Thursday's MLB National League Betting Cheat Sheet
By Covers.com
San Diego Padres at Pittsburgh Pirates (-145, 7)
Hot pitching stat: Pirates right-hander Gerrit Cole has won back-to-back starts against Texas and the Chicago Cubs, surrendering just one run on eight hits in 14 innings over that stretch.
Cold batting stat: Pittsburgh SS Clint Barmes and 3B Pedro Alvarez are a combined 2-for-26 against Padres starter Ian Kennedy.
Weather: Temperatures will be in the low-70s with cloudy skies. Wind will blow from right to left field at 6 mph.
Key betting note: Pittsburgh is 8-2 in the finale of its last 10 four-game series.
San Francisco Giants at New York Mets (+130, 7)
Cold pitching stat: Mets left-hander Jonathon Niese is 3-5 with a 4.48 ERA in 11 afternoon starts this season.
Cold batting stat: New York OF Eric Young, Jr. has just three hits with six strikeouts in 21 at-bats against Giants starter Madison Bumgarner.
Weather: Temperatures will be in the mid-70s with clear skies. Wind will blow out to right field at 6 mph.
Key betting note: The Mets have lost 11 of their last 12 games against left-handed starters.
Chicago Cubs at Milwaukee Brewers (-157, 8)
Cold pitching stat: Cubs right-hander Jake Arrieta was roughed up in his last outing against Milwaukee, allowing four runs over five innings of a 5-3 loss.
Hot batting stat: Chicago OF Junior Lake is 3-for-6 with a homer and four RBIs against Brewers starter Kyle Lohse.
Weather: Temperatures will be in the low-80s with a 50 percent chance of showers or thunderstorms. Wind will blow from right to left field at 10 mph.
Key betting note: Milwaukee is 9-2 in Lohse's last 11 home starts.
St. Louis Cardinals at Colorado Rockies (+155, 10)
Cold pitching stat: Rockies right-hander Roy Oswalt has lost all six of his starts in 2013 while allowing opponents to hit .360.
Hot batting stat: Cardinals OF Carlos Beltran is 11-for-31 with a homer and eight RBIs in his career against Oswalt.
Weather: Temperatures will be in the low-70s with partly cloudy skies. Wind will blow in from right field at 4 mph.
Key betting note: The over is 6-0 in umpire Victor Carapazza's last six games behind home plate.
Los Angeles Dodgers at Arizona Diamondbacks (-105, 8)
Hot pitching stat: Dodgers right-hander Ricky Nolasco is 8-2 with a 2.63 ERA in 13 starts since joining the club in a trade with Miami.
Hot batting stat: Los Angeles 2B Mark Ellis is 10-for-20 with four solo home runs lifetime against Diamondbacks righty Wade Miley.
Weather: Temperatures will be in the mid-90s with clear skies. Wind will blow from left to right field at 4 mph.
Key betting note: Arizona is 6-0 in Miley's last six starts against teams with winning records.
Miami Marlins at Washington Nationals (-250, 7)
Hot pitching stat: Nationals right-hander Stephen Strasburg has limited opposing hitters to a .181 average in 10 second-half starts.
Hot batting stat: Washington 3B Ryan Zimmerman has hit 10 home runs in a month for just the second time in his career.
Weather: Temperatures will be in the high-60s with sunny skies. Wind will blow out to left field at 5 mph.
Key betting note: The over is 4-0-1 in the last five meetings.
Thursday's MLB American League Betting Cheat Sheet
By Covers.com
Seattle Mariners at Detroit Tigers (-185, 8)
Hot pitching stat: Tigers right-hander Doug Fister is 1-0 with a 1.29 ERA in 14 innings against the Mariners, who drafted him in the seventh round in 2006.
Cold batting stat: Members of the Seattle roster are hitting a collective .229 in 48 at-bats against Fister.
Weather: Temperatures will be in the low-70s with a 30 percent chance of showers or thunderstorms. Wind will blow in from right field at 9 mph.
Key betting note: The under is 11-1 in Fister's previous 12 starts against teams with losing records.
Houston Astros at Cleveland Indians (-215, 8)
Hot pitching stat: Indians right-hander Ubaldo Jimenez is 5-5 with a 1.83 ERA and 71 strikeouts in 10 second-half starts.
Cold batting stat: Cleveland OF Michael Bourn is hitting just .138 with eight strikeouts in 38 career at-bats against the Astros.
Weather: Temperatures will be in the mid-70s with a 45 percent chance of showers. Wind will blow out to left-center field at 6 mph.
Key betting note: Houston is 1-10 in starter Dallas Keuchel's last 11 outings on five days' rest.
New York Yankees at Toronto Blue Jays (+108, 8.5)
Cold pitching stat: Yankees right-hander Hiroki Kuroda struggled in his previous start against Toronto, surrendering seven runs - five earned - on nine hits over five innings of a 7-2 defeat.
Hot batting stat: Blue Jays C J.P. Arencibia is 9-for-21 with a homer against Kuroda.
Weather: Temperatures will be in the mid-60s with partly cloudy skies. Wind will blow out to center field at 6 mph.
Key betting note: New York has lost eight of Kuroda's last 10 starts against American League East opponents.
Baltimore Orioles at Boston Red Sox (-130, 8.5)
Hot pitching stat: Orioles right-hander Chris Tillman has dominated the Red Sox in his career, going 4-1 with a 2.15 ERA in nine starts.
Hot batting stat: Baltimore slugger Chris Davis is 11-for-26 with a pair of homers and six RBIs against Boston starter John Lackey.
Weather: Temperatures will be in the high-60s with sunny skies. Wind will blow out to center field at 6 mph.
Key betting note: The under is 21-5-1 in Lackey's last 27 starts.
Texas Rangers at Tampa Bay Rays (-114, 7)
Hot pitching stat: Rays left-hander Matt Moore is 7-0 with a 1.90 ERA in his last 10 starts.
Cold batting stat: The Tampa Bay roster is batting just .143 with one RBI in 56 at-bats against Texas righty Yu Darvish.
Weather: Dome.
Key betting note: Texas has lost Darvish's last six starts.
Minnesota Twins at Oakland Athletics (-215, 7.5)
Hot pitching stat: Athletics right-hander Dan Straily has won four straight starts while allowing just five runs over 23 2/3 innings in that span.
Hot batting stat: Oakland OF Yoenis Cespedes went 5-for-11 with six RBIs in a three-game series against Minnesota earlier this month.
Weather: Temperatures will be in the low-60s with sunny skies. Wind will blow out to right field at 6 mph.
Key betting note: The over is 6-2-1 in the last nine meetings in Oakland.
MLB Odds and Picks - AL East in the spotlight
By: The Linemakers
Sportingnews.com
Eight of the 12 games Thursday offer some type of impact on who will earn the two wild card spots in each league. The Cardinals have put some major distance -- 2 games -- between themselves and the Pirates as St. Louis closes out their four game series at Colorado this afternoon.
While the Cardinals have taken the first two of three from the Rockies, the Pirates are on the verge of being swept four games at home by the Padres. If accomplished today, it would be the Padres first four-game sweep at Pittsburgh since 1996. It would also be the Padres 15th win in 16 games at PNC, a place where they are now 31-10 all-time.
The Orioles have won three straight to close within one game of the final wild card in the AL, and look to complete a three-game sweep at Boston before heading to Tampa Bay. There, the Orioles will begin a pivotal four-game set that should shape things up for the final stretch.
The Rays will try to take three-of-four from the Rangers tonight. The finale offers the best pitching matchup of the series as Matt Moore and Yu Darvish are pick ’em (-105). The Rangers have lost six straight behind Darvish, although he’s pitched extremely well in his last two starts, losing both by identical 1-0 scores.
The Yankees still have some life in them despite being swept last weekend at Boston. Hiroki Kuroda has to come up huge in his final starts. The Yankees have lost four of his past six starts, including a 7-2 loss at Toronto on Aug. 28 where Kuroda allowed all seven runs. The Jays get another chance for an offensive feeding frenzy tonight against him and will counter with Todd Redmond on the mound.
Here’s a look at three key series that begin tonight:
Miami Marlins at Washington Nationals
Series record: Nationals 11-4
Series Price: Nationals -400
Expected weekend rotation:
Thursday: Henderson Alvarez (4-4) vs. Gio Gonzalez (10-7)
Friday: Jacob Turner (3-7) vs. Jordan Zimmermann (18-8)
Saturday: Tom Koehler (3-10) vs. Stephen Strasburg (7-9)
Sunday: Brian Flynn (0-2) vs. Dan Haren (9-13)
Outlook: The Marlins have lost all six of their games at Washington this season, and manager Davey Johnson looks like he’s going for the throat in this series with a stacked rotation that looks like it was tailor-made weeks in advance to take advantage of the NL’s weakest team. The Astros didn’t do Washington any favors by getting swept by the Reds and when the Nats lost yesterday to the Braves, it dropped them 5.5 back in the wild card chase. Their best hope is that either Pittsburgh or Cincinnati takes a dive in their weekend series, and the same thing occurs next week when the two teams above them meet again in Cincinnati. With Washington winning 21 of their last 28 games, and the rate at which the Pirates are dropping games, this one could go down to the final few days of the season.
Houston Astros at Cleveland Indians
Series record: Indians 2-1
Series Price: Indians -400
Expected weekend rotation:
Thursday: Dallas Keuchel (6-9) vs. Ubaldo Jimenez (12-9)
Friday: Brett Oberholzter (4-3) vs. Zach McAllister
Saturday: Paul Clemens (4-5) vs. Scott Kazmir (8-9)
Sunday: Eric Bedard (4-11) vs. Corey Kluber (9-5)
Outlook: The Indians couldn’t have had asked for a better final stretch of games, and if they do their part and Darvish continues his trend tonight at Tampa Bay, the long climb uphill could finally see them in control of their own destiny for the final wild card. The Astros have the worst record in baseball and come in losers of their last five but should be able to steal at least one from Cleveland. The best opportunity looks like Friday when Oberholzter takes the mound.
Minnesota Twins at Oakland A’s
Series record: A’s lead 2-1
Series Price: A’s -380
Expected weekend rotation:
Thursday: Kevin Correia (9-12) vs. Dan Straily (10-7)
Friday: Andrew Albers (2-3) vs. Bartolo Colon (16-6)
Saturday: Pedro Hernandez (3-1) vs. Jarrod Parker (11-7)
Sunday: Undecided vs. Sonny Gray (3-3)
Outlook: The A’s have won 17 of their last 23 and outscored the Twins 29-9 last week at Target Field while taking two of three. The Twins could play a major spoiler role over their next 11 as they face Detroit and then Cleveland following this four game set. The only matchup for the Twins that looks attractive is Saturday behind Pedro Hernandez. The Twins have won his past four starts and he‘s gone six straight outings allowing three runs or less.
Thursday’s selections:
Rays (Moore) -105 vs. Darvish
Dodgers (Nolasco) +105 at D-Backs
Orioles (Tillman) +130 at Red Sox