National League
Reds @ Nationals
Lamb is 0-1, 4.50 in his last five starts (over 5-5-1).
Giolito threw four shutout innings in his MLB debut, which was shortened by rain.
Washington won six of last seven games; 10 of Nationals' last 15 home games went over. Cincinnati lost 11 of last 14 games; nine of Reds' last 12 games went over.
Cubs @ Mets
Lester is 5-0, 1.76 in his last seven starts; over is 7-4 in his last 12. .
Syndergaard is 6-1, 2.96 in his last nine starts; over is 5-0-1 in his last six.
Cubs lost nine of last 13 games; over is 6-1-1 in last eight Chicago games. Mets won last five home games; under is 10-3-2 in last 15 New York games.
Marlins vs Braves (@ Ft. Bragg, NC)
Conley is 2-1, 3.06 in his last three starts; five of his last seven stayed under.
Wisler is 1-0, 3.26 in his last three starts; four of his last five went over.
Marlins lost seven of last ten road games; over is 14-2 in last 16 Marlin road games. Atlanta lost six of last nine games; under is 9-6 in Braves' last 15 games. This game in on a military base in a stadium built just for tonight.
Brewers @ Cardinals
Anderson is 0-2, 13.50 in his last three starts, which all went over the total.
Wacha is 3-1, 3.61 in his last five starts; nine of his last ten went over.
Brewers lost ten of last 12 road games; under is 3-0-2 in their last five road games. St Louis lost seven of last nine home games; under is 7-1-1 in Cardinals' last nine at home.
Giants @ Diamondbacks
Suarez is 1-0, 6.29 in five starts this year (over 3-1-1).
Ray is 2-3, 4.66 in his last five starts; three of his last four stayed under.
Giants lost four of their last six games; six of last seven Giant games went over total. Arizona lost six of last seven games; seven of last nine Diamondback games went over.
Rockies @ Dodgers
Gray is 1-1, 4.88 in his last four starts; over is 6-1-1 in his last eight.
McCarthy is making first '16 start; he is 55-65, 4.13 in 157 career starts, 0-1, 4.61 in four minor league rehab starts.
Rockies are 5-10 in last 15 games; eight of their last 11 games went over the total. Los Angeles won its last eight home games; under is 13-3 in last 16 Dodger home games.
American League
Indians @ Blue Jays
Kluber is 4-1, 2.92 in his last five starts; three of last four went over.
Happ is 4-0, 4.50 in his last four starts; four of his last five went over
Indians won 14 of last 15 games; three of their last four games stayed under. Toronto lost eight of its last 13 games; under is 10-5 in their last fifteen home games.
Tigers @ Rays
Pelfrey is 1-2, 7.04 in his last four starts; over is 7-3-1 in his last 11 starts.
Archer is 0-4, 5.19 in his last four starts, three of which stayed under.
Tigers won nine of last 12 games; seven of their last ten road games went over. Tampa Bay lost 15 of last 17 games; six of Rays' last eight games went over the total.
Angels @ Red Sox
Shoemaker is 0-1, 1.65 in his last four starts; his last six starts stayed under.
O'Sullivan is 1-0, 8.44 in two starts this year, which both went over; Red Sox scored 23 runs in those two games.
Angels lost ten of last 12 games; six of their last eight road games stayed under. Boston lost eight of last 12 games; seven of their last ten games went over the total.
White Sox @ Astros
Quintana is 0-3, 5.51 in his last five starts; under is 14-1 in his last 15 starts.
McHugh is 0-0, 2.29 in his last three starts; his last four starts stayed under.
Chicago is 8-4 in its last 12 games; seven of last ten White Sox road games went over. Astros won 11 of last 13 games, six of last nine Houston home games stayed under.
Rangers @ Twins
Hamels is 4-0, 0.65 in his last four starts; over is 7-2-1 in his last ten.
Gibson is 1-3, 6.43 in his last five starts (under 5-3).
Rangers won 15 of last 20 games, over is 13-5-1 in their last 19 road games. Minnesota lost six of its last nine games, over is 18-4 in last 22 games at Target Field.
Orioles @ Mariners
Jimenez is 2-0, 2.45 in his last two starts; eight of his last nine starts went over. .
Iwakuma is 3-1, 4.97 in his last four starts; over is 8-4 in his last 12 starts.
Orioles lost last three games; four of last six Baltimore games went over. Seattle won six of last eight games; seven of last 11 Mariner games stayed under.
Interleague
Royals @ Phillies
Ventura is 2-2, 5.40 in his last four starts; five of his last six went over.
Velasquez is 2-1, 4.63 in his last six starts; six of his last eight starts went over.
Royals won five of last seven games (under 5-1-1). Phillies won six of last nine games, over is 18-9-1 in their last 28 games.
Pirates @ A's
Liriano is 0-5, 8.61 in his last six starts; three of his last four road staets stayed under.
Mengden is 1-3, 3.16 in four MLB starts, three of which stayed under.
Pirates won their last three games, seven of their last 11 games went over total. Oakland won lost its last three games, under is 7-2-1 in last ten home games
Bronx @ San Diego
Green allowed six runs in four IP (79 PT) in his first '16 start.
Cashner was 1-3, 5.02 in his last five starts before going on DL (over 5-5-1).
Bronx lost five of last six games, over is 8-4-1 in their last 13 games. San Diego is 8-4 in its last 12 games, eight of last nine games at Petco Park went over the total.
Teams won-lost records when this pitcher starts:
Cin-Wsh-- Lamb 3-8; Giolito 1-0
Chi-NY-- Lester 13-3; Syndergaard 10-5
Mia-Atl-- Conley 8-8; Wisler 4-11
Mil-StL-- Anderson 5-10; Wacha 8-8
SF-Az-- Suarez 2-3; Ray 5-11
Col-LA-- Gray 6-7; McCarthy 0-0
Cle-Tor-- Kluber 8-8; Happ 11-5
Det-TB-- Pelfrey 6-9; Archer 5-12
LA-Bos-- Shoemaker 4-11; O'Sullivan 2-0
Chi-Hst-- Quintana 7-9; McHugh 10-6
Tex-Min-- Hamels 12-4; Gibson 3-5
Blt-Sea-- Jimenez 8-7; Iwakuma 9-7
KC-Phil-- Ventura 9-6; Velasquez 8-5
Pitt-A's-- Liriano 6-9 (0-6 last 6); Mengden 1-3
NY-SD-- Green 0-1; Cashner 6-5
Starting pitchers allowing 1+ runs in first inning:
Cin-Wsh-- Lamb 5-11; Giolito 0-1
Chi-NY-- Lester 4-16; Syndergaard 3-15
Mia-Atl-- Conley 5-16; Wisler 8-15 (4 of last 5)
Mil-StL-- Anderson 6-15; Wacha 4-16
SF-Az-- Suarez 2-5; Ray 3-16
Col-LA-- Gray 5-13; McCarthy 0-0
Cle-Tor-- Kluber 4-16; Happ 5-16
Det-TB-- Pelfrey 8-15; Archer 8-17
LA-Bos-- Shoemaker 3-15; O'Sullivan 0-2
Chi-Hst-- Quintana 2-16; McHugh 8-16
Tex-Min-- Hamels 3-16; Gibson 3-8
Blt-Sea-- Jimenez 7-15 (3 of last 3); Iwakuma 3-16
KC-Phil-- Ventura 4-15; Velasquez 3-12
Pitt-A's-- Liriano 4-15; Mengden 0-4
NY-SD-- Green 1-1; Cashner 3-10
Umpires
Cin-Wsh-- Over is 10-4 in Johnson games this season.
Chi-NY-- Six of last nine Lentz games stayed under.
Mia-Atl-- Last four Marquez games stayed under.
Mil-StL-- Six of last eight Kulpa games went over.
SF-Az-- Six of last nine Randazzo games went over.
Col-LA-- Nine of last 12 Hernandez games went over.
Cle-Tor-- Underdogs won seven of last nine Hirschbeck games.
Det-TB-- Seven of last eight Wendelstedt games stayed under.
LA-Bos-- Ten of last eleven Wegner games went over.
Chi-Hst-- Six of last seven Blakney games stayed under.
Tex-Min-- Four of last five Iassogna games stayed under.
Blt-Sea-- Five of last seven Foster games went over total.
KC-Phil-- Five of last seven Basner games stayed under.
Pitt-A's-- Under is 5-2-1 in last eight Holbrook games.
NY-SD-- Over is 8-0-1 in last nine Wolcott games.
Armadillosports.com
MLB: Streak, Tips, Notes
Sportspic.com
Chicago White Sox at Houston Astros
The series finale between Houston Astros and Chicago White Sox figures to be a low-scoring affair. In the past 9 meetings between Stros and Pale Hose, the teams hold a 7-2 'Under' record. Additionally, Stros are on a 16-6 'Under' stretch including 6-1 'Under' after an 'Over the previous game. The clincher, White Sox have played 'Under' in 10 of lefty Quintana's last 11 starts and in 5 of his 6 vs Astros. Matching that, Astros have played 'Under' in 6 of 8 facing a southpaw starter.
Pittsburgh Pirates at Oakland Athletics
The closing matchup of a three game interleague series is today’s baseball betting focus as Oakland Athletics host the Pittsburgh Pirates. Oakland trying to avoid being swept will count on righthander Daniel Mengden. Pirates looking toward sweeping the series counter with lefty Francisco Liriano.
A's Mengden is only four starts into his career, but he hasn't looked like a rookie allowing three or fewer runs in all four starts. In his last outing he picked up his first win against Giants pitching into the eighth and will cary a 1-3 record, 2.81 ERA to the hill.
As for Liriano, he enters 4-8 with a 5.33 ERA and has severely struggled recently allowing five or more runs in each of his last six starts with Pirates losing all six contests. In the daylight, Liriano is also having his problems, with Pirates on the wrong end in three of his four road games during the day.
Mendgen able to limit runs from being scored, Liriano getting tagged for 9 yard-ball, 4.4 runs/game in losing eight of his last nine, Pirates tasting defeat in three of Liriano's last four in an opposing park the numbers point to Oakland handing Pirates it's eleventh road loss in fifteen away from PNC Park.
Sunday's Diamond Notes
By Tony Mejia
VegasInsider.com
Hottest team: Indians (14-1 last last 15)
For the first time since June 15, we’ll see how the Tribe responds after a loss. For perspective as to how long ago that was, the Cavs were still down 3-2 in the NBA Finals at that point. Cleveland had just been swept in Kansas City, but bounced back to set a franchise record with 14 consecutive wins before falling 9-6 on Saturday afternoon, surrendering the game’s final four runs. The Indians bullpen is a concern after Friday’s 19-inning win and a host of close games they’ve been involved with, but the team’s starting pitching and offense has been the best in baseball for over two weeks. In all, Terry Francona’s team outscored opponents 82-27 during their winning streak and will look to bounce back with rotation mainstay Corey Kluber (8-7, 3.50 ERA) after being forced to give Zach McAllister a spot start yesterday. The 2014 Cy Young Award winner went 4-1 with a 2.19 ERA in June but lost his only start against the Blue Jays last year. Lefty J.A. Happ (10-3, 3.70) will pitch for Toronto, looking to claim his fifth straight decision, extending his team lead in wins.
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Coldest team: Rays (0-3 last 3, 2-15 last 17)
Tampa Bay hoped it had finally snapped out of its funk earlier this week when Matt Moore outdueled good buddy and former teammate David Price to help take two of three games from visiting Boston, but the Tigers came into town with other ideas. After scoring 10 runs in each of the first two games, winning the series opener with eight in the ninth, Detroit held off the Rays 3-2 on Saturday, riding Justin Verlander. Banged up and getting limited crowd support, Tampa Bay will turn to Chris Archer (4-11, 4.76) as it tries to avoid being swept in this four-game set, but has just won once in his last eight starts, scoring more than three runs only twice. The Rays do have the good fortune of running into Mike Pelfrey (2-7, 5.02), Detroit’s most vulnerable starter.
Hottest pitcher: Jon Lester (9-3, 2.03 ERA)
After losing another Jake Arrieta start, Chicago looks to avoid a four-game sweep at the hands of the Mets by turning to Lester, their ERA leader and lone lefty starter. The Cubs have lost only once in Lester’s last seven outings and watched him go 4-0 with a 1.41 ERA in June to move into second behind L.A.’s Clayton Kershaw among MLB’s ERA leaders. Lester lost a 4-2 decision to New York and Matt Harvey in Game 1 of last year’s NLCS and will look to stop a seven-game losing streak at the hands of the Mets that started last postseason. He’ll face Noah Syndergaard (8-3, 2.49), who outdueled Arrieta in NLCS Game 2 and has been New York’s best pitcher this year. Syndergaard is coming off surrendering five runs in just three innings to snap a personal six-game winning streak in an 11-4 loss at Washington on June 27. Although there have been rumors he’s been dealing with elbow pain, his velocity was normal and he reported feeling good. This is by far Sunday’s top pitching matchup.
Coldest pitcher: Francisco Liriano (4-8, 5.33 ERA)
The Pirates have won the first two games in their series at Oakland after splitting in Seattle, so their West Coast trip is going extremely well, delivering them to within a game of .500 as they look for a sweep of the A’s. They’ll need to overcome Liriano’s slumping ways to get the job done since he’s pitched in a single victory over his last nine starts. The Dominican lefty has gotten through six innings only twice in his last seven and has surrendered at least four runs in five of six. Liriano has been even worse on the road, giving up 11 home runs in just 38.2 innings and is 1-4 with a 6.98 ERA outside of Pittsburgh. He’s had a pretty solid run with the Pirates, but the manner in which he’s coming apart is similar to how the bottom fell out for him in Minnesota. Oakland slugger Khris Davis is 4-for-12 against him with two homers.
Biggest UNDER run: Cardinals (4-0 last 4)
Brewers starter Chase Anderson (4-8, 5.45) may threaten this St. Louis run since he’s been flammable in his last three starts, all Milwaukee losses. Anderson has surrendered 17 runs in his last 11.1 innings and will be seeing the Cardinals for the first time this season. He’s 1-5 with a 6.30 ERA on the road, but did get through six innings of two-run ball in his only career Busch Stadium appearance. The Cardinals have pitched extremely well on their current homestand, giving up a single run in this series and losing tight games against Kansas City due to their bats betraying them. The Pirates come in next for a key four-game set, but St. Louis has its eyes set on a sweep of the Brewers as they send Michael Wacha (4-7, 4.42) to the mound. He’s had the ‘over’ prevail in seven of his last eight starts despite giving up more than three runs only once in his five June starts. This total has been set at 8.5.
Biggest OVER run: Twins (18-5-2 last 25)
Minnesota exploded for a season-high 17 runs against the Rangers on Saturday, riding a breakout 2-home run, 7-RBI game from rookie Max Kepler. Despite the worst record in baseball, the Twins have been involved in an astounding amount of high-scoring games since May 23. In a 37-game stretch, either Minnesota or its opponent has scored at least five runs in 31 of them, leading to the ‘over’ going 27-8-2. The Twins and Rangers are in the midst of seeing one another seven times between now and the All-Star break, which could lead to plenty of fireworks since Texas has scored at least five runs in eight of its last 10 games. Kyle Gibson (1-5, 5.12) shut out the White Sox over seven innings in his last start, but had been involved in games that climbed ‘over’ the posted total in three of his previous four outings. Rangers ace Cole Hamels (9-1, 2.60) might squash any hope of another big day at the plate for Minnesota, however, since he’s given up two earned runs or less in each of his last five starts, all wins. This total has been set at 8.5.
Matchup to watch: Marlins vs. Braves
Where they’re playing is more important than who is playing in this one. Fort Bragg Stadium, as its being referred to, is a temporary structure on the largest military base in the world that Major League Baseball funded solely for this event in North Carolina. It will be converted into a multi-purpose facility post-game, having been built on land that used to be a golf course. The facility will host the first regular-season MLB game ever played on a military instillation in celebration of July 4th weekend. The 12,500-seat stadium will welcome in mostly soldiers and U.S. Department of Defense personnel in a game that will feature Atlanta as the home team. Both the Braves and Marlins arrived late after playing a 9-1 game at Turner Field that Atlanta surprisingly won as a +235 underdog against Miami ace Jose Fernandez in the biggest shocker of an upset-filled Saturday. The Braves have won only 28 games this season, but are 8-3 against the Marlins, keeping their NL East rival from a firm grip on a Wild Card spot. Lefty Adam Conley (4-5, 3.90) and Matt Wisler (3-7, 4.14) will take the mound on the Sunday night stage for their respective teams. The total has been set at 8.5.
Betcha didn’t know: Brandon McCarthy is undefeated as a member of the Dodgers despite a 5.87 ERA. L.A., notorious for its lack of run support last season, averaged 7.75 runs per game in McCarthy's starts last April before he tore the UCL in his elbow and underwent Tommy John Surgery. McCarthy, who missed the entire 2010 season due to a shoulder surgery, will be pitching in the bigs for the first time in over 14 months following a rehab stint at Class A Rancho Cucamonga that begin on June 12. McCarthy went 0-1 with a 4.61 ERA in Class-A, striking out 11 and walking three. Colorado, who McCarthy shut out 7-0 in his best Dodgers start, will counter with Jon Gray (5-3, 4.83) to try and avoid a sweep. The Rockies have scored a single run in the first two games of the series.
Biggest public favorite: Rangers (-160) at Twins
Biggest public underdog: Rockies (+115) at Dodgers
Biggest line move: Rays (-140 to -155) vs. Tigers