National League
Braves @ Pirates
Foltynewicz is 1-0, 1.20 in his last two starts (under 2-0-1).
Locke is 0-1, 5.89 in his last three starts; five of his last six starts went over.
Pirates won three of their last four games (over 10-4-1 in last 15). Atlanta lost ten of its last 13 games; six of its last nine games stayed under.
Nationals @ Mets
Washington is 8-0 when Strasburg starts (3-0, 3.81 last four); over is 6-0-1 in his last seven starts.
Harvey is 1-2, 5.40 in his last three starts; his last four starts stayed under.
Washington lost five of last six road games; under is 4-2-1 in last seven games overall. Mets lost six of their last eight games; eight of their last ten stayed under.
Cubs @ Brewers
Hammel is 5-0, 2.08 in his last six starts (over 4-1-1).
Guerra is 2-0, 4.00 in his three starts (under 1-0-2).
Cubs are 12-4 in their last 16 games (under 3-0 last three). Milwaukee is 6-4 in its last ten home games; six of its last seven games overall stayed under.
Rockies @ Cardinals
Gray is 1-1, 1.80 in his last three starts, which all stayed under.
Wacha is 0-3, 3.43 in his last three starts (over 4-3).
Rockies won five of last six games; eight of their last ten stayed under. St Louis lost three of its last five games; their last three games stayed under.
Giants @ Padres
Samardzija is 4-0, 2.02 in his last five starts, four of which went over.
Shields is 2-2, 2.07 in his last four starts (under 6-2).
Giants won last seven games, allowing 13 runs; under is 10-1 in their last 11. Padres lost four of last five games; six of their last seven games stayed under.
American League
Mariners @ Orioles
Karns is 2-0, 2.45 in his last four starts (under 3-1 in his road starts). .
Wilson is 2-1, 3.97 in his four starts (over 3-1).
Seattle lost four of last five games; five of its last seven went over total. Baltimore won eight of its last ten games; under is 7-5 in their last 12 home games.
Astros @ White Sox
McHugh is 3-0, 4.18 in his last four starts (over 3-1).
Sale is 8-0, 1.82 in his eight starts, last four of which went over.
Houston lost four of last six games, five of which went over. White Sox lost six of their last seven games; nine of their last twelve games went over.
Blue Jays @ Twins
Estrada is 0-3, 3.68 in his last six starts (under 6-1).
Santana is 1-2, 4.30 in his six starts, last three of which went over.
Blue Jays lost six of last seven games, six of which went over the total. Minnesota is ; over is 10-3-1 in their last 14 games.
Bronx @ A's
Nova is 1-0, 1.80 in two starts this season (over 1-1).
Graveman is 0-4, 9.31 in his last four starts (under 4-3).
A's won five of last six games; eight of their last ten games went over. Bronx lost nine of last 11 road games; over is 7-2-1 in their last ten games.
Interleague
Indians @ Reds
Cleveland is 6-0 when Tomlin starts (5-0, 4.10, over 5-1). Indians scored 34 runs in his six outings
Adleman is 1-1, 3.38 in his three starts (under 2-1).
Reds lost eight of their last ten games; over is 10-3-2 in their last 15 home games. Indians lost seven of last ten road games; over is 9-3-1 in their last thirteen.
Dodgers @ Angels
Stripling is 2-2, 5.84 in his last five starts (under 5-1-1).
Chacin gave up two runs in seven IP (90 PT) in his first start for the Angels.
Angels won five of last six games; five of their last seven games went over. Dodgers are 4-3 in last seven games; four of their last six games went over.
Teams won-lost records when this pitcher starts:
Atl-Pitt-- Foltynewicz 1-2; Locke 1-6
Wsh-NY-- Strasburg 8-0; Harvey 3-5
Chi-Mil-- Hammel 6-1; Guerra 3-0
Col-StL-- Gray 2-3; Wacha 3-4
SF-SD-- Samardzija 5-3; Shields 2-6
Sea-Balt-- Karns 5-2; Wilson 3-1
Hst-Chi-- McHugh 4-4; Sale 8-0
Tor-Minn-- Estrada 2-5; Santana 1-5
NY-A's-- Nova 2-0; Graveman 1-6
Clev-Cin-- Tomlin 6-0; Adleman 2-1
LA-LAA-- Stripling 4-3; Chacin 1-0/2-3
Starting pitchers allowing 1+ runs in first inning:
Atl-Pitt-- Foltynewicz 1-3; Locke 1-7
Wsh-NY-- Strasburg 3-8; Harvey 2-8
Chi-Mil-- Hammel 1-7; Guerra 1-3
Col-StL-- Gray 2-5; Wacha 2-5
SF-SD-- Samardzija 2-8; Shields 2-8
Sea-Balt-- Karns 2-7; Wilson 1-4
Hst-Chi-- McHugh 5-8; Sale 1-8
Tor-Minn-- Estrada 2-7; Santana 2-6
NY-A's-- Nova 0-2; Graveman 2-7
Clev-Cin-- Tomlin 3-6; Adleman 0-3
LA-LAA-- Stripling 1-7; Chacin 2-6
Umpires
Az-Pitt-- Three of last four Conroy games went over.
Wsh-NY-- Road team won five of last six Hoye games.
Cubs-Mil-- Underdogs are 8-6 in last 14 Vanover games.
Col-StL-- Four of last five Barksdale games stayed under.
SF-SD-- Home team won six of last seven LBarrett games.
Sea-Balt-- Three of last four Torres games stayed under.
Hst-Chi-- Four of last five Hamari games went over.
Clev-Cin-- Six of eight Blakney games stayed under.
LA-LA-- Under is 4-1-1 in Estabrook games this season.
Armadillosports.com
MLB: Streaks, Tips, Notes
Sportspic.com
San Francisco at San Diego
The closing matchup of a three game series is today’s baseball betting focus as the San Diego Padres host the San Francisco Giants this evening at Petco Park. According to the current betting odds at BetOnline.ag, the Giants are -$1.45 road favorites, with a run total of 7.0.
Giants have dominated the season series winning all five meetings. The visitors sends Jeff Samardzija to the mound carrying a 4-1 Team Start Record vs Padres. The home side counters with James Shields owning a 2-5 career TSR vs Giants, 1-3 TSR since joining Padres. Additionally, Shields' and Petco Park go together like oil and water. The hurler enters the contest with a 1-4 TSR at home this season and sports a 4-11 TSR last fifteen in front of the home audience.
Thursday's Diamond Notes
By Tony Mejia
VegasInsider.com
Hottest team: Giants (7-0 last seven)
Johnny Cueto followed Madison Bumgarner's lead and pitched a complete game of his own in last night's 2-1 win over San Diego. Cueto continued San Francisco’s fantastic run of quality pitching, going the distance against the Padres for the second time this season. Bruce Bochy will certainly have a rested bullpen for this series finale as a result, but is hoping for another strong start from Jeff Samardzija (5-2, 2.88), whose worst outing thus far in 2016 came against the Pads.
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Samardzija gave up five runs in just 5.2 innings and still got the win in a 13-9 home win. He's allowed four runs in the last 23.2 innings, which fits right in since the Giants have given up just nine runs over the past six games. San Francisco used the run to grab a 2.5-game lead over the Dodgers and Rockies in the NL West. It has seen the ‘under’ prevail in 10 of its last 11 games. James Shields (2-5, 3.12) takes the ball for host San Diego and has allowed more than a single run just once in his last four starts. He was a hard-luck 1-0 loser in an April 26 duel with Cueto. These NL West foes get together next week at AT&T Park after the Giants host the Cubs this weekend.
Coldest team: Twins (3-15 last 18)
The Blue Jays received consideration for this spot, having lost a league-high five straight at home, but they'll hit the road looking to get healthy against Minnesota, which has only won three series all season, two of which have come against Cleveland. The Twins were just swept by Detroit, getting outscored 23-13 over the three losses.
Minnesota has only played three home dates this month, but have lost its last six at Target Field, last winning on April 26. Ervin Santana (1-2, 3.38), coming off his first victory in a May 14 win over the Tribe, has been erratic thus far. Toronto will counter with Marco Estrada (1-2, 2.89), who hasn't won since his first start on April 10. He's earned no-decisions in four of his last five despite giving up a single run in three of those.
Hottest pitcher: Chris Sale (8-0, 1.67 ERA)
Sale will be looking to become the first pitcher to start a season 9-0 since Brandon Webb managed to in '08. Thus far, he's won every time out and hasn't given up more than two runs in a single appearance in his last six, a streak that dates back to April 9. Sale is coming off a complete game win over the Yankees last Friday and should have a fresh arm. Collin McHugh (4-3, 5.58) will pitch for the Astros and has won his last three decisions.
Coldest pitcher: Jeff Locke (1-3, 5.45 ERA)
The Pirates lefty closed April by pitching six shutout innnings in Denver, but he's been a mess in May, giving up 12 earned runs in 18.1 innings and walking six and striking just 10 over three starts. The Pirates haven't won in a single one of his outings this months, but are out to claim three of four from the Braves. Atlanta ace Julio Teheran allowed just one run yesterday after his teammates surrendered 20 over the first two games of this series, so Pittsburgh will be looking to rally in the finale against Mike Foltynewicz (1-1, 2.89).
Biggest UNDER run: Rockies (7-2 last nine)
Colorado has followed up its rather strong pitching at Coors Field by surrendering just three runs during the first two games of their nine-game road trip. Of course, they've only scored three runs themselves, splitting with the St. Louis and making a hard-luck loser out of lefty Chris Rusin, who shined but was denied in Wednesday's 2-0 loss to Adam Wainwright. Hard-throwing Jon Gray (1-2, 4.71) takes the mound for the rubber game of the series finale and has allowed just four runs in his last 20 innings, sporting a 24-to-4 strikeout-to-walk ratio. The Cards counter with Michael Wacha (2-4, 3.23), who has lost his last four decisions.
Biggest OVER run: Indians (9-3-1 last 13)
Cleveland had outscored the Reds 28-7 over the first two games of this series, then grabbed in-state bragging rights for the season in style, or heartbreaking fashion as far as Cincinnati is concerned. Rajai Davis tied last night's game with a two-run homer in the top of the 9th, extending Cincy's bullpen woes, while Francisco Lindor ended up winning it in the 12th with a homer that held up as the difference. The Indians have scored at least seven runs in six games during this stretch despite seeing heavy-hitter Michael Brantley return to the DL earlier towards the beginning of this run. They'll look to complete the sweep by sending unbeaten Josh Tomlin (5-0, 3.82) to the mound against rookie Tim Adleman (1-1, 3.38), who comes off his first career loss.
Matchup to watch: Nationals at Mets
Bryce Harper is an astounding 0-for-20 in his career against Matt Harvey (3-5, 4.93), striking out seven times. Seeing whether that streak will end is worth tuning in alone, but the fact Stephen Strasburg (6-0, 2.95) is looking to remain perfect makes it spicier. He’s 4-0 on the road, winning every one of his outings and allowing just five runs in 27 innings. He was 1-2 against New York last season, but has had his share against the Mets over the years. His mastery of Harper suggests Harvey should have a better record than just 3-3 against the Nats over his career, but he’s had a few hard-luck losses in spite of a 1.78 career ERA. Washington will be facing a 2016 version that has often looked unrecognizable, coming off giving up a season-worst 11 hits and five runs in just 5.2 innings in Colorado. He’s yet to get out of the seventh inning, so we’ll see if the Dark Knight can rise up here to take out Strasburg’s perfect mark. Harvey has won the previous two head-to-head matchups.
Betcha didn’t know: Although the Angels got out of the gate slowly, it's still wild that Wednesday's win marked just their second sellout of the season, the first since falling to the Cubs 9-0 on Opening night. The Freeway Series is good for business, even if a lot of those fans that come to Angel Stadium arrive dressed in blue. With catcher Geovany Soto going on the DL, the bad injury luck has continued, but L.A. has won five of six for the first time all season and sends Jhoulys Chacin (1-2, 4.81) to the mound for the second time since acquiring him from Atlanta. He pitched well in his debut, allowing just two runs over seven innings in Seattle last Saturday. A win over the Dodgers would be the Angels' first Freeway Series triumph since 2012. The teams tied in '13 and the Dodgers had won eight of 10 entering this season. It would probably help the cause if Adrian Gonzalez misses a second straight game due to back tightness. He's questionable.
Biggest public favorite: Cubs (-160) at Brewers
Biggest public underdog: Padres (+135) vs. Giants
Biggest line move: Rockies (+138 to +115) at Cardinals