MLB Bettor's Box
By Bodog.com
Baseball’s annual game of musical chairs is over. The Red Sox and White Sox made big trades. So did the Phillies. The Pirates made nearly everyone from this year’s Opening Day lineup walk the plank. And Roy Halladay is still a Blue Jay.
Toronto will happily send Halladay to the mound Tuesday night against Andy Pettitte and the Yankees. That’s a must-see, but it’s still only an appetizer compared to what’s coming up later this week. Our latest betting preview has you covered; all stats are at press time, and the most current odds are just a click away at Bodog Sports.
Series: Boston Red Sox at New York Yankees
Boston (62-42, +5.83 units) didn’t take too kindly to falling behind the Yankees (63-42, -0.95 units) in the American League East. In their biggest move of the week, the Sox picked up catcher Victor Martinez (.832 OPS) from the Cleveland Indians for a package including pitcher Justin Masterson. Martinez batted third Sunday against Baltimore and went 5-for-6 in an 18-10 victory. The Yankees did very little at the deadline. They’re 0-8 against the Red Sox this year; the finale of this four-game set (8:00 p.m. Eastern) is your feature Sunday Night Baseball telecast.
Series: Texas Rangers at Los Angeles Angels
Both the Angels (63-40, +23.32 units) and the Rangers (59-44, +18.00 units) stood pat at the deadline, and it’s hard to blame them. The Angels are 12-3 since the All-Star break, not to mention the most profitable team in the majors. Texas is keeping pace at 12-4 since the break, including a three-game sweep of the Red Sox in Arlington. The Rangers are 7-2 versus the Halos this year.
Series: Colorado Rockies at Philadelphia Phillies
Philadelphia (59-44, 7.05 units) landed the biggest fish at the deadline: reigning American League Cy Young pitcher Cliff Lee (3.14 ERA, 1.30 WHIP), who made 18 quality starts in 22 games for the Cleveland Indians before getting dealt alongside OF Ben Francisco (.758 OPS) for prospects. Lee’s turn in the Phillies rotation comes up Thursday afternoon against Aaron Cook (3.88 ERA, 1.41 WHIP). The Rockies (58-47, 10.32 units) have quietly reinforced their bullpen with lefty Joe Beimel (3.40 ERA, 1.34 WHIP with Washington) and righty Rafael Betancourt (3.52 ERA, 1.30 WHIP with Cleveland).
St. Louis Cardinals at New York Mets (Tuesday, 7:10 p.m. Eastern)
The Cardinals (58-50, -0.15 units) are 6-4 since picking up OF Matt Holliday from Oakland; he’s an incredible 20-for-37 during that span with six walks, three home runs and a 1.546 OPS. The Mets (50-54, -4.04 units) are slowly sinking in the NL East, 9.5 games back of Philly. Johan Santana (12-9 team record, +0.19 units) will battle his chalk demons while Joel Pineiro (11-9, 1.55 units) works for St. Louis. The under is a combined 27-12-2 in their starts. The Cardinals won all five of Pineiro’s last five games against New York.
Atlanta Braves at Los Angeles Dodgers (Thursday, 10:10 p.m. ET)
It’s a rematch of this past weekend’s series at Turner Field, which the Dodgers (65-40, 19.41 units) took two games to one. They’re still the top team in the majors despite going 10-7 since the All-Star Game. Atlanta (53-52, -7.30 units) is also 10-7 since the break. This is the opener of a four-game set; Derek Lowe (14-9, 3.50 units) gets reacquainted with his former club while Randy Wolf (13-10, 1.75 units) responds for L.A. The Dodgers are 45-17 in their last 62 games as the home favorites.
Minnesota Twins at Detroit Tigers (Sunday, 1:05 p.m. ET, TBS)
There’s no question the AL Central race is a lot more interesting since the deadline. The division-leading Tigers (54-49, 1.55 units) have faith in the new split-finger fastball of former Mariner Jarrod Washburn (2.64 ERA, 1.07 WHIP), who conveniently enough is scheduled to start Sunday on TBS against the Twins (52-53, -5.29 units). Minnesota added shortstop Orlando Cabrera (.695 OPS) from Oakland; he’ll be an upgrade over Nick Punto (.581 OPS) when he takes the field Sunday behind Scott Baker (4.86 ERA, 1.20 WHIP). The Twins are 10-10 in Baker’s 20 starts for a deficit of 1.88 units. Seattle, a top-notch defensive team, was 11-9 (2.05 units) behind Washburn with the under at 15-5.