Weekly Betting Notes
By Micah Roberts
VegasInsider.com
The New York Yankees have won nine games in a row through Sunday and in the process, their future odds have been cut in half. At the beginning of that streak, the LVH Super Book had the Yankees posted at 10-to-1 odds to win the World Series and now they currently listed at 5-to-1 as a co-favorite to win it all with the two-time defending American League champion Texas Rangers.
The Yankees (40-25) just swept three straight series of three games or more for the first time since 1998, a year they walked away with one of their 27 championships, and they did it all against National League teams. This is nothing new for the Yankees, who own the best interleague record (167-109) in MLB history. After sweeping the Mets, the Yankees also took down the Braves, followed by the first-place Nationals over the weekend. The Nationals had a six-game winning going into that series.
With six more interleague games to go, the Yankees probably wish they could keep slapping the NL around for a little longer as they’ve gone 10-2 this season.
But the Yankees rise to the top began after a three-game losing streak on May 21 when they were tied for last in the AL East with a 21-21 record. In the time span since, the Yankees have gone 19-4 using a steady dose of a winning baseball formula with everyone contributing and getting outstanding starting pitching.
A new hero seems to come up with a key hit every game and the pitching staff has allowed four runs or more only twice in the in the 19 wins since May 22nd.
“You feel like your guys are going to get it done when you’re playing as well as we are,” Yankees manager Joe Girardi told reporters after the Washington series. “No matter what the situation is, you feel like you’re going to get it done.”
It hasn’t mattered whether Andy Pettitte, Hiroki Kuroda or Phil Hughes is pitching, the Yankees just get the job done. While C.C. Sabathia continues to pile up wins in his traditional consistent fashion, the standout through the streak has been Ivan Nova who has started a streak of his own going 5-0 with a 2.50 ERA during the Yankees 19-4 run.
“I’ve got five in a row, but we’ve got nine in a row,” Nova told reporters. “That’s amazing for me, the way I feel right now. I’m so happy the way we’ve been throwing the ball.”
Nova pitches again on Saturday in Queens against Chris Young and the Mets. Before that series the Yankees have a three-game set in the Stadium against the Braves.
We're only in June with lots of baseball to go, but it seems like we've seen this story before out of the Yankees and it usually plays out with the final scene happening deep into the playoffs.
Because of the Yankees current form, it could be a strong argument that the Yankees are baseball's best team right now. The Las Vegas odds certainly say they are, but we'll see what their made of when they finish off wiping out NL teams and get back to their own league. The four series they play just before the All-Star break are against the Indians, White Sox, Rays, and the always tough Red Sox.
Dodgers Saturday Streak is Over
The Dodgers streak of winning 10 consecutive Saturday games to begin the season is over after a 5-4 loss to the White Sox over the weekend. The streak was just one of those freak things that happened to come out of good consistent play by the Dodgers, but there may a little more it and says a lot about the make-up of this years Dodgers squad.
The Dodgers (42-25) don’t seem to find themselves in many losing streaks which is why they have the best record in baseball. Saturday is usually the second game of a series and in four instances, the Dodgers were coming off a Friday night loss. They’ve only had six instances this season of losing two games or more and in only one stretch did the Dodgers lose three or more.
Because of their consistent nature, the Dodgers are 8-to-1 to win the World Series, the second choice to come out of the NL behind the Central leading Reds who are 7-to-1.
Help is on the Way Philly
The Phillies have lost 12 of their past 15 games, but there is some good news on the horizon, which is why despite being in last-place in the NL East, the Phillies are still listed at moderately low odds of 25-to-1 to win the World Series. Consider that teams above the Phillies such as the Marlins (30/1) and Mets (40/1) both have higher odds.
The reason for some possible optimism comes with the possibility of their heart and soul of the team returning to the lineup soon. The Phillies have lost 13 players to the disabled list this season, but the biggest impact was not having Ryan Howard at first base and Chase Utley at second base. Both players are rehabbing at the Phillies’ spring training facilities in Clearwater, Fla. with progress being made. Howard homered twice in an intra-squad game and Utley got in four innings of work.
More good news for Phillies fans is that Roy Halladay threw for the first time in over three weeks over the weekend.
It’s still not too late for the Phillies (31-37) to make some noise and they have the added incentive of having an extra wild card spot beginning with this seasons playoffs. They are currently only nine games out of first, but need their swagger back. Getting a healthy Howard, Utley, and Halladay back just might be the ticket to make a big run after the All-Star break.