National League
Giants @ Phillies
Moore makes his SF debut; he was 2-1, 2.57 in his last three starts for Tampa Bay. Eight of his last ten stayed under.
Velasquez is 3-1, 2.75 in his last six starts; three of his last four stayed under. Phillies are 5-3 in his home starts.
Giants lost nine of last ten road games; eight of their last 12 games stayed under. Phillies are 7-9 in last 16 games. Eight of last 11 Philly home games stayed under.
Pirates @ Braves
Vogelsong was 0-0, 1.29 in two starts earlier in season (over 2-0).
Jenkins is 1-1, 4.95 in his four starts (under 3-0-1).
Pittsburgh lost seven of last nine road games; seven of last nine Pirate road games stayed under. Atlanta is 7-12 in last 18 games; five of last seven Brave games went over.
Cardinals @ Reds
Former Red Leake is 1-1, 9.73 in his last two starts; over is 8-3 in his last 11 starts. Cardinals are 6-3 in his road starts.
Finnegan is 3-1, 5.57 in his last four starts; four of his last five went over. Reds lost three of his last four home starts.
Cardinals lost three of last four games, over is 6-0-1 in their last seven. Cincinnati is 11-6 in its last 17 games; four of Reds’ last six games stayed under the total.
Dodgers @ Rockies
Maeda 2-1, 3.80 in his last four starts; his last three went over. Dodgers are 6-3 in his road starts.
Chatwood is 2-0, 0.75 in his last two starts (under 14-4-1). Rockies are 4-6 in his home starts.
Dodgers lost seven of last ten road games; over is 8-3-1 in LA’s last 12 road games. Colorado won 11 of last 13 games; under is 11-5-2 in their last 18 games.
American League
Twins @ Indians
Santana is 2-2, 2.48 in his last five starts; six of his last seven stayed under. Twins are 2-6 in his road starts.
Clevinger is 0-1, 8.79 in three starts, last of which was May 29; all three games went over.
Twins are 10-5 in last 15 games, scoring 35 runs last three nights; over is 12-4 in Minnesota’s last 16 road games. Cleveland lost last three games; over is 10-2-2 in their last 14 home games.
Royals @ Rays
Kennedy is 0-2, 6.61 in his last three starts; Royals lost his last seven road starts. Seven of his last eight starts stayed under.
Smyly is 1-0, 2.25 in his last two starts; over is 12-3 in his last 15 starts. Tampa Bay is 3-6 in his home starts.
Royals lost 19 of last 27 games- they’re 3-19 in last 22 games not started by Duffy; eight of last 11 KC road games stayed under. Tampa Bay won five of last seven home games; under is 15-5 in Rays’ last 20 games.
Rangers @ Orioles
Griffin is 1-0, 2.53 in his last two starts; over is 5-2-1 in his last eight. Texas is 5-3 in his road starts.
Miley was 1-1, 2.07 in his last two starts for Seattle; four of his last five starts stayed under.
Rangers won seven of last 11 games but lost last two; five of their last six games stayed under.
Baltimore won its last three games; under is 9-0-1 in their last ten home games.
White Sox @ Tigers
Quintana is 1-1, 2.78 in his last five starts; his last three went over. White Sox are 6-4 in his road starts.
Zimmerman was 0-2, 13.15 in is last three starts before going on DL after his July 5 start; over is 7-1-1 in his last nine starts. Detroit is 5-3 in his home starts.
White Sox lost 11 of last 13 road games; three of last four Chicago games went over. Detroit won its last nine games; four of last six Tiger games went over.
A’s @ Angels
Hahn is 0-2, 9.00 in his last three starts (over 4-4). He is 0-3, 14.90 in his three road starts (under 2-1).
Nolasco makes his Angel debut here; he was 1-4, 5.80 in his last seven starts for Minnesota. Over is 16-4 in his last 20 starts.
Oakland lost its last five games; over is 4-2-2 in their last eight games. Angels won ten of last 12 home games; four of their last six games stayed under.
Blue Jays @ Astros
Happ is 8-0, 2.77 in his last nine starts; over is 6-3-1 in his last ten. Blue Jays are 6-4 in his road starts.
Fiers is 1-1, 6.20 in his last four starts; over is 10-5-1 in his last 16. Houston won his last five home starts.
Blue Jays won five of last six road games; their last three games stayed under. Houston lost seven of last nine games; under is 12-4-1 in last 17 Astro home games.
Red Sox @ Mariners
Pomeranz is 0-2, 7.54 in three starts for Boston (under 2-1).
Miranda is making his first MLB start; he was 4-7, 3.93 in 19 AAA starts this year, and allowed three runs in two IP in his one MLB appearance.
Red Sox are 4-9 in their last 13 games; ten of last 11 Boston road games stayed under. Seattle lost four of last six games; under is 5-3 in their last eight home games.
Interleague
Mets @ Bronx
Colon is 1-2, 6.62 in his last three starts; under is 5-2-1 in his last eight. Mets are 6-3 in his road starts.
Eovaldi is 2-1, 3.00 in his last three starts; over is 6-3 in his last nine. Bronx is 6-3 in his home starts.
Bronx lost five of last seven games; last five Bronx games went over. Mets lost six of their last eight games; over is 6-1-1 in last eight Met games.
Teams’ record when this pitcher starts
StL-Cin– Leake 10-11; Finnegan 7-22
SF-Phil– Moore 0-0/9-12; Velasquez 10-8
Pitt-Atl– Vogelsong 1-1; Jenkins 2-2
LA-Colo– Maeda 13-9; Chatwood 12-7
Tex-Balt– Griffin 9-4; Miley 0-0/10-9
Min-Clev– Santana 5-15; Clevinger 1-2
Chi-Det– Quintana 11-10; Zimmerman 10-6
KC-TB– Kennedy 9-12 (0-6 last 6); Smyly 7-13 (1-6 last 7)
Tor-Hst– Happ 16-5; Fiers 11-8
A’s-LA– Hahn 4-4; Nolasco 0-0/9-12
Bos-Sea– Pomeranz 1-2/9-8; Miranda 0-0
NYM-NYY– Colon 13-7; Eovaldi 10-9
Starting pitchers allowing 1+ runs in first inning
StL-Cin– Leake 7-21; Finnegan 7-22
SF-Phil– Moore 3-21; Velasquez 3-17
Pitt-Atl– Vogelsong 0-2; Jenkins 2-4
LA-Colo– Maeda 5-22; Chatwood 7-19
Tex-Balt– Griffin 1-13; Miley 7-19
Min-Clev– Santana 6-20; Clevinger 2-3
Chi-Det– Quintana 4-21; Zimmerman 4-16
KC-TB– Kennedy 8-21; Smyly 6-20
Tor-Hst– Happ 5-21; Fiers 3-19
A’s-LA– Hahn 2-8; Nolasco 9-21
Bos-Sea– Pomeranz 4-20; Miranda 0-0
NYM-NYY– Colon 7-20; Eovaldi 5-19
Umpires
SF-Phil– Over is 5-3 in last eight Iassogna games.
Pitt-Atl– Over is 12-2-1 in last 15 TBarrett games.
StL-Cin– Underdogs are 8-6 in last 14 Hamari games.
LA-Col– Last three Timmons games stayed under.
Tex-Balt– Under is 4-0-1 in last five HGibson games.
Min-Clev– Six of last nine Reynolds games stayed under.
Chi-Det– Under is 11-4-1 in last sixteen O’Nora games.
KC-TB– Underdogs won six of last seven Holbrook games.
Tor-Hst– Four of last five Tichenor games went over.
A’s-LA– Under is 8-3 in last eleven Cooper games.
Bos-Sea– Over is 4-0-1 in last five Emmel games.
NY-NY– Over is 11-1-2 in last 14 Wolcott games.
Armadillosports.com
MLB: Streak, Tips, Notes
Sportspic.com
Toronto Blue Jays at Houston Astros
Houston Astros and Toronto Blue Jays conclude a four game series at Minute Maid Park Thursday evening. Sports Interation has Toronto -$1.20 road favorites with the total set at 8.5 runs.
Mike Fiers toes the rubber for Astros, bringing a 7-4 record to the hill with a 4.42 ERA. In his last start the righthander tagged with a no-decision tossed 6 1/3 innings of 1 run ball in Stros 3-2 loss at Detroit. Fiers will relish the return to home field where he sports a 6-2 record with a 9-2 Team Start Record in eleven assignments.
Fiers will be matching pitches with Toronto's southpaw J.A. Happ, who continued his dominant season last effort striking out 11 while allowing 3 hits, 1 run in a Jays 9-1 win vs Orioles. With the victory, Happ carries a 14-3 record, 3.16 ERA into the contest.
Happ doing Toronto's bidding bodes well for the team. The Blues Jays have won his last nine starts and eleven of his last twelve trips to the mound. Additionally, the fact Happ is a portsider is bad news for the Stros, since Houston has lost three of four against lefthanders, including 0-3 the last three attempts.
Thursday's Diamond Notes
By Kevin Rogers
VegasInsider.com
Hottest team: Rockies (11-2 last 13)
Even though Detroit currently owns the longest winning streak in baseball at eight, Colorado is showcased here for its tear since the All-Star break. Yes, the Rockies captured six of seven games from the last-place Braves in this stretch, but road series victories over the Orioles and Mets, while trying to finish off a home sweep of the Dodgers isn’t too shabby. In its first two wins over Los Angeles, Colorado has scored 19 runs, while the Rockies are riding a six-game winning streak at Coors Field. Tyler Chatwood seeks his 11th victory of the season for Colorado tonight, as the right-hander has allowed a total of one earned run in his past two wins.
Coldest team: Mets (3-7 last 10)
The Subway Series concludes tonight in the Bronx as the Mets go for the series split with the Yankees. The Mets have allowed 15 runs in two losses to the Yankees, including nine in Wednesday’s defeat. Top hitter Yoenis Cespedes was placed on the 15-day disabled list on Wednesday, another blow for this Mets’ offense that has scored two runs or less four times in the past 10 games. Bartolo Colon takes the mound for the Mets this evening, as the veteran has given up at least five earned runs in three of his last five outings, while facing the Yankees for the first time since 2014.
Hottest pitcher: J.A. Happ, Blue Jays (14-3, 3.16 ERA)
Toronto has won nine consecutive starts made by the southpaw, while Happ yielded only five earned runs in five July starts. Happ is fresh off a pair of home victories over the Mariners and Orioles in which he gave up only four hits and one earned run in 13 innings of work to improve to 9-1 at the Rogers Center this season. Toronto has won 10 straight outings from Happ in the favorite role, as he is short chalk tonight in the finale at Houston. The Blue Jays have two of the first three games from the Astros, while Houston has scored only six runs in the last five contests.
Coldest pitcher: Drew Pomeranz, Red Sox (8-9, 3.09 ERA)
San Diego had a major fire sale this season, dumping many players from a team that was thought to compete for a playoff berth. Pomeranz was brought to Boston in July to help out the Red Sox pitching staff in the competitive AL East, but the Sox are just 1-2 in his first three outings. The left-hander has given up 12 earned runs in 14.1 innings of work, while not lasting past the sixth inning in any of his three outings with Boston. This season with the Padres and Red Sox, those teams are 4-6 in his 10 road starts as Boston looks for a series split with Seattle tonight.
Biggest UNDER run: Royals (5-2 last seven)
Kansas City received a pair of solid pitching performances in each of the first two victories at Tampa Bay before getting shelled in Wednesday’s 12-0 defeat. The Royals’ offense has been dreadful on this road trip by scoring three runs or less in all seven contests, while posting a 2-5 record. Dating back to July 3, the defending champions have plated three runs or fewer in 13 of the past 14 road contests, resulting in a 9-5 mark to the UNDER. Ian Kennedy heads to the hill for Kansas City today, as the Royals have drilled five straight UNDERS in his previous five road starts.
Biggest OVER run: Cardinals (6-0-1 last seven)
St. Louis snapped a three-game losing streak in Wednesday’s 5-4 victory over Cincinnati, but many OVER players were not happy. The game pushed on 9, but the Cardinals scored four runs in the first inning, while the Reds put up two in the bottom of that frame. The two NL Central rivals combined for three runs the rest of the game, halting the Cardinals’ six-game OVER streak. In five of seven games during this stretch, St. Louis has crossed home plate at least five times, while hitting the OVER in six of the past seven road series finales. Former Red Mike Leake takes the mound in today’s matinee, as the right-hander has been torched of late by allowing 19 hits and 13 runs in his last two starts, resulting in two OVERS.
Matchup to watch: Rangers vs. Orioles
Baltimore continues its home domination this season after edging Texas on Wednesday, 3-2. The Orioles go for the sweep tonight after beating Yu Darvish and Cole Hamels the last two nights to improve to 39-16 on home. Wade Miley makes his Baltimore debut after spending the first four months with Seattle this season, as the southpaw is coming off a spectacular performance in a 4-1 victory over the Cubs as a +210 underdog in his past outing. However, Miley hasn’t had much luck against the Rangers this season, allowing 14 earned runs in three starts, with the Mariners going 1-2 in those games.
A.J. Griffin has given up at least one home run in each of his past seven starts, as the Rangers’ right-hander is coming off a home victory over the Royals in his last outing. Texas has been swept three times on the road this season, while dropping four of its past six road series finales. Baltimore has pulled off five home sweeps, while owning a 5-1 record at home when going for the sweep this season.
Betcha didn’t know: The Braves have been terrible at home this season, but there is a telling number about them following a victory at Turner Field. Atlanta has dropped seven straight games off a home win since June 23, coming off Wednesday’s comeback victory over Pittsburgh. In this span, the Braves have won back-to-back games only twice with both instances coming as heavy underdogs on the road.
Biggest public favorite: Red Sox (-140) at Mariners
Biggest public underdog: Rangers (+115) at Orioles
Biggest line move: Angels (-130 to -140) vs. Athletics
Astros look for split
By Sportsbook.ag
TORONTO BLUE JAYS (61-47) at HOUSTON ASTROS (56-51)
Sportsbook.ag Line: Toronto -115, Houston +105, Total: 8.5
The Blue Jays will be looking to win their third straight game when they face the Astros in Houston on Thursday.
Toronto has won its past two games over Houston and the team has actually been getting a lot from its starting rotation. The Blue Jays have allowed just one run in each of the past two games and they also allowed just two runs in the one loss in the first game of this series.
They’ll be hoping to get another performance like that on Thursday and it’s certainly possible, as LHP J.A. Happ (14-3, 3.16 ERA, 111 K) is on the mound in this one. Going up against Happ will be RHP Michael Fiers (7-4, 4.42 ERA, 77 K) for the Astros. The Astros could really use a good performance from their righty, as they have now lost seven of their past 10 games.
One thing worth noting is that the Astros are 8-3 against the Blue Jays when playing in Houston over the past three seasons. Toronto is, however, an impressive 10-1 against the money line in road games after scoring three runs or less in two straight games this season.
J.A. Happ has been having an incredible season for the Blue Jays and he has been especially good as of late. Happ has allowed just five earned runs total over his past five starts and continues to do a good job of avoiding the long ball. He has allowed just three homers over the past eight games and that is rather impressive considering he has faced teams like Baltimore, Colorado and Detroit in that span. That’s something that Happ will be hoping to continue against a powerful Astros team.
Offensively, the Blue Jays to watch out for in this one are DH Edwin Encarnacion (.265, 29 HR, 90 RBI) and OF Jose Bautista (.222, 15 HR, 45 RBI). Encarnacion has been a monster all season and is always a threat to drive in runs. He has power all over the field and usually comes through when the team needs him. Bautista, meanwhile, has struggled all year, but he is coming on as of late. Bautista has homered in each of the past two games and will be hoping to keep that up on Thursday.
Mike Fiers has looked very good in his last two trips to the mound, as he allowed just three earned runs in seven innings against the Angels on Jul. 24 and followed that up by allowing no earned runs in 6.1 innings against the Tigers on Jul. 30. Fiers struck out six batters in that game against Detroit and did not allow a single homer. If he can find a way to keep the ball in the park against this dangerous Toronto team then the Astros will have a very good shot of winning in this one.
One guy that will need to step his game up for the Astros is SS Carlos Correa (.269, 15 HR, 68 RBI). Correa has been getting hits for Houston recently, but he has not homered since Jul. 23. Correa is praised for his power from the shortstop position and needs to start displaying that skill soon. Another guy that the Astros will be counting on in this one is 2B Jose Altuve (.359, 19 HR, 64 RBI). Altuve is just 1-for-9 against Happ in his career, but he is the most consistent hitter on this Houston team and needs to make an impact in this one.