Cardinals at Angels: What Bettors Need to Know
By Covers.com
St. Louis Cardinals at Los Angeles Angels (-125, 7.5)
Albert Pujols faces his former team for the first time when the Los Angeles Angels begin a three-game series against the visiting St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday. Pujols, who signed with the Angels as a free agent last season after playing 11 illustrious years in St. Louis, has four hits in his last 34 at-bats and is hitting .249 with 13 home runs and 49 RBIs. The Angels have won six in a row, while St. Louis has lost six of its last eight.
Angels outfielder Mike Trout missed his first game of the season Sunday with a sore hamstring, but he’s expected to return for Tuesday’s series opener. Trout will likely start in center field while J.B. Shuck starts in left field after Peter Bourjos was placed on the 15-day disabled list Sunday with a fractured right wrist. Angels outfielder Josh Hamilton is showing signs of breaking out of his season-long slump, batting .273 with five RBIs in his last five games.
PITCHING MATCHUP: Cardinals RH Lance Lynn (10-2, 3.52 ERA) vs. Angels RH Jered Weaver (1-4, 4.15)
Lynn suffered his second loss last Wednesday against the Astros, allowing four runs in 7 2/3 innings. The 26-year-old right-hander has allowed four or more runs in three of his last four starts while posting a 5.84 ERA during that stretch. Lynn, who has never faced the Angels, is 1-1 with a 4.70 ERA in seven career interleague games (two starts).
After three straight shaky outings, Weaver pitched seven innings of one-run ball against the Tigers last Thursday. “We’re confident that he’s going to pitch more like he did today than the way he has in a couple of his last starts,” manager Mike Scioscia told reporters. The 30-year-old Weaver has a 13-4 record with a 2.61 ERA in interleague play.
TRENDS:
* Angels are 0-4 in their last four interleague games.
* Under is 5-0 in Weaver’s last five interleague starts.
* Under is 5-1 in Cardinals’ last six vs. a team with a losing record.
WALK-OFFS
1. Cardinals 1B Matt Adams is expected to return to the starting lineup Tuesday after missing Sunday’s contest with food poisoning.
2. Angels 2B Howie Kendrick is hitting .356 (58-for-163) since May 14.
3. The Cardinals are 18-9 in the first game of a series.
MLB: Streaks, Tips, Notes
Sportspic.com
Seattle Mariners at Texas Rangers
Texas Rangers reeling off 10-of-13 the second half of June recapturing top spot in the AL West look to maintain their lead with a win over visiting Seattle Mariners. Rangers trot out Justin Grimm with a 7-5 record and 5.56 ERA. The right-hander won his last two starts and brings to the mound a 4-2 home record, 2-0 mark vs Seattle this season with Rangers a perfect 3-0 over his three starts. Grimm's rival on the mound will be Seattle's Joe Saunders heading to the bump with a 5-8 record, 4.98 ERA. The left-hander on a dismal 1-5 skid away from Safeco Field over eight tries (1-7 TSR) has some demons to conquer in this one. Saunders has never been able to handle Texas in it's own backyard, the hurler is 0-7 in Arlington with his teams 1-7 in eight life-time starts. If those numbers don't have you thinking Rangers these handicapping facts might help. The Rangers are a profitable 10-2 as favorite opening a series at home, 9-4 as home favorite hosting a division rival. Mariners head into the contest 4-11 as road dog after a loss previous game, 3-8 as road dog after allowing => 6 runs the previous game, 3-6 as road dog opening a series.
Cardinals at Halos: Preview & Pick
Sportspic.com
Strike while the iron is hot might be a good baseball betting adage to follow as the Los Angeles Angels open up a three-game home series against the St. Louis Cardinals tonight.
Los Angeles, winners of six straight, has been tabbed as a -130 home favorite, according to the current betting odds at Bovada, with a run total of 8. The team’s opponents, the Cardinals, are looking to get back in the groove after dropping three of its last four contests.
The Angels will have the team’s ace, Jered Weaver, try and push the winning streak to seven. Weaver brings just a 1-4 record with a 4.15 ERA to the mound. Prior to a strong no-decision effort in Detroit last week, the righthander had struggled in his previous three starts.
Weaver’s season got off to a bad start with a freak broken wrist that kept him out of action for almost two months. As such, his numbers haven’t matched his career work.
The Cardinals will counter with fellow righty Lance Lynn, who in contrast to Weaver, has had a standout season with a 10-2 record and 3.52 ERA. That second loss came in his last outing, when the lowly Astros beat him, despite allowing just five hits. What hurt him in that contest were control issues that manifested itself in four walks.
Los Angeles has been spoiled by Weaver’s past success, especially at home, where it has a 76-30 record when he takes the hill in Anaheim. Weaver’s last two starts have been losses for the Angels, but in that lengthy resume, the team has never lost three in a row when he starts at home.
Some numbers stand out, especially the fact that over the past two years, the Angels have won 19 of his 22 nighttime starts at home, or the 17-3 record when starting the first game of a home series under the lights since 2010. When that first game has also begun a homestand, as it does tonight, Los Angeles has won seven of eight games during that same stretch.
If Weaver’s own past numbers aren’t convincing enough, there’s this wordy fact for all of major league baseball this season: home favorites of less than -150 in the first game of a homestand with a total over seven and a righthander on the mound have an outstanding mark of 16-4 this year.
While Lynn presents a formidable challenge to the Angels extending the team’s winning streak, Weaver’s ability to get back on track in his last start could be the precursor to his establishing his prior dominance. Thus, the best MLB pick to make is:
Play Los Angeles Angels -130