A's at Tigers: What Bettors Need to Know
By Covers.com
Oakland A's at Detroit Tigers (-150, 8)
The Oakland Athletics are shutting down the Detroit Tigers offense by keeping the ball in the park. The Athletics will look to keep the Tigers homer-free for a fourth straight game and close out the best-of-five American League Division Series when they visit Detroit for Game 4 on Tuesday. The Tigers snapped a 20-inning scoreless drought in the fourth inning of Game 3 but could not keep Oakland off the board in a 6-3 setback.
Detroit finished second in the majors in scoring and seventh in home runs during the regular season but did not have a blast and totaled six runs in the first three games of the ALDS. Those six runs came in the first inning of Game 1 and the fourth inning of Game 3, leaving the Tigers scoreless in the other 25 frames. The Athletics were having nearly as much trouble with the bats until Game 3, when Josh Reddick, Brandon Moss and Seth Smith all homered.
WEATHER: Temperatures will be in the low-60s with sunny skies. Wind will blow in from center field at 6 mph.
PITCHING MATCHUP: Athletics RH Dan Straily (10-8, 3.96 ERA) vs. Tigers RH Doug Fister (14-9, 3.67)
Straily was not going to be a part of the ALDS rotation until A.J. Griffin came up with tendinitis in his pitching elbow in the last weekend of the regular season. The 24-year-old Straily has not pitched since Sept. 25 but closed out the regular season strong with a 3-1 record and a 2.10 ERA in five September starts. The California native allowed one run on eight hits over six innings to earn a win at Detroit on Aug. 28.
Fister struggled through some inconsistency in the second half but finished up solid with a win in his last start at Minnesota on Sept. 24. The 29-year-old endured his worst start of 2013 against Oakland on Aug. 28, when he was lit up for a season-high seven earned runs on 13 hits in five innings. Fister went seven strong innings against the Athletics in the 2012 ALDS and is 2-2 with a 2.97 ERA in six career postseason games.
TRENDS:
* Over is 15-5-1 in the last 21 meetings in Detroit.
* Athletics are 5-1 in Straily's last six starts.
* Tigers are 1-5 in their last six playoff games.
* Under is 8-0 in Tigers last eight overall.
WALK-OFFS:
1. The No. 2 and No. 3 hitters in the Athletics lineup (Jed Lowrie and Josh Donaldson) are a combined 2-for-24 with 10 strikeouts.
2. Tigers 3B Miguel Cabrera (abdominal/groin) has been held to three singles in the series and is without an extra-base hit in 12 straight games going back to the regular season.
3. Oakland closer Grant Balfour exchanged words with Detroit DH Victor Martinez in the ninth inning on Monday, leading to a brief benches-clearing situation before order was restored.
Red Sox at Rays: What Bettors Need to Know
By Covers.com
Boston Red Sox at Tampa Bay Rays (+102, 7.5)
Red Sox leads series 2-1.
The Tampa Bay Rays kept their season alive in dramatic fashion and are showing a knack for winning elimination games. The Rays will look to stave off elimination for another day when they host the Boston Red Sox in Game 4 of the American League Division Series on Tuesday. The Red Sox, who own a 2-1 lead in the best-of-five series, held a 3-0 edge in Game 3 on Monday before falling 5-4 on Jose Lobaton’s walk-off homer.
Nothing seemed to go right for Tampa Bay in the first two games in Boston, but the Rays finally started to get some breaks in Game 3 and cashed them in on Evan Longoria’s three-run homer and Lobaton’s solo blast. The Red Sox scored 19 runs in the first two games but struggled with runners in scoring position in Game 3. After being beaten by David Ortiz several times in Boston, Tampa Bay decided to be a little more careful with the Red Sox slugger in Game 3, walking him three times.
PITCHING MATCHUP: Red Sox RH Jake Peavy (12-5, 4.17 ERA) vs. Rays RH Jeremy Hellickson (12-10, 5.17)
Peavy started out strong in his tenure with Boston but posted a 5.40 ERA in four September starts. The veteran last worked at Colorado on Sept. 25 but pitched in an intersquad game Wednesday as the Red Sox prepared for the playoffs. Peavy allowed three runs in six innings at Tampa Bay on Sept. 12, and is making his first postseason start since 2006, when he was with the San Diego Padres.
Hellickson got the nod for the No. 4 spot over Chris Archer due in part to his relative success against Boston. The 26-year-old went 1-0 with a 3.44 ERA in three starts against the division rivals in 2013 and has faced the Red Sox 13 times in his career. Hellickson made one previous postseason start, allowing three runs on four hits - three solo homers - over four innings against the Texas Rangers in 2011.
TRENDS:
* Under is 6-1 in Hellicksons last seven starts vs. Red Sox.
* Red Sox are 4-1 in the last five meetings.
* Under is 10-3 in the last 13 meetings.
* Red Sox are 6-2 in the last eight meetings in Tampa Bay.
WALK-OFFS:
1. Ortiz (9-for-24) and Red Sox C Jarrod Saltalamacchia (8-for-25) each have three career home runs against Hellickson.
2. Tampa Bay 1B James Loney is 5-for-6 with a pair of doubles and two RBIs in the last two games.
3. Boston CF Jacoby Ellsbury is 8-for-14 with six runs scored in the series.
Rays-Red Sox
Peavy is 1-0, 5.40 in his last four starts; 1-0, 4.26 in two starts this season vs Tampa Bay. Three of his last four road starts went over the total. Overall, the Red Sox are 5-5 in his ten starts for them.
Hellickson is 0-2, 9.95 in his last three starts, 1-0, 3.44 in three starts against the Red Sox this season. This is his second start in last three weeks.
Tampa Bay won eight of last ten at home, after rallying from 3-0 deficit to win Monday. Over is 6-2 in their last eight games. Rays are 8-14 vs Boston this year, 4-6 in the Trop.
Red Sox scored 61 runs in last seven games (4-3); their last eight games went over the total. Boston is 2-5 in its last seven road games.
Tigers-A's
First start in two weeks for Fister, who is 2-0, 3.86 in his last two starts; four of his last five starts stayed under total. He allowed 13 hits, seven runs in five IP in a 14-4 loss to Oakland August 28.
Straily is 4-1, 2.75 in his last six starts, first of which was that 8/28 game; three of his last four road starts went over the total. He allowed one run in six IP in that August 28 win.
Eight of Detroit's last nine games stayed under the total- -they scored 20 runs in their last ten games, going six runs in three games in this series. Tigers won six of their last nine home games.
Oakland is 6-4 vs Tigers this year, with road team winning seven of ten games. A's won 18 of last 24 games, nine of last 12 on road. 10 of their last 14 games went over the total.
Armadillosports.com
BOSTON (99 - 66) at TAMPA BAY (94 - 73) - 8:35 PM
JAKE PEAVY (R) vs. JEREMY HELLICKSON (R)
Top Trends for this game.
BOSTON is 116-118 (-22.8 Units) against the money line in night games over the last 2 seasons.
PEAVY is 1-8 (-9.8 Units) against the money line when playing on Tuesday over the last 2 seasons.
TAMPA BAY is 520-597 (+27.5 Units) against the money line against division opponents since 1997.
TAMPA BAY is 189-186 (+23.7 Units) against the money line in home games when playing against a team with a winning record in the second half of the season since 1997.
BOSTON is 99-66 (+19.4 Units) against the money line in all games this season.
BOSTON is 64-44 (+11.4 Units) against the money line against right-handed starters this season.
BOSTON is 44-21 (+20.3 Units) against the money line after a loss this season.
TAMPA BAY is 34-43 (-19.1 Units) against the money line when playing on Tuesday over the last 3 seasons.
Head-to-Head Series History
BOSTON is 14-8 (+7.2 Units) against TAMPA BAY this season
14 of 22 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL this season . (Under=+4.8 Units)
JAKE PEAVY vs. TAMPA BAY since 1997
PEAVY is 3-1 when starting against TAMPA BAY with an ERA of 4.91 and a WHIP of 1.364.
His team's record is 3-3 (+0.6 units) in these starts. The OVER is 4-2. (+2.0 units)
JEREMY HELLICKSON vs. BOSTON since 1997
HELLICKSON is 4-2 when starting against BOSTON with an ERA of 3.93 and a WHIP of 1.282.
His team's record is 7-5 (+2.1 units) in these starts. The UNDER is 7-5. (+1.2 units)
OAKLAND (98 - 67) at DETROIT (94 - 71) - 5:05 PM
DANIEL STRAILY (R) vs. DOUG FISTER (R)
Top Trends for this game.
OAKLAND is 98-67 (+20.2 Units) against the money line in all games this season.
OAKLAND is 10-4 (+9.7 Units) against the money line as a road underdog of +125 to +150 this season.
OAKLAND is 45-37 (+10.4 Units) against the money line in road games this season.
OAKLAND is 95-63 (+21.3 Units) against the money line in games played on a grass field this season.
OAKLAND is 65-45 (+12.8 Units) against the money line against right-handed starters this season.
OAKLAND is 58-39 (+12.0 Units) against the money line after a win this season.
OAKLAND is 44-30 (+16.4 Units) against the money line when playing against a team with a winning record this season.
OAKLAND is 21-12 (+10.7 Units) against the money line when playing against a team with a winning record in the second half of the season this season.
STRAILY is 17-7 (+10.3 Units) against the money line after a win over the last 2 seasons.
DETROIT is 94-71 (-13.2 Units) against the money line in all games this season.
DETROIT is 32-29 (-14.4 Units) against the money line in day games this season.
DETROIT is 90-68 (-13.8 Units) against the money line in games played on a grass field this season.
Head-to-Head Series History
OAKLAND is 6-4 (+4.0 Units) against DETROIT this season
7 of 10 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL this season . (Over=+3.7 Units)
DANIEL STRAILY vs. DETROIT since 1997
STRAILY is 1-0 when starting against DETROIT with an ERA of 1.50 and a WHIP of 1.667.
His team's record is 1-0 (+1.5 units) in these starts. The OVER is 1-0. (+1.0 units)
DOUG FISTER vs. OAKLAND since 1997
FISTER is 5-5 when starting against OAKLAND with an ERA of 3.12 and a WHIP of 1.295.
His team's record is 6-7 (-0.8 units) in these starts. The UNDER is 6-6. (-0.8 units)
OAKLAND vs. DETROIT
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Oakland's last 5 games on the road
Oakland is 5-2 SU in its last 7 games when playing Detroit
Detroit is 2-5 SU in its last 7 games when playing Oakland
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Detroit's last 5 games when playing at home against Oakland
BOSTON vs. TAMPA BAY
The total has gone OVER in 9 of Boston's last 13 games when playing on the road against Tampa Bay
Boston is 6-3 SU in its last 9 games when playing on the road against Tampa Bay
Tampa Bay is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games when playing Boston
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Tampa Bay's last 8 games
Oakland at Detroit
Athletics: 9-0 streak as an underdog of +110 to +150.
Tigers: 1-6 in Fisters last 7 starts as a favorite of -110 to -150.
Boston at Tampa October
Red Sox: 1-4 in their last 5 playoff road games.
Rays: 13-4 L17 at home w/Hellickson