National League
Marlins @ Pirates
Urena is 0-3, 6.14 in four starts this year.
Vogelsong is 1-1, 2.92 in five starts this year (over 3-2).
Marlins are 5-7 in last 12 road games; five of their last seven road games went over. Pittsburgh won six of its last nine games; five of last seven Pirate games went over.
Cardinals @ Phillies
Leake is 1-1, 7.77 in his last four starts; five of his last six went over. Cardinals are 7-4 in his road starts.
Velasquez is 0-3, 7.59 in his last four starts; over is 10-6 in his last 16. Phillies are 5-3 in his home starts.
Cardinals won five of last six games; over is 11-4-1 in last 16 Cardinal games. Phillies won six of last nine games; over is 7-3-2 in last 12 Philly home games.
Dodgers @ Reds
Urias is 2-0, 5.40 in his last four starts (over 4-0). Dodgers are 2-3 in his road starts.
DeSclafani is 1-1, 3.13 in his last four starts; under is 6-2-2 in his last ten. Cincinnati is 5-0 when he starts at home.
Dodgers are 6-10 in last 16 road games; over is 8-1-3 in last 12 Dodger games. Cincinnati is 12-4 in last 16 home games; eight of Reds’ last nine games went over.
Nationals @ Braves
Gonzalez is 2-0, 4.20 in his last three starts; three of his last four stayed under. Nationals lost six of his last seven road starts.
De la Cruz is 0-5, 4.60 in six starts this year (under 5-1).
Nationals are 13-5 in last 18 games; eight of their last ten games went over. Atlanta lost nine of last ten games; eight of their last nine games went over.
Cubs @ Rockies
Hammel is 6-0, 0.95 in his last six starts; he has a 22-inning scoreless streak. Six of his last seven starts stayed under. Chicago lost four of his last five road starts.
De la Rosa is 0-0, 4.24 in his last three starts; four of his last five stayed under. Colorado is 3-5 in his home starts.
Cubs are 19-4 in last 23 games; under is 4-2 in their last six games. Colorado is 5-11 in its last 16 games; over is 6-3 in their last nine games.
Diamondbacks @ Padres
Shipley is 2-1, 3.38 in his last four starts (under 3-2).
Perdomo is 0-3, 6.23 in his last three starts; three of his last four went over. Padres split his four home starts.
Arizona lost five of last six road games; over is 7-3 in their last ten road games. San Diego lost six of its last eight games; seven of their last nine home games went over total.
Mets @ Giants
Syndergaard is 1-3, 5.34 in his last five starts; three of his last four went over. Mets are 7-3 in his road starts.
Samardzija is 1-3, 5.04 in his last five starts (under 5-0). Giants are 5-4 in his home starts.
New York lost 16 of last 24 games; their last six games went over. Giants are 11-22 since All-Star break; seven of their last eight games went over the total.
American League
Red Sox @ Tigers
Rodriguez is 0-1, 2.08 in his last four starts; his last seven stayed under. Boston is 5-2 in his road starts.
Verlander is 3-1, 2.83 in his last five starts; his last nine stayed under. Detroit is 7-3 in his last ten home starts.
Red Sox won eight of last nine games; under is 14-4 in last 18 Boston road games. Detroit lost nine of last 12 games; seven of last eight Tiger games stayed under the total.
Astros @ Orioles
Keuchel is 1-3, 5.06 in his last four starts; five of his last seven stayed under. Houston is 4-8 n his road starts.
Gallardo is 1-1, 3.18 in his last three starts; six of his last eight stayed under. Orioles are 5-1 in his home starts.
Astros lost five of last seven games, but scored 27 runs the last two nights; nine of last 11 Houston games went over total. Baltimore lost seven of last ten home games; under is 11-3-2 in last 16 games at Camden Yards.
Rangers @ Rays
Perez is 1-1, 3.04 in his last four starts (under 4-0). Texas is 4-7 in his road starts.
Smyly is 3-0, 2.25 in his last five starts; three of his last four went over. Rays are 4-6 in his home starts.
Rangers are 10-4 in last 14 games; under is 7-2-2 in their last 11 road games. Tampa Bay won five of last six games; over is 11-3 in last fourteen Tampa Bay games.
Blue Jays @ Indians
Stroman is 1-1, 2.95 in his last three starts; four of his last six went over. Toronto lost five of his last six starts.
Kluber is 4-0, 2.00 in his last four starts; under is 3-1-1 in his last five. Indians won his last six home starts.
Blue Jays are 11-6 in last 17 games; under is 9-3 in Toronto’s last 12 road games. Cleveland is 8-3 in last 11 home games; under is 5-3 in their last eight home games.
A’s @ White Sox
Hahn is 0-2, 9.56 in his last four starts; over is 5-2-1 in his last eight. He is 0-3, 13.83 in four road starts.
Quintana is 2-1, 1.82 in his last six starts; under is 6-2-1 in his last nine. White Sox are 5-4 in his home starts.
Oakland lost six of last seven games; under is 11-3 in A’s last 14 games. White Sox are 8-14 in last 22 games; three of their last four home games stayed under.
Twins @ Royals
Santana is 3-0, 2.33 in his last three starts; under is 7-2 in his last nine. Minnesota won his last three road starts.
Duffy is 5-0, 1.64 in his last six starts (under 5-1). Royals are 9-1 in his home starts.
Twins are 11-7 in last 18 road games; over is 11-1-2 in their last 14 road tilts. Kansas City won 11 of last 13 games; under is 14-6 -1 in their last 21 games.
New York @ Angels
Green is 2-2, 6.29 in five starts this year (over 3-1-1).
Chacin is 0-4, 13.50 in his last five starts; over is 6-1-1 in his last eight. Angels won four of his five home starts.
New York won its last four road games; five of last eight Bronx games went over total. Angels lost 14 of last 16 games; under is 6-2 in their last eight games.
Interleague
Brewers @ Mariners
Garza is 3-1, 4.03 in his last four starts (over 5-5-2).
Miranda is 0-0, 4.09 in two starts this year (over 1-1).
Brewers lost their last seven road games; last three Milwaukee games went over. Seattle won its last eight home games; over is 11-5 in Mariners’ last 16 home games.
Teams’ record when this pitcher starts
Mia-Pitt– Urena 1-3; Vogelsong 2-3
StL-Phil– Leake 11-13; Velasquez 10-11 (0-6 last 6)
LA-Cin– Urias 4-3; DeSclafani 8-5
Wsh-Atl– Gonzalez 10-14; De la Cruz 1-5
Chi-Col– Hammel 15-8 (6-0 last 6); De la Rosa 7-11
NY-SF– Syndergaard 14-9; Samardzija 12-13 (2-7 last 9)
Az-SD– Shipley 3-2; Perdomo 7-6 (0-3 last 3)
Hst-Balt– Keuchel 10-14; Gallardo 9-7
Tex-TB– Perez 14-11; Smyly 10-13 (4-0 last 4)
Bos-Det– Rodriguez 5-8; Verlander 14-11
Tor-Clev– Stroman 12-12; Kluber 13-11 (4-0 last 4)
A’s-Chi– Hahn 5-4; Quintana 12-12
Min-KC– Santana 7-15 (3-0 last 3); Duffy 15-3 (10-0 last 10)
NY-LA– Green 3-2; Chacin 5-7/2-3
Mil-Sea– Garza 5-7; Miranda 0-2
Starting pitchers allowing 1+ runs in first inning
Mia-Pitt– Urena 1-4; Vogelsong 1-5
StL-Phil– Leake 8-24; Velasquez 4-20
LA-Cin– Urias 2-5; DeSclafani 7-13
Wsh-Atl– Gonzalez 6-24; De la Cruz 1-6
Chi-Col– Hammel 4-23; De la Rosa 8-18
NY-SF– Syndergaard 5-23; Samardzija 9-25
Az-SD– Shipley 1-5; Perdomo 7-13
Hst-Balt– Keuchel 6-24; Gallardo 6-16
Tex-TB– Perez 11-25; Smyly 7-23
Bos-Det– Rodriguez 3-13; Verlander 9-25
Tor-Clev– Stroman 6-24; Kluber 6-24
A’s-Chi– Hahn 2-9; Quintana 6-24
Min-KC– Santana 7-22; Duffy 4-18
NY-LA– Green 3-5; Chacin 7-17
Mil-Sea– Garza 4-12; Miranda 1-1
Umpires
Mia-Pitt– Under is 4-1-1 in last six Conroy games.
StL-Phil– Underdogs won seven of last eight Randazzo games.
LA-Cin– Over is 5-3 in last eight Reynolds games.
Wsh-Atl– Home side won four of last five Hamari sides.
Chi-Col– Last four Porter games stayed under the total.
NY-SF– Underdogs are 7-7 in last fourteen Fagan games.
Az-SD– Five of last seven Eddings games went over.
Hst-Balt– Four of last five LBarrett games stayed under.
Tex-TB– Six of last eight Wolf games went over.
Tor-Clev– Last five DeJesus games stayed under total.
Bos-Det– Under is 6-2-1 in last nine TGibson games.
A’s-Chi– Six of last seven Davis games stayed under.
Min-KC– Over is 12-4 in last sixteen Miller games.
NY-LA– Six of last seven West games stayed under.
Mil-Sea– Under is 8-4 in last twelve Joyce games.
Armadillosports.com
Sunday's Diamond Notes
By Kevin Rogers
VegasInsider.com
Hottest team: Royals (10-1 last 11)
The defending World Champions aren’t going away quietly, as Kansas City is making a charge towards a Wild Card berth. The Royals sat seven games below .500 on August 5, but Kansas City has won 12 of its past 14 games, including seven of their last nine at home. Kansas City has done most of its damage against division opponents in this span, including a 5-1 record against Minnesota. The Royals wrap up their series with the Twins on Sunday as Danny Duffy takes the mound. Kansas City owns a perfect 10-0 record in Duffy’s last 10 appearances, including a 6-0 mark at Kauffman Stadium.
Coldest team: Brewers (3-7 last 10)
Milwaukee is one of two teams that has dropped 40 road games this season as the Brewers conclude a disastrous trip in Seattle. The Brewers lost all four games at Wrigley Field to the Cubs, while falling in the opener to the Mariners on Friday. Milwaukee scored two runs in the first three losses, but bounced back with six-run efforts on Thursday and Friday. Since the All-Star break, the Brewers have lost 13 of 17 games away from Miller Park, while dropping 10 of their past 11 road series finales. Matt Garza heads to the hill on Sunday, as the Brewers are 4-1 in his previous five trips to the mound.
Hottest pitcher: Jason Hammel, Cubs (13-5, 2.75 ERA)
Last season, Jake Arrieta put together a terrific second half on the way to a Cy Young award. Another Cubs’ right-hander is on fire post All-Star break as Hammel has won six consecutive decisions, including three straight scoreless outings. However, Hammel has done most of his damage in this span at home, as he is making his first road start since July 22 when he takes the mound at Colorado. Hammel tries to improve on his away struggles, as the Cubs are 2-5 in his last seven road starts.
Coldest pitcher: Jose Urena, Marlins (1-4, 6.80 ERA)
The Miami right-hander has lost each of his last three starts, while allowing 15 hits and 13 earned runs in his past two appearances (10.1 innings). Urena gave up five first inning runs to the Reds in his previous outing, but actually didn’t allow a run in the next five innings of a 6-3 setback. The Marlins have compiled a 1-8 record in Urena’s past nine starts since last June, while yielding 10 hits and five earned runs in less than five innings of a 5-1 loss at Pittsburgh last May as the Marlins and Pirates wrap up their series on Sunday.
Biggest UNDER run: Athletics (11-3 last 14)
There has been no rhyme or reason to Oakland’s latest UNDER stretch, as the A’s tossed a shutout against the White Sox on Friday, but failed to register a run against Chris Sale on Saturday in a 6-2 loss. The A’s offense has scored four runs or less in six of the past seven games, while also dealing with several inflated totals in UNDERS at Texas. Zach Neal makes his fourth start of the season for Oakland in Sunday’s finale at Chicago, as the rookie allowed five earned runs in his previous outing against Seattle.
Biggest OVER run: Diamondbacks (6-0 last six)
Arizona and San Diego played two exciting games to start its series at Petco Park as the two NL West rivals combined for 17 and 11 runs. In fact, each of the last 10 meetings between the Padres and D-backs have sailed OVER the total, including eight of the past nine matchups with the teams combining for at least 10 runs. Braden Shipley has cashed the OVER in each of his last two starts for Arizona, while right-hander Luis Perdomo has finished OVER the total in three of four starts at Petco Park.
Matchup to watch: Blue Jays vs. Indians
Toronto and Cleveland have played a pair of exciting contests at Progressive Field the last two nights. The Indians rallied for a pair of runs in the ninth inning in Friday’s 3-2 victory, highlighted by Tyler Naquin’s inside-the-park homer. Toronto built a 5-0 lead on Saturday before Cleveland erased that deficit with five runs in the fourth. However, the Jays were lifted to victory by an Edwin Encarnacion home run in the fifth for a 6-5 triumph.
Corey Kluber has been on fire of late for the Indians, winning four straight decisions as the 2014 Cy Young winner takes the mound on Sunday. Kluber looks for a better performance against Toronto after getting lit up by the Blue Jays in early July by allowing five earned runs in a 17-1 drubbing. Marcus Stroman counters for Toronto, as the right-hander is seeking his 10th victory of the season. Toronto has compiled a 5-8 record in Stroman’s last 13 outings, which includes a 2-1 defeat to Cleveland in 19 innings on July 1, even though he scattered five hits and one earned run in 6.2 innings.
Betcha didn’t know: The Nationals have been an instant fade when Gio Gonzalez takes the mound on the highway this season. Washington has lost seven of his past eight starts away from Nationals Park, while the Nats are 5-11 in his last 16 appearances overall. Washington goes for the sweep of Atlanta on Sunday, as Gonzalez has lost in his past two visits to Turner Field, both coming back in 2014.
Biggest public favorite: Nationals (-160) at Braves
Biggest public underdog: Orioles (+110) vs. Astros
Biggest line move: Mets (+100 to -110) at Giants
Mets, Giants close series
By Sportsbook.ag
NEW YORK METS (61-62) at SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS (68-55)
Sportsbook.ag Line: Mets -110, Giants +100, Total 7.5
Game 1: Giants 10 Mets 7
Game 2: Giants 8 Mets 1
Game 3: Mets 9 Giants 5
The Mets and Giants meet in San Francisco for a big Sunday night battle.
Both New York and San Francisco are losing their footing, but the teams are in different situations right now. While the Mets currently find themselves sliding down the standings in the NL Wild Card race, the Giants have recently blown a huge lead in the NL West and are looking for a way to get that back.
A win over New York on Sunday night could help, as it would be a huge confidence boost to defeat a pitcher like RHP Noah Syndergaard (10-7, 2.76 ERA, 171 K). The guy that will need to try to outduel Syndergaard is RHP Jeff Samardzija (10-8, 4.24 ERA, 112 K) for the Giants.
On paper, this will look like a matchup that is destined to be won by Syndergaard, but Samardzija is capable of turning in a gem every now and then. Samardzija will also have the benefit of pitching against a Mets lineup that is banged up and struggling to score runs on a nightly basis.
The Mets still believe they have a shot at an NL Wild Card spot, but this team must turn things around fast. A couple of wins in a row would be huge for New York and Noah Syndergaard knows he must deliver in this big Sunday night spot. The righty has, however, had some issues over the past few weeks. While Syndergard has not pitched poorly, he is not giving the Mets a lot of innings. He has pitched less than seven innings in nine of his past 10 starts and it’d be huge for New York if he can start to use less pitches to make his impact.
One thing that should spark this Mets team is that OFs Yoenis Cespedes and Jay Bruce should be in the lineup together on Sunday. Cespedes has been battling injuries recently, but he’s healthier now and New York should be pretty dangerous with the two of them together. It’d also be huge if 2B Neil Walker is back in the lineup for this one.
Jeff Samardzija has been extremely solid his last two times on the mound and the Giants are hoping that he has turned a corner. If he can be the pitcher San Francisco thought it was signing in the offseason for the remainder of the year then this team should be dangerous come postseason time. In his past two starts, Samardzija has allowed just three earned runs in 11.2 innings of work. If he can turn in a quality start in this game then the Giants will be extremely happy with him.
Offensively, C Buster Posey is somebody to keep an eye on in this game. Posey is 3-for-6 against Syndergaard in his career and should be able to get on base a few times in this one as well. It’d also be big if SS Brandon Crawford is on his game for San Francisco. Crawford is 2-for-5 against Syndergaard in his career and has also been one of the Giants’ best hitters this season. The team needs both of them to find a way to drive in runs against a very good pitcher.
MLB: Streak, Tips, Notes
Sportspic.com
Toronto Blue Jays and Cleveland Indians
Cleveland Indians and Toronto Blue Jays conclude their three-game set with both teams having notched one victory. Current betting odds at Sports Intercation has Tribe -$1.45 favorites with the total set at 7.5 across most shops.
Tribe's ace Corey Kluber gets the call in the finale. Kluber carrying a 13-8 record, 3.15 ERA has been light's out of late going 4-0 in his last four turns with 25 K's while allowing a total six runs over the span. Tribe do have a 6-0 streak in front of the home audience with Kluber. However, the club has not been able to solve Blue Jays handing the ball to their ace. In four career starts Tribe are just 1-3 including a loss this season in which the hurler was tagged for 5 runs in 3 1/3 innings of work.
Kluber matches pitches with Toronto's Marcus Stroman entering 9-5 on the campaign with a 4.63 ERA. After a shaky start to the season Stroman appears to have righted the ship as he's 3-1 with a 3.27 ERA since the early July. Tossing in an opposing park has been an obsticle for Stroman. In his last seven the results has been one win, six losses for the Blue Jays. On a possitive note, yesterday's 6-5 win for the Toronto bodes well for the team's chances, since the team is 4-1 courtesy of Stroman when coming off a win the previous effort.