National League
Phillies @ Pirates
Velasquez is 3-0, 1.88 in his last four starts; Phillies are 5-3 in his road starts. Three of his last four starts stayed under the total.
Taillon is 1-0, 1.50 in his last two starts (over 4-2).
Phillies lost five of last seven games; over is 17-7 in their last 24 road games. Pittsburgh won four of last six games; six of their last eight stayed under the total.
Padres @ Nationals
Friedrich is 0-4, 7.97 in his last four starts; nine of his last 11 went over. San Diego lost five of his seven road starts.
Giolito is 0-0, 4.70 in two MLB starts (over 1-1). .
Padres lost eight of last nine road games; six of their last eight road games stayed under total. Washington lost four of last six games; eight of Nationals' last nine games stayed under.
Diamondbacks @ Reds
Godley is 2-1, 5.63 in his three starts this year (over 2-1).
Finnegan is 2-3, 8.25 in his last five starts; his last three went over. Cincinnati is 3-5 in his home starts.
Arizona lost 17 of its last 21 games; their last four road games stayed under. Cincinnati won six of its last eight games; over is 5-3-3 in their last ten home games.
Mets @ Marlins
Matz is 0-5, 5.26 in his last nine starts; under is 6-1-1 in his last eight. Mets lost three of his last four road starts.
Urena allowed one run in 5.2 IP (94 PT) in his first MLB start.
Mets lost eight of last 12 road games; 10 of their last 11 games stayed under. Marlins won five of last seven games; under is 9-5 in their last fourteen games.
Cubs @ Brewers
Lester is 1-1, 10.50 in his last three starts; three of his last four went over. Chicago is 7-3 in his road starts, 1-3 in his last four.
Guerra is 3-1, 1.85 in his last five starts (under 5-0). Milwaukee is 4-3 in his home starts.
Cubs won six of last nine games; over is 11-3-1 in Cubs' last 15 road games. Milwaukee lost seven of last ten games; under is 6-1-1 in last eight games at Miller Park.
Dodgers @ Cardinals
Kazmir is 3-0, 3.33 in his last five starts; six of his last eight went over. Dodgers are 5-4 in his road outings.
Mayers is making his MLB debut here; he was 3-3, 2.94 in nine AAA starts this year.
Dodgers lost four of their last seven games; five of last six Dodger games went over. St Louis won five of tis last six games; under is 14-8-1 in their last 232 home games.
Braves @ Rockies
Jenkins is 0-0, 2.53 in his two MLB starts (under 1-0-1).
Chatwood is 0-2, 9.82 in his last four starts (over 3-1). Colorado is 3-6 in his home starts.
Braves lost seven of last nine games; under is 13-5-2 in their last 20 road games. Colorado won six of last nine games; four of their last six games stayed under.
American League
Indians @ Orioles
Kluber is 1-0, 0.60 in his last two starts; six of his last seven went over. Cleveland is 5-6 in his road starts.
Worley is 1-0, 6.60 in three starts this year (under 2-1).
Indians are 7-10 since their long win streak ended; three of their last five games went over the total. Baltimore won eight of last nine home games; last 11 Baltimore games stayed under.
Mariners @ Blue Jays
Miley is 0-5, 5.60 in his last five starts; his last three stayed under. Mariners lost six of his nine home starts.
Happp is 6-0, 3.40 in his last seven starts; over is 5-2-1 in his last eight. Blue Jays are 8-1 when Happ starts at home.
Mariners lost 11 of last 15 road games but won last two; under is 9-3 in their last 12 road games. Toronto lost three of its last four home games; seven of its last nine home games stayed under the total.
Twins @ Red Sox
Milone is 3-0, 2.33 in his last three starts; three of his last four went over.
Porcello is 5-0, 2.97 in his last six starts; over is 6-3-1 in his last ten. Red Sox are 10-0 when he starts at home.
Twins won four of last five games; under is 6-2-1 in their last nine. Boston won 11 of last 15 home games; seven of last ten Red Sox games stayed under the total.
Tigers @ White Sox
Sanchez is 0-7, 7.69 in his last nine starts; his last three stayed under. Detroit lost his last six starts on foreign soil.
Quintana is 3-0, 2.84 in his last three starts; under is 16-2 in his last 18 starts. White Sox are 4-4 in his home starts.
Tigers won five of last six games; four of their last four games stayed under. Chicago lost eight of their last nine games; over is 7-2-1 in their last ten home games. Last night's game was 3-3 after 8 innings, then was suspended by rain. It will be finished before today's game.
Angels @ Astros
Lincecum is 1-3, 8.74 in his last five starts (over 3-3).
Fiers is 0-1, 12.86 in his last two starts; three of his last four went over. Astros are 7-2 when he starts at home.
Angels won six of last eight games, over is 4-1-1 in their last six. Houston won seven of last nine home games; under is 7-2-1 in their last ten home games.
Rangers @ Royals
Griffin is 0-1, 6.58 in his last six starts (over 4-1-1). Texas is 4-3 in his road starts.
Volquez is 1-1, 4.26 in his last three starts; three of his last four stayed under. Kansas City is 9-3 in his home starts.
Rangers lost 15 of last 20 games, over is 12-4-1 in their last 17 games. Royals lost six of last nine games; five of KC's last six home games went over the total.
Rays @ A's
Snell is 2-2, 3.57 in his last four starts; four of his last five stayed under. He is 1-1, 2.07 in his three road starts.
Hahn is 1-3, 10.13 in his last four starts, last of which was June 8. Four of his last five starts went over the total.
Tampa Bay lost 13 of last 16 road games, scoring three runs in last two games; six of their last eight road games stayed under. Oakland won six of last nine games; four of last five stayed under the total.
Interleague
Giants @ Bronx
Samardzija is 1-1, 7.39 in his last five starts; nine of his last ten went over. Giants are 6-5 in his road starts.
Eovaldi is 1-4, 7.92 in his last five starts; five of his last seven starts went over.
Giants lost six of last seven games; three of their last four games stayed under. New York won five of last seven games; under is 10-0 in their last ten home games.
Teams won-lost records when this pitcher starts:
Phil-Pitt-- Velasquez 10-6; Taillon 4-2
SD-Wsh-- Friedrich 5-7 (0-4 last 4); Giolito 1-1
Az-Cin-- Godley 2-1; Finnegan 6-13
NY-Mia-- Matz 9-8 (2-7 last 9); Urena 1-0
Chi-Mil-- Lester 13-6; Guerra 10-4
LA-StL-- Kazmir 11-8 (5-0 last 4); Mayers 0-0
Atl-Col-- Jenkins 1-1; Chatwood 10-7
Cle-Balt-- Kluber 9-10; Worley 2-1
Sea-Tor-- Miley 9-8 (0-5 last 5); Happ 14-5 (7-0 last 7)
Min-Bos-- Milone 5-4; Porcello 15-4 (8-0 last 8 )
Det-Chi-- Sanchez 3-10; Quintana 10-9
LA-Hst-- Lincecum 3-3; Fiers 10-7 (5-1 last 6)
Tex-KC-- Griffin 7-4; Volquez 12-8
TB-A's-- Snell 2-5; Hahn 3-4
SF-NY-- Samardzija 11-8; Eovaldi 9-8 (2-5 last 7)
Starting pitchers allowing 1+ runs in first inning:
Phil-Pitt-- Velasquez 3-15; Taillon 1-6
SD-Wsh-- Friedrich 4-12; Giolito 0-2
Az-Cin-- Godley 1-3; Finnegan 5-19
NY-Mia-- Matz 4-17; Urena 0-1
Chi-Mil-- Lester 5-19; Guerra 3-14
LA-StL-- Kazmir 10-19 (5 of last 87); Mayers 0-0
Atl-Col-- Jenkins 1-2; Chatwood 7-17
Cle-Balt-- Kluber 5-19; Worley 0-3
Sea-Tor-- Miley 7-17; Happ 5-19
Min-Bos-- Milone 0-9; Porcello 7-19 (5 of last 7)
Det-Chi-- Sanchez 5-13; Quintana 4-19
LA-Hst-- Lincecum 2-6; Fiers 3-17
Tex-KC-- Griffin 1-11; Volquez 6-20
TB-A's-- Snell 2-7; Hahn 2-7
SF-NY-- Samardzija 11-8; Eovaldi 4-17
Umpires
-- Phil-Pitt-- Over is 10-2-1 in last 13 Knight games.
-- SD-Wsh-- Underdogs are 9-8 in last 17 Diaz games.
-- Az-Cin-- Five of last seven holbrook games stayed under total.
-- Chi-Mil-- Last six Gonzalez games stayed under the total.
-- NY-Mia-- Six of last nine Basner games stayed under total.
-- LA-StL-- Favorites won last three Gibson games.
-- Atl-Col-- Underdogs are 7-5 in last 12 Muchlinski games.
-- Sea-Tor-- Over is 9-4 in last thirteen Timmons games.
-- Cle-Balt-- Under is 6-3-1 in last ten Barksdale games.
-- LA-Hst-- Eight of last nine Layne games went over.
-- Det-Chi-- Eight of last eleven Blakney games stayed under.
-- Min-Bos-- Over is 3-0-1 in last four Emmel games.
-- Tex-KC-- Five of last six Cooper games stayed under.
-- TB-A's-- Over is 8-4 in last twelve Fletcher games.
-- SF-NYY-- Underdogs are 9-9 in last 18 Vanover games.
Armadillosports.com
MLB: Streak, Tips, Notes
Sportspic.com
Cleveland Indians at Baltimore Orioles
The Baltimore Orioles aim for a three-game home sweep of the Cleveland Indians as they conclude their season series Sunday at Camden Yards.
Vance Worley a recent bullpen convert gets his second straight start for Buck Showalter's club. The righthander lost his last start at New York allowing three runs over 4 1/3 innings and carries to the hill a 2-1 record, 3.16 ERA over three starts, eighteen relief appearances.
Indians counter with Corey Kluber, who is 9-8 with a 3.47 ERA. In his last outing Kluber spun seven innings of no-run ball but was tagged with a no-decision as the relief staff imploded giving up 7 runs in Indians' loss at Kansas City.
Baltimore opening +$1.25 home underdogs at Sports Interaction are worth a second look. Orioles love home cookin'. The Birds sport the leagues best home record at 35-14 and are currently ridding a 9-1 stretch in front of the home audience. Additionally, Baltimore has a habit of making life miserable for Cleveland winning 4 of 5 meetings this season, 10 of the past 12 encounters. Finally, Indians handing the ball to Kluber after a team loss the previous day serves as an alarm, since the result has been one win six losses.
Seattle Mariners at Toronto Blue Jays
It hasn't been a banner series for Toronto. Nipped 2-1 Friday, then spanked 14-5 Saturday expect Blue Jays to do what they typically do with J.A. Happ on the mound and that's win! The lefthander in excellent form is undefeated in seven with an eye-opening 46-9 KW ratio. Matching that, Jays are a sparkling 10-1 in his last eleven in front of the home audience, 6-1 in his last seven following a team loss the previous day.
Sunday's Diamond Notes
By Tony Mejia
VegasInsider.com
Hottest team: Marlins (9-3 last 12)
Since the Cardinals’ MLB-best five-game losing streak was snapped by the Dodgers on Saturday night, Miami now owns the league’s top record over the last dozen games, a figure that includes winning two of three in St. Louis. The Fish will look to win a fourth straight series for the first time all season by beating the Mets in the rubber game of this key three-game set. They’re 6-2-2 over their last 10 series dating back to June 13. Miami is in sole possession of the second NL Wild Card, a single game behind L.A., one game up on St. Louis and 1.5 ahead of New York in a tightly-packed race. Jose Urena (1-1, ERA), inserted into the rotation for the first time this season on July 19, makes his second start after allowing a single run over 5.2 innings at Philadelphia in a 2-1 win. The 24-year-old Dominican will be facing the Mets for the first time this season and pitched three innings out of the bullpen against them last year. Steven Matz (7-6, 3.56) has lost both of his starts against the Marlins this season and picked up a no-decision in South Florida as a rookie last year. Giancarlo Stanton has gone 3-for-5 against him, launching two home runs.
Coldest team: Diamondbacks (2-9 last 11, 4-17 last 21)
Arizona will try to avoid being swept for the third time in its last four series, but have seen its bats go cold. The Snakes have scored two runs or fewer in three of their last four games and have been outscored 27-8 over their current four-game losing streak. The Diamondbacks have the league’s second-worst home record but have been impressive on the road until their current stretch, which has seen them drop seven straight in opposing stadiums, a streak that dates back to June 25. The Reds will be looking to pull off a sweep for the first time since opening the season with three consecutive home wins over the Phillies from April 4-7. Lefty Brandon Finnegan (5-7, 4.66) takes the mound for Cincinnati and has won consecutive decisions. Zack Godley (2-1, 5.31) lost for just the second time in nine career decisions last time out and picked up a win in relief last season in his only appearance against the Reds.
Hottest pitcher: Scott Kazmir (8-3, 4.30 ERA)
With Clayton Kershaw sidelined, the Dodgers have been fortunate that their veteran lefty has stepped his game up. Kazmir is 2-0 with a 2.25 in July and comes off a great outing in his lone post-All-Star break appearance, striking out eight and walking none in a win over the Nationals that he keyed by surrendering a single run over seven innings. He’s struck out 23 and walked just three this month. Kazmir hasn’t lost since May 9, winning six consecutive decisions. The Dodgers have won in nine of his last 12 starts. Kazmir’s longest outing of the season came at home against these Cardinals on May 14. He fell one out shy of his first complete game in three years, giving up a Jeremy Hazelbaker two-run homer before being pulled, putting the Dodgers in position to win by surrendering one run on three hits over the first eight innings. Remarkably, Kazmir, an 12-year veteran, has pitched at Busch Stadium only once, winning as a member of the Angels back in 2010.
Coldest pitcher: Wade Miley (6-7, 5.36 ERA)
On June 7, Miley pitched seven innings of four-hit ball to beat Cleveland, winning his sixth straight decision. He’s 0-5 since. It hasn’t been entirely his fault since he’s performed well enough to win a few times, including allowing just two runs in 6.2 innings at Houston on July 4. The Mariners managed just a single run on his behalf. Seattle has scored just once three times in Miley’s last four losses, giving their lefty starter little hope. Over his last 22.1 innings, Miley has surrendered 14 runs on 30 hits, four of them home runs. He’s struck out just 11 hitters while walking seven and has been the picture of mediocrity. Still, you have to figure he was at least encouraged watching the Mariners score 14 times in Saturday’s win. That’s four more runs than he’s gotten during this 0-5 run. Miley will be facing the Blue Jays for the first time this season but pitched in Toronto three times last season as a member of the Red Sox, going 1-1 despite walking 15 batters in 17.2 innings.
Biggest UNDER run: Orioles (11-0 last 11)
The Orioles continue to lead MLB with 144 home runs, but their production really slowed down coming out of the break. Although they’ve won three straight and will look to post an impressive sweep of the AL Central-leading Indians, they still haven’t scored more than five runs in a single game in since July 6, a stretch of a dozen contests that is by far the longest of the season. Baltimore has pitched well enough to win 5-1 and 5-2 in this series against the Tribe, setting up a situation where the winner of Sunday’s matinee will own the American League’s best record. Orioles pitching has been dominant of late, but Vance Worley will be making just his fourth start of the season for them here and has only escaped the fifth inning once.
Biggest OVER run: Red Sox (3-1, last 4, 8-5 last 13 home games)
Nine runs weren’t enough for the Red Sox to win on Saturday night due to an atrocious bullpen effort against Minnesota, but at least they got the bats surging again. After being limited to just one run on Friday, wasting a bases loaded-no out situation in the ninth-inning of a 2-1 loss, Boston pounced on Ricky Nolasco and has scored 34 runs over its last four games in spite of having posted a one-spot. On their nine-game homestand prior to the All-Star break, the Red Sox scored in double-figures three times, averaging 6.3 runs per game. Currently, five games into another nine-game stretch at Fenway Park, the Sox are averaging 7.6 this time around. Despite the explosion, the Twins can unexpectedly take three of four if lefty Tommy Milone (3-2, 4.71) continues to pitch well. He’s won all three of his starts this month, posting a 2.33 ERA while getting an average of 10.7 runs of support. Rick Porcello (12-2, 3.47) hasn’t dropped a decision since May 17.
Matchup to watch: Rangers at Royals
It’s always fun when desperate teams get together for a series finale. The Royals still own the second-best home record in all of baseball, but they’re just 4-5 this month and are in danger of dropping a second straight series against a playoff contender. As things stand, the defending World Series champs are at .500 with 66 games remaining, trailing Cleveland by eight games in the AL Central and stuck behind a host of other teams in the Wild Card chase. Meanwhile, Texas has sputtered its way back to the pack with its struggles over the past month. Since June 29, the Rangers are 5-15 and haven’t won a game not started by ace Cole Hamels since July 5. Hamels picked up a 7-4 win last night, but can now only sit and watch as his team attempts to avoid a sixth consecutive series loss this month. Rival Houston has crept within 2.5 games in the AL West, while the Mariners have climbed to just 5.5 games back. A.J. Griffin (3-1, 4.26) will look to help Texas close out its road trip with a much-needed victory, but hasn’t won a decision since April 26. Kansas City counters with Edinson Volquez (8-8, 4.72), who is a solid 6-3 at home.
Betcha didn’t know: Sunday night's starter opposite Kazmir will be St. Louis rookie Mike Mayers, a 24-year-old set to make his major league debut. An Ohio native who pitched at Ole Miss, Mayers has quite the backstory, having fought back from thoracic outlet syndrome last year, the same nerve condition that has affected Matt Harvey, Josh Beckett, former Cardinal Chris Carpenter and current starter Jaime Garcia. Mayers dominated Double-A and has been solid in Triple-A, where he was supposed to start on Saturday night for Memphis before being called up. Mayers is a combined 8-5 with a 2.62 ERA in the minors this season, striking out 86 batters over 106.1 innings. St. Louis was forced into starting Mayers by this week's double-header against San Diego and Friday's 16-inning marathon. The Cardinals will open a critical nine-game road trip at the Mets on Monday, so they're hoping Mayers can supply a boost by eating his share of innings.
Biggest public favorite: Blue Jays (-170) vs. Mariners
Biggest public underdog: Angels (+170) at Astros
Biggest line move: Rockies (-180 to -200) vs. Braves