Tuesday’s Best MLB Bets
Houston Astros at Cincinnati Reds (-165, 8.5)
Outside of a rocky start from Edinson Volquez on Opening Day against the Brewers, the Cincinnati Reds have to be pretty satisfied with their 3-0 start.
Volquez was smacked around for five runs but Cincinnati’s offense saved the day when Ramon Hernandez hit a walk-off, three-run shot to give the club a 7-6 win.
The Reds cruised from there outscoring the Brewers 16-5 over the next two games.
"Since Monie had the walk-off home run, the momentum has been in our favor," fellow catcher Ryan Hanigan told reporters. "We kind of rode that high for the last couple of games. The Brewers have a great team. They're going to be in the mix. They have a great offense, great pitching. It was just our weekend."
Meanwhile, the Astros are still looking to get in the win column and may have to wait at least another day.
Pick: Reds
Boston Red Sox at Cleveland Indians (+135, 9)
Red Sox Nation is already in a tizzy about the club’s 0-3 start and while getting too worked up after just three games is a little over the top, some of the numbers coming out of the club’s series against Texas were just ugly.
Texas outscored Boston 26-11 in the series and hit 11 home runs compared to only three for the Red Sox.
“Just a real bad series,’’ GM Theo Epstein told reporters. “For this to happen in the first series of the year leaves a bad taste in your mouth. But we’ll be better than this.”
They have a good shot at proving just that Tuesday with Josh Beckett taking the hill and heading to Cleveland instead of going home to hear all about how terrible they are right now.
The Sox will regroup Tuesday.
Pick: Red Sox
Cleveland hosts winless Boston Red Sox
By: Willie Bee
The 2011 season may only have one weekend in the books, but that hasn't stopped Boston Red Sox fans from voicing their disapproval. Boston was swept three straight in Texas by the defending AL champions and will now look for win number one in Cleveland on Tuesday when the Red Sox continue their road trip against the Indians.
Boston's winless start (0-3, -3.6 units) is magnified by the fact the club entered 2011 as the favorites to win the AL pennant (plus 175). General Manager Theo Epstein spent the winter beefing up the Red Sox roster with the acquisitions of Adrian Gonzalez and Carl Crawford, adding pop to a lineup that finished second in the majors with 5.05 runs per game in 2010.
Gonzalez is off to a decent start with Boston, collecting five hits in his first 12 at bats. Crawford was held to just a pair of singles in 12 trips to the plate in the Texas series, striking out five times. Collectively, the Red Sox were outscored 26-11 by the Rangers who hammered 11 homers in the broom job. Texas' Ian Kinsler and Nelson Cruz both went deep three times to set an MLB record as the only teammates to homer in each of the first three games of a season.
Manager Terry Francona shouldn't be too worried about his bats just yet. Pitching, however, is another story.
The top three in Boston's rotation – Jon Lester, Clay Buchholz and John Lackey – were charged with 18 earned runs in just over 15 innings combined, serving up nine of the 11 Texas dingers. Francona will now turn to Josh Beckett to stem the tide.
Beckett is coming off an injury-marred 2010 campaign, posting a 5.78 ERA with a 6-6 mark in 21 starts. Boston won 11 of his 21 assignments, one of those triumphs a home victory against the Tribe in which Beckett worked eight innings and allowed just one run, a solo shot by Cleveland catcher Lou Marson. The right-hander struck out eight and didn't issue a free pass in his longest outing of 2010.
The Red Sox are 5-2 in Beckett's last seven assignments versus the Indians, including the 2007 playoffs which marked his last appearance at Progressive Field. Beckett worked two games in Cleveland that season, including the ALCS, pitching eight innings and allowing just one run in each contest.
Cleveland (1-2, -0.9 unit) didn't fare much better in its first three games of 2011, though the Tribe did manage to avoid being swept to begin the year with Sunday's 7-1 win over the White Sox. The victory was aided by the first triple play of the MLB campaign, and Indians starter Justin Masterson kept Chicago hitters at bay for seven innings after the Pale Hose pummeled Cleveland hurlers for 23 runs in the first two games of the series.
Manager Manny Acta will give the ball to Josh Tomlin for Tuesday's series opener. Cleveland went 7-5 in the 12 starting assignments he made as a rookie in 2010. One of the losses came at Fenway Park in his only career action against the Red Sox. The right-hander out of Texas Tech worked seven frames and allowed four runs, all earned, in a 7-2 Boston triumph.
Cleveland was 5-1 in Tomlin's six home assignments last season, good enough for a little more than five units of profit.
The two clubs split their eight head-to-head meetings in 2010 right down the middle, each winning twice on the other's home field. Game totals were also divided in the same manner, 2-2 'over/under' in each park.
The only significant injury for either squad is Cleveland center fielder Grady Sizemore who started the year on the DL following knee surgery.
Tuesday's first pitch is scheduled for 4:05 p.m. (PT). A wet, blustery evening is in store for the Cleveland area on Monday before skies clear a bit Tuesday when the high is expected to only reach the low-40s. Winds are expected out of the WNW up to 20 mph (3B out to RF corner).
The series continues Wednesday night when Cleveland sends Mitch Talbot to the mound against Boston's Daisuke Matsuzaka. Thursday's series finale is an afternoon affair and pits the staff aces from both squads with Fausto Carmona and Lester each coming off rough season openers.
LA Dodgers, Rockies open MLB betting series
By: Stephen Nover
After playing just two games, the Colorado Rockies have had two days off.
Such is baseball in April. The Rockies, who were idle this past Sunday due to a postponement and off Monday, host the Los Angeles Dodgers Tuesday at 5:40 p.m. PT in the opener of a two-game series.
The unpredictable Denver weather should cooperate this time. The Rockies couldn’t get their Sunday game in against Arizona due to a mix of rain and snow. But the forecast in Denver for Tuesday is temperatures in the 60s, no rain and southwest winds at nine mph.
Unfortunately for the Rockies, they draw Clayton Kershaw. Even though he just turned 23, Kershaw is becoming one of the best pitchers in baseball.
The southpaw was brilliant this past Thursday in the Dodgers’ season opener, a 2-1 victory against San Francisco. Kershaw beat Tim Lincecum as a 115 home favorite by not giving up a run in seven innings while allowing just four singles, striking out nine and walking one. The combined three runs went ‘under’ the 6½-run total, the lowest ‘over/under’ of the season.
The Dodgers are 14-3 the past 17 times Kershaw has pitched against a National League West opponent.
Kershaw was 13-10 last season with a 2.91 ERA. His 212 strikeouts were the fifth-highest in the NL last year.
Many expect Kershaw to be even better this season. This game, though, should prove a strong early challenge coming at hitter-friendly Coors Field. Kershaw is 3-2 lifetime with a 5.59 ERA in seven starts at Coors.
Colorado is a very strong home team winning 37 of its last 55 games at Coors Field. The Rockies are 36-17 in their last 53 home contests when facing a left-handed starter.
The Rockies also have one of their good, young pitchers going against the Dodgers – 23-year-old Jhoulys Chacin.
The right-hander from Venezuela averaged 9.04 strikeouts per nine innings, the second highest-number by a Colorado pitcher with 100-plus innings in a season.
Chacin was 9-11with a 3.28 ERA last season. Despite pitching just 148 1/3 innings in his big league career, Chacin faced the Dodgers six times going 3-3.
Chacin last faced the Dodgers at home on Sept. 29 and lost 7-6 as a 185 favorite against Carlos Monasterios, giving up two earned runs in five innings on four hits with seven strikeouts and three walks. The combined 13 runs went ‘over’ the 9½-run total.
The previous time he faced the Dodgers, however, Chacin beat them, 12-2. That occurred on Sept. 18 at Dodger Stadium. Chacin pitched eight scoreless innings allowing nine hits with two strikeouts and no walks. Chacin was a 125 road favorite against John Ely. The combined 14 runs flew ‘over’ the 9½-run total.
Colorado is 1-1 on the season. The Dodgers are 3-1 following a four-game home series against the defending world champion Giants. Jonathan Broxton has a 6.00 ERA, but owns saves in each of the Dodgers’ three victories. Outfielder Matt Kemp is off to a fast start batting .417.
The Dodgers are one of the few clubs that have fared well at Coors winning in 11 of their last 15 visits. They have won four in a row in Denver.
The Dodgers won the season series from the Rockies last season going 11-7. They were 6-3 at Coors in 2010.
The ‘over’ has cashed eight of the last nine times the Rockies have gone against a left-hander at home. The ‘over’ also has cashed in 12 of Colorado’s last 17 NL West games.
However, the ‘under’ has paid off in 14 of Kershaw’s last 20 road starts. The Dodgers have gone ‘under’ in five of Kershaw’s past six outings.
In head-to-head competition between the Dodgers and Rockies, the ‘over’ has cashed six of the last seven times.
Tuesday's Diamond Tips
By Judd Hall
The opening weekend of Major League Baseball’s season is out of the way. Now we can get into the matchups that dominate April as teams are still feeling themselves out in the games that count. We’ve got 14 tests on the schedule on Tuesday that go from the afternoon until primetime.
We’re going to look at a pair of American League East squads that are without a win after one series. Then we’re going to see a pair of the better sides in the National League West do battle in land of Coors.
Angels at Rays
Tropicana Field will be home to two teams that looked extremely disappointing in their opening series of the season. The Rays knew it would be a rough season after losing Carlos Pena, Carl Crawford and the majority of their bullpen. The Halos were just hoping to that last year’s injuries would be able to be forgotten fast.
Tampa Bay (0-3, -480) will be sending Jeff Neimann out for his first start of the season. Past history shows that it could be a tough game for the Rays as Neimann went 1-2 with a 10.20 earned run average versus the Angels last season. And the starters for Joe Maddon have been lackluster so far, going 0-3 with a 4.46 ERA against Baltimore over the weekend.
Los Angeles (1-3, -275) started the year off well with a 4-2 road win against the Royals. Since then, the Angels have dropped three straight games. The lone win came from Jared Weaver, who will be on the hill for Tuesday evening. Weaver tossed 6.1 innings against the Royals in the season opener, allowing two hits. LA’s ace has fared well against the Rays, evidenced by a 3-1 record with a 2.45 ERA in five career starts.
The Angels have the advantage in that they’ve won three of the last four matches against Tampa Bay. Two of those wins came against Niemann.
Red Sox at Indians
We’re only a few days into the season and Boston (0-3, -350) fans are freaking out after a three-game sweep at the hands of the Rangers. Can you really be upset by the fact that you lost to the defending AL champs?
What the Red Sox did not have this past weekend was steady starting pitching. John Lackey, Jon Lester and Clay Buchholz were lit up for 18 runs. The plus side for that is that Josh Beckett doesn’t have to do too much to be considered an improvement over the first three hurlers. Beckett is looking to bounce back from a disappointing 2010 (6-6, 5.78 ERA). He did at least win his only start against the Tribe last season.
Cleveland (1-2, -93) are in midseason form in terms of sucking hard. The Indians have given up 24 runs this season, but at least didn’t get swept. Of course, not many people bothered to show up to that 7-1 win on Sunday. The Tribe will count on Josh Tomlin to make things happen on the mound for this game. The late-season call up closed out last September with three wins in his last three starts. And he lasted seven inning, giving up four earned runs in a 6-2 loss at Boston in August.
The Indians do have one thing going for them in the head-to-head matchups. The Tribe are 4-2 in the last six meetings with Boston. The ‘over’ is 4-2 in those tests as well.
Dodgers at Rockies
Things are going quite well for Los Angeles (3-1, +197) after taking three of four from the hated Giants in Chavez Ravine. The Dodgers will look to keep the good times rolling on Tuesday night with Clayton Kershaw getting the nod. Kershaw is coming off a quality opening night start against San Francisco, where he allowed no runs on four hits in seven innings of work. Don Mattingly has to be confident Kershaw will be able to pick up another win in this spot after going 3-0 with a 2.10 ERA in five starts against the Rockies last season.
Colorado (1-1, -100) got an unexpected extra day off after having the series finale with the Diamondbacks getting snowed out after a game played in 84-degree weather. That pushed Jhoulys Chacin’s first start of the year to Tuesday night of the quick two-game set. The Rockies have won two of their last three games against the Dodgers the Chacin started.
These two teams have seen the visitors go 1-5 in the last six head-to-head meetings. The ‘over’ is almost a certainty as it is 5-1 in those six tests.
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