MLB Betting News and Notes Wednesday, September 20th, 2017

MLB Knowledge

National League

Dodgers @ Phillies
Wood is 1-2, 3.90 in his last five starts; over is 3-1 in his last four starts. Dodgers are 8-1 in his last nine road starts— their first 5-inning record with him: 13-8-2

Thompson is 2-2, 5.75 in six starts this year (over 4-2). Phillies are 2-1 in his home starts— their first 5-inning record with him: 3-2-1

Dodgers won four of their last seven games (under 5-0-2). Phillies won six of last eight games, under is 4-0-1 in their last five.

Brewers @ Pirates
Wilkerson is making his first MLB start; he threw one scoreless inning of relief this year. He was 11-4, 3.16 in 24 AA starts in the Southern League this season.

Brault is 1-0, 2.45 in two starts this year (under 2-0). Pirates’ first 5-inning record with him: 1-1

Brewers won nine of last 11 games; four of their last six games went over. Pittsburgh lost 12 of its last 13 games, scoring nine runs in last seven games. Under is 10-2 in their last 12 games.

Mets @ Marlins
Montero is 3-1, 3.04 in his last four starts; under is 11-2 in his last 13. He is 1-0, 5.59 in two starts vs Miami this season. Mets are 3-3 in his road starts— their first 5-inning record with him: 5-9-2

Urena is 1-1, 3.27 in his last four starts; under is 9-5-3 in his last 13 starts. He is 1-1, 3.75 vs New York this season. Miami is 6-6 in his home starts— their first 5-inning record with him: 13-7-5

Mets lost seven of their last nine games; over is 6-3 in their last nine road games. Miami is 5-17 in its last 22 games, but won last two. Nine of their last ten games went over.

Cardinals @ Reds
Weaver is 6-0, 1.67 in his last six starts (under 4-3). St Louis won all three of his road starts— their first 5-inning record with him: 5-1-1

Davis is making his first start since May 8; he is 1-2, 8.53 in five starts this season (over 4-0-1). Reds are 2-1 in his home starts— their first 5-inning record with him: 2-2-1

Cardinals lost four of last six games; under is 9-3 in their last 12 games. Reds won four of last six games; under is 7-3-1 in their last 11 home games.

Nationals @ Braves
Gonzalez is 1-2, 5.63 in his last three starts; over is 3-0-1 in his last four. He is 1-2, 4.70 in four starts vs Atlanta this season. Washington is 10-5 in his road starts— their first 5-inning record with him: 17-7-5

Sims is 0-2, 10.61 in his last two starts (under 4-3). Braves are 1-2 in his home starts— their first 5-inning record with him: 2-5

Nationals won their last four road games; under is 6-1-2 in their last nine games. Atlanta lost four of last five games; over is 6-4 in their last ten home games.

Diamondbacks @ Padres
Ray is 5-0, 1.67 in his last five starts; under is 5-2 in his last seven. He is 3-0, 1.33 vs San Diego this season. Arizona is 10-3 in his road starts— their first 5-inning record with him: 12-5-8

Lamet is 0-3, 2.51 in his last five starts; Padres scored four runs in the five games (under 5-0). He allowed nine runs in three IP in his only start vs Arizona this year. San Diego is 4-5 in his home starts— their first 5-inning record with him: 9-8-1

Arizona is 5-6 in its last 11 games; under is 6-2-1 in their last nine. San Diego lost five of its last seven games (under 5-2).

Rockies @ Giants
Chatwood is 2-0, 0.66 in his last three starts; over is 4-1 in his last five. He is 2-0, 2.25 in four starts against the Giants this season. Colorado is 5-7 in his road starts— their first 5-inning record with him: 11-11-1

Moore is 1-2, 6.19 in his last three starts; under is 7-5-1 in his last 13 starts. He is 0-2, 13.50 in three starts vs Colorado this season. Giants are 5-10 in his home starts— their first 5-inning record with him: 4-19-6

Colorado is 9-5 in its last 14 games; under is 5-2 in its last seven games. Giants lost six of their last nine games; under is 5-1 in their last six games.

American League

Red Sox @ Orioles
Sale is 2-1, 2.74 in his last three starts; over is 4-1 in his last five. He is 2-0, 3.21 vs Baltimore this season. Boston is 12-6 in his road starts— their first 5-inning record with him: 14-8-8

Miley is 0-3, 9.00 in his last three starts; under is 5-1 in his last six. He is 2-0, 1.50 vs Boston this season. Baltimore is 6-6 in his home starts— their first 5-inning record with him: 12-16-2

Red Sox are 10-3 in last 13 games; under is 8-3 in their last 11 road games. Baltimore lost 11 of last 13 games; over is 4-2 in their last six.

Minnesota @ New York
Colon is 0-3, 7.54 in his last three starts; under is 4-1 in his last five. Twins are 2-4 in his road starts— their first 5-inning record with him: 6-5-1

Severino is 4-1, 2.21 in his last six starts; over is 9-1 in his last ten. New York is 9-5 in his home starts— their first 5-inning record with him: 16-10-3

Twins lost four of last five games; under is 6-1 in their last seven. New York won six of its last seven games; under is 3-0 in their last three games.

Royals @ Blue Jays
Junis is 4-0, 2.36 in his last seven starts; under is 4-1-1 in his last six. Royals 4-3 in his road starts— their first 5-inning record with him: 7-4-2

Anderson is 1-1, 3.27 in four starts for Toronto (under 3-1). Blue Jays are 1-1 in his home starts— their first 5-inning record with him: 1-1-2

Royals lost five of last six games; under is 6-1 in their last seven. Toronto won seven of last ten games (under 8-2).

A’s @ Tigers
Mengden is 1-0, 1.80 in his last two starts (over 2-2). A’s split his two road starts— their first 5-inning record with him: 2-1-1

Sanchez is 0-3, 10.48 in his last six starts (over 5-1). Detroit is 5-2 in his home starts— their first 5-inning record with him: 6-6-2

A’s are 10-3 in their last 13 games; over is 9-4 in their last 13 road games. Detroit is 2-9 in its last 11 games; over is 9-1 in their last ten home games.

White Sox @ Astros
Shields is 2-0, 3.46 in his last two starts; over is 3-1 in his last four. Chicago is 3-6 in his road starts— their first 5-inning record with him: 5-11-3

Peacock is 2-0, 1.96 in his last four starts; over is 7-5 in his last 12. Astros are 5-3 in his home starts— their first 5-inning record with him: 14-3-2

White Sox won six of last ten games; over is 6-4-1 in their last 11 games. Houston won its last five games; under is 10-3 in their last 13 home games.

Indians @ Angels
Tomlin is 6-0, 2.54 in his last eight starts; under is 5-2 in his last seven. Cleveland is 5-6 in his road starts— their first 5-inning record with him: 9-10-5

Nolasco is 0-2, 4.85 in his last five starts; under is 2-0-1 in his last three starts. Angels are 5-10 in his home starts— their first 5-inning record with him: 9-17-4

Cleveland is 25-1 in its last 26 games; under is 8-3 in their last 11 games. Angels are 3-8 in last 11 games (under 8-3).

Rangers @ Mariners
Cashner is 2-1, 3.20 in his last four starts; over is 4-1 in his last five. He is 1-2, 4.57 in four starts vs Seattle this season. Texas is 6-7 in his road starts— their first 5-inning record with him: 15-7-3

Hernandez is 0-1, 4.15 in his last four starts; under is 4-2 in his last six. He is 1-0, 3.31 in three starts vs Texas this season. Seattle is 5-3 in his home starts— their first 5-inning record with him: 7-6-1

Rangers lost seven of last ten games; over is 10-6-1 in their last 17 games. Seattle lost its last four games; under is 11-3 in their last 14.

Interleague

Cubs @ Rays
Lester is 3-0, 3.71 in his last three starts; over is 6-1 in his last seven starts. Cubs are 10-6 in his home starts— their first 5-inning record with him: 13-10-6

Snell is 2-0, 3.03 in his last five starts; under is 10-4 in his last 14 starts. Tampa Bay is 4-5 in his home starts— their first 5-inning record with him: 8-8-4

Cubs won their last seven games (over 4-3). Tampa Bay is 3-8 in its last 11 games; under is 7-1 in their last eight games.

Record with this pitcher starting

National League
LA-Phil: Wood 17-6; Thompson 3-3
Mil-Pitt: Wilkerson 0-0; Brault 2-0
NY-Mia: Montero 7-9; Urena 16-8
StL-Cin: Weaver 6-1; Davis 3-2
Wsh-Atl: Gonzalez 17-12; Sims 2-5
Az-SD: Ray 17-8; Lamet 9-10
Col-SF: Chatwood 10-13; Moore 9-20

American League
Min-NY: Colon 5-7; Severino 18-11
Bos-Balt: Sale 21-9; Miley 15-15
KC-Tor: Junis 9-4; Anderson 1-3
A’s-Det: Mengden 3-1; Sanchez 7-7
Chi-Hst: Shields 8-11; Peacock 13-6
Clev-LA: Tomlin 12-12; Nolasco 10-20
Tex-Sea: Cashner 12-13; Hernandez 8-6

Interleague
Chi-TB: Lester 17-12; Snell 9-11

Pitchers allowing a run in first inning

National League
LA-Phil: Wood 4-23; Thompson 2-6
Mil-Pitt: Wilkerson 0-0; Brault 1-2
NY-Mia: Montero 3-16; Urena 4-24
StL-Cin: Weaver 1-7; Davis 2-5
Wsh-Atl: Gonzalez 10-29; Sims 2-7
Az-SD: Ray 9-25; Lamet 5-19
Col-SF: Chatwood 5-23; Moore 10-29

American League
Min-NY: Colon 1-12; Severino 6-29
Bos-Balt: Sale 3-30; Miley 12-30
KC-Tor: Junis 3-13; Anderson 1-4
A’s-Det: Mengden 0-4; Sanchez 3-14
Chi-Hst: Shields 6-19; Peacock 2-19
Clev-LA: Tomlin 7-24; Nolasco 12-30
Tex-Sea: Cashner 6-25; Hernandez 7-14

Interleague
Chi-TB: Lester 10-29; Snell 6-20

Umpires

National League
LA-Phil: Over is 11-5 in last 16 Whitson games.
Mil-Pitt: Under is 8-3-2 in last 13 Davis games.
NY-Mia: Last four Rackley games stayed under.
StL-Cin: Under is 8-1 in last nine Segal games.
Wsh-Atl: Six of last eight Hamari games stayed under.
Az-SD: Under is 6-3-1 in last ten Holbrook games.
Col-SF: Home team is 14-3 in last 17 Demuth games.

American League
Min-NY: Over is 5-2 in last seven Cederstrom games.
Bos-Balt: Over is 7-4 in last eleven Tichenor games.
KC-Tor: Four of last five Wegner games went over.
A’s-Det: Under is 4-1-1 in last six Meals games.
Chi-Hst: Four of last six Baker games went over.
Clev-LA: Under is 3-1-1 in last five Hallion games.
Tex-Sea: Over is 8-4 in last dozen Kellogg games.

Interleague
Chi-TB: Over is 17-6-1 in last 24 Gonzalez games.

Interleague play

NL @ AL– 83-57 AL, favorites +$64
AL @ NL– 73-69 NL, favorites +$116
Total: 152-130 AL, favorites +$180

Totals in interleague games
NL @ AL: Over 70-68-4
AL @ NL: Over 74-62-7
Total: Over 144-130-11

Armadillosports.com

Wednesday's Diamond Notes
By Kevin Rogers
VegasInsider.com

Hottest team: Cubs (7-0 last seven) at Rays

The NL Central race is the only worth keeping an eye on over the final two weeks with the Cubs, Brewers, and Cardinals vying for the top spot. Chicago can’t quite distance itself from surging Milwaukee, but the defending champion Cubs are doing their best to grab the division title by winning their seventh straight game on Tuesday at Tampa Bay, 2-1. Since getting swept at home by the Brewers earlier this month, the Cubs swept the Mets with a tremendous offensive output, while allowing seven runs total in their last four victories over the Cardinals and Rays.

Jon Lester heads to the mound on Wednesday looking to stay perfect in September after winning his first three starts this month. The Cubs own a solid 6-1 record in his past seven road starts, while making his first appearance against the Rays since 2014 when he was a member of the Red Sox.

Coldest team: Pirates (0-7 last seven) vs. Brewers

Meanwhile, towards the bottom of the NL Central are the Pirates, who can’t even light up the scoreboard at this point. Pittsburgh has been shut out in each of its first two games against Milwaukee, even though the Bucs allowed only one run in Tuesday’s 1-0 home defeat. Since a 12-2 run in July which briefly had Pittsburgh back in the Wild Card discussion, the Pirates have won more than three straight games only once in the last two months.

Pittsburgh has been held to two runs or less during each game of this losing streak, while this current 1-12 run has come to all NL Central opponents. The only beacon of hope for the Pirates comes from the left arm of Steven Brault, who tossed six innings of one-hit ball in a 7-0 shutout of the Brewers on September 11, the last time Pittsburgh won a game.

Hottest pitcher: Luke Weaver, Cardinals (6-1, 1.89 ERA)

Since the start of August, Weaver has been the leader of this St. Louis rotation by going 6-0 in his past six outings. Weaver hasn’t allowed a run in his last two starts against the Pirates and Reds, while winning all three of his road outings. The Cardinals rallied past the Reds last night in extra innings as Weaver looks to duplicate his effort from his last start against Cincinnati when he scattered two hits and allowed one unearned run in six innings.

Coldest pitcher: Wade Miley, Orioles (8-13, 5.32 ERA)

The Red Sox have taken the first two games of their series at Baltimore in extra innings to creep closer towards another AL East championship. Miley may not be the right guy to stop the bleeding for Baltimore as the southpaw recorded only one out in his last start against the Yankees, while giving up six hits and six earned runs in a 13-5 loss. Baltimore is winless in Miley’s past three outings, but his last victory came at Boston on August 27 in a 2-1 triumph as a +140 underdog.

Biggest OVER run: Tigers (11-5 last 16)

Detroit gutted its roster over the last two months and aren’t playing for anything, as its pitching has suffered of late. The Tigers have lost each of the first two games against the Athletics, while giving up 17 runs in those defeats. For the exception of a 12-0 shutout over the White Sox on Sunday, Detroit pitching has been tagged for at least eight runs in four of the past six games. Anibal Sanchez takes the mound in the series finale against Oakland, as the OVER is 5-1 in the right-hander’s past six starts.

Biggest UNDER run: Pirates (10-1 last 11)

We outlined Pittsburgh’s offensive ineptness above, as the Pirates cashed their eighth UNDER in the last 10 matchups with the Brewers. In their last four home contests, Pittsburgh has scored a total of two runs, while getting shut out three times. Only twice in last 14 games have the Pirates plated four runs or more, which actually came in the two only two wins in this span. The Bucs have cashed the UNDER in three of their past four home series finales, while trying to avoid their third sweep at PNC Park this season.

Matchup to watch: Indians vs. Angels

Cleveland won for the 25th time in the last 26 games in Tuesday’s 6-3 triumph at Los Angeles to kick off its six-game road trip. The Indians last dropped a road contest one month ago in a 7-4 defeat at Kansas City on August 20, while extending their away winning streak to 12 last night. With the victory, Cleveland stayed 1½ games ahead of Houston for the top record in the American League.

The Angels remained 1 ½ games behind the Twins for the second Wild Card spot in the AL after Minnesota lost at New York last night. Ricky Nolasco is winless in his last five starts for the Angels, while coming off a home loss to the Astros in his previous appearance, even though he allowed four hits and two earned runs in six innings of work. Nolasco suffered a loss to the Indians the last time he faced them in late July, 10-4, but turned in a quality start by giving up three earned runs in 6.2 innings.

Josh Tomlin counters for Cleveland as the Indians own a 6-1 record in his past seven starts. Although Tomlin won his last road start at Detroit, the Indians have slumped to a 2-5 record in his last seven outings away from Progressive Field. Cleveland has won all four meetings with Los Angeles, while winning nine consecutive matchups with the Angels since last June.

Betcha didn’t know: The Mariners are slumping at the wrong time by losing four straight games, including last night’s series opener to the Rangers. Andrew Cashner heads to the hill for Texas tonight as the right-hander has been straight money on the road. The Rangers are 4-0 in his past four away starts, while cashing as a +110, +185, +155, and +165 underdog in those outings, while opening as a +140 ‘dog opposite Felix Hernandez tonight.

Biggest public favorite: Astros (-290) vs. White Sox

Biggest public underdog: Royals (+100) at Blue Jays

Biggest line move: Padres (+134 to +128) vs. Diamondbacks

MLB Betting Picks & Tips
By Adam Burke
Bangthebook.com

Oakland (-125) at Detroit; Total: 10

I’m really torn on this game. For one thing, Daniel Mengden should not be a -125 road favorite over anybody. For another thing, the A’s are heading home after a long road trip and the road finale is usually a fade spot. But, as I’ve talked about, I’m looking to fade the Tigers in day games with how little they are invested in the rest of the season. I’m also not a big believer in Anibal Sanchez and neither is the rest of the market given this line.

This line just feels completely off to me. Mengden is coming off of easily his best start as a Major League with a complete game shutout in Philadelphia. With nine shutout innings, Mengden lowered his career ERA to 5.97 in 95 innings of work. He has a 4.60 FIP and a 4.58 xFIP in those 18 starts. He hasn’t walked a lot of batters, but he hasn’t missed very many bats either. He’s fortunate to be living on a .221 BABIP against, which is a byproduct of allowing five home runs out of 20 hits in 23 innings of work. He doesn’t have an extreme fly ball split or anything that would support a low BABIP, so there’s regression coming in that area. I don’t know if it will happen today with the Tigers in a day game, but Mengden is not a guy that I am excited to back moving forward.

Anibal Sanchez is terrible. I’m not going to disagree with anybody that says that. He has a 7.03 ERA with a 6.00 FIP and a 4.53 xFIP. He’s worked just 88.1 innings this season. The Tigers are going to decline his option, so he will be a free agent at the end of the year. There is a lot of incentive for him to put together some good starts here at the end. He struck out 11 over six innings last time out against the White Sox, but he hadn’t had a good start since early August prior to that one. It’s tough to figure out what, exactly, we will be getting from Sanchez here. He’s given up 26 HR in 88.1 innings of work, which isn’t good against a launch-angle-crazed Oakland team.

Still, I have to take a stab on the Tigers as a plus money dog in what truly amounts to a getaway day game for Oakland. Mengden had an out-of-body experience last time out and has clear signs of regression. Sanchez is awful, but how invested will Oakland be today? I don’t expect either team to be invested, but Sanchez has some incentive and the Tigers have been using some more young players down the stretch run.

Kansas City at Toronto (-120); Total: 9.5

Jake Junis is going to be a fixture in that Kansas City rotation going forward. Brett Anderson will hope to be a fixture in somebody’s rotation if his body allows him to be a part of the team every five days. I’m not surprised to see that the sharp side in early betting looks to be the Royals. Junis is a guy that I have touted in the past that has better stuff than his stat line would indicate.

Junis has a 4.15 ERA with a 4.45 FIP and a 4.69 xFIP, but you have to consider what he has done since he returned to the Royals. Junis was recalled for good on August 6. In that span of 44.1 innings, he has a 38/4 K/BB ratio with a 3.05/2.79/3.85 pitcher slash. He’s done a good job of keeping the ball in the park and has shown excellent control. It’s fair to wonder what his long-term projections look like and he more often than not winds up being a low-end #3 starter or a quality #4 starter, but the market has taken notice of what I have been seeing.

It has been a long and winding road for Brett Anderson. Since 2009, Anderson has only managed to stay healthy enough to work 729.2 MLB innings. He was awful in six starts with the Cubs and spent some time without a home until Toronto offered to give him a shot. He has a 3.27/4.11/3.80 in his four starts and 22 innings with the Blue Jays. He’s thrown a lot of strikes and has done a decent job of inducing weak contact. I certainly understand the market’s hesitance to back him, since he hasn’t been reliable since his 2015 season with the Dodgers. He’s also battling a blister issue, so there’s some uncertainty with that as well.

I like both of these guys in this spot, to be honest. I’d be looking to play under the 9.5 total. Junis and Anderson both throw a lot of strikes and these are two decent defensive teams. I have a slight lean to the Blue Jays in this spot. The Royals looked pretty disinterested in Cleveland, with some fielding miscues and a lot of laziness from the position players on tougher balls to field. Maybe that was just a phase, but it didn’t impress me, as the team knows its competitive window has slammed shut.

Chicago (-130) at Tampa Bay; Total: 8

It was good to see Chris Archer get back on track, but the Rays have had an inept offense for the better part of two months and it was on display again on Tuesday in a 2-1 loss. Things don’t easier today, as Jon Lester takes his turn in the rotation for the Cubs. He’ll be opposed by Blake Snell.

Lester has seen a 16.8 percent drop in his LOB% this season, which means that he has a 4.30 ERA just one season after posting a 2.44 ERA. His FIP and xFIP are also higher, so it hasn’t just been the LOB% regression. There’s more to it than that, as the Cubs defense has fallen off the pace a bit and Lester has allowed more home runs. In fact, Lester has the highest HR/FB% of his career. I don’t think that will be a problem at Tropicana Field, though. The ball doesn’t carry as well here as it does in other parks. Furthermore, the Rays are in the bottom five in wOBA against LHP and lead the league in K% against LHP. The one benefit for Lester this season is that he has maintained a high strikeout rate again this season with 169 in his 165.1 innings of work. I think he shuts down the Rays lineup.

The question then becomes how well the Cubs fare with Blake Snell. Snell has a 4.25 ERA with a 4.36 FIP and a 4.74 xFIP in his 114.1 innings of work. The erratic left-hander is a very high-variance pitcher. He doesn’t allow a lot of hard contact because his stuff moves a ton, but his control and command are both worrisome. He’s walked 52 and only struck out 100 this season, so he hasn’t missed as many bats as he did last year. Snell actually has a very respectable 3.75 ERA with a 3.72 FIP and a 4.20 xFIP in his last 11 starts. He has only issued 18 walks in that span against 55 strikeouts in 62.1 innings. He is getting better and is showing signs of developing.

Given the unfamiliar lefty angle and the fact that Snell may be on to something, I’ll take a shot at the under here. The Rays are a bad offensive ballclub overall and the Cubs haven’t been what most people expected entering this season.

Washington (-155) at Atlanta; Total: 9

Yep, I’m doing this again. We’re going to fade Gio Gonzalez. Gonzalez has a 2.68 ERA with a 3.87 FIP and a 4.21 xFIP. He has a .254 BABIP against and an 83.7 percent LOB%. His vesting option just vested for reaching 180 innings. He celebrated by allowing five runs on seven hits to the Braves over five innings. He struck out eight, but we saw that BABIP and LOB% regression. I’m betting on it again here. He’s had some extra downtime between starts, which may help him, but I don’t care. These stats and these regression possibilities are the hallmarks of my handicapping. I’m taking Atlanta today.

Cleveland (-120) at Los Angeles; Total: 8.5

The Indians just kept right on winning, which did surprise me a little bit. Most players say that the second game with a big time change is the tougher one, but I’m not sure if that carries over to when rosters have expanded. Angel Stadium is a very good venue for Josh Tomlin. It hasn’t been a good venue for Ricky Nolasco, but no venue seems to be.

Tomlin has allowed five earned runs across 16.1 innings since returning from the DL. Tomlin’s overall numbers aren’t great with a 5.04 ERA, a 4.13 FIP, and a 4.08 xFIP, but he’s shown his usual pristine control and throwing a lot of strikes often leads to giving up some home runs. Fortunately, he’s in a good park for suppressing power. The sample size is small and spread out, but Tomlin has only allowed three home runs over his last 40.2 innings of work. He’s a guy that constantly has to tweak and make adjustments. He’s talked this season about getting too cutter-dependent and he’s mixed up his arsenal a bit better of late.

Ricky Nolasco has a 5.11/5.23/4.75 pitcher slash on the season. Like Tomlin, he has allowed a lot of home runs, but he doesn’t have the great control to go along with it. Nolasco has allowed 34 HR this season. He’s pitched much better at home with a .266/.320/.441 slash against at home and a .296/.360/.578 slash against on the road. I think I’d wait around on this total and see if we can get a 9 with reasonable juice to pop and play the under. The Indians could be a little sluggish with that second game out west and I think this is a decent park for Tomlin to pitch in with that marine air knocking balls hit in the air down a little bit.

MLB Line Drive
Covers.com

Double-Play Picks

Arizona Diamondbacks at San Diego Padres (+128, 7.5)

It’s a battle of National League West rivals when the Diamondbacks visit the Padres to close out a three-game set and surprisingly, it’s the Padres who will be going for the sweep Wednesday night in San Diego.

Arizona has dropped three straight on the road, including the first two of this series, after winning 11 of its previous 12 road games. The problem has been that the D-Backs' offense has dried up a bit, scoring just 2.0 runs per game during their current three-game mini slide.

Luckily for the D-backs, chances are they won’t need to score too many runs tonight as they send Robbie Ray to the hill.

There haven’t been too many starters better than Ray this season. The lefty is 14-5 with a 2.74 ERA and a 1.13 WHIP, but it’s his road splits that are a little ridiculous. Away from Chase Field Ray is 8-1 with a 1.33 ERA and a 0.93 WHIP.

We don’t mean to gush, but the D-backs southpaw has actually been getting better as the season has gone on. In his last five starts he is 5-0 with 1.39 ERA, a 0.77 WHIP while racking up 55 strikeouts.

Dinelson Lamet toes the rubber for the Padres and, while he has been San Diego’s best starter, he gets absolutely no run support and in his lone career start against the Diamondbacks (back on June 6) he allowed nine runs (seven earned) on five hits and five walks in 3.0 innings pitched.

The skid ends here.

Pick: Diamondbacks -138

Cleveland Indians at Los Angeles Angels (+110, 8.5)

The Indians and Angels go to battle Wednesday night in Game 2 of their three-game series. Cleveland took the opener 6-3 last night and look to keep their momentum rolling tonight.

Something weird is happening right now between the oddsmakers and this historic Cleveland Indians team. They were winners for us yesterday and when we locked in our pick in the morning they were actually slight underdogs with red-hot Mike Clevinger on the mound. Today they are facing "Shitty" Nolasco and they are only slight -120 favorites.

Something isn't adding up. The Angels have certainly exceeded expectations in 2017, but they aren't in the same stratosphere as the Indians who have now won 25 of their last 26 games overall and 20 of their last 22 road games, including 12 in a row away from home.

Josh Tomlin gets the ball for the Tribe today. He's been very good with three straight team wins since returning from the disabled list with his hamstring injury. In his last two starts on the road, Tomlin has allowed only one run (0.93 ERA) and six hits over 9.2 innings of work.

Nolasco, as mentioned above, gets the start for the Angels tonight. He has team losses in six of his last seven starts against the Indians, the Angels have dropped three of his last four overall, and his team win/loss is only 10-20 on the season (5-10 at home). Nolasco has allowed a whopping 34 home runs this season and gets paid a lot of money to be "Shitty".

As mentioned above, this is a bit of a blind play on the best team in baseball - but it's also worth noting that they have won nine consecutive meetings with the Angels.

Pick: Indians -120

Yesterday's Picks: 2-0
Season To Date: 149-137-15

Streaking and Slumping Starting Pitchers

Streaking: Luke Weaver, St. Louis Cardinals (6-1, 1.89 ERA, $504)

The Cardinals may be falling out the National League playoff picture, but they can be excited about the bright future ahead of young right-hander Luke Weaver.

Since Weaver has taken a regular spot in the Cardinals rotation back on Aug. 23, the 24-year-old has been straight dealing. He is 5-0 in his last five starts with a 1.15 ERA, a WHIP of 0.89 and has struck out 42 batters, while walking just four. Oh, he also has a current scoreless innings streak of 15.

He’ll look to extend that streak when the Cardinals visit the Reds as -189 favorites.

Slumping: Wade Miley, Baltimore Orioles (8-13, 5.32 ERA, $3)

There have definitely been some bumps in the road during Miley’s first full season with the Orioles and the bumps have been more pronounced of late.

Miley is 0-3 with a 9.00 ERA and a 1.75 WHIP in his last three starts, which includes a dreadful performance in his last outing against the Yankees, where he allowed six runs on six hits on just 0.1 innings of work.

Miley will try to turn things around when the Orioles host the Red Sox as +170 underdogs.

Wednesday's Top Trends

* The San Francisco Giants are 1-9 in Matt Moore's last 10 starts vs. a team with a winning record. +110 today vs. Rockies (82-68).
* The Chicago Cubs are 7-0 in their last 7 overall and 11-1 in their last 12 interleague games. -125 today @ Rays.
* The Washington Nationals are 0-9 in Gio Gonzalez's last nine road starts vs. Atlanta. -150 today @ Braves.
* The Cleveland Indians have won 25 of their last 26 games overall. -120 today @ Angels.

Weather To Keep An Eye On

There shouldn't be any precipitation across Major League Baseball today.

There will be a stiff wind blowing in from left field this afternoon at Yankee Stadium where the Yanks will be taking on the Twins. The total is currently set at 8.5.

AT&T Park in San Francisco will feature it's usual 15 mile per hour wind blowing out to center field tonight. The total for tonight's game between the Rockies and Giants has been set at 8.

Ump Of The Day

Gary Cederstrom will be calling balls and strikes this afternoon in The Bronx and that is good news for Yankees' backers. Cederstrom is one of baseball's top "homer" umpires at 20-9 (69 percent) thus far for the 2017 season. Dating back to last season the home team has won 43 of his last 58 games behind the dish (74.1 percent).

The Yankees are big -300 favorites over Bartolo Colon and the Twins.