National League
Rockies @ Nationals
Hoffman allowed seven runs in four IP (77 PT) in his MLB debut.
Gonzalez is 2-0, 3.92 in his last four starts; over is 12-7-1 in his last 20 starts.
Rockies lost their last six road games, are 4-10 in last 14 road series openers. Over is 5-2 in their last seven road games. Washington lost four of last five games, is 2-6 in last eight home series openers. Five of Nationals’ last six home games went over the total.
Padres @ Marlins
Former Marlin Cosart is 0-0, 3.15 in four starts for San Diego (over 3-1).
Phelps is 2-1, 1.31 in four starts this year (under 3-1).
Padres are 5-17 in last 22 road games, 12-8 in road series openers; over is 7-3 in their last ten games. Miami is 2-5 in last seven home games, 0-6 in last six home series openers. Last five Marlin games stayed under the total.
Phillies @ Mets
Morgan is 0-7, 7.76 in his last 11 starts; eight of his last nine went over. Phils lost five of their last six road games.
Colon is 2-1, 3.38 in his last four starts; under is 7-4-1 in his last 12 starts. Mets are 7-5 in his home starts.
Phillies are 7-10 in last 17 road games, 9-12 in road series openers. Over is 6-1-1 in Philly’s last eight road games. New York won four of its last five games, is 0-5 in last five home series openers. Over is 9-1 in Mets’ last ten games.
Pirates @ Brewers
Vogelsong is 1-2, 3.23 in six starts this year; three of his last four stayed under.
Garza is 3-1, 5.54 in his last five starts; three of his last four went over. Milwaukee won all four of his home starts.
Pirates lost five of last seven games but won last five on road; five of last six Pittsburgh games stayed under. Milwaukee won four of its last five games; three of its last four games stayed under.
Reds @ Diamondbacks
Finnegan is 3-1, 2.08 in his last five starts; over is 7-2 in his last nine. Reds won his last three road starts
Shipley is 0-2, 12.19 in his last two starts; his last three starts went over the total.
Braves lost nine of last 11 games; 12 of last 13 Atlanta games went over. Arizona is 6-3 in its last nine home games; 10 of last 11 Arizona games went over the total.
Cubs @ Dodgers
Montgomery allowed one run in 4.1 IP (60 PT) in his first start for the Cubs.
Norris 1-2, 7.80 in his last four starts; five of his last six starts went over.
Cubs won seven of last nine rod games, are 6-9 in last 15 road series openers. Five of last seven Chicago games went over. Dodgers won four of last five games, are 10-6 in last 16 home series openers.
Braves @ Giants
De la Cruz is 0-5, 5.50 in seven starts this year (under 5-2).
Samardzija is 1-1, 2.41 in his last three starts; his last six starts stayed under total. Giants lost his last three home starts.
Atlanta won three of last four games, is 7-5 in last 12 road series openers. Over is 7-1 in Braves’ last eight road games. Giants are 4-9 in last 13 games, 1-4 in last five home series openers. Three of last four Giant games stayed under.
American League
Orioles @ New York
Gallardo is 0-2, 4.00 in his last three starts; under is 7-2 in his last nine. Orioles are 4-6 in his road starts this year.
Cessa threw six shutout innings in Anaheim (85 PT) in his first MLB start.
Orioles won three of last four road games, are 11-10 in road series openers. Three of their last four road games went over. New York won four of last six games, is 13-5 in last 18 home series openers. Five of their last six games stayed under the total.
Twins @ Blue Jays
Dean is 0-2, 9.00 in his last four starts; four of his last five went over.
Former Twin Liriano is 0-1, 4.58 in three starts for Toronto (under 3-0).
Minnesota lost its last seven games, is 7-5 in last 12 road series openers. Over is 19-4-2 in their last 25 games. Toronto lost four of last six games, is 6-2 in last eight home series openers. Under is 15-7 in their last 22 games.
Royals @ Red Sox
Kennedy is 2-0, 0.79 in his last five starts; under is 10-2 in his last 12 starts. Royals are 1-8 in his last nine road starts.
Wright has been on DL with baserunning injury; he is 5-0, 5.36 in his last seven starts- three of his last four went over. Red Sox are 6-4 in his home starts.
Royals won nine of last 10 games, last four road series openers. Under is 11-3 in their last 14 road games. Boston is 10-3 in its last 13 games, 7-1 in last eight home series openers. Under is 6-3-1 in their last ten games.
Indians @ Rangers
Kluber is 4-0, 2.08 in his last seven starts; under is 4-1-1 in his last six. Cleveland split his 12 road starts.
Perez is 1-2, 4.91 in his last four starts; four of his last five stayed under. Texas won his last nine home starts.
Indians are 3-9 in last 11 road games; they scored three runs in last four games. Under is 8-3-1 in their last 12 road games. Texas lost three of last five games; over is 4-1-1 in their last six games.
Rays @ Astros
Smyly is 4-0, 3.03 in his last five starts (over 4-1). Rays are 2-6 in his last eight road starts.
Fiers is 2-2, 4.76 in his last four starts; over is 6-2 in his last eight starts. Houston is 8-3 when he starts at home.
Rays are 8-3 in last 11 games, 2-10 in last 12 road series openers. Five of Rays’ last six road games went over. Houston won five of last six games, is 9-4 in last 13 home series openers. Under is 7-2-1 in their last ten home games.
Mariners @ White Sox
Hernandez is 3-0, 2.73 in his last four starts; five of his last six went over total.
Sale is 1-3, 3.02 in his last five starts; under is 7-4 in his last 11 starts. White Sox are 8-3 when Sale starts at home.
Seattle lost four of last five games; six of Mariners’ last eight games went over the total. White Sox won four of last five games; four of last six Chicago games stayed under.
Interleague
A’s @ Cardinals
Detwiler is 1-2, 5.94 in three starts this year (under 3-0). A’s scored five runs in the three games.
Weaver is 0-1, 5.00 in two starts this year (over 1-1).
Oakland is 2-10 in last 12 road games, 1-4 in last five road series openers. Under is 8-1 in A’s last nine games. St Louis is 8-2 in last ten games, 4-1 in last five home series openers. Over is 8-2-1 in their last 11 home games.
Teams’ record when this pitcher starts
Col-Wsh; Hoffman 0-1; Gonzalez 10-15
SD-Mia: Cosart 2-2/1-3; Phelps 3-1
Phil-NY: Morgan 3-11; Colon 15-10
Pitt-Mil: Vogelsong 2-4; Garza 6-7
Cin-Az– Finnegan 10-16; Shipley 3-3
Chi-LA: Montgomery 1-0/1-1: Norris 4-3/5-5
Atl-SF: De la Cruz 2-5; Samardzija 12-14 (1-6 last 7)
Blt-NY: Gallardo 9-8 (2-5 last 7); Cessa 1-0
Min-Tor: Dean 4-2; Liriano 1-2/9-12
KC-Bos: Kennedy 12-13; Wright 14-8
LA-Det: Nolasco 0-4/9-12; Verlander 15-11
Cle-Tex: Kluber 14-11 (5-0 last 5); Perez 14-12
TB-Hst: Smyly 11-13 (5-0 last 5); Fiers 13-10
Sea-Chi: Hernandez 10-6; Sale 16-8
A’s-StL: Detwiler 1-2; Weaver 1-1
Starting pitchers allowing 1+ runs in first inning
Col-Wsh; Hoffman 0-1; Gonzalez 6-25
SD-Mia: Cosart 4-8; Phelps 0-4
Phil-NY: Morgan 6-14; Colon 8-25
Pitt-Mil: Vogelsong 2-6; Garza 4-13
Cin-Az– Finnegan 8-26; Shipley 1-6
Chi-LA: Montgomery 1-5; Norris 4-17
Atl-SF: De la Cruz 1-7; Samardzija 9-26
Blt-NY: Gallardo 6-17; Cessa 0-1
Min-Tor: Dean 3-6; Liriano 6-24
KC-Bos: Kennedy 8-25; Wright 6-22
LA-Det: Nolasco 11-25; Verlander 9-26
Cle-Tex: Kluber 6-25; Perez 11-26
TB-Hst: Smyly 7-24; Fiers 5-23
Sea-Chi: Hernandez 3-16; Sale 8-24
A’s-StL: Detwiler 1-3; Weaver 1-2
MLB: Streak, Tips, Notes
Sportspic.com
Kansas City at Boston
Boston squares off against Kansas City in game one of a three game series at Fenway Park in what looks to be a pitchers duel. The duel in question will be between BoSox righthander Steven Wright and Royals righty Ian Kennedy. Wright returning off DL last pitched August 5th tossing a nine inning gem blanking Dodgers moving his record to 13-5 on the season with a 3.01 ERA. Kennedy carries a 8-9 record, 3.58 ERA to the hill but has been extremely sharp over his last five outings, giving up three earned runs in total recording five quality starts over that stretch.
The two pitchers are meeting for the second time this season, the first coming back on May 18 at Kaufman Stadium a game Royals won 3-2 with Kennedy getting a no-decision allowing 2 runs over 5 2/3 innings while Wright was tagged with the loss tossing 8 innings of 3 run ball.
As a team, Red Sox are coming off a 2-1 loss Thursday but remain a solid 10-4 the last fourteen on the diamond. The Royals one of the hottest teams in the league hit the diamond having reeled off a 10-1 streak and 15-3 stretch since August 6th.
When handicapping this contest a few additional betting nuggets to ponder. Red Sox have thrived in series openers going 7-1 last eight and are 9-2 with Wright off a team loss the previous day. Royals have a 4-1 streak vs Red Sox but are just 2-5 in the last 7 meetings in Boston. Additionally, Royals have a 1-8 skid in Kennedy's last 9 road starts.
MLB Betting Cheat Sheet
By Monty Andrews
Covers.com
Big Totals in the Big Apple?
The New York Yankees and Baltimore Orioles could be strong Over plays this weekend as the American League East rivals do battle in a three-game series at Yankee Stadium. The Yankees were 5-1 O/U in their most recent six-game homestand before heading to the West Coast and playing to the Under in five of six games against the Los Angeles Angels and Seattle Mariners. Of note, the Yanks and O's have faced each other 10 times this season, playing to the Over just twice.
Something’s Gotta Give
Speaking of totals, the top Over team in baseball takes on the league’s strongest Under play as the Minnesota Twins visit Rogers Centre for a three-game set with the Toronto Blue Jays. The Twins have amassed the league’s best Over rate based mostly on a combination of terrible pitching and a better-than-advertised offense. It has been the exact opposite for the Blue Jays, whose pitching has been sensational while the offense has been less explosive than it was in 2015.
Interleague Misery
The Oakland Athletics would probably rather just stick to facing American League opponents - but they won’t get that opportunity this weekend as they head to Busch Stadium for a weekend set with the St. Louis Cardinals. The Athletics are tied with three National League teams for the worst interleague record in baseball at 5-12, and have lost their last seven games against NL foes. They’re also 6-10-1 O/U over that stretch. The Cardinals are a dismal 7-10 against the AL.
Injury Notes
The Toronto Blue Jays are welcoming back slugger Jose Bautista, who has been out since Aug. 10 with a knee injury. The Blue Jays haven’t missed Bautista all that much this season; they’re 27-18 for +350 units in his absence, going 19-24-2 O/U over that stretch.
The Boston Red Sox are down another outfielder, placing rookie Andrew Benintendi on the 15-day DL with a sprained left knee. His loss could be a significant one for the Red Sox, who have gone 12-9 SU and 10-11 O/U in the 21 games in which Benintendi has appeared.
Batting Notes
The Cincinnati Reds should be very careful pitching to Arizona’s Paul Goldschmidt this weekend. The Diamondbacks first baseman is 8-for-11 with two homers and four RBIs lifetime against Reds weekend starters Brandon Finnegan, Anthony DeSclafani and Homer Bailey.
Who says baseball is a young man’s game? Entering Thursday, the top three RBI leaders in the American League are all 33 or older: Toronto’s Edwin Encarnacion (33, 101 RBIs); Boston’s David Ortiz (40, 100 RBIs) and Los Angeles’ Albert Pujols (36, 99 RBIs).
Pitching Notes
Make the Under a serious consideration Friday when Kansas City Royals right-hander Ian Kennedy faces Steven Wright and the host Boston Red Sox. Kennedy is a sensational 7-15 O/U for the season, and has pitched to the Under in 10 of his last 12 starts overall.
Has Ivan Nova found a new lease on major-league life? The New York Yankees castoff looks rejuvenated in Pittsburgh, with the Pirates having won all four of his starts so far. Nova has allowed just nine runs in those four starts; he toes the rubber Sunday against host Milwaukee.
Totals Trend
The Royals’ hum-drum offense and sensational bullpen have combined for an incredible run of Unders. Kansas City is 5-17-2 O/U since July 30, with no consecutive Overs in that span.
Ump Stat of the Day
The Indians aren't happy to see Lance Barrett behind home plate for tonight's game against the Rangers. Cleveland is 0-7 in the last seven games where Barrett has been calling balls and strikes. The Indians send Corey Kluber to the hill and are -135 favorites, while the Rangers will counter with Martin Perez and are on the board at +125.
Friday's Weather Report
In Arlington, there is a 50 percent chance of rain and a chance of thunderstorms for tonight's game between the Rangers and Indians. The total for the game is currently 9.0.
At Busch Stadium in Saint Louis, there is a 32 percent chance of rain and a chance of thunderstorms for today's game between the Cardinals and the Athletics. The total for the game is currently at 8.5.