Who’s Not MLB’s Coldest SU Teams
by: Alex Smart Sports
Whereas the picture is getting rosier for hot squads like the Red Sox, Yankees, and Dodgers, there are plenty of teams in baseball that are singing the blues. Check out which teams are down in the dumps of late that you should stay away from at all costs if recent form is any indicator…
1: Kansas City Royals (23-28, -$480) (0-5, -$594 in L/5) After getting off to a flying start in 2009, the Royals have crashed back to earth and are probably near the cellar of the AL Central for the remainder of the season now. You know it’s bad when Zack Greinke is getting beaten as a -175 home favorite, and not only did he get beaten in his most recent start, the fourth straight game of this five-game losing streak, he gave up a season-high four runs in defeat. In this run of lousy results, KC is giving up runs hand over fist. It has allowed an average of 7.4 runs per game in its L/5, which is absolutely miserable news for an offense that averages just 4.14 runs per game, but has only topped the four-run barrier once since May 20th. The Royals are just 2-9 in that stretch.
2: San Diego Padres (25-27, +$133) (1-4, -$310 in L/5) The Padres ended up losing their ten-game winning streak just over a week ago, and have since run into troubles at home against the best road team in baseball. They lost 10-5 and 5-3 to the Phillies over the L/2 days, which isn’t exactly the way that San Diego bettors pictured the start to this seven-game home stand. If there’s a bright spot to it all, 1B Adrian Gonzalez has already blasted 22 homers this season, which is really saying something considering the fact that his home games are played in a ballpark that is about as big as Yellowstone National Park. The fact that he’s homered in four straight games and has driven in nine runs in his L/5 games and the Pads are still 1-4 is pretty scary though.
3: Cincinnati Reds (27-24, +$548) (1-4, -$293 in L/5) It’s hard to blame the Reds for running into the buzz saw known as the Milwaukee Brewers in this stretch of five games. They still have the fifth best money mark in baseball in spite of the lousy luck of late, and should be considered prime contenders in both the NL Central and NL Wild Card races. Still, the fact that they’re struggling to compete with the Cardinals and Brewers in road games is a bad sign going forward. The good news is that the schedule gets significantly easier in the next month, as after it finishes with the Cubbies this weekend, Cincinnati plays the Nats, Royals, Braves, White Sox, Blue Jays, Indians, and Diamondbacks.
And the rest…
4: Cleveland Indians (22-32, -$1,053) (1-4, -$292 in L/5)
5: Washington Nationals (14-36, -$2,008) (1-4, -$262 in L/5)