Thursday's National League Betting Cheat Sheet
By Covers.com
Arizona Diamondbacks at Cincinnati Reds (-173, 8)
Cold pitching stat: The road hasn't been kind to Diamondbacks right-hander Trevor Cahill, who is 3-6 with a 5.60 ERA in nine starts away from Arizona.
Hot batting stat: Arizona OF Jason Kubel has just two hits in eight at-bats against Cincinnati starter Mat Latos, but both are home runs.
Weather: Temperatures will be in the mid-80s with a 55 percent chance of a shower or thunderstorm. Wind will blow out to left field at 7 mph.
Key betting note: The under is 6-1-3 in Latos' last 10 starts against a National League West opponent.
Los Angeles Dodgers at Miami Marlins (+215, 6)
Hot pitching stat: Dodgers left-hander Clayton Kershaw has surrendered just one earned run on six hits over his previous two starts, striking out 16 while walking just three in that span.
Cold batting stat: Marlins rookie OF Jake Marisnick is just 4-for-25 with eight strikeouts against left-handed pitching.
Weather: Temperatures will be in the high-80s, but with a 40 percent chance of showers or thunderstorms, the roof at Marlins Park may be closed. Wind will blow from right to left field at 11 mph.
Key betting note: The Dodgers have won 17 of Kershaw's last 22 starts against the NL East.
Washington Nationals at Chicago Cubs (+150, OFF)
Hot pitching stat: Nationals right-hander Stephen Strasburg has surrendered one earned run in 12 career innings against the Cubs.
Cold batting stat: The three Washington hitters who have faced Chicago starter Travis Wood (Scott Hairston, Jayson Werth, Adam LaRoche) are a combined 1-for-15 against him.
Weather: Temperatures will be in the high-70s with partly cloudy skies. Wind will blow in from left field at 13 mph.
Key betting note: Road teams are 6-0 in umpire Tim Timmons' last six games behind home plate.
Colorado Rockies at Philadelphia Phillies (-130, 9)
Cold pitching stat: Philadelphia right-hander Kyle Kendrick was shelled in his last appearance against the Rockies, charged with seven runs on 10 hits over 4 1/3 innings in a game the Phillies won 8-7.
Hot batting stat: Colorado SS Troy Tulowitzki is hitting .320 with 18 home runs in 244 at-bats against right-handers.
Weather: Temperatures will be in the high-70s with a 45 percent chance of showers or thunderstorms. Wind will blow out toward right field at 4 mph.
Key betting note: Colorado has won just three of its last 17 Thursday games.
Atlanta Braves at St. Louis Cardinals (-136, 8)
Cold pitching stat: Braves right-hander Paul Maholm struggled prior to going on the DL with a wrist injury, losing three straight starts while allowing 16 runs over 13 1/3 innings in that span.
Hot hitting stat: Cardinals OF Carlos Beltran is 9-for-24 with two home runs and six RBIs in his career against Maholm.
Weather: Temperatures will be in the high-80s with a 20 percent chance of showers or thunderstorms. Wind will blow from left to right field at 2 mph.
Key betting note: The over is 12-2-2 in Maholm's last 16 starts.
Pittsburgh Pirates at San Francisco Giants (-124, 7)
Cold pitching stat: Giants right-hander Matt Cain has allowed 19 home runs over his first 25 starts; he surrendered 21 all of last season, and just nine in 2011.
Cold batting stat: Members of the Pittsburgh roster are hitting a collective .162 with one home run in 130 at-bats against Cain.
Weather: Temperatures will be in the high-50s with partly cloudy skies. Wind will blow out to left field at 9 mph.
Key betting note: The under is 14-3-1 in Pirates left-hander Jeff Locke's last 18 starts against a team with a losing record.
Thursday's American League Betting Cheat Sheet
By Covers.com
Toronto Blue Jays at New York Yankees (-159, 9)
Cold pitching stat: Blue Jays left-hander J.A. Happ is 2-0 but has an unsightly 5.16 ERA and has surrendered four home runs in 22 2/3 career innings against New York.
Cold batting stat: Recent Yankees acquisition Mark Reynolds is 0-for-9 with six strikeouts in his career against Happ.
Weather: Temperatures will be in the mid-80s with a 30 percent chance of showers or thunderstorms. Wind will blow out to left field at 9 mph.
Key betting stat: The Blue Jays have won eight of their last 10 games with umpire Mike DiMuro behind home plate.
Minnesota Twins at Detroit Tigers (-240, 8)
Hot pitching stat: Twins rookie right-hander Andrew Albers has a 0.66 WHIP while limiting opposing hitters to a .169 average over his first three major-league starts.
Cold batting stat: Minnesota C Ryan Doumit is hitless with three strikeouts in 11 career at-bats against Detroit starter Justin Verlander.
Weather: Temperatures will be in the mid-80s with a 70 percent chance of showers or thunderstorms. Wind will blow from right to left field at 11 mph.
Key betting note: The under is 12-2-2 in Verlander's last 16 starts during the third game of a series.
Chicago White Sox at Kansas City Royals (-168, 7.5)
Hot pitching stat: Royals right-hander James Shields had one of his strongest outings of the season in his last encounter with the White Sox, tossing seven shutout innings in a 5-1 win on July 26.
Hot batting stat: Kansas City 3B Mike Moustakas has dominated Chicago starter Jose Quintana in his career, going 7-for-16 with a pair of homers.
Weather: Temperatures will be in the high-60s under sunny skies. Wind will blow from left to right field at 6 mph.
Key betting note: Chicago is 1-7 in Quintana's last eight road starts against teams with winning records.
Thursday Matinee Action
By Kevin Rogers
VegasInsider.com
Diamondbacks at Reds
Probables: T. Cahill (4-10, 4.78 ERA) vs. M. Latos (12-4, 3.02 ERA)
Series recap: Cincinnati captured the series opener, 5-3 on Monday, but Arizona bounced back with a 5-2 victory on Tuesday. The Reds outlasted the D-Backs last night, 10-7, as Cincinnati built an 8-0 lead before Arizona closed the gap to one run headed to the bottom of the eighth.
Pitching notes: Trevor Cahill's return off the disabled list wasn't spectacular, but Arizona's offense provided the right-hander with 15 runs of support in a 15-5 blowout of Pittsburgh. Cahill lasted only five innings, while allowing four earned runs, as the veteran hasn't put together a quality start since May 27 against Texas. The D-backs are just 1-5 in Cahill's last six starts as a road underdog.
Mat Latos has turned in five consecutive quality outings, in spite of a loss in his last start at Milwaukee, a 2-0 defeat as $1.55 road favorite. The Reds have won seven of Latos' last eight home starts, while the righty struck out a season-high 13 batters in 4-2 road victory at Arizona in June.
Dodgers at Marlins
Probables: C. Kershaw (12-7, 1.80 ERA) vs. H. Alvarez (2-2, 3.41 ERA)
Series recap: The Marlins held off the Dodgers in Monday's series opener, but Los Angeles has won each of the last two nights. Zack Greinke picked up his 12th win of the season in a 4-1 road triumph as $1.80 'chalk,' whiel the 'under' cashed for the first time in the series.
Pitching notes: The Dodgers own a 15-11 record when Clayton Kershaw takes the mound this season, even though he is the front-runner to win the NL Cy Young Award. Kershaw has been magnificent in his last two outings, tossing eight innings in victories over the Rays and Phillies as heavy favorites. The Dodgers are riding an 8-2 'under' run in Kershaw's last 10 starts, while the southpaw beat the Marlins twice last season.
The Marlins have dropped six of Henderson Alvarez's last eight starts, including a home defeat to the Giants his past time out. Alvarez is just 1-3 as a home underdog, with the lone victory coming against the Pirates last month in a 2-0 shutout. Miami has compiled a 4-1 mark to the 'over' the last five games against left-handed starting pitchers, including three straight 'overs' in this role at home.
Blue Jays at Yankees
Probables: J.A. Happ (3-2, 4.93 ERA) vs. A. Pettitte (8-9, 4.39 ERA)
Series recap: New York continued it dominance of Toronto in the Bronx by winning each of the first three games of this series. The Yankees swept a doubleheader on Tuesday, while New York doubled up Toronto, 4-2 last night as $1.20 favorites. The Bombers improved to 9-0 at home against the Blue Jays this season.
Pitching notes: Following nearly a three-month stint away from the mound after getting drilled in the head by a line-drive, J.A. Happ picked up a victory over the Rays in his last trip to the hill. The Toronto southpaw scattered five hits and allowed two earned runs in 5.1 innings to cash as a $1.40 road underdog, just the second win by the Jays in Happ's last eight starts.
Andy Pettitte cashed as a hefty $1.65 road underdog in his last outing at Boston, a 10-3 blowout at Fenway Park as the veteran lefty allowed three runs (all unearned) in 6.2 innings. The Yankees have won each of his last three home starts, while New York owns a strong 4-1 mark in his five matinee starts this season.
Twins at Tigers
Probables: A. Albers (2-1, 1.85 ERA) vs. J. Verlander (12-9, 3.51 ERA)
Series recap: Minnesota snapped a four-game skid by shocking Detroit on Tuesday, 6-3 as $1.80 road underdogs. The Tigers rebounded last night with a 7-1 blowout of the Twins, as Detroit's offense scored all seven runs in its final two at-bats.
Pitching notes: Andrew Albers was handed his first loss in three career starts as the Twins' left-hander allowed five earned runs in an 8-5 home defeat to the White Sox. Albers dominated in his first two outings, tossing scoreless efforts against the Royals and Indians as an underdog. The Tigers have won just two of their last six games against southpaw starters, including three losses as a favorite of at least $1.60.
Justin Verlander has been hit-or-miss this season with the Tigers splitting his 26 starts. The former Cy Young Award winner dropped nearly 3.8 units in his last two outings in losses to the Royals and Yankees. Verlander has dominated the Twins in two starts this season, limiting Minnesota to one earned run in 12 innings, while Detroit won both games on the run-line.
Nationals at Cubs
Probables: S. Strasburg (6-9, 2.93 ERA) vs. T. Wood (7-10, 3.13 ERA)
Series recap: The Cubs dominated the Nationals in the series opener, 11-1 as home 'dogs. Washington came back strong to win each of the last two games, including Wednesday's 11-6 triumph as the Nats scored five late runs to break a 6-6 tie.
Pitching notes: Stephen Strasburg lasted only 26 pitches in his last start after getting ejected for throwing two pitches behind Atlanta's Andrelton Simmons. The Nationals ended up winning the game in 15 innings, while snapping a five-game 'under' streak in Strasburg's starts. Washington has been abysmal in Strasburg's road starts, losing seven of 11 outings on the highway, while last putting up a quality start on the road on May 21 at San Francisco.
The Cubs have cashed the 'under' in each of Travis Wood's last five starts, as the southpaw has lost each of his past four home outings. Wood has won just one start at Wrigley Field since the start of June, a stretch of eight outings. The lefty is facing Washington for the first time in his career, while the Cubs enter Thursday's action 1-5 the last six finales of a home series.
MLB: Streaks, Tips, Notes
Sportspic.com
Atlanta Braves at St Louis Cardinals
St Louis Cardinals will have pay-back in mind when they return home to host Atlanta Braves in a four game set starting Thursday night. The Cardinals swept in Atlanta back in July hand the ball to Joe Kelly. The right-hander off 6 innings of shutout ball in a win over Cubbies brings a 4-3 record, 3.01 ERA to the mound. Kelly is 4-0 with a 2.23 ERA in seven starts since July 6th (6-1 TSR) with the only team start loss coming against these same Braves. Atlanta will activate left-hander Paul Maholm (9-9, 4.41) from the disabled list for his first start since July 20 due to a bruised wrist. Not the best spot for the hurler, Maholm has struggled away from Turner Field with a 4-7 record, 6.03 ERA in 13 outings (5-8 TSR) compared to a 1.93 ERA in seven starts at home (5-2 TSR). The southpaw is also 0-3 with a 6.18 ERA in his last five starts vs St Louis (1-4 TSR). Consider St Louis, as Red Birds have a smart 13-5 stretch as home favorite opening a series including 6-2 off a road swing and Cardinals are on a 4-1 streak in August w/Kelly while Braves are on a 2-7 August skid w/Maholm including 1-3 on the road.
MLB Odds and Picks – Can Cain stop Giants' skid?
By: The Linemakers
Sportingnews.com
The San Francisco Giants have scored only nine runs while losing three of their last four, and have dropped to last place in the NL West. But they may get a boost tonight when they welcome Pittsburgh’s struggling left-hander Jeff Locke (9-4, 2.90 ERA). The prospects get even better for the Giants to get the victory because of the way Matt Cain has been pitching lately.
Locke made the All-Star team this season and has helped the Pirates get to where they are, maintaining a loose grip on first place in the NL Central, one game ahead of St. Louis and 2.5 up on the Reds. Locke missed his final turn before the All-Star break because of stiffness in his lower back, and while he maintains that it isn’t bothering him any more, his numbers since then suggest that something is definitely troubling him.
Since winning his ninth game of the season immediately after the All-Star break on July 21, Locke has not won in five consecutive starts. In that span, his season ERA has also risen from 2.11 up to a season-high 2.90. His last start was the worst of his season; he gave up eight runs in 2.2 innings in a game the Pirates eventually lost 15-5 at home to Arizona. That was the most runs given up by the Bucs all season.
Meanwhile, Cain (8-8, 4.35 ERA) has had a rough time this season, but he’s slowly been getting himself back into the form that made him the Giants’ ace. In his past five starts, he’s pitched at least seven innings and has allowed only nine combined runs. He’s only notched two victories in that stretch while the Giants have gone 2-3 because of the same storyline that has plagued San Francisco all season: they can’t manufacture runs. In those three losses, the Giants have scored only five runs combined.
Cain faced the Pirates once this season, at Pittsburgh on June 13, and went six shutout innings in a 10-0 win. In his last six starts against Pittsburgh, he’s gone 3-0 with a 1.24 ERA and hasn’t allowed a run against them in his last 15.2 innings.
The Giants are -120 today, and it may be hard to side with a team that has one hit in its last 26 at-bats with runners in scoring position. But the Pirates are struggling as well, having lost eight of their last 12 games. We are hoping the Pirates hang on to win the division, but because of their current struggles -- especially with Locke -- and Cain’s resurgence, we see a little bit of value with the Giants. This would also be a good UNDER play, but Locke can’t be trusted in this spot.
Thursday's picks:
Giants (Cain) -120 vs. Pirates
Cubs (Travis Wood) +150 vs. Nationals
Second-half record: 60-53 (+1,091)