Thursday's MLB National League Betting Cheat Sheet
By Covers.com
Philadelphia Phillies at New York Mets (-112, 8.5)
Cold pitching stat: Phillies right-hander Ethan Martin lasted just two-thirds of an inning in his last start, charged with three runs on three hits and three walks against Arizona.
Cold batting stat: Mets 1B Ike Davis is hitting a paltry .160 with three home runs in 119 day-game at-bats.
Weather: Temperatures will be in the mid-80s with partly cloudy skies. Wind will blow in from right-center field at 7 mph.
Key betting note: The under is 10-2 in the Mets' last 12 Thursday games.
Miami Marlins at Washington Nationals (-220, 7)
Hot pitching stat: Nationals left-hander Gio Gonzalez is 2-2 with a 1.93 ERA and 33 strikeouts in 28 career innings against the Marlins.
Hot batting stat: Marlins OF Giancarlo Stanton is batting .286/.433/.519 with four home runs in 77 at-bats against left-handers.
Weather: Temperatures will be in the high-70s with partly cloudy skies. Wind will be calm.
Key betting note: The over is 4-1-1 in Miami right-hander Tom Koehler's last six starts on five days' rest.
Milwaukee Brewers at Pittsburgh Pirates (-171, 7.5)
Hot pitching stat: Brewers right-hander Yovani Gallardo is 10-4 with a 2.77 ERA and 117 strikeouts over 104 career innings against the Pirates.
Cold batting stat: Pirates 3B Pedro Alvarez has struggled mightly against Gallardo, going just 1-for-17 with eight strikeouts in his career.
Weather: Temperatures will be in the mid-70s under partly cloudy skies. Wind will be calm.
Key betting note: The Pirates are 0-5 in Cole's last five outings following a quality start in his previous appearance.
Interleague
Cleveland Indians at Atlanta Braves (-156, 8)
Hot pitching stat: Braves right-hander Kris Medlen has walked just one batter in each of his last eight outings, recording four quality starts over that stretch.
Hot batting stat: Atlanta C Brian McCann is hitting .318 in 22 career at-bats against Cleveland starter Ubaldo Jimenez.
Weather: Temperatures will be in the mid-80s under cloudy skies. Wind will blow in from left field at 6 mph.
Key betting note: Atlanta is 15-3 in Medlen's last 18 starts on five days' rest.
Thursday's MLB American League Betting Cheat Sheet
By Covers.com
Oakland Athletics at Detroit Tigers (-166, 7.5)
Hot pitching stat: Tigers right-hander Max Scherzer has thrown seven consecutive quality starts, and has given up two or fewer runs in 15 of his last 18 outings.
Hot batting stat: Detroit sluggers Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder are a combined 9-for-18 lifetime against Athletics starter Bartolo Colon.
Weather: Temperatures will be in the mid-80s with partly cloudy skies. Wind will blow from left to right field at 5 mph.
Key betting note: The over is 7-1 in Oakland's last eight games with umpire Paul Emmel behind home plate.
Kansas City Royals at Minnesota Twins (+107, 8.5)
Hot pitching stat: Twins right-hander Samuel Deduno is 3-1 with a 2.16 ERA in 25 career innings against the Royals.
Hot batting stat: Twins 3B Trevor Plouffe has three home runs in 20 career at-bats against Royals starter Bruce Chen.
Weather: There will be a 30 percent chance of showers or thunderstorms at gametime. Temperatures will be in the mid-80s with the wind blowing in from right field at 7 mph.
Key betting note: The over is 8-2-1 in Chen's last 11 starts.
Los Angeles Angels at Tampa Bay Rays (-148, 8.5)
Cold pitching stat: Angels lefty Jason Vargas is just 2-4 with a 4.37 ERA in eight road starts.
Cold batting stat: Rays 3B Evan Longoria is hitting .242/.326/.478 in 157 day-game at-bats.
Weather: Dome.
Key betting note: Los Angeles has won its last eight Thursday games.
Baltimore Orioles at Boston Red Sox (-154, 9)
Hot pitching stat: Orioles right-hander Chris Tillman tossed two-hit ball over seven shutout innings in a 6-0 victory over the Red Sox on July 26.
Hot batting stat: Baltimore C Matt Wieters has had the upper hand on Red Sox starter Jon Lester, hitting .359 with seven RBIs in 39 career at-bats against him.
Weather: Temperatures will be in the low-70s with a 45 percent chance of showers or thunderstorms. Wind will blow in from right field at 6 mph.
Key betting note: Baltimore is 9-2 in Tillman's last 11 road starts.
Seattle Mariners at Houston Astros (+124, 8.5)
Cold pitching stat: Houston right-hander Jordan Lyles had his worst start of the season in his last encounter with Seattle, lasting just four innings after surrendering 10 runs on eight hits.
Hot batting stat: Astros OF Brandon Barnes is batting .400 with three doubles, a triple and a homer in 35 at-bats against Seattle in 2013.
Weather: Temperatures will be in the high-80s under partly cloudy skies. Wind will blow out to right-center field at 7 mph.
Key betting note: The over is 6-0 in Houston's last six series openers.
MLB Odds and Picks – Jimenez looks to halt Tribe slide
By: The Linemakers
Sportingnews.com
Prior to the three-game series that started in Atlanta on Tuesday, the Indians had been on somewhat of a roll, winning eight of 11 games. But after dropping the first two to the Braves, coupled with the Oakland beating the Tigers three straight in their four-game set, the Indians find themselves four games back of the A’s in the wild-card chase. The Tigers are currently in one of their funks, yet once again Cleveland failed to take advantage and remain 5.5 behind in the American League Central.
By getting a win tonight in Atlanta, the Indians can at least shave off a game in one those races. Max Scherzer goes for his major league leading 20th win today for Detroit against Oakland’s Bartolo Colon, who comes off disabled list today. If Cleveland can get anything started today, they can kind of put destiny in their own hands, carrying some momentum into a key three-game series at Detroit over the weekend, while the A’s start a tough six-game stretch at home against the playoff-bound Rays and then the AL West-leading Rangers.
The opportunities are there for Cleveland. They just need to seize the moment and avoid any more lengthy losing streaks like the six-game slide that occurred Aug. 5-10, kicked off by Detroit's four-game sweep at Progressive Field.
The good news for the Indians is that their starting pitching has been solid, posting a 2.27 ERA over their last eight games. Ubaldo Jimenez (9-8, 3.95 ERA) has been outstanding in August with a 2.86 ERA, but only has a 1-3 record to show for his efforts in the four starts. This will be his first start at Turner Field since throwing a no-hitter on April 17, 2010 while pitching for the Rockies.
Cleveland manager Terry Francona said Jimenez had his best stuff of the season on Friday during a 5-1 loss to the Twins. Jimenez went six innings, allowing just two runs, while striking out a season high 10 batters.
Kris Medlen (10-12, 3.74 ERA) takes the mound for the Braves and tries to snap a two-game losing streak. He last pitched on Friday, going six innings, allowing three runs, in a 3-1 loss at St. Louis.
We like Jimenez in this spot as a +130 underdog. He’s been at his best on the road this season compiling a 5-3 record with a 3.23 ERA, which is a run-and-a-half better than his home ERA. In six starts since the All-Star break, his he’s got a tiny ERA (2.27) and opponents are batting only .208 against him. We think Jimenez will do his job today and hope that the Cleveland bats will do theirs. That’s a big hope. In the first two games of this series, the Indians have gone 0-for-14 with runners in scoring position.
Thursday selection:
Indians (Jimenez) +130 at Braves
Second-half record: 73-64 (+1,382)