Tuesday's MLB National League Betting Cheat Sheet
By Covers.com
Washington Nationals at Philadelphia Phillies (+131, 8)
Hot pitching stat: Nationals left-hander Gio Gonzalez was at his best in his previous outing, holding Miami to three hits over seven shutout innings while fanning eight in a 9-0 victory.
Hot batting stat: Philadelphia 1B Darin Ruf is 3-for-5 with a home run and four RBIs all-time against Gonzalez.
Weather: Temperatures will be in the low-70s with clear skies. Wind will blow in from left field at 8 mph.
Key betting note: The over is 7-0 in Gonzalez's last seven starts as a road favorite.
St. Louis Cardinals at Cincinnati Reds (-148, 8.5)
Hot pitching stat: Reds right-hander Homer Bailey dominated the last meeting six days ago, tossing 7 1/3 shutout innings in a 10-0 win.
Hot batting stat: Cardinals OF Matt Holliday is 12-for-32 with three doubles, two homers and seven RBIs lifetime against Bailey.
Weather: Temperatures will be in the low-70s with sunny skies. Wind will blow from left to right field at 4 mph.
Key betting note: The over is 8-1 in the last nine meetings.
New York Mets at Atlanta Braves (-199, 7)
Hot pitching stat: Braves right-hander Kris Medlen is 4-1 with a 2.25 ERA in eight starts and 10 relief appearances against the Mets.
Hot batting stat: Braves 1B Freddie Freeman homered and drove in five runs to pace Atlanta's 13-5 victory in Monday's series opener.
Weather: Temperatures will be in the high-70s with partly cloudy skies. Wind will blow from left to right field at 5 mph.
Key betting note: Atlanta is 24-4 in Medlen's last 28 starts against teams with losing records.
Miami Marlins at Chicago Cubs (-148, 9)
Cold pitching stat: Cubs right-hander Edwin Jackson is 0-3 with a 5.96 ERA and four home runs allowed over his last five starts.
Hot batting stat: Marlins rookie OF Christian Yelich has four multi-hit outings over his last six games.
Weather: Temperatures will be in the low-70s with sunny skies. Wind will blow from right to left field at 6 mph.
Key betting note: The under is 5-0 in Jackson's last five home starts.
Pittsburgh Pirates at Milwaukee Brewers (+110, 8)
Cold pitching stat: Pirates right-hander Gerrit Cole has dropped consecutive starts, allowing 20 hits over 13 1/3 innings in that span.
Cold batting stat: Pittsburgh 3B Pedro Alvarez and SS Clint Barmes are a combined 2-for-37 with 14 strikeouts against Brewers righty Yovani Gallardo.
Weather: Temperatures will be in the high-60s with sunny skies. Wind will blow from right to left field at 4 mph.
Key betting note: The Brewers are 15-3 in Gallardo's last 18 starts against the Pirates.
Los Angeles Dodgers at Colorado Rockies (+111, 9)
Hot pitching stat: Rockies right-hander Jhoulys Chacin tamed the Dodgers in their last encounter, allowing a run on six hits over six innings of a 3-1 win.
Hot batting stat: Colorado OF Michael Cuddyer is 6-for-10 with two homers and six RBIs lifetime against Dodgers starter Ricky Nolasco.
Weather: Temperatures will be in the high-80s under partly cloudy skies. Wind will be calm.
Key betting note: The under is 7-0 in umpire Manny Gonzalez's last seven games behind home plate.
San Francisco Giants at San Diego Padres (+131, 7)
Cold pitching stat: Giants left-hander Madison Bumgarner is 0-3 over his last five starts, walking 13 in 29 1/3 innings over that stretch.
Cold batting stat: Padres OF Will Venable went 0-for-3 with a walk in Monday's series opener and has just two hits over his last 15 at-bats.
Weather: Temperatures will be in the mid-70s with partly cloudy skies. Wind will blow in from left field at 4 mph.
Key betting note: San Francisco is 0-8 in Bumgarner's last eight starts with a total of 6.5 or lower.
Interleague
Toronto Blue Jays at Arizona Diamondbacks (-159, 8.5)
Cold pitching stat: Blue Jays right-hander Todd Redmond is 0-2 with a 7.06 ERA in four starts and two relief appearances away from Toronto.
Hot batting stat: Toronto 1B Edwin Encarnacion hit his 35th home run in Monday's 4-1 series-opening win, becoming just the fifth player in franchise history with back-to-back 35-homer seasons.
Weather: Temperatures will be in the high-90s with partly cloudy skies. Wind will blow out to right field at 5 mph.
Key betting note: The under is 6-1-2 in Arizona starter Wade Miley's last nine outings.
Tuesday's MLB American League Betting Cheat Sheet
By Covers.com
Baltimore Orioles at Cleveland Indians (-104, 8.5)
Hot pitching stat: Indians right-hander Ubaldo Jimenez has recorded four consecutive quality starts while racking up 28 strikeouts over his last three outings.
Cold batting stat: Orioles OF Nate McLouth has struggled mightily versus Jimenez, going just 3-for-25 with nine strikeouts against him.
Weather: Temperatures will be in the low-60s with partly cloudy skies. Wind will blow in from left field at 9 mph.
Key betting note: Baltimore is 12-2 in starter Chris Tillman's last 14 outings as a road underdog.
Chicago White Sox at New York Yankees (-139, 7.5)
Cold pitching stat: Yankees right-hander Hiroki Kuroda has been abysmal of late, surrendering 19 runs in 16 2/3 innings over his last three starts.
Cold batting stat: New York OF Ichiro Suzuki is 2-for-11 with four strikeouts lifetime against White Sox lefty Chris Sale.
Weather: Temperatures will be in the mid-70s with cloudy skies. Wind will blow from left to right field at 6 mph.
Key betting note: The Yankees are 8-0 in Kuroda's last eight home starts against teams with losing records.
Detroit Tigers at Boston Red Sox (-108, 8.5)
Cold pitching stat: Tigers right-hander Max Scherzer is 2-3 with a 7.90 ERA and seven home runs allowed in 35 1/3 career innings against Boston.
Hot batting stat: Boston OF Daniel Nava went 3-for-3 in Monday's series-opening 3-0 loss, pushing his average to .300 for the first time since June 11.
Weather: Temperatures will be in the low-70s with a 60 percent chance of showers or thunderstorms. Wind will blow out to right field at 6 mph.
Key betting note: The Red Sox are 10-1 in their last 11 Tuesday games.
Seattle Mariners at Kansas City Royals (-159, 8)
Hot pitching stat: Royals left-hander Bruce Chen is 4-1 with a 3.23 ERA in nine career starts and four relief appearances against Seattle.
Cold batting stat: Mariners OF Raul Ibanez has just two hits in 12 career at-bats against Chen.
Weather: Temperatures will be in the high-70s with sunny skies. Wind will blow from right to left field at 4 mph.
Key betting note: Kansas City is 9-1 in Chen's last 10 starts as a favorite.
Minnesota Twins at Houston Astros (+150, 8.5)
Hot pitching stat: Astros right-hander Jarred Cosart has allowed one or fewer runs in six of his first eight major-league starts.
Hot batting stat: Twins rookie OF/1B Chris Colabello recorded his first two-homer game and had a career-best five RBIs in Monday's 10-6 win.
Weather: Temperatures will be in the high-80s with a 30 percent chance of showers or thunderstorms. Wind will blow out to left field at 7 mph.
Key betting note: Houston is 0-5 in Cosart's last five outings following a quality start in his previous appearance.
Tampa Bay Rays at Los Angeles Angels (+120, 7.5)
Cold pitching stat: Rays left-hander Matt Moore allowed five runs over five innings in his previous start before going on the 15-day DL with elbow soreness.
Cold batting stat: Tampa Bay 3B Evan Longoria is just 3-for-15 in his career against Angels starter Jason Vargas.
Weather: Temperatures will be in the high-70s with partly cloudy skies. Wind will blow out to right-center field at 6 mph.
Key betting note: Tampa Bay is 10-2 in Moore's last 12 road games.
Texas Rangers at Oakland Athletics (-140, 7.5)
Cold pitching stat: Athletics right-hander Bartolo Colon is 0-2 with a 6.11 ERA over his last four starts.
Hot batting stat: Rangers 3B Adrian Beltre has had Colon's number, hitting .302 with five homers and 14 RBIs in 63 at-bats against him.
Weather: Temperatures will be in the mid-60s with clear skies. Wind will blow out to right field at 11 mph.
Key betting note: The over is 9-2 in Colon's last 11 starts against the American League West.
MLB: Streaks, Tips, Notes
Sportspic.com
St. Louis Cardinals at Cincinnati Reds
Cinci taking game-one of this series with St. Louis look to make it two in-a-row when they hand the ball to Homer Bailey. The right hander bringing a 9-10 record, 3.55 ERA to the mound has been tremendous the past six starts going 4-0 with Reds a sparkling 5-1 over the span. St Louis tries to rebound behind Michael Wacha earning a spot start after shutting out Cincinnati on three hits in four innings of relief last week. A few nuggets gleaned from our baseball betting database tells us this won't be a cake walk for Cincinnati. Reds haven't exactly been solid bets against St Louis with Bailey posting a 2-5 mark L2Y's and just 4-12 in the hurlers 16 career starts vs Cardinals. Throw in the fact Cinci is on a 1-5 skid as a favorite of $1.10 to $1.50 and only 3-2 at home with Bailey following an ultra quality start by the hurler (=>7 Inn, =<2 runs) makes them a shaky choice. Taking an underdog is always a risky proposition but the above numbers and knowing St Louis is a smart 9-3 on the road after losing the first game of a series, 21-13 after giving up six or more runs the previous game we'll stick with Cardinals to even things up.
MLB Odds and Picks – Cy Young shoo-in Scherzer offers value in Boston
By: The Linemakers
Sportingnews.com
LAS VEGAS -- Is there any way Max Scherzer (19-1, 2.90 ERA) could blow the AL Cy Young award?
Because of the sharp fall-off in numbers between him and his competitors and what Scherzer has meant to the Tigers’ season while perennial ace Justin Verlander struggles, the answer is probably no. But the question would have never even been posed before his last start against Oakland, when he served up two homers and allowed five runs in five innings.
It’s insignificant that Torii Hunter hit a walk-off home run to keep Scherzer's amazing 19-1 season intact. The first thing many of us did after the game was scour through stats to try and find some semblance of a case for another AL pitcher, but the pickings are slim.
Scherzer’s 19 wins lead the league by far, which, according to the new and improved voters of this era, doesn't count for anything. But the next highest win total is 15 (Baltimore’s Chris Tilllman) and then there are three guys tied at 14. Of those four, none have a better ERA, WHIP or WAR than Scherzer. Overall, only three AL pitchers have a better ERA, only one has a better WAR (Chris Sale, 6.2 to 5.8) and none have a better WHIP (0.93).
For Scherzer to blow the CY Young award, he would have to close out September with five straight games similar to his last start, and even then it would be close since Scherzer would still get votes because he dominated the majority of the season. Plain and simple, Scherzer has been the best pitcher in the AL this season and is deserving of the award no matter what happens the rest of the way.
Tonight at Boston, he’ll again look for his 20th win to match Roger Clemens’ performance in 2001 as the only pitchers to begin a season 20-1. His chances of getting there look pretty good based on his 11-0 record and 1.89 ERA in his last 19 starts on the road dating back to last season.
Tonight’s Red Sox starter is Jon Lester (12-8, 3.99 ERA), who has gone 2-2 with a 1.80 ERA over his past five starts. Lester is 1-2 with a 5.26 ERA in six career starts against the Tigers. His one win against them came on June 21 at Detroit, when he gave up five runs in 5 2/3 innings but still got credited with the win in a 10-6 Sox victory.
Based on Scherzer’s body of work on the season and his recent form, compared to Lester’s, it’s a little surprising to see the Red Sox come as a -110 favorite. But a major part of the price equation involves Miguel Cabrera, who has missed the Tigers’ past three games with an abdominal strain and groin injury. The Linemakers on Sporting News oddsmaker Kenny White says Cabera’s value to the Tigers line is 15 cents against right-handed pitchers and 30 cents against left-handers.
Lester is a left-hander. The posted lines reflect a 50-50 chance of Cabrera being in the lineup with a differential closer to 20 cents. Cabrera is still questionable for tonight’s game, but it is encouraging to know that he took batting practice before yesterday’s game and said he felt better.
We’re going to ride with Scherzer at even-money here, and there could be a huge edge in price should Cabrera’s name be on the lineup card today. In Lester’s June 21 win over the Tigers, Cabrera launched a three-run homer off him. In 16 career at-bats against Lester, Cabrera has 10 hits (.625) and three homers.
Tuesday selections:
Tigers (Scherzer) EV at Red Sox
White Sox (Sale) +138 at Yankees
Rangers (Perez) +120 at A's
Second-half record: 77-76 (+564)