Tuesday's National League Betting Cheat Sheet
By Covers.com
Miami Marlins at Washington Nationals (-158, 8)
Cold pitching stat: Nats starter Ross Ohlendorf did not fare well in his last start on August 21. He gave up four runs on six hits over 4 1/3 innings in an 11-6 victory over the Chicago Cubs.
Cold batting stat: Marlins slugger Giancarlo Stanton has just one hit in seven at-bats in his career versus Ohlendorf.
Weather: There is a 30 percent chance of thunderstorms in the forecast for gametime. Temperatures will be in the low-90s and wind will blow from left field to right field at 7 mph.
Key betting note: The under is 6-1 in Marlins SP Nate Eovaldi's last seven starts overall.
Milwaukee Brewers at Pittsburgh Pirates (-142, 7)
Cold pitching stat: Pirates lefty Jeff Locke has had an awful August. Locke is 0-1 with a 7.50 ERA in four starts this month.
Cold batting stat: Pirates slugger Pedro Alvarez is 5-for-22 with nine strikeouts in his career against Brewers starter Kyle Lohse.
Weather: Temperatures will be in the low-80s with a 50 percent chance of rain. Wind will blow out to left field at 6 mph.
Key betting note: The Brewers are 6-1 in Lohse's last seven starts.
Philadelphia Phillies at New York Mets (-132, 7.5)
Hot pitching stat: Mets starter Jon Niese is coming off of arguably his best start of the year. Niese went seven innings allowing one run on five hits, but was the hard-luck loser in a 4-1 loss to the Braves on August 21.
Cold batting stat: Phillies SS Jimmy Rollins is 8-for-37 (.216) in his career versus Niese.
Weather: Temperatures will be in the low-80s with partly cloudy skies. Wind will blow in from left field at 6 mph.
Key betting note: The over is 13-3-1 in Niese's last 17 Tuesday starts.
Cincinnati Reds at St. Louis Cardinals (+100, 7.5)
Hot pitching stat: Reds starter Mat Latos has been stellar in August. The righty is 3-1 with a 0.89 ERA in his four August starts.
Hot batting stat: The Cards have hit well versus Latos, however. Collectively, the Cards own a .318 average in 173 at-bats versus Latos.
Weather: Temperatures will be in the low-90s with mostly clear skies. Wind will blow out to center field at 8 mph.
Key betting note: The Cardinals are 5-0 SP Joe Kelly's previous five starts overall.
San Francisco Giants at Colorado Rockies (-121, 10.5)
Cold pitching stat: Rockies starter Chad Bettis is 0-2 with a 4.50 ERA in five August starts.
Hot batting stat: Giants C Buster Posey is hitting .465 versus the Rockies this season.
Weather: Temperatures will be in the low-80s with sunny skies. Wind will blow out to left field at 6 mph.
Key betting note: The Giants are 1-5 in the last six meetings in Colorado.
San Diego Padres at Arizona Diamondbacks
Hot pitching stat: Padres starter Ian Kennedy is 2-1 with a 3.20 ERA in four starts since coming over to San Diego in a trade with Arizona.
Cold batting stat: DBacks 3B Martin Prado is 2-for-10 lifetime versus Kennedy.
Weather: Temperatures will be in the high-90s with clear skies. Wind will blow out to right field at 5 mph.
Key betting note: The Diamondbacks are 4-0 in their last four during Game 2 of a series.
Chicago Cubs at Los Angeles Dodgers (-280, 5.5)
Hot pitching stat: Dodgers starter Clayton Kershaw is 3-1 with a 0.90 ERA in his four August starts.
Cold batting stat: Cubs SS Starlin Castro is 0-for-13 in his career versus Kershaw.
Weather: Temperatures will be in the mid-70s with sunny skies. Wind will blow out to right field at 5 mph.
Key betting note: The Cubs are 0-5 in SP Travis Wood's last five road starts versus a team with a winning record.
Interleague
Cleveland Indians at Atlanta Braves (-141, 7.5)
Hot pitching stat: Braves SP Alex Wood is 1-0 with a sparkling 1.11 ERA in four August starts.
Cold batting stat: Braves C Brian McCann is batting just .227 in the month of August.
Weather: Temperatures will be in the low-80s with partly cloudy skies. Wind will blow from left field to right field at 3 mph.
Key betting note: The Braves are 4-1 in Woods last five starts.
Tuesday's American League Betting Cheat Sheet
By Covers.com
New York Yankees at Toronto Blue Jays (+110, 9)
Hot pitching stat: Yanks starter Andy Pettitte pitched very well versus the Blue Jays in his last start on Aug. 22. The lefty tossed six innings of four-hit ball en route to a 5-3 Yankee victory over the Jays.
Cold batting stat: Jays SS Jose Reyes is just 6-for-25 in his career versus Pettitte. None of those hits have gone for extra bases.
Weather: With a 40 percent chance of thunderstorms in the forecast, the roof could be closed at Rogers Centre.
Key betting note: The Blue Jays are 1-4 in J.A. Happ's last five home starts.
Oakland A's at Detroit Tigers (-186, 8.5)
Hot pitching stat: Tigers starter Justin Verlander pitched six innings allowing just three hits as the Tigers defeated the A's back on April 13 in his lone start versus the club this season.
Cold batting stat: A's OF Josh Reddick is hitting a paltry .154 in 13 career at-bats versus Verlander.
Weather: There is a 50 percent chance of thunderstorms in the forecast for gametime. Temperatures will be in the mid-80s and wind will blow in from right field at 4 mph.
Key betting note: The Tigers are 6-0 in Verlander's last six starts versus the Athletics.
Baltimore Orioles at Boston Red Sox (-132, 9)
Cold pitching stat: Orioles starter Wei-Yin Chen is 1-3 with a 4.10 ERA in his four August starts.
Hot batting stat: BoSox 2B Dustin Pedroia is 4-for-10 with one double and one triple in his career versus Chen.
Weather: Temperatures will be in the low-70s with mostly cloudy skies. Wind will blow in from left field at 8 mph.
Key betting note: The under is 6-1 in Sox SP Felix Doubront's last seven home starts.
Los Angeles Angels at Tampa Bay Rays (-128, 8)
Hot pitching stat: Angels starter C.J. Wilson has fared quite well versus the Rays throughout his career. Wilson owns a 4-2 record with a 3.24 ERA in seven career starts versus the Rays.
Cold batting stat: In 141 collective at-bats, the Rays current roster is batting just .184 versus Wilson.
Weather: Dome
Key betting note: The under is 9-1-1 in Rays starter Roberto Hernandez's last 11 starts overall.
Houston Astros at Chicago White Sox (-192, 9)
Cold pitching stat: Paul Clemens of the Astros will be making his first start of the season Tuesday. The righty owns a 6.36 ERA in 46 2/3 innings out of the 'Stros pen this season.
Hot batting stat: Prior to Monday's game, Sox slugger Adam Dunn has just four homers in August, but is hitting an uncharacterstic .307 for the month.
Weather: Temperatures will be in the low-90s with clear skies. Wind will blow from right field to left field at 12 mph.
Key betting note: The White Sox are 0-5 in Jose Quintana's last five home starts versus a team with a losing record.
Kansas City Royals at Minnesota Twins (+138, 8.5)
Cold pitching stat: Royals starter James Shields has two wins in three starts versus the Twins this season, but he owns a 5.89 ERA.
Hot batting stat: Twins 1B Justin Morneau is 14-for-38 with four homers and 10 RBIs in his career versus Shields.
Weather: Temperatures will be in the high-90s under partly cloudy skies. Wind will blow out to right field at 10 mph.
Key betting note: The Twins are 0-4 in Kevin Correia's last four starts versus the Royals.
Texas Rangers at Seattle Mariners (+106, 7)
Hot pitching stat: Rangers starter Derek Holland is 1-0 with a 0.92 ERA in three starts versus Seattle this season.
Hot batting stat: Rangers 3B Adrian Beltre is 8-for-19 (.421) with two homers in his career versus Seattle starter Hisashi Iwakuma.
Weather: Temperatures will be in the low-70s with cloudy skies. Wind will blow from left field to right field at 4 mph.
Key betting note: The Rangers are 6-1 in Holland's last seven road starts versus a team with a losing record.
MLB: Streaks, Tips, Notes
Sportspic.com
Milwaukee Brewers at Pittsburgh Pirates
The Brewers' would love to be a thorn in Pirates' side, but haven't had much success vs the club this season. Brewers are just 4-9 vs Bucs' including 1-6 at PNC Park. However, Brewers have the edge on the mound in the opener when they send out Kyle Lohse to match pitches with Jeff Locke. Lohse off a win over Cardinals is 9-8 on the campaign with a 3.22 ERA. The victory also gives the hurler a sharp 10-4 TSR record in his last 14 August starts. On the other mound, Pirate southpaw Jeff Locke (9-4, 3.01 ERA) off a second consecutive non-quality start is 0-1 last three with a whopping 8.76 ERA and heads to the hill winless in six games (3-3 TSR). Always a stretch siding with Brewers but with tonight's starters headed in opposite direction, Pirates just 4-4 after being blanked the previous game including 1-2 as home favorite bank on Lohse picking up his first 'W' in this series as a member of Brew Crew improving his 9-2 life-time mark vs Pirates.
MLB Odds and Picks – Reds, behind Latos, look to bounce back vs. Cardinals
By: The Linemakers
Sportingnews.com
LAS VEGAS -- The Reds struck early in the first game of a pivotal three-game series against the Cardinals on Monday by jumping out to a 4-0 lead, but in baseball, as Yogi Berra said, “It ain’t over 'til it’s over.“
The Cardinals would claw back, and when down 5-4 in the seventh, Allen Craig delivered the death blow with his first career grand slam to give St. Louis an 8-5 lead. The Cards went on to win, 8-6, for their ninth win in 13 games against Cincinnati this season.
The win put St. Louis all alone atop the NL Central by half-game (the Pirates were idle), and it dropped the Reds to 3.5 games back. The Reds still have a comfortable six-game lead over Arizona in the wild-card chase, but Cincinnati, Pittsburgh and St. Louis want nothing to do with a one-game playoff format, which makes tonight’s game at Busch Stadium critical for the Reds.
Cincy gets only six more whacks at the Cardinals, and they have to make the remaining games count in their favor to have any chance of winning the division. If St. Louis is able to fare well in its next 12 games – all against Pittsburgh and Cincinnati – they can cruise through the rest of its schedule against teams with losing records.
World Series odds: NL Central figures prominently
The Cardinals may still be the considerable favorite to win the division, but we think the Reds bounce back tonight, and it’s not only because of what’s at stake for Dusty Baker’s club, but also because of who takes the mound for Cincinnati.
Mat Latos (13-4, 2.93 ERA) looks to match a career high in wins with his 14th of the season, and he’s been the only Reds starter to handle the high powered St. Louis offense consistently. He’s 3-0 with a 1.50 ERA in his past four starts against them. He last faced them on June 8, giving up two runs over seven innings in a 4-2 home victory. Plus, he’s been absolutely amazing in August, allowing only three runs in 30 1/3 innings, and he’s 5-1 with a 1.47 ERA in his last seven starts overall.
Latos will be opposed by Joe Kelly (5-3, 3.01 ERA), who has gone 5-0 with a 2.33 ERA in eight starts since joining the rotation July 6. This will be his first start against the Reds this season.
Taking a shot with the Cubs
Clayton Kershaw is a giant -300 favorite tonight against the Cubs, a team the Dodgers have beaten eight straight times. The price seems appropriate considering the best pitcher in the game is dealing and that the Dodgers are the hottest team in baseball over the past two months.
The Cubs have hit .175 over their last 14 games with runners in scoring position, a number that doesn't figure to be helped with Kershaw pitching. Travis Wood, meanwhile, has been the Cubs best pitcher all season, but has gone 0-3 with a 5.16 ERA in his last five outings.
Kershaw has won his last three starts and hasn’t allowed a run in his last two, which has lowered his ERA to 1.72. He’s on his way to a third straight ERA crown, which would tie a major league record set by Lefty Grove (1929-31) and Greg Maddux (1993-95).
But for all his greatness, Kershaw has been a good pitcher to bet against. That may sound like a crazy statement, but his prices are so inflated because of his dominance that taking the plus-money against him has been profitable, as the Dodgers are only 16-11 behind him.
If you're not buying this all the way, but maybe just a little, you could go the conservative route and take the Cubs +1.5 runs at +120. However, we’re going all in with the Cubs for the whole enchilada at +260. The Dodgers haven’t won four straight games behind Kershaw all season.
Monday’s selections:
Cubs (Wood) +260 at Dodgers
Reds (Latos) -108 at Cardinals
Phillies (Kendrick) +125 at Mets
Yankees (Pettitte) -115 at Blue Jays
Second-half record: 69-59 (+1,370)