National League
Giants @ Phillies
Cueto is 0-2, 4.50 in his last three starts; three of his last four stayed under. Giants are 10-1 in his road starts.
Nola is 1-4, 10.64 in his last seven starts; over is 9-2-1 in his last 12. Phillies are 2-7 in his home starts.
Giants lost eight of last nine road games; eight of their last 11 games stayed under. Phillies are 6-9 in last 15 games. Eight of last ten Philly home games stayed under.
Pirates @ Braves
Locke is 1-1, 9.75 in his last three starts; over is 12-2 in his last 14. Pirates are 4-6 in his road starts.
Whalen makes MLB debut here; he was 0-1, 1.93 in three AAA starts, after going 7-3, 2.49 in 18 starts in AA Southern League.
Pirates lost six of last eight road games; seven of last eight Pirate road games stayed under. Atlanta is 6-12 in last 18 games; four of last six Atlanta games stayed under.
Cardinals @ Reds
Wacha is 4-0, 4.24 in his last seven starts; over is 12-3 in his last 15. Cardinals won four of his last five road starts.
Reed is 0-5, 9.08 in his last seven starts (over 6-0-1); he is 0-2, 8.40 in three home starts.
Cardinals lost their last three games, with last six going over total. Cincinnati is 11-5 in its last 16 games; four of Reds’ last five games stayed under the total.
Marlins @ Cubs
Koehler is 2-0, 1.93 in his last two starts; five of his last seven went over. Marlins are 5-7 in his road starts.
Lackey is 1-5, 5.73 in his last eight starts; his last three starts stayed under total. He is 0-3, 4.95 in his last three home starts.
Marlins are 6-8 in their last 14 games; five of last seven Miami games went over. Cubs won seven of last eight home games. Under is 12-3 in last 15 games at Wrigley Field.
Dodgers @ Rockies
Stewart allowed five runs in five IP (95 PT) in his first MLB start June 30.
Anderson is 3-0, 3.70 in his last four starts (under 7-2). Colorado won his last three home starts.
Dodgers lost six of last nine road games; over is 7-3-1 in LA’s last 11 road games. Colorado won ten of last 12 games; under is 11-4-2 in their last 17 games.
Nationals @ Diamondbacks
Scherzer is 2-0, 1.61 in his last four starts; his last six stayed under. Washington is 8-5 in his road starts.
Godley is 1-1, 6.48 in his last three starts; four of his five starts went over.
Nationals won five of last seven games; five of last seven Washington games stayed under. Arizona lost 11 of last 14 games; over is 11-2-1 in last 14 games at Chase Field.
Brewers @ Padres
Guerra is 4-1, 1.66 in his last seven starts (under 6-1); Brewers are 6-1 in his home starts.
Jackson is 1-1, 5.71 in three starts for the Padres (under 2-1).
Brewers won seven of last nine games; under is 11-5 in their last 16 games. San Diego is 5-10 in last 15 games; under is 9-5 in their last 14 games.
American League
Rangers @ Orioles
Hamels is 3-0, 1.69 in his last three starts; over is 10-4-1 in his last 15. Rangers are 7-3 in his road starts.
Gausman is 1-3, 4.88 in his last five starts; under is 10-3 in his last 13. Orioles won his last three home starts.
Rangers won seven of last 10 games; four of their last five games stayed under. Baltimore lost five of last seven games; under is 8-0-1 in their last nine home games.
White Sox @ Tigers
Sale is 0-2, 4.74 in his last three starts; five of his last seven stayed under. Chicago is 7-2 in his road starts.
Fulmer is 2-0, 3.21 in his last five starts; Detroit won all four of his home starts. Over is 10-6 in his starts this season.
White Sox lost ten of last 12 road games; five of last seven Chicago road games went over. Detroit won its last eight games; four of last five Tiger games went over.
Royals @ Rays
Volquez is 1-1, 4.26 in his last three starts; under is 7-4 in his last 11 starts. Royals are 3-6 in his road starts.
Odorizzi is 2-0, 0.87 in his last three starts; his last four stayed under. Rays are 5-7 in his home starts.
Royals lost 18 of last 26 games- they’re 3-18 in last 21 games not started by Duffy; eight of last ten KC road games stayed under. Tampa Bay won four of last six home games; under is 15-4 in Rays’ last 19 games.
Twins @ Indians
Duffey is 0-2, 13.50 in his last three starts; over is 10-2-1 in his last 13. Minnesota is 3-5 in his road starts.
Bauer is 0-2, 7.29 in his last four starts; under is 6-2-1 in his last nine. Indians won four of his last five home starts.
Twins are 9-5 in last 14 games; over is 11-4 in Minnesota’s last 15 road games. Cleveland lost last two games, allowing 22 runs; over is 9-2-2 in their last 13 home games.
Blue Jays @ Astros
Estrada is 1-1, 4.70 in his last four starts (over 3-1); Toronto won four of his last five road starts.
McHugh allowed eight runs in 1.2 IP last start after winning his previous two starts (2-0, 1.50). Over is 3-0-1 in his last four starts. Houston won seven of last eight home starts.
Blue Jays won four of last five road games; over is 4-2-1 in last seven Toronto games. Houston lost six of last eight games; under is 11-4-1 in last 16 Astro home games.
A’s @ Angels
Graveman is 4-1, 3.16 in his last five starts (under 4-1). Oakland won five of his last six road starts.
Weaver is 2-1, 3.57 in his last four starts; over is 7-2-1 in his last ten. Angels are 4-6 in his home starts.
Oakland lost its last four games; under is 6-4-2 in their last 12 road games. Angels won nine of last 11 home games; four of their last five games stayed under.
Red Sox @ Mariners
Porcello is 6-0, 2.85 in his last six starts; three of his last four stayed under. Red Sox are 3-5 in his road starts.
Iwakuma is 5-1, 3.57 in his last six starts; over is 7-2 in his home starts– Mariners won his last six home outings.
Red Sox are 4-8 in their last 12 games; nine of last ten Boston road games stayed under. Seattle lost four of last six games; five of their last seven games went over the total.
[bi]nterleague
Bronx @ Mets
Green is 1-2, 8.59 in three starts this year (over 2-0-1).
Matz is 1-4, 3.48 in his last five starts; under is 7-1-2 in his last ten. Mets lost his last three home starts, scoring five runs.
Bronx lost five of last six games; over is 16-5 in last 21 Bronx road games. Mets lost nine of last 12 home games; over is 5-1-1 in last seven Met games.
Teams’ record when this pitcher starts
SF-Phil– Cueto 17-4; Nola 8-12 (1-7 last 8 )
Pitt-Atl– Locke 9-9 (4-1 last 5); Whalen 0-0
StL-Cin– Wacha 11-10; Reed 0-7
Mia-Chi– Koehler 9-12; Lackey 11-10
LA-Col– Stewart 0-1; Anderson 5-4 (4-0 last 4)
Wsh-Az– Scherzer 13-9; Godley 3-2
Mil-SD– Guerra 11-5; Jackson 1-2
Tex-Balt– Hamels 16-5; Gausman 7-11
Min-Clev– Duffey 7-10; Bauer 8-8
Chi-Det– Sale 14-6 (0-3 last 3); Fulmer 14-2
KC-TB– Volquez 12-10; Odorizzi 10-12
Tor-Hst– Estrada 10-8; McHugh 9-21
A’s-LA– Graveman 10-10 (8-1 last 9); Weaver 8-12
Bos-Sea– Porcello 16-5 (8-0 last 8 ); Iwakuma 12-9
NYM-NYY– Matz 10-9 (1-4 last 5); Green 1-2
Starting pitchers allowing 1+ runs in first inning
SF-Phil– Cueto 6-21; Nola 9-20
Pitt-Atl– Locke 5-18; Whalen 0-0
StL-Cin– Wacha 5-21; Reed 4-7
Mia-Chi– Koehler 7-21; Lackey 7-21
LA-Col– Stewart 0-1; Anderson 2-9
Wsh-Az– Scherzer 8-22; Godley 2-5
Mil-SD– Guerra 3-16; Jackson 1-3
Tex-Balt– Hamels 4-21; Gausman 7-18
Min-Clev– Duffey 7-17; Bauer 4-16
Chi-Det– Sale 7-20 (3 of last 4); Fulmer 4-16
KC-TB– Volquez 7-22; Odorizzi 4-22
Tor-Hst– Estrada 6-18; McHugh 13-8
A’s-LA– Graveman 4-20; Weaver 7-20
Bos-Sea– Porcello 7-21; Iwakuma 3-21
NYM-NYY– Matz 5-19; Green 2-3
Umpires
SF-Phil– Underdogs won 7 of last 9 LBarrett games.
Pitt-Atl– Underdogs won 7 of last 9 Little games.
StL-Cin– Seven of last ten Barry games stayed under.
Mia-Chi– Underdogs are 6-4 in last ten Foster games.
LA-Col– Five of last seven Baker games stayed under.
Wsh-Az– Road team won 7 of last 9 Ripperger games.
Mil-SD– Under is 9-4-1 in last 14 Fairchild games.
Tex-Balt– 4 of last 5 Scheurwater games went over.
Min-Clev– 6 of last 8 Gonzalez games stayed under.
Chi-Det– Over is 6-1-1 in last 8 Porter games.
KC-TB– Last six Drake games stayed under the total.
Tor-Hst– 10 of last 12 Miller games went over total.
A’s-LA– Last seven Cederstrom games stayed under.
Bos-Sea– 7 of last 9 DeJesus games went over.
NY-NY– Favorites won 8 of last 11 Lentz games.
Armadillosports.com
MLB: Streak, Tips, Notes
Sportspic.com
Boston Red Sox at Seattle Mariners
Seattle Mariners and Boston Red Sox get ready to duel again after the clubs split the first two of this four game set.
The home side hands the ball to Hisashi Iwakuma (11-7, 4.21 ERA) who had a five game win streak snapped at Chicago last outing getting tagged for 8 hits, 5 runs over 3.0 innings of work. The visitors counter with Rick Porcello (14-2, 3.47 ERA) who continued his dominant season in a victory vs. Halos on Friday, tossing a complete game allowing just two runs off five hits. The victory marked Porcello's sixth straight and eighth in thirteen trips to the mound with Red Sox 10-3 in those assignments.
On the surface, Porcello in great form, Iwakuma off his shortest outing of the season the temptation is to side with Boston. However, baseball handicapping demands digging a deeper to get a better take on overall performance.
Those whose focus is baseball betting have certainly done so, and have come up with the fact Iwakuma knows how to bounce back following a dreadful Non-Quality start (=4R). In the last five such situations, the hurler is 4-0 the next effort with Mariners 4-1 including 2-0 this season. Additionally, Porcello is 2-6 in his last nine following a Super Quality Start (=>8In, =<2R) with his teams 3-6 inluding 0-4 in an opposing park.
Taking the above situational numbers into account, there is still more facts that leans in Seattle's direction. Iwakuma's return to home field bodes well for Seattle, as the result has been six wins, one loss his last seven in front of the home audience. Finally, Mariners thrive at this time of the season with Iwakuma posting a sparkling 10-1 record his last eleven during the month of August.
Wednesday's Diamond Notes
By Tony Mejia
VegasInsider.com
Hottest team: Tigers (7-0 last seven)
Detroit proved a day off couldn’t slow it down, scoring 11 runs for the second consecutive game in trouncing the White Sox 11-5 after being idle on Monday. The Tigers swept Houston out of town with an 11-0 win on Sunday, which came on the heels of breaking out the brooms at Fenway Park to get right back in the thick of the AL wild card race. Miguel Cabrera homered again, cranking out his third in two games and stretching out his run to five homers in the last six games. He’s on a 6-for-9 tear, scoring five runs, and will look to stay hot against Chicago ace Chris Sale (14-4, 3.17 ERA), who will be making his second start since being suspended for cutting up retro jerseys he wanted no part in wearing. Cabrera is 9-for-38 (.237) in his career against Sale, homering twice. The Tigers turn to AL Rookie of the Year candidate Michael Fulmer (9-2, 2.50) and hope to continue their success when he’s been on the mound since they’re 14-2 when he takes the mound, including a perfect 4-0 at Comerica Park.
Coldest team: Athletics (0-4 last four)
Last night’s 5-4 loss to the Angels means the A’s temporarily own baseball’s longest losing streak, as they failed to rally against new closer Cam Bedrosian, who took over with Huston Street landing on the disabled list. Despite a two-run homer from Yonder Alonso and solo shots from Coco Crisp and a sizzling Khris Davis, the A’s struggled with runners in scoring position, going 0-for-4 in leaving seven runners on. Marcus Semien committed a pair of costly errors, but Oakland has a chance to snap the skid considering they’ll be facing an inconsistent Jered Weaver (8-8, 5.14) for the third time this season. Weaver pitched a complete-game three-hitter in Oakland back on June 19 but failed to get out of the fifth inning in Anaheim five days later, ultimately picking up a no-decision in a 7-4 loss. The A’s are countering with Kendall Graveman (7-7, 4.15), who had a string of eight consecutive starts resulting in a victory snapped in a 5-3 loss at Cleveland on July 29. He’s 1-0 against the Angels this season, allowing just four runs in 19.2 innings.
Hottest pitcher: Rick Porcello (14-2, 3.47 ERA)
Although he looked like a bust last season, surrendering a career-high 25 home runs, Porcello has been brilliant in his second year with Boston, winning all five of his April decisions before experiencing a little turbulence in May. That’s also the last month in which he’s experienced a loss, winning his last eight decisions, which included going 5-0 in July. Porcello is coming off his first complete game with the Red Sox, winning in Anaheim by surrendering just two runs on five hits in one of his strongest performances of the season. Porcello has lost a pair of road starts this season but has largely been efficient, utilizing his sinker to get him ground balls and keep him out of much trouble. Porcello beat the Mariners 6-2 in Boston on June 18, striking out six and walking none over six innings. Robinson Cano is batting .368 against him, owning one home run over 19 career at-bats.
Coldest pitcher: Cody Reed (0-5, 7.07 ERA)
Most figured there would be some bumps in the road for the 23-year-old Reed, a former second-round pick with tremendous stuff who was a key part of the Reds parting ways with long-time ace Johnny Cueto, but there would’ve been few takers on him still being winless through his first seven major-league starts. Reed’s longest outing was his first one when he pitched seven innings back on June 18 in Houston. He’s been able to get through six only once since, has given up a homer in six of his seven outings and has been flammable both at home and on the road. Reed will be facing St. Louis for the first time.
Biggest UNDER run: Orioles (18-2 last 20)
After ending a 16-game run of games that failed to reach the posted total with back-to-back OVERS in Toronto, the Birds have gotten tremendous pitching over their last two games and have seen their old friend the UNDER help deliver a pair of wins. The UNDER has now come in nine straight times at Camden Yards and figures to have a strong chance at staying below 8.5 with Cole Hamels (12-2, 2.84) on the mound for the visiting Rangers. Hamels has won his last three starts, compiling an 0.84 ERA in wins over the Cubs and Royals. He’ll be pitching against the Orioles for the first time since receiving a no-decision in a 6-3 Rangers win on April 14 and has been exceptional on the road, coming in 8-1 with a 1.71 ERA in opposing stadiums. Kevin Gausman (2-8, 4.18) started the game that snapped the 16-game UNDER run against the Blue Jays, but has seen it prevail in five of his last seven, including a June 20 4-3 loss at Arlington against these Rangers. These teams conclude their key series tomorrow and won’t see one another again unless both reach the postseason.
Biggest OVER run: Cardinals (6-0 last six)
The Cardinals opened the 10-game road trip they’re currently embarked upon with a rainout in Queens and then scored just four runs in splitting a double-header with the Mets. Since that July 26 twinbill, every one of their contests has featured at least nine runs, though St. Louis has been on the receiving end of most of those lately after losing its third straight on Tuesday. The Reds are vulnerable with Reed on the mound, while the Cards turn to Michael Wacha (6-7, 4.38), who has won four consecutive decisions. The OVER is 5-2 in Wacha’s last seven starts.
Matchup to watch: Dodgers at Rockies
Since we've already covered the Rangers/Orioles showdown between AL division leaders, we'll give this NL West clash some love. Colorado jumped out to a 7-0 lead in taking down L.A. on Tuesday to move within 3.5 games of an NL wild card spot. The Rockies have won 10 of 12 and can climb back over .500 for the first time since May 18 with another victory here. The Marlins and Rangers also come into town on this Colorado homestand, so it will be tested if it is to continue this improbable run towards playoff contention. Rookie lefty Tyler Anderson (3-3, 3.33) will be making his 10th career start while squaring off with the Dodgers for the first time. He's an impressive 3-1 with a 3.47 ERA at Coors Field, giving up just two home runs in 36.1 innings. Righty Brock Stewart (0-1, 9.00) will make his second career start for the Dodgers after losing to the Brewers in his debut on June 29.
Betcha didn’t know: Madison Bumgarner has pitched in a single Giants win since June ended despite taking the mound six times. Although only four of the eight runs he surrendered were earned in Tuesday's 13-8 loss, Bumgarner gave up a season-high 10 hits while matching a season-low by working just five innings. He and Wednesday's starter, Johnny Cueto, had pitched in Giants losses in back-to-back turns in the rotation only once until July 17, but are in danger of having it happen for the third time in four outings if Cueto can't beat the Phillies tonight. Cueto hasn't won a decision since July 6, which includes taking a loss in the All-Star Game. He's been limited to just five innings in two of his last three starts after having that happen only once in his first 18 outings with San Francisco.
Biggest public favorite: Nationals (-230) at Diamondbacks
Biggest public underdog: Athletics (+108) at Angels
Biggest line move: Giants (-190 to -168) vs. Phillies
Mets, Yanks head to Bronx
By Sportsbook.ag
NEW YORK METS (54-51) at NEW YORK YANKEES (53-52)
Sportsbook.ag Line: NY Mets -116, NY Yankees +106, Total: 8.5
The Mets will be looking to take a second straight game from the Yankees on Wednesday.
The Mets and Yankees have completely different goals for the second half of the season, as the Mets are hoping to return to the World Series and the Yankees are now trying to get their young players some big league action before the start of next season. The Mets, however, are not in great shape in the Wild Card race and need to start putting together some victories soon.
On the mound in this game will be LHP Steven Matz (8-7, 3.35 ERA, 106 K) for the Mets and RHP Chad Green (1-2, 4.56 ERA, 27 K) will be giving it a go for the Yankees. Over the past three seasons, the Yankees are 7-5 when facing the Mets. Yet, they are just 2-3 when hosting the Mets in that span.
One thing worth noting in this game is that the Mets are 40-18 against the money line after three or more consecutive OVERS in the past three seasons. They are also 20-8 against the money line after four or more consecutive OVERS in that span.
The Mets will be hoping to pick up a second straight victory over the Yankees and Steven Matz is the guy that will be tasked with shutting them down. Matz has been solid his past two times on the mound, allowing just two earned runs in 12 innings of work. He did get himself in a ton of trouble against the Rockies last game. Matz allowed 10 hits in that game and will need to do a better job of avoiding contact against the Yankees on Wednesday.
Offensively, the Mets will be hoping that OF Yoenis Cespedes (.294, 22 HR, 59 RBI) can provide a spark in this game. Cespedes got to the plate once on Tuesday and drove in a run with a hit. It was his first time playing since Jul. 30 and it’s big that he is able to stay healthy moving forward.
The Mets will also be counting on OF Jay Bruce (.262, 25 HR, 80 RBI) in this one. Bruce struggled in his debut with the team, going 0-for-4 and striking out twice. He is too good of a hitter to keep up that play and should be able to get it going on Wednesday.
Chad Green is going to be on the mound for the Yankees on Wednesday and he has done well for the team lately. Green worked out of the pen in his last three outings, but he didn’t allow a single run in 8.1 innings of work over those games. Green also struck out seven batters in those games and he’ll be hoping to turn in a quality start on Wednesday.
Offensively, the one guy that has been consistently producing for the Yankees this season is SS Didi Gregorius (.290, 12 HR, 46 RBI). Gregorius already has three RBI in this series and he homered against the Mets on Tuesday. The Yankees need him to keep it up and they also need somebody else to step it up.
One guy that just might be able to provide a spark is C Gary Sanchez. Sanchez is the Yankees’ fifth-ranked prospect in the organization and has been called up to serve as a DH in this series. If he can get a few hits this series then he should be able to stick in the lineup for the remainder of the year.