National League
Pirates @ Cardinals
Glasnow makes his MLB debut here; he was 7-2, 1.78 in 17 AAA starts this year.
Wainwright is 2-1, 3.16 in his last four starts; his last six starts stayed under. Cardinals are 5-3 in his home starts.
Pirates won their last seven games; over is 9-6 in their last 15 games. St Louis lost ten of last 13 home games, under is 9-3-1 in their last 13 home games.
Nationals @ Mets
Giolito threw four shutout innings (45 PT) in his MLB debut; his start was shortened by rain.
Colon is 3-1, 1.93 in his last five starts (under 3-1-1); Mets are 5-3 in his home starts.
Washington won eight of last 11 games; they're 8-6 in road series openers. Over is 13-5 in their last 18 road games. Mets won eight of last nine home games, are 11-3 in home series openers. Under is 12-5-2 in last nineteen New York games.
Phillies @ Rockies
Morgan is 0-6, 8.42 in his last eight starts; his last six starts went over. Phillies are 1-4 in his road starts. .
Bettis is 1-1, 7.94 in his last three starts; over is 7-4 in his last 11. Rockies won his last three home starts.
Philly won eight of its last nine games; over is 15-6 in their last 21 road games Philly is 5-9 in road series openers. Colorado lost seven of last eight games, is 6-7 in home series openers. Over is 6-1 in last seven games at Coors Field. .
Padres @ Dodgers
Pomeranz is 2-0, 1.80 in his last three starts; 10 of his last 12 stayed under. San Diego is 3-5 in his road starts.
Ryu is making first '16 start after missing long time with shoulder issues. He is 28-15, 3.17 in 56 career starts, but his last start was in 2014. He was 0-1, 8.38 in three AAA rehab starts this season.
Padres are 10-6 in last 15 games, over is 14-4-1 in their last 19 games. Los Angeles won 10 of last 12 home games; eight of last ten games at Dodger Stadium stayed under. San Diego is 9-4 in road series openers. Dodgers are 7-7 in home series openers.
Braves @ Cubs
Harrell allowed one run in six IP (85 PT) in his first '16 start.
Hammel is 0-4, 6.35 in his last five starts; three of his last four went over. Cubs are 5-1 in his home starts.
Braves lost their last four games, are 4-9 in road series openers. Nine of Atlanta's last ten road games stayed under. Chicago lost six of last seven games- they're 11-2 in Wrigley series openers. Over is 11-3-1 in last fifteen Cub games.
American League
Angels @ Rays
Santiago is 2-0, 3.33 in his last four starts; over is 10-2 in his last 12. Angels are 6-3 in his road starts this year.
Snell is 1-3, 6.53 in his last four starts (under 3-2).
Angels lost 12 of last 16 games, nine of their last 13 games went over. Tampa Bay lost 18 of its last 21 games; three of last five Tampa Bay games stayed under the total.
Tigers @ Blue Jays
Verlander is 4-1, 4.35 in his last six starts; six of his last eight stayed under. Detroit won five of his eight road starts.
Hutchison allowed two runs in 5.2 IP in his first '16 start, back in April.
Tigers won seven of last nine games, are 5-10 in road series openers. Over is 7-3 in their last ten games. Toronto is 15-6 in last 20 home games, three of last five Blue Jay games went over. Blue Jays are 4-10 in home series openers.
New York @ Indians
Nova is 0-2, 7.45 in his last four starts (over 5-5-1). Bronx is 2-3 in his road starts.
Bauer is 3-0, 1.91 in his last five starts; he pitched five innings in relief in Cleveland's win at Toronto Thursday. Four of last five Bauer starts stayed under. Indians are 4-2 in his home starts.
New York is 6-12 in its last 18 road games, seven of last nine Bronx road games went over total. Bronx is 6-8 in road series openers. Indians won 16 of last 19 games, are 9-4 in home series openers. Four of last five Cleveland games went over.
Twins @ Rangers
Duffey is 2-0, 3.21 in his last two starts; seven of his last nine went over. Minnesota is 4-2 in his road starts.
Gonzalez is 0-1, 14.29 in two starts this year (over 2-0).
Minnesota won four of last five games but is 3-9 in last 12 road games, 4-9 in road series openers. Over is 20-9-2 in their last 31 road games. Rangers lost six of last eight games, is 8-5 in home series openers. Over is 4-0-1 in last five Texas games.
A's @ Astros
Hill is 5-0, 2.13 in his last six starts, with last three staying under. Oakland won all six of his road starts.
Fister is 0-2, 7.15 in his last two starts; over is 4-1-1 in his last six home starts, with five of those going over the total.
A's lost six of last seven games, are 9-5 in road series openers. Over is 7-2 in Oakland's last nine road games. Houston won 16 of its last 20 games, 9-5 in home series openers; under is 10-3 in Astros' last 13 home tilts.
Mariners @ Royals
Paxton is 1-1, 6.38 in his last three starts; three of his last four went over.
Duffy is 3-0, 2.78 in his last five starts; under is 4-1-1 in his last six. Royals are 4-1 in his home starts. .
Mariners lost nine in row on road; eight of last nine Seattle road games stayed under. Mariners are 7-7 in road series openers. Royals lost five of last six games; they're 11-2 in home series openers. Over is 11-6-1 in last 18 Kansas City home games.
Teams won-lost records when this pitcher starts:
Pitt-StL-- Glasnow 0-0; Wainwright 11-6
Wsh-NY-- Giolito Colon 10-6
Phil-Col-- Morgan 2-9; Bettis 9-8
SD-LA-- Pomeranz 8-8; Ryu 0-0
Atl-Chi-- Harrell 1-0; Hammel 9-7 (0-5 last 5)
LA-TB-- Santiago 11-6; Snell 1-4
Det-Tor-- Verlander 10-7; Hutchison 1-0
NY-Clev-- Nova 5-6; Bauer 7-5
Min-Tex-- Duffey 5-8 (3-0 last 3); Gonzalez 1-1
A's-Hst-- Hill 8-4; Fister 11-5
Sea-KC-- Paxton 2-5; Duffy 7-3
Starting pitchers allowing 1+ runs in first inning:
Pitt-StL-- Glasnow 0-0; Wainwright 6-17
Wsh-NY-- Giolito Colon 5-15
Phil-Col-- Morgan 5-11; Bettis 8-17 (6 of last 7)
SD-LA-- Pomeranz 4-16; Ryu 0-0
Atl-Chi-- Harrell 0-1; Hammel 3-16
LA-TB-- Santiago 8-17; Snell 2-5
Det-Tor-- Verlander 6-17; Hutchison 0-1
NY-Clev-- Nova 3-11; Bauer 3-12
Min-Tex-- Duffey 3-13; Gonzalez 1-2
A's-Hst-- Hill 3-12; Fister 3-16
Sea-KC-- Paxton 2-7; Duffy 2-10
Armadillosports.com
MLB: Streak, Tips, Notes
Sportspic.com
Atlanta Braves at Chicago Cubs
The Atlanta Braves (28-57) are a complete mess no matter where, when they play. The club is 13-34 at home, 15-23 on the road, 10-18 in day games, 18-39 under the light's. Due to those gaudy numbers, no surprise to see Chicago Cubs pegged hefty -$2.75 moneyline favorite. A lot of juice to be laying when you consider Cubs are on a 1-6 skid and 0-5 slide with Jason Hammel handling starting duties which includes a 5-1 defeat vs Braves.
San Diego Padres at L.A. Dodgers
L.A. Dodgers and San Diego Padres open a four-game series at Dodger Stadium in what has the markings of a low-scoring affair. The Dodgers have made a habit of playing 'Under' at Dodger Stadium this season. In 44 games 'Under' has been the right choice 31 times with 13 'Over' and Dodgers carry a 4-11 'Under' stretch the last fifteen in front of the home audience.
Additionally, the clubs have met three times this season at this venue with 'Under' being the right choice in each case. Finally, Padres have lefty Drew Pomeranz handling starting duties. Pomeranz off back-2-back gems tossing 14 innings of 1 run-ball has shown that he can keep the score low. In his last twelve starts the game has gone 'Under' ten times with two 'Over' and that includes holding Dodgers to one run on three hits over seven innings back on May 1st.
One final betting nugget favoring 'Under'. It's been the correct betting option whenever L.A. face a portsider on home field, since Dodgers are 9-1 'Under' last ten facing a lefty starter in front of the home crowd. Factor all that data together and the arrow is clearly pointing toward taking the 'Under'
Thursday's Diamond Notes
By Tony Mejia
VegasInsider.com
Hottest team: Pirates (7-0 last last seven)
Last night’s vanquishing of the Cardinals helped Pittsburgh leapfrog them into second place in the NL Central, extending its winning streak to a season-long seven, the longest such run since winning eight in a row from June 10-18, 2015. The Pirates have outscored opponents 41-18 during this stretch and have yet to be involved in a one-run game. Since they’ve been on the road, every one of the wins have been upsets that have netted a total of +990 for Pittsburgh-backers. After winning the second of a two-game set in Seattle, the Pirates swept a three-game series in Oakland and will look to claim four straight in St. Louis. Tyler Glasnow, a 22-year-old right-hander who has been dominating in the minor leagues, will try and keep the success going in his major-league debut against Cardinals standout Adam Wainwright (7-5, 4.70 ERA), who comes off a win over the Brewers where he pitched seven shutout innings. Glasnow has gone 7-2 with a 1.78 ERA at Triple-A Indianapolis, striking out 113 batters in 96.0 innings. He’s been known to have control issues, so look for the Cardinals to be patient early to see whether his nerves get the best of him. Andrew McCutchen has the most extensive history of any of the Pirates against Wainwright, batting .292 with a homer and 4 RBI in 48 at-bats. Josh Harrison is 7-for-18 (.389) against the big St. Louis righty, while Jordy Mercer has homered off him twice.
Coldest team: Braves (3-10 last 13)
A two-out, two-run home run from Freddy Galvis off closer Arodys Vizcaino denied the Braves a win Philadelphia, where they were swept in the first leg of a seven-game road trip heading into the All-Star break. They’ll spend the next four games in Chicago, visiting the Cubs today before heading to the South Side for a three-game set with the White Sox this weekend. Tonight’s contest is a make-up game from a April 30 rainout and marks the first time the Cubs haven’t had the best record in all of MLB since early in the season’s opening month after San Francisco surpassed them late Wednesday. On the flip side, Atlanta has slipped back behind Minnesota due to this recent slump and sports the worst mark in the league (28-57, .329). The Twins are the only other team who haven’t reached the 30-win mark. Veteran Lucas Harrrell (1-0, 1.50), who won a spot start by pitching six innings of one-run ball against Miami to earn his first major-league victory since August 2013, gets the ball again for the Braves. Despite the disparity between the records for these two teams, Chicago has won just three of five in the season series, but are Thursday's biggest favorite (-270). The Cubs send Jason Hammel (7-5, 3.45) looking to put an end to a skid that has seen them lose 12 of 17. His team has lost his last five starts. Hammel surrendered five homers in four innings against the Mets in his last start. Chicago visits surging Pittsburgh this weekend.
Hottest pitcher: Trevor Bauer (7-2, 3.02 ERA)
The Indians failed to sweep Detroit on Wednesday, surrendering the final dozen runs in a 12-2 rout after grabbing an early lead. Though they’re still on a marvelous run with wins in 16 of 19, the Tribe also got hammered 17-1 on Sunday and may be eagerly anticipating the All-Star break for a breather. They’ll try and get this four-game series against LeBron James’ Yankees by sending Bauer to the mound for his first start since June 27. Although he’s become a fixture in the rotation after opening in the bullpen, Bauer entered last Friday’s 19-inning classic at Toronto in the 15th and pitched five scoreless frames to help Cleveland set a new franchise-record with its 14th consecutive victory. He was skipped the next day, but hasn’t lost a start since May 21, winning four consecutive decisions. He hasn’t surrendered more than two earned runs in his last six appearances, a span of 42.2 innings. Bauer has struck out 40 batters while walking 12 in that span. Bauer is just 1-3 with a 4.78 ERA in five career starts against the Yanks. Brian McCann is the only member of New York’s roster to have homered against him. Ivan Nova (5-5, 5.06) will get the ball for the Bombers, who were blanked by the White Sox on Wednesday to fall to 2-4 entering the final leg of a 10-game road trip.
Coldest pitcher: Chi Chi Gonzalez (0-1, 9.53 ERA)
Although Chicago's Hammel would qualify in this category too, Texas' Gonzalez, who failed to get out of the first inning on Saturday at Minnesota, fits the category nicely. The 24-year-old has walked more batters than he's struck out over 72 career innings and has largely been a massive disappointment after starting his big-league career by giving up just three runs over 30 innings in his first four starts. He'll face a Twins offense that has helped win four of five games by twice cranking out double-digits in runs after acomplishing that just once over the season's first three months. Gonzalez allowed five runs in 5.2 innings in his only appearance in against Minnesota, ending up with a no-decision at Target Field last August. Opposing starter Tyler Duffey (4-6, 5.62) has had 38 runs scored for him over his last three starts.
Biggest UNDER run: Rockies (6-1 last seven)
The Rockies played eight consecutive games that climbed well 'over' the posted total entering their final date in June. In that span, games there were 130 runs scored in games involving baseball’s highest-scoring team, an average of 16.2 per game. Colorado closed last month with a 5-3 loss to Toronto and have been held to one run or fewer in five of its six July games, including last night’s 5-1 loss to the Johnny Cueto-led Giants. Ironically, the Rockies only win and ‘over’ game thus far this month came against Madison Bumgarner. They’ll look to get the offense back on track back in Denver against the visiting Phillies, who have won eight of nine, pulling off sweeps at Arizona and home against Atlanta while taking two of three from Kansas City. Chad Bettis (6-6, 5.85) gets the ball for Colorado and is just 2-2 with a brutal 6.69 ERA at Coors, while Phillies lefty Adam Morgan (1-6, 6.31) is 1-1 with a 5.60 road ERA and will be making his first appearance pitching in Denver’s altitude. The total has been set at 12.
Biggest OVER run: Padres (4-0, last four, 7-1 last eight)
The Diamondbacks have seen the 'over' prevail in their last seven games, but they're off tonight. That bumps up the mighty Padres, who picked up a 13-6 win at Arizona to score a third series victory in four chances. Since June 15, the 'over' has gone 15-4 in games involving San Diego, with factors including inexperienced starters, a slumping bullpen and the sizzling bat of All-Star Wil Myers. Teammates Yangervis Solarte and rookie Ryan Schimpf has gotten into the act, with the latter hitting two home runs in Phoenix to increase his total to four, all coming this month. Ace Drew Pomeranz (7-7, 2.65) may keep this total down since he's allowed just one run in his last 14 innings and held the Dodgers to a single run on three hits over seven frames last time he pitched in L.A. (May 1) The Dodgers are sending Korean righty Hyun-Jin Ryu to the mound for his first start since Game 3 of the 2014 NLDS. Ryu has been out with shoulder trouble since, but has looked promising in rehab, last allowing two runs over six innings at Class-A Rancho Cucamonga. He hit 90 on the radar gun. Ryu is 28-15 with a 3.17 ERA over 56 major-league regular-season starts.
Matchup to watch: Nationals at Mets
Although the Marlins made a big move in trading for Fernando Rodney, these two remain the top dogs in the N.L. East, setting up an important four-game set just before the break. Washington owns the most tenuous division lead in the National League, but will look to stay at least four games up by securing a split in Queens. The Mets were swept in a three-game set in D.C. to close out June, getting outscored 20-6. The teams split six May meetings, which included the Nats winning two of three at Citi Field. There has yet to be a one-run game in any of the nine encounters to date. Oddsmakers see this series opener as practically a pick'em, slightly favoring New York (-110) and 43-year-old Bartolo Colon (7-4, 2.87) at home against 21-year-old rookie Lucas Giolito (0-0, 0.00), who allowed just one hit over four innings in his major-league debut against the Mets on June 28. Colon is 1-1 against the Nats this season.
Betcha didn’t know: A’s ace Rich Hill (8-3, 2.31) returned from a month-long absence due to a groin injury in Saturday’s 4-2 loss to the hot Pirates, but he gave a great account of himself in front of scouts from contenders who are looking at him as a potential reinforcement prior to the trade deadline following a resurgent first half of 2016. The 36-year-old Boston native has already won more games this season than in any other in his 12-year career with the exception of 2007, when he went 11-8 for the Cubs, striking out a career-high 183 batters. The lefty has been fantastic through 12 starts as Oakland’s most successful reclamation project and should yield them a prospect or two prior to the trade deadline. He’ll be facing an Astros team he held to just two runs on two hits on May 1 in a game the A’s lost 2-1 against tonight’s pitcher, Doug Fister (8.5, 3.66). This should arguably be the best pitching matchup of the day and certainly offers the most size. Hill is listed 6’5. Fister is 6-foot-8.
Biggest public favorite: Indians (-160) vs. Yankees
Biggest public underdog: Padres (+117) at Dodgers
Biggest line move: Padres (+138 to +117)at Dodgers
Padres visit Dodgers
By Sportsbook.ag
SAN DIEGO PADRES (37-48.) at LOS ANGELES DODGERS (48-39)
Sportsbook.ag Line: San Diego +120, Los Angeles -130, Total: 7.0
The Dodgers will be hoping to avoid a third straight loss when they host the Padres on Thursday.
San Diego has been playing some solid baseball recently, winning four of its past six games. The team has surprisingly been excellent offensively, averaging 6.3 runs per game in that span. The Padres were a miserable hitting team earlier in the year, so it’s a good sign that they are starting to put up runs. The Dodgers, meanwhile, had won five straight games before dropping the final two games of their series against the Orioles. They were not good enough offensively in those defeats, scoring just five runs in the two contests.
This game will feature a nice pitching matchup, as LHP Drew Pomeranz (7-7, 2.65 ERA, 109 K) will be on the mound for the Padres and LHP Hyun-Jin Ryu (0-0, 0.00 ERA, 0 K) will be making his season debut for the Dodgers. Ryu had an injured shoulder earlier in the year and likely won’t work too far into this game, but it’s big that he is back and joining Los Angeles’ rotation.
One thing favoring the Padres in this game is the fact that they have played well in night games this season, going 31-27 against the money line on the year. They are, however, a miserable 5-19 against the money line off an upset win over a division rival as an underdog over the past two seasons.
Drew Pomeranz has been a bright spot for the Padres all season and is coming off of two impressive starts for his team. Pomeranz has allowed just one earned run in his past 14.0 innings of work, striking out 13 batters and walking just one. He has been spot on with his control and that is big for him. He cant afford to give the Dodgers anything easy in this one, so he’ll need to avoid walks once again on Thursday. Fortunately for him, he shut down this Dodgers team in his last meeting with the club. That was on May 1 and Pomeranz threw seven innings of one-run ball, striking out five batters and walking just one. San Diego would certainly sign up for another outing like that on Thursday.
Offensively, the guys to look out for in this one are 1B Wil Myers (.295, 19 HR, 59 RBI) and OF Melvin Upton Jr. (.261, 13 HR, 40 RBI). Myers is the best hitter San Diego has and he is on an absolute tear coming into this one. In the two games coming into this series, Myers was 7-for-10 with a double, a triple and two RBI. The team will need him to come through in this one as well. Upton Jr., meanwhile, is a guy with some serious pop in his bat. He has four homers over the past 10 games and the Padres can use something out of him offensively in this one.
The Dodgers have been waiting on Hyun-Jin Ryu all season and will finally get him back on Thursday. While it’s not fair to expect him to shut down an opponent in his first start back from a shoulder injury, Ryu has been dominant against the Padres over the years. Over the past three seasons, Ryu is 4-0 with a 0.84 ERA in five starts against San Diego. He did not allow a homer in any of those games and he’ll just be looking to earn something close to a quality start in this one. It’d be big if he can avoid walks, as he walked just five batters in those five starts against the Padres.
As for this Dodgers lineup, it’s impossible not to mention SS Corey Seager (.303, 17 HR, 41 RBI). The rookie is on a 19-game hitting streak for Los Angeles and has been a major part of the team’s success all season. The Dodgers will be hoping he can get on base a few times in this one. They’ll also be hoping that 1B Adrian Gonzalez (.284, 6 HR, 42 RBI) and C Yasmani Grandal (.183, 9 HR, 31 RBI) can drive in some runs in this one. The two of them are a combined 6-for-18 with a homer and seven RBI against Pomeranz in their careers, so it’s big that they channel some of that success on Thursday.