Baseball Information
National League
Giants @ Cubs
Peavy is 2-0, 2.96 in his last four starts (over 3-1).
Arrieta is 5-1, 1.63 in his last seven starts; under is 4-0-1 in his last five.
Cubs won nine of their last ten games (over 4-0 in last four). Giants lost last three games with Chicago; four of last five series games went over the total. SF lost five of last seven games; over is 6-1-1 in last eight.
Dodgers @ Pirates
Wood is 1-2, 4.85 in his last four starts.
Morton is 1-0, 2.13 in his last two starts; under is 4-1-1 in his last six.
Dodgers lost eight of last ten games with Pittsburgh; over is 8-3 in last 11 series games. LA won six of its last nine games (over 6-2-1). Pirates won eight of last eleven games; their last three went over.
Rockies @ Nationals
Flande is 1-0, 2.70 in his two starts (over 1-1).
Scherzer is 1-0, 2.08 in his last two starts; five of his last seven stayed under.
Colorado lost six of its last eight games with Washington; Rockies lost seven of last ten games overall-- five of their last seven went over. Nationals lost six of last eight games, with five of last six going over the total.
Marlins @ Braves
Hand is 1-2, 4.60 in his four starts (under 3-1).
Braves lost last nine Miller starts (0-4, 4.31 in his last five); five of his last six starts stayed under the total.
Braves won five of last seven games (over 7-0-2 in last nine). Marlins lost 13 of last 15 games (over 7-1 in last eight). Atlanta won 10 of last twelve games with Miami; seven of last eight went over the total.
Cardinals @ Brewers
Lackey is 5-3, 1.91 in his last ten starts (under 2-0-1 in last three).
Nelson is 3-0, 1.67 in his last four starts; under is 3-1-1 in his last five.
Cardinals won eight of last ten games with Milwaukee (under 7-3); they won five of last six games overall (under 6-0), and haven't allowed a run since the 4th inning on Wednesday. Brewers won three of last five games; under is 5-1 in their last six- they got shut out last two nights.
Reds @ Diamondbacks
DeSclafani is 2-0, 2.25 in his last three starts; under is 3-1-1 in his last five.
Corbin is 1-1, 3.14 in his last three starts; six of his last nine went over.
Cincinnati won seven of last 11 games with Arizona (under 8-2 in last ten); Reds lost four of last six games overall; under is 10-1-1 in their last 12. Arizona is 8-5 in its last 13 games; eight of its last 11 went over.
Phillies @ Padres
Williams is 0-3, 7.25 in his last five starts; over is 6-3-1 in his last ten.
Cashner is 2-0, 1.93 in his last two home starts; under is 3-1-1 in his last five starts overall.
Phillies are 15-5 in their last 20 games-- over is 4-2-2 in their last eight. San Diego lost last five games, allowing 30 runs; nine of their last 11 went over. Philly won three of last four games with the Padres (over 4-2 in last six)
American League
Red Sox @ Tigers
Owens allowed three runs in five IP (96 PT) in his first MLB start.
Detroit is 1-8 in Verlander starts, but he is 1-1, 2.74 in his last three; last three all stayed under-- Tigers scored four runs in the three games.
Red Sox won four of last six games with Detroit; over is 4-2-1 in last seven series games. Boston lost four of last six games overall (over 6-3-1 in last ten). Tigers won four of last six games (over 2-0-1 in last three).
Blue Jays @ Bronx
Estrada is 2-0, 2.19 in his last two starts; four of his last five stayed under.
Tanaka is 4-1, 3.93 in his last five starts; over is 5-3 in his last eight.
Blue Jays won seven in row, ten of last 11 games; they scored 26 runs in last four games, with five of their last seven going under. Toronto won five of last six games with Bronx, which lost three of last four (under 7-2 in last 9).
Twins @ Indians
Hughes is 6-1, 3.12 in his last nine starts (over 5-3-1).
Kluber is 2-3, 4.10 in his last five starts; three of his last five went over.
Twins lost six of last seven games, outscored 56-27; five of their last nine games stayed under. Indians lost five of their last seven games; six of their last nine stayed under. Minnesota won four of last six games with Cleveland; nine of last 11 in series went over total- these teams scored 40 runs the last two nights.
White Sox @ Royals
Quintana is 2-0, 1.69 in his last three starts; three of his last four went over.
Duffy is 3-1, 2.18 in his last five starts; his last seven stayed under.
Chicago lost five of last six games with Kansas City; under is 7-2-1 in last ten series games. White Sox lost seven of last nine games overall; 11 of their last 12 went over the total. Royals lost six of last ten games; four of their last six stayed under.
Orioles @ Angels
Gonzalez is 0-2, 8.31 in his last two starts; six of his last eight went over.
Weaver comes off DL to start here; he is 0-4, 6.91 in his last four starts, with seven of last ten staying under.
Orioles lost four of last six games with the Angels; nine of last eleven went under the total. Baltimore is 8-4 in its last 12 games; over is 5-3-1 in its last nine. Halos lost eight of last eleven games (over 7-5 in last 12).
Astros @ A's
Fiers is making first start for Astros; he was 1-2, 4.50 in his last four starts for Milwaukee-- over is 5-3-1 in his last nine starts.
Bassitt is 1-4, 2.43 in his six starts for Oakland (under 5-1); A's scored total of 14 runs in the six games.
Astros lost five of last six games overall; they're 3-15 in last 18 road games. A's lost ten of last 16 games (under 11-5). Houston won seven of last ten games with Oakland but lost last two days; three of last four in series stayed under the total.
Rangers @ Mariners
Lewis is 4-0, 4.33 in his last four starts; five of his last seven went over.
Hernandez is 3-2, 3.11 in his last seven starts; four of his last five went over.
Seattle won six of last seven games with Texas; seven of last ten stayed under. Mariners won four of last si games; their last five went over. Rangers are 8-2 in last ten games; over is 5-3-1 in their last nine.
Interleague
Mets @ Rays
Colon is 1-4, 5.65 in his last five starts; three of his last four went over.
Archer is 1-2, 2.33 in his last four starts (under 3-1).
Mets won six of last nine games with Tampa Bay; last six games in series went over total. New York won seven of last eight games, allowing 21 runs; five of last six went over. Tampa Bay won four of its last six; seven of their last eight games went over the total.
Win-loss records this year for team with this starting pitcher:
SF-Chi-- Peavy 4-4 (4-0 last 4); Arrieta 14-8 (6-1 last 7)
LA-Pitt-- Wood 8-14, 0-1; Morton 9-4
Col-Wash-- Flande 1-1; Scherzer 13-9
Mia-Atl-- Hand 1-3; Miller 9-13 (0-9 last 9)
StL-Mil-- Lackey 12-10; Nelson 10-12
Cin-Az-- DeSclafani 11-10; Corbin 2-4
Phil-SD-- Williams 6-11; Cashner 8-13
Bos-Det-- Owens 0-1; Verlander 1-8
Tor-NY-- Estrada 9-8; Tanaka 11-4 (6-1 last 7)
Min-Clev-- Hughes 12-10; Kluber 7-16
Chi-KC-- Quintana 9-13; Duffy 10-6 (5-1 last 6)
Balt-LAA-- Gonzalez 11-9; Weaver 6-9 (0-4 last 4)
Tex-Sea-- Lewis 11-11 (4-0 last 4); Hernandez 15-7
Hst-A's-- Fiers (11-10 w/Mil); Bassitt 2-4
NY-TB-- Colon 10-11 (1-7 last 8); Archer 13-10
Times this starting pitcher allowed a run in first inning:
SF-Chi-- Peavy 0-8; Arrieta 4-22
LA-Pitt-- Wood 6-22; Morton 7-13
Col-Wash-- Flande 1-2; Scherzer 3-22
Mia-Atl-- Hand 1-4; Miller 4-22
StL-Mil-- Lackey 5-22; Nelson 7-22
Cin-Az-- DeSclafani 4-21; Corbin 1-6
Phil-SD-- Williams 6-17; Cashner 8-22
Bos-Det-- Owens 1-1; Verlander 3-9
Tor-NY-- Estrada 3-17; Tanaka 3-15
Min-Clev-- Hughes 6-22; Kluber 10-23
Chi-KC-- Quintana 12-22; Duffy 3-16
Balt-LAA-- Gonzalez 4-20; Weaver 4-15
Tex-Sea-- Lewis 5-22; Hernandez 7-22 (3 of last 3)
Hst-A's-- Fiers 1-21; Bassitt 1-6
NY-TB-- Colon 6-21; Archer 5-23
Umpires
LA-Pitt-- Under is 3-1-1 in last five Wegner games.
SF-Chi-- Underdogs are 6-5 in lst eleven Reynolds games.
Col-Wsh-- Last three Porter games stayed under total.
StL-Mil-- Seven of last nine Hernandez games went over.
Mia-Atl-- Six of last nine Hudson games went over total.
Cin-Az-- Six of last eight Carapazza games went over.
Phil-SD-- Four of last five Blakney games stayed under.
Tor-NY-- Last three Foster games stayed under total.
Hst-A's-- Over is 5-1-1 in last seven Hoberg games.
Tex-Sea-- Six of last seven LBarrett games went over.
Bos-Det-- Seven of last nine May games stayed under.
Chi-KC-- Underdogs are 8-8 in last 16 Marquez games.
Min-Clev-- Four of last five Danley games stayed under.
Balt-LAA-- Favorites won five of last six Little games.
NY-TB-- Four of last five Woodring games went over.
Armadillosports.com
Sunday MLB Preview
By Steve Merril
Rockies @ Nationals -- Max Scherzer is 4-5 in 10 home starts for Washington this season. Two of his last three outings have been mediocre, so he’s not in the best of form right now. Scherzer has allowed six walks in his last two starts which also indicates something is amiss. Yohan Flande pitched well in his first two road starts of the season, holding the Cardinals and Cubs to 3 runs and eight hits over 10 innings of work. A major concern is the shaky Colorado bullpen that will likely come into play late in this game, especially since the Washington offense has righted itself a bit. Taking the Rockies +1.5 (-110) on the run line looks like the best way to play this game.
Phillies @ Padres -- Somehow Jerome Williams continues to be in the Philadelphia rotation. Williams is 0-6 with a 8.01 ERA and 1.90 WHIP in nine road starts this season. He is coming off a home start where he held the Dodgers to just 1 run and seven hits in five innings. Off such a good performance, Williams is set to regress in this game. Andrew Cashner has good numbers, especially at home, for a guy that is 4-11 on the season. Despite winning just twice, Cashner owns a 3.62 ERA and 1.33 WHIP in San Diego; he has allowed just nine walks in eight starts at home. The only thing that kept me off the Padres in this game was the steep price of -180.
Giants @ Cubs -- Even with Chicago’s hot play as of late, I think the Giants are a live underdog in this game. The Giants average 4.9 runs per game on the road, and they are in good form, scoring 42 total runs in their last eight games. As good as Jake Arrieta has pitched this season, he has a losing record at home (4-5 in 10 starts). The hot Giants’ offense will be a stiff challenge for Arrieta in this game. Jake Peavy is in good form, having allowed just 1 run and nine hits in his last two starts. Peavy beat the Cubs in Chicago last year after holding them to 2 runs in seven innings of work. San Francisco at +150 or more has good value.
Orioles @ Angels -- There was no line posted on this game at the time of this writing. Jered Weaver comes off the DL to make this start, and I like to fade pitchers in this situation. I also like to play the Over in these games as well. Weaver threw two rehab starts in class A advanced ball spanning just 9.1 innings of work. He gave up 4 runs and seven hits, striking out seven while walking four in those outings. It’s unlikely he’ll be able to go deep in this game. Weaver is 8-4 with a 3.27 ERA and 1.01 WHIP in 13 career starts against Baltimore, so that is somewhat of a concern. Miguel Gonzalez will start for the Orioles, and he has been awful this season; another concern for backing Baltimore. Take a look at either the Orioles (+ money) or the Over when the line comes out on Sunday morning.
Sunday Scouting Report
By Coach Fletcher
Toronto Blue Jays at New York Yankees
The Blue Jays came to New York and hoped to pick up a little but they might leave with a lot. Toronto goes for the sweep Sunday when the Jays Marco Estrada faces the Yanks Mashiro Tanaka. Estrada is 9-6 with a 3.40 era while Tanaka sits at 8-4 with a 3.84 era. While Tanaka has won 4 of his last 5 games, he’s been prone to the long ball this season. In fact, in 2015 he has already allowed more round trippers than he did in 2014. Edwin Encarnacion is the only Blue Jay that has taken Tanaka deep. Jose Bautista is hitting just .091 against Tanaka. Tanaka has given up 16 home runs this year in 93.7 innings. Estrada has allowed 11 bombs in 113 innings. He’s given up 4 in his last 3 starts include a trio of long balls versus Baltimore. This could create serious issues with Tanaka since the Jays are ranked 3rd in all of MLB in home runs per game. The Yankees actually rank 2nd. Neither pitcher was effective in games against today’s team in 2015. Estrada went 4 2/3 innings in May against the NYY and gave up 4 earned runs and 8 hits, one of which went the distance. Tanaka faced the Jays in April this year and lasted 4 innings and gave up 4 earned runs and 5 hits, 1 of which went out.
Minnesota Twins at Cleveland Indians
Corey Kluber has been anything but consistent this year. Today he’s about a -160 favorite to down the Twins. But which Kluber will show up? On July 29 Kluber faced the Royals and threw a complete game allowing only 1 run and 5 hits while walking 1 and fanning 6. In his previous start against the White Sox Kluber lasted 7 innings and was raked for 6 runs on 8 hits. And following the masterpiece against the Twins, Kluber was pounded by the Angels for 5 runs and 10 hits in 5 2/3 innings. That’s the way his season has gone. Kluber, last year’s CY Young winner in the AL, is 6-12 with a 3.60 era and a 1.12 whip this year. Kluber is 4-2 lifetime versus the Twins with a 3.80 era. He’s faced them once this year and went 8 innings allowing 2 runs on just 3 hits and struck out 8.
San Francisco Giants at Chicago Cubs
Jake Arrieta is having an excellent season and he is one reason the Cubs are still in contention for at least the NL Wild Card. He’s 12-6 on the season with a 2.50 era. On Tuesday he blanked the Pirates over seven innings. Arrieta has 9 straight quality starts allowing a combined total of just 10 runs. In his last 9 starts, Arrieta has gone 6-1 with a sparkling 1.37 era. In 2 career starts versus the Giants, Arrieta has gone 1-1 with a 3.46 era. One of those starts was in 2010 and another in 2014. He’ll match up against a suddenly rejuvenated Jake Peavy. Peavy has gone 6 innings in his last 2 starts and allowed only 1 run on 9 hits. He’s walked 1 and fanned 11. Peavy faced the Giants twice last year giving up 4 runs in 13 innings on 15 hits. He gave up a long ball in each game.
Texas Rangers at Seattle Mariners
Felix Hernandez has been and still is one of the better pitchers in the major leagues. But one team he hasn’t mastered is the Texas Rangers. And the Ranger bats heated up on Saturday with an 8 run 11th inning to top the M’s 11-3. The Rangers accumulated 17 hits in the process. King Felix has had 44 career starts against Texas and has a 14-21 record to show for it. His era in those 44 starts is 3.92. He has split his last 2 starts despite giving up 23 hits and 11 runs in just 13 1/3 innings. Hernandez is 13-6 on the year with a 3.13 era and a 1.15 whip. His home era is 3.04 but his era for the last 3 games is an un-Felix-like 5.31. Felix has 2 starts against the Rangers this year, both in April. At home he went 7 innings allowing just 1 run and 2 hits while fanning 12. At Texas he went 6 2/3 innings allowing 2 runs on 5 hits while striking out 4. Seattle is 17-27 in Hernandez’s 44 starts. From 2011 through 2014 Hernandez went 2-9 against the Rangers with a 4.27 era in 14 starts.
Los Angeles Dodgers at Pittsburgh Pirates
It’s a good thing for the Dodgers that the Giants are on the verge of 3 straight losses to the Cubs. The Dodgers have been beaten 5-4 and 6-5 in the first two games against the Pirates. They’ve been able to maintain their 3.5 game lead over SF. Recently acquired Alex Wood takes the bump for the LA team. He’s 7-7 for the season with a 3.65 era. The Bucs send out Charlie “Ground Chuck” Morton who is 7-4 with a 4.19 era. But Morton likes the nome cookin’ at PNC Park. And Alex Wood likes his chances versus the Pirates. He is 1-1 with a 2.19 era in 2 games vs the Bucs this year. Morton hasn’t pitched against LA since 2010. But he sports a 2.52 era and a 4-1 mark at home and probably pitched his best game of the season in his last outing when he tossed 7 scoreless against the Reds giving up 5 hits and walking none. In Wood’s last start against the Pirates he blanked them for 7 1/3 innings and fanned 8. However, Wood, a lefty, hasn’t done the job in his last 4 starts where he has an era of 4.85 and has had control issues. Even though the Bucs are just 11-9 against LHP, they have a batting average of .280 and an on base percentage of .341 against portsiders. Against RHP the Pirates are batting .253 with a .305 on base percentage.
MLB: Streaks, Tips, Notes
Sportspic.com
Toronto Blue Jays at New York Yankees
History shows the Yankees have thrived in the situation they find themselve today. The club has a smart 4-1 record this season avoiding a three game sweep. Yankees have also thrived at home following a defeat by 5 or more runs posting a 10-4 record last fourteen times they've been taken behind the woodshed. Adding to those numbers, Yankees have a 5-0 home streak vs a division opponent w/Tanaka and are 11-1 last 12 vs. a team with a winning record handing the ball to Tanaka. Sportsbooks have Yankees -$1.40 favorite in their own backyard.
Miami Marlins at Atlanta Braves
Atlanta Braves are 1-12 in Shelby Miller's last thirteen outings. It's not entirely the righthander's fault. Miller has allowed one earned run or less in eight of those starts but Braves have provided Miller with just 1.9 runs of support over the 13 games. One bright spot in attempting to stop the bleeding Sunday. Atlanta has won each of Miller's three starts vs Marlins including a sparkling 9 inning, 2 hit shutout by the hurler in his last appearance vs Miami. Miller and the Braves are -$1.40 in their own ball park.