National League
Mets @ Nationals
Harvey is 0-2, 2.88 in his last four starts; his last five stayed under.
Highly touted prospect Giolito is making his MLB debut; he was 5-3, 3.17 in 14 AAA starts this season.
Mets are 5-8 in last 13 road games; under is 9-4 in their last 13 road games. Washington lost seven of last nine games; eight of Nationals' last ten home games went over.
Cubs @ Reds
Lester is 5-0, 1.87 in his last six starts; five of his last six road starts went over. .
Lamb is 0-1, 4.91 in his last four starts (under 3-2-1 in his home starts).
Cubs lost six of last eight games; under is 8-6 in their last 14 games. Cincinnati lost seven of last nine games; six of Reds' last nine home games stayed under.
Dodgers @ Brewers
Urias is 0-1, 1.88 in his last three starts, which all stayed under.
Anderson is 0-1, 13.51 in his last two starts; under is 5-3 in his last eight starts.
Dodgers lost three of last four games; they're 3-10 in road series openers. Milwaukee is 4-1 in last five home games; they're 6-7 in home series openers. Under is 5-2-1 in last eight Dodger games, 7-5 in last 12 games at Miller Park.
Phillies @ Diamondbacks
Eickhoff is 3-1, 2.19 in his last four starts; six of his last seven stayed under.
Greinke is 4-0, 1.47 in his last five starts, four of which stayed under.
Phillies lost 14 of last 18 games; over is 10-3 in their last 13 road games. Arizona is 4-8 in its last 12 home games; four of last five Diamondback games went over.
American League
Rangers @ Bronx
Hamels is 3-0, 0.87 in his last three starts; seven of his last nine starts went over.
Sabathia is 2-0, 3.63 in his last four starts; five of his last six stayed under.
Rangers won 11 of last 13 games; over is 11-4 in their last 15 road games. New York is 3-5 in its last eight home games, six of their last nine games stayed under.
Red Sox @ Rays
Porcello is 1-0, 5.40 in his last six starts (over 4-1-1)..
Archer is 0-3, 5.03 in his last three starts, which all stayed under.
Red Sox lost six of last eight games; five of last six Boston road games went over total. Tampa Bay lost 11 of last 12 games; their last three games all went over.
Twins @ White Sox
Gibson is 0-5, 6.81 in his last seven starts; three of his last four went over.
Quintana is 0-2, 5.61 in his last four starts; under is 13-1 in his last 14 starts.
Twins lost seven of last nine road games; they're 3-9 in road series openers. Chicago is 5-2 in its last seven games, 7-5 in home series openers. Three of last four Chicago games stayed under, as have last three Minnesota games.
Astros @ Angels
McCullers is 1-1, 3.20 in his last four starts; six of his last seven stayed under.
Lincecum is 1-1, 5.00 in his two starts for the Angels (over 1-1).
Houston won ten of its last 12 games; under is 14-4 in Astros' last 18 games. Angels are 6-15 in their last 21 games; nine of their last 11 home games went over.
Interleague
Marlins @ Tigers
Conley is 2-0, 0.66 in his last two starts, five of his last six starts stayed under.
Pelfrey is 0-2, 7.13 in his last three starts; over is 6-3-1 in his last ten.
Marlins are 9-4 in their last 13 games, 8-3 in road series openers. Over is 9-2 in Miami's last 11 road games. Detroit lost its last three games; they're 6-6 in home series openers. Four of last six Tiger games stayed under the total.
Indians @ Braves
Kluber is 5-2, 3.58 in his last seven starts; under is 6-4-1 in his last eleven.
Wisler is 1-4, 6.29 in his last six starts; three of his last four went over.
Indians won their last ten games, four of last five Cleveland road games went over the total. Atlanta is 8-4 in its last 12 games; under is 8-2 in their last ten games.
Cardinals @ Royals
Wacha is 1-1, 2.11 in his last three starts; eight of his last nine went over.
Ventura is 2-0, 0.66 in his last two starts; four of his last five went over.
Cardinals are 9-3 in last 12 road games, over is 11-8 in their last 19 road games. Kansas City lost four of last six games, six of Royals' last nine home games went over.
Blue Jays @ Rockies
Happ is 3-0, 3.32 in his last three starts; three of his last four went over.
Butler is 0-2, 7.96 in his last five starts; three of his last four went over. .
Blue Jays lost six of last eight games, four of their last six games stayed under. Colorado won seven of last nine home games, six of last seven games at Coors Field went over.
Orioles @ Padres
Jimenez is 2-2, 9.50 in his last five starts; six of his last seven went over.
Johnson is 0-3, 9.82 in three starts for San Diego (under 2-1).
Orioles won their last five games, are 6-5 in road series openers. Three of last four Oriole road games stayed under. San Diego won six of its last eight games; they're 8-5 in home series openers. Last five San Diego home games went over the total.
Pirates @ Mariners
Niese is 0-3, 9.18 in his last three starts; four of his last five stayed under.
Iwakuma is 2-2, 5.96 in his last four starts; six of his last eight went over.
Pirates won three of last four games overall but are 1-9 in last 10 road games, 8-5 in road series openers. Over is 11-8 in their last 19 games. Seattle lost seven of last nine games; they're 6-6 in home series openers. Three of last four Seattle home games went over.
A's @ Giants
Graveman is 1-0, 2.04 in his last three starts; under is 5-3 in his last eight. .
Suarez is 1-0, 5.14 in four starts this year (over 2-1-1). .
A's won four of last five games, all of which went over the total. San Francisco won 13 of last 17 home games- four of their last five home games went over.
Teams won-lost records when this pitcher starts:
NY-Wsh-- Harvey 5-10; Giolito 0-0
Chi-Cin-- Lester 11-4; Lamb 3-7
LA-Mil-- Urias 2-3; Anderson 5-9
Phil-Az-- Eickhoff 6-9; Greinke 12-4
Tex-NY-- Hamels 11-4; Sabathia 7-5
Bos-TB-- Porcello 10-5; Archer 5-11
Min-Chi-- Gibson 2-5; Quintana 7-8
Hst-LA-- McCullers 5-3; Lincecum 1-1
Mia-Det-- Conley 8-7; Pelfrey 5-9
Cle-Atl-- Kluber 7-8; Wisler 4-10
StL-KC-- Wacha 7-8; Ventura 9-5
Tor-Col-- Happ 10-5; Butler 2-6
Blt-SD-- Jimenez 7-7; Johnson 0-3/0-2
Pitt-Sea-- Niese 8-7; Iwakuma 8-7
A's-SF-- Graveman 5-9; Suarez 2-2
Starting pitchers allowing 1+ runs in first inning:
NY-Wsh-- Harvey 3-15; Giolito 0-0
Chi-Cin-- Lester 4-15; Lamb 4-10
LA-Mil-- Urias 1-5; Anderson 6-14
Phil-Az-- Eickhoff 5-15; Greinke 5-16
Tex-NY-- Hamels 3-15; Sabathia 0-12
Bos-TB-- Porcello 5-15; Archer 8-16
Min-Chi-- Gibson 3-7; Quintana 2-15
Hst-LA-- McCullers 3-8; Lincecum 0-2
Mia-Det-- Conley 5-15; Pelfrey 8-14
Cle-Atl-- Kluber 4-15; Wisler 7-14
StL-KC-- Wacha 4-15; Ventura 4-14
Tor-Col-- Happ 4-15; Butler 4-8
Blt-SD-- Jimenez 6-14; Johnson 2-5
Pitt-Sea-- Niese 3-15; Iwakuma 3-15
A's-SF-- Graveman 3-14; Suarez 2-4
Umpires
NY-Wsh-- Under is 4-1-1 in last six Guccione games.
Chi-Cin-- Underdogs won four of last five Winters games.
Phil-Az-- Seven of last eight Hoberg games stayed under.
Tex-NY-- Underdogs won five of last six Nauert games.
Bos-TB-- Five of last seven Reyburn games stayed under.
Hst-LA-- Under is 4-2-1 in last seven Holbrook games.
Cle-Atl-- Last four HGibson games went over the total
StL-KC-- Six of last eight Timmons games went over.
Tor-Col-- Over is 8-3-1 in last twelve Diaz games.
A's-SF-- Last four Iassogna games stayed under total.
Armadillosports.com
MLB: Streak, Tips, Notes
Sportspic.com
Minnesota Twins at Chicago White Sox
Sometimes in sports a team just has another team's number and that's the case for the Chicago White Sox when it comes to Minnesota Twins. In six meetings this season the White Sox have won each contest by an average 4.5 runs/game. Twins 9-26 in an opposing park, 2-10 last twelve away vs the division are 1-4 last five trips to the windy city.
Tuesday's Diamond Notes
By Joe Williams
VegasInsider.com
Hottest team: Astros (10-2 past 12)
The Houston Astros doubled up the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim at the Big A Monday night, as Collin McHugh recorded a quality start. They turn to 6-foot-7 veteran SP Scott Feldman to make the start in the second game of the series, as SP Lance McCullers (blister) was scratched from his start. Houston is still locked in as a road favorite, and the public likes them at about a 60-40 clip. Houston has won four of their past five road games, and they're 16-5 in their past 21 games against a team with a losing overall record. Their hot streak will be put to the test, however, as the 'Stros are 0-6 in Feldman's past six starts.
Coldest team: Nationals (2-7 past 9)
The Washington Nationals picked up an 11-4 victory to kick off their homestand, but it was just their second win in the past nine games. The first-place Nats are so desperate to hang onto the perch in the National League East that they pulled the trigger and called up top prospect SP Lucas Giolito to make the start Tuesday against the Mets. The Nationals have been equally ice-cold against the Mets at home, dropping five of the past six meetings with their divisional rivals at Nationals Park.
Hottest pitcher: Zack Greinke, Diamondbacks (10-3, 3.61 ERA)
Greinke and the Arizona Diamondbacks look to rebound after being humbled 8-0 in the opening game of the series Monday night. Greinke is the perfect stopper, as he enters 4-0 with a 1.47 ERA in five starts over the past 30 days while striking out 31 batters in 39 innings with a .180 opponent batting average and 0.85 WHIP. Arizona is 12-2 in Greinke's past 14 assignments, including 4-0 in his past four starts at home. In addition, the Snakes are 7-0 in Greinke's past seven outings against a team with a losing overall record.
Coldest pitcher: Chris Archer, Rays (4-10, 4.70 ERA)
Archer leads the majors with 10 losses through 16 starts, and he has a career-worst 4.70 ERA and 1.43 WHIP despite ranking among the best in the majors in strikeouts per nine innings ratio (K/9). To make matters worse, Archer is 1-7 with a 5.67 ERA in 12 career outings against the Boston Red Sox, his most losses against any opponent. In his only meeting against Boston this season, he was tuned up for six earned runs, eight hits and three walks in just 4 1/3 innings in a loss back on April 20.
Biggest UNDER run: Cardinals (7-3-2 past 12)
The Cardinals have had a little bit of a power outage on their current road trip, and they have scratched out four or fewer runs in 10 of their past 12 games. The under is also 5-2 in their past seven matchups against a right-handed starter, while going an impressive 35-15-5 in their past 55 against American League Central squads. Total bettors will also be interested in the fact the under is 4-0-2 in their past six trips west on Interstate 70 to Kansas City, and 8-1-4 in the past 13 meetings overall between these Show-Me State rivals.
Biggest OVER run: Rockies (7-0 past seven)
The Colorado Rockies are enjoying a little home cooking, posting overs in each of their five home games, and seven straight games overall. They are averaging 8.8 runs per game over the past five, and with SP Eddie Butler on the hill another over result is in the offing. The over is 4-1-1 in his past six home starts, while the over is 10-3 in their past 13 games at Coors Field against left-handed starting pitchers. The over is also an impressive 17-5 in Colorado's past 22 interleague home games against teams with a winning overall mark.
Matchup to watch: Mariners vs. Pirates
The Seattle Mariners host the Pittsburgh Pirates in the second game of their interleague series. The Mariners are two games under .500 in 36 games at Safeco Field this season, but they came alive with a series win against the St. Louis Cardinals over the weekend. The M's were resting on an off day Monday, while the Pirates were busy playing an afternoon game against the Dodgers in Pittsburgh to conclude their wrap-around series at PNC Park. The Pirates have dropped their past five on the road, and they're a dismal 3-12 in their past 15 against right-handed starting pitching. The Mariners have won five of the past seven starts by Hisashi Iwakuma, and they're 8-2 in their past 10 interleague battles.
Betcha didn’t know: The biggest reason for the struggles of the Minnesota Twins this season has been their inability to win inside their own division. The Twins are a dismal 5-22 in their past 27 games against American League Central Division foes. Something's gotta give against the Chicago White Sox, as the Pale Hose are just 5-17 in their past 22 games inside the division. Looking at head-to-head statistics, trends point to Chicago. The Twins have won just one of their past five trips to U.S. Cellular Field, and the Twins have dropped six in a row against the White Sox.
Biggest public favorite: Indians (-165) at Braves
Biggest public underdog: Cardinals (+115) at Royals
Biggest line move: Indians (+150 to +165) at Braves
Dave's MLB Tuesday
By Dave Essler
Dodgers/Brewers: The Brewers had Monday off while the Dodgers played the afternoon tilt in Pittsburgh. The did rest some people, who eventually DID play, however - and they used their better arms out of the bullpen - which has been solid of late. Milwaukee took two of three from the Nats before the day off, and they've been hitting - but not scoring. Plenty of chance, just not capitalizing. Chase Anderson's last start - AT the Dodgers where he didn't make it out of the third inning, so a certain little extra motivation, and he has been much, much better at home. The Brewers did see Urias in that last series, and got zero runs on five hits in five innings. With the familiarity, the home team rested, the Dodgers using some arms Monday - I like the Brewers RL and the under.
Tigers/Fish: Anytime the Tigers are playing an NL I first look to take take said NL team because it usually takes Victor Martinez out of the lineup - but this one's in Detroit, and in this case the Fish DO get the DH. The streaky Tigers beat Seattle four straight then proceeded to lose three straight to the Indians, all at home. Their bullpen has been better of late, a 1.39 ERA over those to series'. Miami also had Monday off, and over the weekend took three of four from the Cubs so they're certainly playing with confidence. They've got Ozuna listed as questionable, and the Fish are only three games behind the Nationals in the NL East. Conley has really only been whacked twice, both by the Nationals, and is solid at home - the other spanking coming at San Francisco. I simply cannot back Pelfrey here, which they seem to be begging people to do at -110.
Pittsburgh/Seattle: Obviously a cross country flight after a tough loss for the Pirates, who face a team that's rested. The Mariners took two of three from the Cardinals over the weekend, and that was on the heels of a dreadful road trip to the East Coast. Iwakuma just seems not a tight as he had been, and really only had two "great" outings, and in three of his last five starts he's given up three home runs. That's tough to back against a team that's getting the DH. We'll see what Polonco's status is for the game. Niese seems to have regressed a bit and threw 100 pitches last game, which for him is a lot. I haven't checked the weather (roof open or closed) yet - but I think we see some runs here.
Tuesday's Top Action
By Sportsbook.ag
NEW YORK METS (40-35) at WASHINGTON NATIONALS (45-32)
Sportsbook.ag Line: Nationals -110, Mets +100 Total: 8 (Under -120)
The Nationals will be going for their third straight victory when they host the Mets on Tuesday.
The Mets have not been playing their best baseball recently, losing two straight games and six of their past 10.
New York has struggled offensively, scoring three or less runs in seven of those games. The lineup must find a way to produce more or this team might just continue to slide in the standings.
The Nationals, meanwhile, have now won two straight games after losing seven straight prior to defeating the Brewers in the final game of a three-game set on Sunday. Washington teed off on New York on Monday, winning 11-4.
The Nationals collected 17 hits in that game and they’ll be hoping to bring some of that offensive magic into Tuesday’s meeting with the Mets.
The starters in this one are set to be RHP Matt Harvey (4-9, 4.64 ERA, 69 K) for New York and RHP Lucas Giolito (0-0, 0.00 ERA, 0 K) for Washington. This is Giolotio’s first career start, but he is a highly touted prospect and will be looking to make a splash with a big division win over the Mets in this one.
The Nationals remain without RHP Jonathan Papelbon (Side) for the next few games, so things could get interesting if this is a close game in the ninth inning.
The Mets will be hoping to snap out of their recent funk and come away with a big victory over a division rival on Tuesday, but they’ll need the best stuff Matt Harvey has to offer.
This Nationals offense just put up 11 runs on Monday and is going to be feeling good coming into this game. Harvey has, however, pitched pretty well in his past few trips to the mound.
He has allowed two or less earned runs in four of his past five starts and that is good news for a guy that really struggled to open the season. One issue for Harvey is that he has been miserable against the Nationals in his past two outings against the team, allowing 11 earned runs in just 7.2 innings of work.
He’ll need to find a way to keep the ball in the park, as Washington hit four homers in those two games. Offensively, OF Yoenis Cespedes (.289, 18 HR, 45 RBI) is a guy to watch out for in this game.
Cespedes has not homered since Jun. 21, but he has a golden opportunity to go yard in this one. He’s going to be facing an inexperienced pitcher and will certainly be looking to capitalize on any mistakes that Giolito makes.
Lucas Giolioto is one of the Nationals’ prize prospects and Washington is hoping that he’ll get off to a good start to his career versus a Mets team that struggles to hit the ball. Giolito was 5-3 with a 3.17 ERA and 72 K in 14 starts at the AA level. Those hitters are nothing like what he’ll be seeing on Tuesday though.
He’ll need to make sure he pitches to his spots and controls his nerves in this one. Luckily for him, a ton of Nationals will be chomping at the bit for a chance to face Harvey in this game.
1B Ryan Zimmerman (.229, 10 HR, 33 RBI) is 6-for-22 with two homers and three RBI against Harvey in his career, 2B Daniel Murphy (.350, 12 HR, 50 RBI) is 2-for-4 with two homers and four RBI against him and Anthony Rendon (.256, 7 HR, 29 RBI) is 6-for-17 with a homer and four RBI in the matchup.
All three guys have his number and will be hoping to keep it up on Tuesday. Giolito can certainly use the run support.
PITTSBURGH PIRATES (37-40) at SEATTLE MARINERS (38-38)
Sportsbook.ag Line: Pittsburgh +159, Seattle -174, Total: 8.5
Pittsburgh goes to Seattle to start a two-game interleague series with the Mariners on Tuesday.
The Pirates are coming into Tuesday’s game off of a series win against the Dodgers. Pittsburgh hopes that the series win will get the team on the right track after losing eight of nine before the series with L.A. started last Friday. The Pirates are trying to hold on to third place in the tough NL Central that includes the league’s best team, the Chicago Cubs. Tonight’s game will be a new experience for most of the players because the two teams have not played each other since 2013.
Seattle comes into the game off of an 11-6 loss to the Cardinals on Sunday. The Mariners have gone cold as of late, winning only three of the last ten games. Seattle is trying to gain ground in the standings, but the team also has one of the leagues best teams, the Texas Rangers, in its division. Seattle will be glad that it is facing a National League team because the team has gone 8-2 in interleague games this season.
Tonight’s pitching matchup features Pittsburgh’s LHP Jonathon Niese (6-5, 4.93 ERA, 63 K) against Seattle’s RHP Hisashi Iwakuma (6-6, 4.45 ERA, 72 K).
Jonathon Niese’s season has taken a turn for the worst over his last few starts. In his last three appearances, he is 0-3 with a 9.18 ERA and has not let up less than four runs in any of the games. In those three games he gave up six homers, which has been an issue for him this season, giving up the sixth most homers in the league (18). The most homers he has given up in a whole season was 22 in 2012. Niese will break that record this year because he is already at 18 and still has more than half a season still to pitch. His last good start was on Jun. 7, when he threw seven scoreless innings against his former team, the Mets. Niese has one career start against Seattle (in 2014), when he lost the game as a Met, throwing six innings and giving up four runs.
Pittsburgh will need its offense to produce if Niese performs the way he has recently. OF Andrew McCutchen (.243, 12 HR, 32 RBI) has struggled at the plate in June (.211) but is finding his footing in the last seven days (.273, 2 HR, 4 RBI). Look for 3B David Freese (.285, 6 HR, 30 RBI) to get some hits tonight because he has had success against Iwakuma in his career (.238, 2 HR, 3 RBI). The Pirates will need OF Gregory Polanco (.296, 10 HR, 44 RBI) to drive in some runs tonight, like he has all season (leads team in RBI).
Seattle’s Hisashi Iwakuma has had an up-and-down year. He is coming off a poor outing where he gave up five runs in 4.2 innings in a loss at Detroit. In his last three starts, he is 2-1 with a 5.78 ERA. He has found a sense of consistency recently, winning five of his last seven games. The HR has also plagued Iwakuma because in three of his last five starts he has given up three long balls.
Seattle has two of the premier hitters in the league in 2B Robinson Cano (.297, 19 HR, 53 RBI) and DH Nelson Cruz (.285, 19 HR, 51 RBI). Cano is leading the team in BA and RBI, and is tied with Cruz for the lead in home runs. Cruz has had a great past seven days, as he has hit .263 at the plate with three homers and five RBI.
Look for 3B Kyle Seager (.259, 15 HR, 49 RBI) to have a big game because he has hit .667 against Niese in his career. It wouldn’t be a surprise if Seattle has a few homers tonight because they have the third most bombs as a team in the league and they are going against a pitcher in Niese that has been giving up 1.2 homers per game.