan Nova went 2-2 with a 2.03 ERA in four July starts.
Cold batting stat: The Bronx Bombers own the worst slugging percentage in the American League. Prior to Friday's game, the Yanks' slugging percentage was .368.
Weather: Temperatures will be in the mid-60s with mostly clear skies. Wind will blow from left field to right field at 5 mph.
Key betting note: The under is 4-0 in Nova's last four interleague starts.
Saturday's American League Betting Cheat Sheet
Covers.com
Texas Rangers at Oakland A's (-125, 7)
Hot pitching stat: Matt Garza has put together a pair of strong starts since being acquired by the Texas Rangers. The righty is 1-0 with a 1.88 ERA and 0.91 WHIP in his two starts. Texas has won both games.
Cold batting stat: A's OF Coco Crisp is 2-for-17 (.118) lifetime versus Garza.
Weather: Temperatures will be in the high-60s with sunny skies. Wind will blow out to right field at 12 mph.
Key betting note: The under is 6-1 in A's SP Jarrod Parker's last seven Saturday starts.
Seattle Mariners at Baltimore Orioles (-185, 9)
Cold pitching stat: O's starter Scott Feldman is 2-2 with a 5.12 ERA in five starts since being acquired by Baltimore from the Chicago Cubs.
Cold batting stat: Mariners DH Kendrys Morales is 2-for-13 (.154) in his career versus Feldman.
Weather: There is a 40 percent chance of thunderstorms in the forecast for gametime. Temperatures will be in the mid-80s and wind will blow from left field to right field at 7 mph.
Key betting note: The Mariners are 0-7 in the last seven meetings in Baltimore.
Chicago White Sox at Detroit Tigers (-230, 7.5)
Hot pitching stat: Detroit's Max Scherzer was dominant yet again his last time out. He held the Phillies to one hit in six innings of work en route to a 10-0 victory on July 27.
Hot batting stat: Tigers OF Austin Jackson is 12-for-29 (.414) with three homers and six RBIs in his career versus Sox starter John Danks.
Weather: Temperatures will be in the low-70s with mostly sunny skies. Wind will blow out to center field at 6 mph. There is currently a 10 percent chance of rain in the forecast.
Key betting note: The over is 9-1-3 in Danks' last 13 starts versus the American League Central.
Houston Astros at Minnesota Twins (-138, 9)
Cold pitching stat: Astros starter Erik Bedard has taken the loss in his last five starts.
Hot batting stat: Twins 1B Justin Morneau is 11-for-29 (.379) in his career versus Bedard. Morneau has belted a pair of doubles, two homers and 11 RBIs versus the lefty.
Weather: Temperatures will be in the mid-70s with sunny skies. Wind will blow out to right field at 9 mph.
Key betting note: The under is 9-1-1 in Bedard's last 11 starts overall.
Toronto Blue Jays at Los Angeles Angels (-172, 8)
Hot pitching stat: Angels starter Jered Weaver went 4-1 with a 1.32 ERA in six July starts.
Cold batting stat: Jays slugger Jose Bautista is 0-for-6 with four K's in his career against Weaver.
Weather: Temperatures will be in the low-70s with sunny skies. Wind will blow out to right field at 6 mph.
Key betting note: The over is 5-0 in Jays SP Esmil Rogers' last five starts overall.
Interleague
Arizona Diamondbacks at Boston Red Sox (-150, 8.5)
Hot pitching stat: Over his last four starts, DBacks starter Patrick Corbin is 3-1 with a 1.26 ERA.
Cold batting stat: DBacks OF Jason Kubel is 1-for-8 lifetime versus Sox starter Jake Peavy.
Weather: Temperatures will be in the low-70s with sunny skies. Wind will blow out to right field at 7 mph.
Key betting note: The under is 9-1 in the Diamondbacks' last 10 interleague road games.
San Francisco Giants at Tampa Bay Rays (-205, 7)
Hot pitching stat: Rays ace David Price had a torrid July since coming off the DL. The southpaw went 5-1 with a 1.68 ERA in his six July starts.
Cold batting stat: Giants 2B Marco Scutaro is 3-for-25 (.125) lifetime versus Price.
Weather: Dome
Key betting note: The Giants are 1-8 in starter Tim Lincecum's last nine starts.
Saturday FOX Action
By Kevin Rogers
VegasInsider.com
Rangers at Athletics
Probables: M. Garza (7-1, 2.95 ERA) vs. J. Parker (6-6, 4.07 ERA)
Series recap: The Rangers kept up their momentum from the three-game sweep of the Angels as Texas blasted Oakland on Friday, 8-3. Texas cashed in the underdog role, while cutting its deficit in the AL West to 2 ½ games behind Oakland heading into today's action.
Pitching notes: Matt Garza received a no-decision in his last outing, as the Rangers rallied for a 4-3 walk-off triumph over the Angels. Since June 21, the Cubs and Rangers combined to go 7-0 in Garza's last seven starts, while Texas has drilled the 'under' twice in Garza's two outings since getting acquired from Chicago.
Jarrod Parker is coming off his worst outing in three months by allowing six earned runs in five innings, but the A's came back to beat the Angels, 10-6 as heavy home favorites. That victory snapped a five-start winless streak by Oakland when Parker took the mound, while picking up their first home win since mid-June with the right-hander starting.
Current trends: Texas is riding a five-game winning streak, while scoring 15 runs in the last two victories. The Rangers have beaten the A's five of the last six meetings, while Oakland has run into a three-game losing skid, with all three defeats at home.
Dodgers at Cubs
Probables: C. Capuano (3-6, 4.54 ERA) vs. J. Samardzija (6-9, 3.75 ERA)
Series recap: Los Angeles won its 12th straight road game with Friday's 6-2 triumph at Chicago. The Dodgers scored six runs for the second straight day, as L.A. plated at least one run in four of the first five innings. Friday's contest remained 'under' the total of nine, the fifth 'under' in the last six games for the Dodgers.
Pitching notes: Los Angeles has three straight starts made by Chris Capuano, including the last two in extra-innings. The southpaw has been extremely inconsistent recently by putting together four scoreless starts since coming off the DL in June, but also allowing five earned runs three times in this stretch. The Dodgers are 3-1 in Capuano's last four away outings, while being listed as road 'chalk' for the first time this season.
Jeff Samardzija is winless in his last three starts at Wrigley Field, even though the righty tossed seven scoreless innings in his previous outing against the Brewers. The Cubs are 1-3 in Samardzija's four starts as a home underdog, but Chicago owns a 4-1 record in his last five outings against NL West opponents.
Current trends: The Dodgers have won five of their last six away Game 3's of a series, while Los Angeles has drilled the 'over' in five of the previous six away contests. The Cubs are 8-2 to the 'under' in the last 10 games overall, while going 1-5 the past six contests at Wrigley Field.
Braves at Phillies
Probables: B. Beachy (0-0, 17.18 ERA) vs. J. Lannan (3-4, 4.10 ERA)
Series recap: Philadelphia squandered an early 2-0 lead in a 6-4 defeat to Atlanta. The Braves plated five runs in the fifth inning to take control and cash as $1.55 road favorites. The victory was the fourth in seven meetings for the Braves this season, while the Phillies have lost 11 of their past 12 games overall.
Pitching notes: Brandon Beachy's first start of the season coming off shoulder surgery wasn't a sharp one, as the righty allowed seven earned runs in 3.2 innings against Colorado on Monday. However, the Braves bailed out Beachy in a 9-8 home victory to cash as $1.30 favorites.
The Phillies have won five of John Lannan's six starts at Citizens Bank Park this season, including his previous outing against the Giants. Seven of Lannan's last nine starts have hit the 'over,' including each of his past two outings.
Current trends: Atlanta has won eight straight games, but the Braves are just 1-5 in their last six off a road win. Philadelphia has been a disaster recently with only one victory since July 20, while hitting the 'over' in five of the previous six games overall.
MLB: Streaks, Tips, Notes
Sportspic.com
Toronto Blue Jays at Los Angeles Angels
After a dismal 1-6 road swing some good old fashion home cookin' has done wonders for the Los Angeles Angels. Halos have won back-2-back games and now have a great opportunity to make it three straight victories when they continue this four-game set against the Toronto Blue Jays at Angel Stadium. Getting the call for LAA, ace Jered Weaver which history tells us Halos will be in good hands. In his last two home starts the right-hander went 14 2/3 innings of shutout ball in victories over A's and Twinkies moving his team start record to 16-4 the past twenty games, 31-7 the past three years tossing in front of the home crowd. Expect Halos to continue to be spoiled by Weaver’s success at home as the right-hander not only has a smart 7-2 team start record vs Toronto the hurler has an amazing 25-5 team start stretch in home night games. If that were not enough, Jays starter Esmil Rogers has hit a rough spot and is winless in seven starts (0-3, 2-5 TSR). Stick with Halos as they move to 5-0 hosting Jays, 6-2 as a home favorite between -$1.65 and -$1.85.
Seattle at Boston: Preview & Pick
Bovada.lv
A pricey home favorite in baseball betting is almost always a reason to walk away from a game, so in tonight’s game at Camden Yards between the Baltimore Orioles and Seattle Mariners, the run total deserves a closer look.
According to the current betting odds at Bovada, the Orioles are -200 home favorites, with a run total of 9. As already noted, the price is much too high to consider backing the Orioles, but the presence of tonight’s starters makes the run total an inviting target.
Scott Feldman will get the start for Baltimore, bringing a season record of 9-8 with an ERA of 3.89. However, since being acquired from the Cubs, Feldman has struggled in his five starts, managing a 5.12 ERA. Even worse are his numbers at Camden Yards, where he is 1-2 with a 7.13 ERA.
The Mariners will counter with rookie righthander Erasmo Ramirez, who has a 2-0 record in his brief time in Seattle, but also is saddled with a 7.71 ERA. Ramirez is charting into new waters this evening, with his first-ever road start following three previous efforts at Safeco Field after being recalled from the minors last month.
Feldman’s penchant for making Over bettors happy didn’t begin with his arrival in Baltimore. For the season, he is 8-1 when getting the start in his home park. In five of his last six starts overall, the Over has cashed, while his last three starts under the lights have also gone Over the run total.
As a team, the Orioles offense has thrived recently when the run total for a game was 9 or over. Under those circumstances, the team is 6-2-1 in its last nine games, and 4-2 when the team has been a favorite of -180 or more.
The Mariners have also made a habit of going Over the number in certain situations that fit tonight’s framework. For example, the last eight times Seattle has gone up against a righthanded pitcher in a road night game, the Over is 6-1-1. Also, in the last 11 games the team has simply played a road night game, the Over is 7-3-1.
Last night, the two teams lit up the scoreboard for plenty of runs. There’s always a certain danger in baseball betting that the scoring the following night may dry up as a result, but we don’t see it that way and offer today’s free MLB Pick as
Play Baltimore and Seattle Over 9
MLB Odds and Picks -- Jake Peavy tries on his new Sox against Diamondbacks
By: The Linemakers
Sportingnews.com
Jake Peavy makes his Red Sox debut today, but we like the Diamondbacks' chances with Patrick Corbin (12-2, 2.24 ERA), who has only allowed one run in each of his last four starts. Corbin has struck out 34 batters over his last 28.2 innings and is coming off an outstanding performance in which he suffered a tough-luck 1-0 loss against the Padres. Arizona has won five of his last seven turns.
Lots of runs Milwaukee
We're looking for tons of runs in today's matchup between the Brewers and Nationals because of Dan Haren and Donovan Hand. Haren recorded a win his last time out -- his first since May 9. The Nats had lost 11 straight games behind Haren, who went 0-8 with a 6.18 ERA during that stretch, before beating the Mets in his last start.
In five starts this season, Hand has gone 0-2 with a 3.56 ERA. He comes off a 6-5 loss at Colorado on Sunday.
Royals to start a new streak
The Mets All-Star third-baseman David Wright will likely be out today due to a hamstring injury, which gives the Royals a huge edge as they look to win their 10th game in 11 tries. Bruce Chen gets (4-0, 2.09 ERA) the nod today, and he's been fantastic since replacing Luis Mendoza in the rotation over his last three starts, going 1-0 with a 1.50 ERA.
Saturday's selections:
Astros (Bedard) +130 at Twins
BREWERS/NATIONALS over 8.5 (-120)
Diamondbacks (Corbin) +142 at Red Sox
Yankees (Nova) -103 at Padres
Second-half record: 34-22 (+1,407)