Baseball Information
National League
Giants @ Pirates
Peavy is 1-1, 3.18 in his last four starts; four of his last six went over.
Morton is 1-1, 4.70 in his last five starts; three of his last four went over.
Pittsburgh won seven of last nine games with the Giants; over is 3-0-2 in last five series games. Pirates won ten of last 12 games (over 8-3-2). SF won five of its last seven games; under is 7-2-1 in its last ten.
Diamondbacks @ Reds
Corbin is 2-0, 3.15 in his last four starts (over 3-1).
Lamb allowed five runs in six IP (99 PT) in his first MLB start.
Arizona won three of last four games with Cincinnati; seven of last eight tilts in series stayed under the total. D'backs lost five of last seven games; three of last four stayed under. Reds lost eight of last ten games; their last three all stayed under the total.
Phillies @ Marlins
Williams is 1-1, 2.00 in his last three starts.
Hand is 1-1, 3.71 in his last three starts (under 2-1).
Philly won three of last four games with Miami (over 3-1); Phils lost six of last eight games (over 6-3 in last nine). Marlins scored 28 runs in winning three of last four games; over is 6-1-1 in their last eight.
Braves @ Cubs
Foltynewicz is 1-2, 6.45 in his last four starts (over 3-0 in last three).
Arrieta is 3-0, 1.65 in his last four starts; under is 5-1-1 in his last seven.
Atlanta won seven of last ten games with the Cubs, with last three staying under- they scored one run total in last two. Braves lost seven of last nine games overall (over 3-2 in last five). Cubs lost last three games, allowing 25 runs in last two-- five of their last six games went over.
Nationals @ Rockies
Scherzer is 0-1, 7.80 in his last three starts (over 4-1 in last five).
Flande is 0-0, 5.91 in his last two starts; his last three went over.
Washington is 8-3 in last 11 games with Colorado; over is 4-2-1 in last seven series games. Nationals won last two nights after losing six in a row; under is 5-3 in their last eight. Rockies lost eight of last nine games; four of their last six games went over the total.
American League
Indians @ Bronx
Tomlin allowed two runs in 6.1 IP (84 PT) in his first '15 start.
Nova is 4-1, 3.68 in his last five starts; under is 6-1-1 in his last eight.
Bronx lost four of last five games with Cleveland (over 6-3 in last nine), but they won six of last seven games overall; five of their last eight stayed under the total. Indians lost four of last five games (last three all went over).
Rangers @ Tigers
Perez is 1-0, 3.10 in his last three starts (under 2-1).
Simon is 1-1, 7.27 in his last three starts (over 7-3 in last ten).
Texas lost its last three games with Detroit; six of last seven series games got over the total. Rangers won six of last seven games overall; under is 4-1-1 in their last six. Tigers won three of last four games, scoring 25 runs the last two nights- their last three games went over, with Cabrera back in lineup.
Twins @ Orioles
Duffey in 1-1, 6.75 in his first two starts (over 1-1).
Gonzalez is 0-2, 6.64 in his last ten starts; over is 7-3 in his last ten.
Minnesota won its last four games with Baltimore; over is 3-1-1 in last five in series. Twins lost five of last seven games; four of last six stayed under. Orioles won five of last six games; three of their last four went over the total.
Royals @ Red Sox
Duffy is 2-0, 2.76 in his last three starts; eight of his last nine stayed under.
Miley is 1-1, 4.70 in his last six starts; four of his last five went over.
Royals lost eight of last ten games with Boston; last five series games went over the total. KC won its last five games, allowing 12 runs (under 4-1). Red Sox won four of last six games; their last ten games all went over.
Rays @ Astros
Archer is 1-2, 5.33 in his last four starts; his last three went over.
McHugh is 1-1, 1.80 in his last three starts; eight of his last nine stayed under.
Tampa Bay lost five of last six games; under is 3-1 in last four games. Astros won five of last seven games; eight of their last 11 stayed under total. Rays won eight of their last 11 games with Houston (under 8-2-1) but lost last two.
White Sox @ Angels
Quintana is 0-1, 4.34 in his last three starts; five of his last six went over.
Tropeano is making first start since July 24; he is 1-1, 3.00 in his two starts this season (under 2-0).
White Sox lost last three games with Angels, scoring four runs; home side won 12 of last 13 series games. Chicago lost five of last six games; over is 1-3 in its last four games. Angels won last three games; six of their last nine went under the total.
Win-loss records this year for team with this starting pitcher:
SF-Pitt-- Peavy 5-5; Morton 11-4
Az-Cin-- Corbin 4-4; Lamb 0-1
Phil-Mia-- Williams 7-12; Hand 2-4
Atl-Chi-- Foltynewicz 6-7; Arrieta 16-8 (8-1 last 9)
Wsh-Colo-- Scherzer 13-11; Flande 2-2
Clev-NY-- Tomlin 0-1; Nova 5-4
Tex-Det-- Perez 4-2; Simon 13-9
Min-Balt-- Duffey 1-1; Gonzalez 12-10
KC-Bos-- Duffy 12-6 (7-1 last 8); Miley 11-13 (1-6 last 7)
TB-Hst-- Archer 14-11; McHugh 15-9
Chi-LA-- Quintana 9-15; Tropeano 1-1
Times this starting pitcher allowed a run in first inning:
SF-Pitt-- Peavy 1-10; Morton 8-15
Az-Cin-- Corbin 1-8; Lamb 1-1
Phil-Mia-- Williams 6-19; Hand 3-3
Atl-Chi-- Foltynewicz Arrieta 4-24
Wsh-Colo-- Scherzer 5-24; Flande 2-4
Clev-NY-- Tomlin 0-1; Nova 1-9
Tex-Det-- Perez 0-6; Simon 3-22
Min-Balt-- Duffey 1-2; Gonzalez 6-22
KC-Bos-- Duffy 4-18; Miley 7-24
TB-Hst-- Archer 6-25; McHugh 8-24
Chi-LA-- Quintana 13-24; Tropeano 0-2
Armadillosports.com
Giants, Pirates meet at PNC
By Sportsbook.ag
SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS (65-55) at PITTSBURGH PIRATES (71-47)
Sportsbook.ag Line: Pittsburgh -125, San Francisco +115, Total: 8
In what could be a preview of a playoff matchup, the San Francisco Giants and Pittsburgh Pirates go head-to-head on Thursday night.
The Giants have struggled with consistency in 2015 and come into this one following wins in five of their last seven games. They needed the victories as they began the month of August going 4-7 with most of those games being played on the road.
After a four-game sweep of the Nationals to end last week, San Francisco could not take the Cardinals, losing 2-of-3 and were defeated in the rubber-match Wednesday 4-3 as the bullpen gave up two runs with the lead late in the game. SS Brandon Crawford (.272) is riding a career-high 13-game hitting streak in which he is 16-for-44 (.364) with eight doubles, seven RBIs and four runs.
On the other side of the diamond, the Pirates remain five games behind the Cardinals in the NL Central despite some recent solid play as they’ve gone 11-5 in the month of August. They come into this one with victories in six of the last seven games and in that time have outscored opponents 38-24 and were able to get the win in extra innings three times.
On Wednesday, they took down the Diamondbacks in the rubber-match of the series by a score of 4-1, knocking out 10 hits in the process. C Francisco Cervelli (.307) has seen his bat heat up recently and is 12-for-34 (.353) with three doubles, a homer, four RBIs and six runs in his last nine games played.
The starting pitchers for this important matchup will be RHP Jake Peavy (3-5, 4.18 ERA) for the visitors as he attempts to outduel RHP Charlie Morton (7-4, 4.36 ERA) of the host Pittsburgh group.
With Wednesday’s win on the road, the Giants pushed their record away from home to 31-30 (.508), but will have a difficult task ahead with these Pirates who have managed to post a 41-19 (.683) mark at PNC Park.
It will also be Pittsburgh that holds the advantage in the recent history between these clubs as they are 11-6 against San Francisco since the start of 2013; going 4-3 in the games at home during that time.
The Pirates were able to sweep the first series against this opponent earlier in the year when they were out west and outscored the Giants 16-9 over three contests.
Trends show that San Francisco is 74-47 (.612) with an on-base percentage of .310 or worse in its last 20 games over the past two seasons as Pittsburgh is 15-3 (.833) against NL West opponents on the year.
OF Nori Aoki (Concussion) will be activated for this game, but the Giants will still be without OFs Hunter Pence (Oblique), Angel Pagan (Knee) and 2B Joe Panik (Back) while SS Jody Mercer (Knee) and 3B Josh Harrison (Thumb) remain on the DL for the host Pirates.
Peavy is not the player he was at a younger age and injuries caught up to him once again this season as he has tallied a mere 10 starts up to this point. After pitching to a solid 3.73 ERA over 32 starts (202.2 IP) last year, he has seen his strikeouts drop to 6.6 K/9 while maintaining his control (2.6 BB/9) in 2015.
Despite the season not really going his way, his homers (0.96 HR/9) are at the lowest mark since 2011 and his FIP (fielder independent pitching) of 3.95 suggests that he is getting a little unlucky and should have better numbers as the season progresses. Peavy has a quality start in half (5) of his outings this year, but is coming off of a rough showing against the Nationals in which he allowed five runs on nine hits with two strikeouts (3 walks) over 5.2 frames in a winning effort.
He’s been successful over his eight career starts against the Pirates, going 5-2 (6-2 team record) with a 2.52 ERA (1.04 WHIP), but has not faced them since 2009. The only player who has double-digit at-bats against the veteran is 3B Aramis Ramirez and he is 7-for-30 (.233) with two doubles, a homer and two RBIs in the matchup. In limited at-bats, 1B Travis Ishikawa has tagged Peavy for four hits in eight at-bats with a solo homer.
The bullpen has gone 14-13 with a 3.27 ERA (1.18 WHIP) and is 32-for-41 (78%) in save opportunities. Santiago Casilla (3.70 ERA, 29 saves) has gone 29-for-34 (85%) in his save chances as he struggles with the long ball (1.09 HR/9).
After impressing the Pirates with a 3.26 ERA over 20 starts in 2013, Morton earned himself a chance at staying in the rotation and followed that season with another solid campaign (3.72 ERA) in 2014. His ERA has continued to rise this year though, and he is striking out just 6.4 batters per nine innings while giving up his most homers (0.91 HR/9) since 2010. Morton is a very successful groundball pitcher with the opposition hitting it on the ground 58.3% of the time, but unfortunately, when the ball gets up he is letting 15.5% of his flyballs go yard.
Pittsburgh has won in each of his last four outings and he is coming off a quality start (6.1 IP, 3 R, 4 H, 9 K) against the Mets. He’s had no issues when meeting with the Giants in his career, going 3-4 (4-7 team record) with a 2.84 ERA (1.25 WHIP), but struggled (5 IP, 4 ER, 9 H, 2 K) in his last matchup with them in 2014. Many of the San Francisco players have had success against the righty with C Buster Posey (5-for-15, 2 doubles) leading the charge. The player who has struggled most with double-digit at-bats against Morton is SS Brandon Crawford, but even he is still a decent 3-for-11 with a double.
The Pirates have built one of the best bullpens in the league and the relievers have combined to go 24-13 with a 2.62 ERA (1.19 WHIP) and have managed to go 41-for-53 (77%) in saves. Mark Melancon (1.58 ERA, 38 saves) has been dominant thanks to leaving 82.2% of runners on base while forcing groundballs in 59.4% of his oppositions at-bats.
Thursday Scouting Edge
By Coach Fletcher
Minnesota Twins at Baltimore Orioles
Tyler Duffy will make his 3rd career start today against the Baltimore Orioles at Camden Yards. His previous 2 starts were starkly different. Admittedly, starting your big league career against the Blue Jays in Toronto isn’t ideal. The Jays chased Duffy early, pounding him for 6 runs on 5 hits and 2 walks in just 2 innings. No bueno. But Duffy came back 10 days later at home and blanked the Indians on 1 hit in 6 innings. He walked 5 and struck out 7. So what kind of pitcher was he in the minors? The 24 year old Duffey is 6’3” tall and weighs in at 220. He comes from an excellent collegiate baseball program at Rice University. Duffey was a 5th round pick in the 2012 draft. Duffey was 29-18 in 4 seasons of minor league ball with an era of 3.20. He spent time this year with Chattanooga in Double-A and Rochester in Triple-A. Overall in Triple-A he was 7-6 with a 2.75 era in 17 games. The Orioles opened at -156.
San Francisco Giants at Pittsburgh Pirates
He Giants have enjoyed seeing Jake Peavy take the hill recently. They have won 5 of his last 6 starts. Jake’s era has been 3.86 in those 6 starts so it’s fair to say he’s had some good support. But he is going to have to do without the support of Hunter Pence who was sidelined to the DL again yesterday. Peavy is 3-5 with a 4.18 era this season. He only went 5 1/3 against Washington in his last start giving up 5 runs on 9 hits but escaped with a win. Peavy faces Charlie “Ground Chuck” Morton who is 7-4 with a 4.36 era this season. Morton owns an impressive 2.84 era against the Giants in 11 career starts. In 3 August starts Morton has an era of 3.44 with 22 strikeouts. The Bucs opened at -124.
Texas Rangers at Detroit Tigers
The Rangers are giving their all to make a run for a playoff spot and used their power yesterday to beat out the Seattle Mariners 7-2. In the bottom of the 7th the Rangers hit the rare back to back to back round trippers from Moreland, Napoli and Andrus. Derek Holland made his first start since April 10 and only allowed 2 runs in 6 1/3 innings. Martin Perez takes the bump for the Rangers with a 1-2 record and a 5.29 era. He has a 12.79 era in 1 start and 1 relief appearance versus Detroit. But Perez has a 2.21 era in his last 3 starts. Alfredo Simon goes to the mound for Detroit. He’s 10-7 with a 4.84 era but has had control issues in his last 3 starts allowing 14 runs on 17 hits in just 17 1/3 innings. He’s 4-2 with a 3.92 era at Comerica Park this year. Detroit opened at -113 with a total of 9.
Tampa Bay Rays at Houston Astros
In his start last Saturday, Chris Archer gave up 8 runs on 11 hits in just 5 1/3 innings. For a pitcher who is 10-9 with a 2.93 era that is certainly out of form. But that rough outing against Texas wasn’t an exception of late. In Archer’s last 7 games he is 1-4 with a 4.87 era. He’s given up 46 hits in his last 44 1/3 innings pitched. In fact, Archer is a surly 1-5 in his last 9 starts. But Archer has had his way with Houston in the past. He hasn’t faced them this year but last year in 2 starts against the Astros in 2014 Archer went 9 2/3 innings allowing only 1 earned run and 6 hits. In 2013 he pitched a complete game shutout against Houston giving up 5 hits, walking none and fanning 8. Houston opened at -109 with a total of 7.
Washington Nationals at Colorado Rockies
Scherzer’s pitching lapses in his last 3 games hasn’t helped the Nationals in their bid to secure a playoff spot. Mad Max has reason to be mad at his past 3 starts. In his last 15 innings Scherzer has allowed 13 runs. For the season Max is 11-9 with a 2.73 era. His era has jumped due to the 7.80 mark in his last 3. Making matters potentially worse for the Nats is the fact that Scherzer is 1-3 all-time versus the Rockies with an era of 4.33. The Nats are 2-4 against Colorado when Scherzer starts. At least Scherzer feels he knows what the problem is and it is not an uncommon problem, but it isn’t easy to fix either. Scherzer says his arm slot is not right and he will need hours of work to get it right. Scherzer and the Nats opened at -189 with a total of 10.
Steve's Screen Shot
By Steve Merril
Giants @ Pirates -- Charlie Morton is on my fade list; he’s just not very good. Morton is 7-4 with a 4.36 ERA and 1.32 WHIP in 15 starts for Pittsburgh this season. However, there are some things preventing me from playing San Francisco as a Best Bet in this game. Morton has a 2.84 ERA in 11 career starts against the Giants. San Fran had little offensive punch in St. Louis; they scored 6 total runs in three games. Jake Peavy has won just once in five road starts, and he’ll be facing a hot Pittsburgh offense that has scored 40 runs in their last seven games. Still, I would only take the Giants (+115) in this game.
Nationals @ Rockies -- Max Scherzer will make his fourth career start in Coors Field although the first three came way back in 2008 and 2009. In his rookie season, the righty gave up 3 runs and seven hits in six innings in 3-2 loss to the Rockies. In 2009, Scherzer faced the Rockies twice on the road; he gave up 9 runs and 13 hits over 10 innings. Scherzer is in poor current form right now, having allowed 13 runs and 19 hits in his last three starts. One of those poor outings came at home against Colorado back on August 9th. Colorado starter Yohan Flande has a 5.87 ERA in three career starts against Washington. Over 10 (-110) for me in this game.
Twins @ Orioles -- Tyler Duffey gets his third start for the Twins on Thursday night. He is coming into this game off an odd home victory over the Indians. He only gave up one hit in six innings, but he also had five walks to go along with seven strikeouts. Duffey’s first outing of the season was a rough one in Toronto where he allowed 6 runs and five hits in two innings. Baltimore’s offense has been highly inconsistent all season, but the Orioles shouldn’t have much trouble getting to Duffy in this game. I lean to the Orioles (-155 or less) in this game.
Streaks, Tips, Notes
Sportspic.com
Texas Rangers at Detroit Tigers
One team comes home and the other hits the road as the Detroit Tigers and Texas Rangers meet in the first of a four-game series at at Comerica Park Thursday evening. The Tigers and Rangers series usually means plenty of runs. In last year's series six of the seven meetings went 'Over' posted totals as the clubs crossed an average 11.4 runs/game. Alfredo Simon (10-7, 4.84 ERA) toeing the rubber for Detroit expect Rangers' to plate runs early and often. The Detroit righthander off to a shaky August allowing 10 runs over 11 2/3 innings has now allowed 4 or more earned runs in nine of his last twelve trips to the mound resulting in 9 'Over', 3 'Under'. Rangers countering with Martin Perez (1-2, 5.29 ERA) the Tigers cross their share over home plate. In one career start and one relief appearance vs Detroit Perez has given up 9 runs over 6 1/3 innings of work. Sportsbooks expecting fireworks have open the total at 9 runs.