Sunday's MLB National League Betting Cheat Sheet
By Covers.com
Cincinnati Reds at New York Mets (103, 7.5)
Hot pitching stat: Left-handed hitters were held to a .239 average and two homers in 138 at-bats against Mets southpaw Jonathon Niese.
Hot/Cold batting stat: Reds second baseman Brandon Phillips is 7-for-18 with a pair of homers lifetime versus Niese.
Weather: Temperatures will be in the mid-50s with clear skies and wind blowing from left to right field at 6 mph.
Key betting note: Mets are 1-6 in Niese's last seven appearances during the third game of a series.
San Diego Padres at Miami Marlins (-121, 7.5)
Hot pitching stat: Marlins righty Nate Eovaldi earned the win in his first start of the year, allowing two runs over six innings while striking out six.
Cold batting stat: Miami shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria batted .200 with one walk in 26 plate appearances against the Padres in 2013.
Weather: Temperatures will be in the low-80s under sunny skies with wind blowing out to left-center field at 9 mph.
Key betting note: Under is 6-0-1 in Eovaldi's last seven starts on four days rest.
St. Louis Cardinals at Pittsburgh Pirates (144, 7)
Hot pitching stat: Cardinals right-hander Adam Wainwright limited the Pirates to a .208 average in three starts last season.
Hot batting stat: Pirates outfielder Andrew McCutchen is 12-for-28 with a home run lifetime versus Wainwright.
Weather: Temperatures will be in the mid-50s with sunny skies.
Key betting note: Cardinals are 20-8 in Wainwright's last 28 Sunday starts.
Atlanta Braves at Washington Nationals (-120, 7.5)
Hot pitching stat: Braves lefty Alex Wood allowed a run on three hits over seven effective innings to prevail in his season debut.
Hot batting stat: Nationals second baseman Anthony Rendon has four hits - all singles - in four at-bats against Wood.
Weather: Temperatures will be in the high-50s with clear skies.
Key betting note: Over is 5-0 in umpire Doug Eddings' last five games behind home plate involving Washington.
Philadelphia Phillies at Chicago Cubs (110, OFF)
Cold pitching stat: Phillies right-hander A.J. Burnett was 5-7 with a 4.22 ERA on the road last season, compared to a 5-4, 2.37 mark at home.
Cold batting stat: Philadelphia second baseman Chase Utley is 0-for-9 with five strikeouts against Cubs starter Carlos Villanueva.
Weather: Temperatures will be in the high-40s with partly cloudy skies and wind blowing out to left-center field at 9 mph.
Key betting note: Cubs are 1-6 in Villanueva's last seven home starts.
Arizona Diamondbacks at Colorado Rockies (-120, 9.5)
Hot pitching stat: Diamondbacks lefty Wade Miley has held opponents to a .191 average through two starts.
Hot batting stat: Rockies catcher Wilin Rosario is 6-for-14 with a home run all-time against Miley.
Weather: Temperatures will be in the low-50s with cloudy skies and wind blowing in from left-center field at 9 mph.
Key betting note: Diamondbacks are 7-1 in Miley's last eight starts against the Rockies.
San Francisco Giants at Los Angeles Dodgers (-145, 6.5)
Cold pitching stat: Giants hurler Matt Cain is 5-10 with a 3.45 ERA in 28 career starts against the Dodgers.
Cold batting stat: Dodgers outfielder Matt Kemp is hitting .222 with 15 strikeouts in 54 at-bats versus Cain.
Weather: Temperatures will be in the low-70s under sunny skies with wind blowing out to right-center field at 6 mph.
Key betting note: Giants are 3-13 in Cain's last 16 starts.
Sunday's MLB American League Betting Cheat Sheet
By Covers.com
Minnesota Twins at Cleveland Indians (-174, 7.5)
Hot pitching stat: Indians right-hander Justin Masterson threw seven shutout innings in his first start of the season.
Hot batting stat: Indians third baseman Carlos Santana hit four home runs against the Twins in 2013, more than he had against any other team.
Weather: Temperatures will be in the high-40s with sunny skies.
Key betting note: Indians are 13-3 in their last 16 Sunday games.
New York Yankees at Toronto Blue Jays (-105, 9)
Hot pitching stat: Yankees lefty CC Sabathia is 14-4 with a 3.00 ERA and two complete games in 19 career starts versus the Blue Jays.
Cold batting stat: Blue Jays slugger Jose Bautista is 2-for-23 with eight strikeouts lifetime against Sabathia.
Weather: N/A
Key betting note: Blue Jays are 5-0 in right-hander Drew Hutchison's last five home starts.
Baltimore Orioles at Detroit Tigers (-169, 7.5)
Cold pitching stat: Tigers right-hander Justin Verlander surrendered four home runs in just 12 innings against Baltimore in 2013.
Hot/Cold batting stat: Detroit third baseman Miguel Cabrera is 4-for-9 with a homer against Orioles starter Chris Tillman.
Weather: Temperatures will be in the low-50s with clear skies and wind blowing in from right field at 5 mph.
Key betting note: Orioles are 17-8 in Tillman's past 25 starts.
Texas Rangers at Tampa Bay Rays
Hot pitching stat: Rangers right-hander Yu Darvish went 5-1 with a 2.33 ERA and 58 strikeouts in 38 2/3 April innings last season.
Cold batting stat: Members of the Tampa Bay roster are hitting 7-for-43 with 14 strikeouts versus Darvish.
Weather: N/A
Key betting note: Over is 5-0 in umpire Mike DiMuro's last five Tampa Bay games behind home plate.
Chicago White Sox at Kansas City Royals (-127, 7)
Hot pitching stat: Royals right-hander James Shields was 2-1 with a 2.03 ERA in six starts against the White Sox a season ago.
Cold batting stat: Royals outfielder Alex Gordon batted .211 with one homer and 16 strikeouts in 71 at-bats versus the Royals in 2013.
Weather: Temperatures will be in the high-50s with partly cloudy skies and wind blowing out to left field at 6 mph.
Key betting note: Royals are 7-1 in their last eight games versus a left-handed starter.
Los Angeles Angels at Houston Astros (149, 8)
Hot pitching stat: The Angels are 49-22 in right-hander Jered Weaver's last 71 starts.
Hot batting stat: Los Angeles shortstop Erick Aybar is 10-for-21 in his career against Houston starter Scott Feldman.
Weather: Temperatures will be in the low-70s with a 67 percent chance of rain and wind blowing out to left field at 7 mph.
Key betting note: Angels are 8-2 in their last 10 Sunday games with umpire Chris Guccione behind home plate.
Seattle Mariners at Oakland Athletics (-150, 7.5)
Hot pitching stat: Athletics right-hander Sonny Gray tossed six shutout innings, striking out seven in his season debut.
Cold batting stat: Members of the Seattle roster have just four hits in 27 at-bats against Gray.
Weather: Temperatures will be in the low-70s with sunny skies and wind blowing out to right field at 6 mph.
Key betting note: Athletics are 19-7 in their last 26 Sunday games.
Interleague
Milwaukee Bucks at Boston Red Sox (-160, 8.5)
Hot pitching stat: Red Sox southpaw Jon Lester was 7-1 with a 3.09 ERA and just six home runs allowed in 13 home starts last season.
Hot/Cold batting stat: Boston second baseman Dustin Pedroia batted .315 in 308 at-bats at Fenway Park in 2013.
Weather: Temperatures will be in the low-50s under clear skies with wind blowing from left to right field at 8 mph.
Key betting note: Red Sox are 13-3 in Lester's last 16 home starts.
MLB: Streaks, Tips, Notes
Sportspic.com
NY Yankees at Toronto Blue Jays
Toronto Blue Jays knotting up the series with a 4-0 victory Saturday have betting trends in their favor when they pit Drew Hutchison against C.C. Sabathia. Hutchison opening the season with a victory tossing 5.1 innings of 3 hit no run ball has seen his team win five straight at the Rogers Centre when he touches toe to rubber. Sabathia taking a loss in his opener at Houston over 6 innings of 8 hits, 6 run ball has seen Yankees drop his last four on the road. The hidden betting gem, Jays have owned game-three in this series at home winning six consecutive.
Giants, Dodgers clash
By Sportsbook.ag
San Francisco Giants (5-1) at Los Angeles Dodgers (4-3)
Sportsbook.ag Line: Los Angeles -153, San Francisco +143, Total: 6.5
The Dodgers and Giants wrap up a three-game set on Sunday night with an exciting pitching matchup between Matt Cain and Zack Greinke.
Los Angeles has already started the 2014 campaign out strong despite injuries to some of their key players such as Clayton Kershaw and Matt Kemp. Coming into this series with its division rival, the team has received tremendous efforts from its starting pitchers who are a combined 4-0 with an 0.91 ERA and 0.78 WHIP. In these 29.2 innings, the group has allowed just three earned runs with 30 K's and just seven walks.
But these numbers could climb against a hot San Francisco lineup that enters the series with the fourth-most runs in the majors (23) and a strong .751 OPS. 1B Brandon Belt is leading that power surge with three homers and 5 RBI with a .333 average (6-for-18).
Two of the top hurlers in the league go toe-to-toe to close out this series with RHP Matt Cain (0-0, 3.60 ERA) taking the mound for the visiting Giants while RHP Zack Greinke (1-0, 3.60 ERA) will assume the ace role on the staff until Kershaw returns to the rotation in early May. Last season in this series, the Dodgers were able to win 11-of-19 contests (.579) and they hold a 30-25 edge in the series since the start of 2012. Los Angeles should also feel confident that they are playing at home, where they were 47-34 (58%) last year.
Matt Cain was given an early four-run lead in his first outing of the year, but allowed three runs and seven hits before leaving with a one-run advantage. He earned a no-decision in the contest after the Giants bullpen could not hold the lead. Cain had a 4.00 ERA last season, his worst number since 2006 (4.15 ERA), but the only other stat that really suffered was home runs, as he allowed 1.12 per nine innings, a much worse number than his career average of 0.79 HR/9. The righty has gone only 5-10 in 28 career starts against the Dodgers while having a solid ERA (3.45) but just 126 strikeouts in 172.1 IP (6.6 K/9).
OF Andre Ethier has loved facing Cain in his career, going 30-for-68 (.441 BA) with six extra-base hits, and 1B Adrian Gonzalez has gone 20-for-69 (.290 BA) with four homers, four doubles and 13 RBI against Greinke.
Coming into this series, the Giants bullpen has pitched 12.1 innings and already allowed seven runs (5.11 ERA). Closer Sergio Romo (4.50 ERA, 2 saves) closed out two games for San Francisco during the season-opening series, and has put together a 2.29 ERA (0.84 WHIP) with 11 saves in 39.1 innings against the Dodgers in his career.
Zack Greinke allowed just two hits over five innings in the win against the Padres in his first start, but one of those hits left the park. His ERA has decreased in each of the past three seasons and he has pitched well in limited time against the Giants too. In his two starts against them, he has allowed five runs (4 ER) in 11.1 IP, and earned two no-decisions. Greinke looked really good in his outing against them last year, going six innings while allowing just one earned run on four hits while striking out five.
With his limited starts against San Francisco, Greinke has not had many opportunities facing players in the Giants lineup. The batter he has faced most, 2B Marco Scutaro, has gone 9-for-29 (.391 BA, 4 doubles) in this matchup but is currently sidelined with a back injury.
The Dodgers added reliever Chris Perez to bolster their bullpen this season, which has collectively allowed eight runs (7 ER) in 17.1 IP (3.63 ERA) while striking out 17 and walking 11. Closer Kenley Jansen (28 saves in 32 chances in 2013) has picked up right where he left off last season by converting both of his save opportunities in the opening series.