Baseball gambling pick
January 28th MLB news ... Welcome to Baseball gambling pick, the place with the baseball bettor in mind. Scoring a profit over the baseball season comes down to being as informed as possible on all of the key statistics and trends.
Welcome to Baseball gambling pick, the place with the baseball bettor in mind. Scoring a profit over the baseball season comes down to being as informed as possible on all of the key statistics and trends.
Need to know how a team hits left-handed pitching? How about information on how a team plays during the day? You will find all of that information and more, by logging on daily throughout the baseball season.
MLB News
Milwaukee Brewers acquire Zack Greinke from Kansas City Royals
2010-12-28
The Milwaukee Brewers proved that they are dead serious in forming a more formidable team next season when they acquired Zack Greinke from the Kansas City Royals.
The Brewers also acquired shortstop Yuniesky Betancourt plus cash considerations, while sending Alcides Escobar, Lorenzo Cain, Jake Odorizzi, and Jeremy Jeffress to the Royals.
Brewers’ general manager Doug Melvin expressed his excitement for successfully acquiring Greinke, despite giving up a lot of talents like prospects Odorizzi and Jeffress. Melvin said that the arrival of Greinke, whom he tagged as one of the top young pitchers today, will give them a big boost next season.
“Zack Greinke is one of the top young pitchers in the game today,” Melvin said in the team’s official statement. “We are very excited to add him to our new rotation. Zack brings great physical skills and athleticism to the team and is an outstanding competitor. This trade is a credit to our scouting and player development staff as their hard work and judgment provided us the talented prospects that Kansas City will be receiving.”
Milwaukee outfielder Corey Hart also expressed his excitement after hearing the news and he declared that the Brewers would be a tough nut to crack next season, especially after acquiring Shaun Marcum earlier this offseason.
“We were getting better with Marcum, now Greinke,” Hart said. “Brewers are for real!”
Royals general manager Dayton Moore, on the other hand, said that Greinke, who was 10-14 with a 4.17 ERA last season, would be a big loss, but the young players they acquired from Milwaukee would fit in their system and their rotation that also features up-and-coming players.
“We expect to be competitive next year,” Moore said. “We're still working to improve our baseball team.”
Moore also revealed that Greinke, who was 60-67 with a 3.82 ERA in his more than six seasons with the Royals, was very cooperative during the trade talks and the veteran pitcher even agreed to waive the no-trade clause in his contract that he signed on January 2009.
“He was very much open to it at the end of the day,” Moore said. “A big part of my heart will always pull for Zack. What he overcame, the success he had here, to the point it's not easy to make these types of deals. You would prefer to have him here and sign him long-term but it just wasn't something we could do.”
Moore reiterated that the decision to deal Greinke was a difficult decision, but they have to make the move in their bid to rebuild for their future. Moore is expecting Greinke to shine in the National League next season.
“This guy's one of the best fielding pitchers in the game,” Moore said. “You can't bunt on him. He holds runners. He's a studier. I think he's going to do terrific.”
With the deal, the Royals prove that they are dead serious in their rebuilding process and adding Odorizzi, who was one of the top minor league pitching prospects, will give them a boost next season, as well as Escobar and Jeffress, who both had decent performances last season. The Brewers are +2000 to win the National League pennant in 2011 according to the Baseball Odds at sportsbook.com the home of MLB betting.
MLB: Major League Baseball Trendy Talk
2010-06-09
This week’s trendy talk Wednesday feature focuses in on four meaningful baseball contests. These games will be affected by some fairly distinct betting angles so be sure to read the analysis before hitting the confirm button on your wagers. If you need more, be sure to visit the GAME MATCHUPS page on Sportsbook.com for more key betting info.
Florida at Philadelphia 7:05 E
Both these NL East clubs busted out scoring slumps last night as they totaled 18 runs on 26 hits, with Philadelphia (31-26, -5.4 units) winning 10-8. Because of tonight’s pitching matchup, they could both go right back into batting slumps. Roy Halladay (8-3, 2.03 ERA) goes for the Phillies and Josh Johnson (6-2, 2.10) for Florida (28-31, -5.5).
Sportsbook.com has the Phillies as -160 money line home favorites and as good as Doc Halladay is, Johnson isn’t too shabby with the Marlins 41-18 when he starts and 13-5 when he is underdog of +150 or less. With the way the Phils have been hitting lately, Halladay probably feels like he’s back in Toronto and is 5-9 (-11.8 Units) against the ML after giving up two or less earned runs in his last two outings over the last two seasons. (Team's Record)
It’s not all doom and gloom for Philadelphia as they are 29-15 vs. an NL starting pitcher whose WHIP is 1.250 or better and the floundering Fish (four straight losses) are 1-11 versus a NL starting pitcher whose ERA is 3.50 or lower this season.
San Diego at N.Y. Mets 7:10 E
The Padres (34-24, +13.3) got a rare taste of their own medicine, falling 2-1 in extra innings to New York (31-27, +4.1). Even with last night’s defeat, San Diego is uncanny 9-3 when a total of four or less runs are scored this year. Mat Latos (5-4, 3.26) has the unfortunate luck of drawing another top line pitcher in tonight’s action. Latos has been matched against Halladay, Tim Hudson, Felix Hernandez, Josh Johnson, Yovani Gallardo and Jonathan Sanchez (three times) and has to look at Johan Santana (4-2, 2.76 ERA) this evening.
Santana has thrown 15 straight scoreless innings and has a 0.74 ERA over his last five starts and his teammates are thriving at Citi Field. The Mets are 23-9 at home and are riding their second nine-game winning streak in the Big Apple. New York is 7-0 at home after three or more consecutive wins this season and is a -150 ML favorite. Santana is his career is 104-33 as a favorite of -150 or more. (Team's Record) San Diego will attempt to counter and is 9-3 after four or more consecutive road games in 2010.
L.A. Angels at Oakland 10:05 E
Though it seldom gets much play nationally, the Angels (32-29, +2.2) and Athletics (31-29, +3.7) is one of the more heated division rivalries in baseball. The teams have split the first two of a four game series and Oakland will attempt to retake second place on the AL West behind Dallas Braden (4-5, 3.77), who hasn’t won since tossing a perfect game on Mother’s Day. Braden is 0-3 with a 4.45 ERA since May 9th; however oddsmakers still have the left-hander and the A’s as -128 favorites. Braden is 5-13 (-12.1 Units) against the ML as a home favorite of -110 or higher. (A's Record)
The Halos had their six-game winning stopped last night with 10-1 thumping and hand the ball to Joe Saunders (4-6, 4.78), who could be spokesperson for a yoyo company with his up and down performances. Saunders and the Angels are 13-4 in road tests vs. AL teams scoring 4.7 or less runs a game since 2008 and the port-sider is 10-4 vs. his rival. Even with last night’s loss, the Angels are 14-6 at McAfee Coliseum the past three seasons.
St. Louis at L.A. Dodgers 10:10 E
Manager Tony LaRussa tried to play the percentages, essentially giving away the first game of the series in Los Angeles with his pitching choices and coming back with Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright (8-3, 2.05 ERA) the next two games. His plan was foiled as Hiroki Kuroda and two relievers combined for a six-hitter in the Dodgers 1-0 shutout victory. St. Louis (33-26, -5) hasn’t been great this year, however they have avoided long losing streaks, but our in danger of losing four in a row for the first time since June 5-9, 2009.
Having Wainwright to pitch will be a big plus, as he is 3-1 with a 1.20 ERA and 36 strikeouts in 30 innings over his last four overall outings and has a 1.23 ERA in three starts against the Dodgers (35-24, +4.8). With the Cardinals a -105 betting option, they and Wainwright are 14-3 when the money line is +125 to -125 over the last two seasons.
The Blue Crew is in the midst of its longest homestand of the year (13 games) and have won seven of first nine and they own the finest record in the big leagues since May 9 at 22-7. Clayton Kershaw (5-3, 3.06) toes the rubber for L.A., with his club 37-15 at Dodger Stadium with a money line of -100 to -150 since last year.
MLB: MLB Series Betting - Atlanta at San Francisco
2010-04-09
Both the Braves and Giants showed considerable improvement in 2009 and both hope to be able to continue that momentum into a new season, leading to postseason baseball. They meet this weekend in the Bay Area with the host Giants priced as a -130 series favorite according to Sportsbook.com. Let’s take a look at the series game-by-game.
The series opener is a game of firsts for both squads. This is the home opener for San Francisco who swept Houston in their building and this the first road game of a new campaign for Atlanta who won series over Chicago.
The Braves might be without one of their top sticks in the lineup as Chipper Jones strained his oblique muscle in batting practice yesterday and was forced out of the game on Thursday. Depending on the severity, he could miss one game or the entire series. That means others have to step up in his place like Brian McCann or rookie Jason Heyward for Braves club that is 29-47 on the road the last two years in the first half of the season.
The Braves welcome back Tim Hudson, who didn’t pitch until September last season after elbow surgery, but feels great and is ready for new campaign. “I feel like I had better stuff than I had before surgery,” Hudson told the Braves’ official Web site following a spring start. “It almost feels like I’m going out there and opening up a new present.” Atlanta is 8-3 when Hudson starts after scoring two runs or less and the right-hander is 1-2 with a 3.86 ERA in four career starts at AT&T Park.
Everyone expects the Giants to have great pitching again, but they scored 18 runs in taking all three games vs. Astros, which included 19 base hits in Wednesday’s finale. San Francisco was very comfortable at home last season with 52-29 record.
Jonathan Sanchez will try to provide manager Bruce Boche with a fourth straight strong performance from the San Fran starters, which limited the Astros to three earned runs and 13 hits in 19 2/3 innings. Sanchez is entrenched in Giants lore, throwing no-hitter last season, the first in 33-years for San Francisco. He has classic three-quarters lefty delivery with low 90’s fastball and sweeping curveball. He’s improved his split pitch that he can fade down and away from right-hand batters.
Sportsbook.com has Atlanta as -110 money line favorite with total Un8 for this afternoon opener. The Braves ended last season winning 21 of last 28 road contests and is 9-3-1 UNDER in game one of series. The Giants are in potentially negative spot, with 9-23 record with Sanchez as underdog starter and they were 15-5-3 OVER as home pooch.
Game 1 Edge: San Francisco
The early part of the schedule is perfect time for manager’s to get their whole roster involved. The Braves website is suggesting that could be true. Catcher McCann is expected to be off in the series afternoon opener after catching a night game. McCann should be back in the batting order on Saturday. Fourth outfielder Matt Diaz is presumed to play in at least one game and Omar Infante is expected to fit in somewhere in the infield.
There has been conflicting reports about who the game two starter will be, however Derek Lowe is on normal rest, thus he’s expected to take the mound. Lowe allowed five earned runs in six innings against Chicago on Opening Day and didn’t look completely at ease with the changes he’s made in delivery to get more sink on his pitches. The Braves won Lowe’s last four road starts in 2009 and he’s 4-1 with a 2.13 ERA in his last nine starts against the Giants.
San Francisco is expected to counter with fifth start Todd Wellemeyer, who made the club as a non-roster invitee, beating out a couple of top prospects for the job, at least for now. The 31-year old righty was cut loose by St. Louis after 7-10 season (5.89 ERA), which saw him surrender 160 hits in 122 1/3 innings, including 19 that went over the fence. Expect Atlanta to load up with left-handed bats since that is really a troublesome area for Wellemeyer. Possibly the Giants can hit their way to a victory and they are 6-2 at home against right-hand starters to begin the series.
Game 2 Edge: Atlanta
Tim Lincecum is expected to close the series for Giants in afternoon action and was dazzling in his initial start of the season. The two-time Cy Young winner looked intent on a third, hurling seven shutout innings, conceding four hits –all singles, fanning seven Houston batters and walking none. He will look to master the Braves lineup and is 5-1 with a 2.72 ERA in six career starts against the Atlanta.
Bobby Cox could counter Lincecum with Kenshin Kawakami, his fifth starter. The Japanese right-hander was 7-12 with 3.86 ERA last season and earned the nickname “Dragonslayer” in out-pitching Roy Halladay and Ervin Santana last year for wins. He’ll have his chance to enhance that image against San Fran’s ace, being you typical Far East pitcher with array of fastballs, late-breaking sliders and downward curveballs, unafraid to throw any or all pitches on any count. Kawakami will get smoked if he throws the ball over the plate.
Game 3 Edge: San Francisco
The key to the series is the first game, as the latter two contests have team aces up against No. 5 starters. Both bullpens have been sharp to start the year so not much difference there. For this series we’ll give the nod to the Giants because of history in the Bay Area. San Francisco has won four in a row over Atlanta and seven of eight at AT&T Park.
Sportsbook.com series odds: Atlanta Even, San Francisco -130
StatFox Edge Pick: San Francisco
MLB: Cincinnati up against wicked 90 percent system
2009-08-05
The Cincinnati Reds have fallen into the abyss and are engaged in a battle they really can’t win at the moment. Things started to go south just before the All-Star break, losing six of eight. They have gotten even worse lately, with eight straight losses while posting just one win in their last 15 contests. Making matters worse, the Reds are up against a nasty betting system as they take on the Cubs on Wednesday. No wonder 85% of bettors are backing Chicago at Sportsbook.com.
The offense in particular is to blame, having nine hits as the high water mark in last 11 games. The Cincinnati bats have generated an atrocious 3.1 runs per game during stretch and they have lacked pitching support as bailout backup plan, since they have been outscored by almost three runs per game (2.93) during this horrendous period.
It doesn’t figure to get any easier tonight against their division rival Chicago Cubs (57-48, -0.4 units). The Cubs are a National League-best 14-5 (+8.85) since the All-Star game and are mere percentage points ahead of St. Louis for the lead in the NL Central. With two victories already in hand in the series, the Cubs have won six in a row over the Reds this season.
Chicago will go for the sweep behind Rich Harden (7-6, 4.50 ERA), who has worked out mechanical issues. Harden was having difficulties with his stride, causing him to throw everything up in the strike zone. Since making correction, Harden has 1.50 ERA in his last four starts and picked up two wins. The right-hander has been sterling on the road all year with 4-1 record and 2.19 ERA in eight assignments.
With Cincinnati scoring a measly 2.6 runs per game in this eight-game losing streak, they are +165 home underdogs according to Sportsbook.com and run up against this puissant system.
Play Against all underdogs with a money line of +150 or more, who is cold hitting team - batting .200 or worse over their last three games, against opponent with a sizzling starting pitcher, with WHIP 1.000 or less over his last five starts.
With the Reds 4-15 at Great American Ballpark after five straight games with less than 10 hits, it is even more difficult to combat a system that is 40-4, 90.9 percent since 2005. The Cubs are bashing bad baseball teams like the Reds and are 9-0 vs. clubs outscored by opposition by 0.5 or more runs a game in the second half of the season.
Take a close look at playing against Cincy the results are in your favor to be satisfied.
Baseball: College World Series Betting Preview
2009-06-12
The road to Omaha, Nebraska and the College World Series has been completed for eight college baseball teams. The betting table is set as well, as Sportsbook has title odds for each of the teams. Read on for some key info on every one, then head over to the LIVE ODDS page for the latest prices.
The schools feature traditional powers like LSU, Texas, Cal State Fullerton and Arizona State. But parity has invaded college baseball as well, with Southern Mississippi and Virginia, making first-ever appearances. North Carolina has been a frequent participant in recent years and Arkansas returns for the first time in five seasons. Based on the numbers, six of the eight teams are given legitimate chance to walk away as the kings of the college diamond, meaning this is wide open tournament that could go many different ways. This is not a great spot to bet on first timer, since the last team to make initial trip to Omaha and win the whole tournament was Minnesota, 53 years ago. Here is team-by-team preview, odds by Sportsbook.com.
Arkansas (39-22) Last CWS was 2004 (+1200 to win title)
The Razorbacks started hot, played poorly at the end of the season and got hot again as the postseason began, clinching berth sweeping Florida State on their own field. If Arkansas can start fast, they are capable, with hitters Andy Wilkins, Ben Tschepikow and Chase Leavitt leading the way. The Hogs need big efforts from starters Dallas Keuchel and Brett Eibner to get off to fast start. Arkansas is believed to be the worst team in their bracket, however once they believe, these Hogs are a heap of trouble.
Cal State-Fullerton (47-14) Last CWS was 2007 (+250 to win title)
The Titans are the favorites, making their 16th trip to Omaha and sixth since 2001. CS-Fullerton has four championship banners and is loaded on offense. Cal State-Fullerton has six players hitting .335 or better, led by outfielder Josh Fellhauer who is hitting robust .399. The Titans also feature strong hurlers like All-American candidate Daniel Renken, who was 11-2 record and a 2.36 ERA and freshman Noe Ramirez who is 10-1 with a 2.86 ERA. The bullpen has lots of answers, meaning if a starter fails, they have plenty of ways to close down opponents. This is the most balanced squad in the field with a lot of weapons, playing great baseball right now.
Virginia (48-13) First CWS appearance (+400 to win title)
The Cavaliers might be first timers in the tournament, nonetheless, no doubting the quality and competitiveness they bring. Virginia won the ACC tournament and swept then No.1 Cal-Irvine. After that much excitement, they handed the MLB’s top draft choice, Stephen Strasburg his only loss of the season. Still forced to play on the road, Virginia lost first super regional game at Mississippi, only to come back and take the next two against the Rebels. This confidence boosting trip is the same path Fresno State took last season, on the way to College World Series championship. The Cavaliers hit .327 as a team and have three above average starting pitchers and solid relievers led by Kevin Arico and Tyler Wilson. Dangerous club for certain.
LSU (51-16) Last CWS was 2008 (+375 to win title)
The Tigers won five titles between 1991 and 2000, but have been unable to pick up a sixth since that time. LSU has played the minimum of five games in the tournament and are playing with extreme confidence at this time. Coach Paul Mainieri likes his team’s chances after last year’s experience. The Tigers can score runs with second sacker DJ LeMahieu leading the team in batting average at a .340. Jared Mitchell hits for average (.325), has some pop in the bat and converted almost 80 percent of his 44 steal attempts. Anthony Ranaudo and Louis Coleman will be as good as any two front end starters in the field. Freshman closer Matty Ott has 16 saves and impressive 15-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Has to be one of the favorites.
Arizona State (49-12) Last CWS was 2007 (+350 to win title)
The Sun Devils expected to be here last year, before being upset by eventual champion Fresno State. Arizona State started the season, with one of its youngest teams in years and if pitching wins championships, this ASU club is well-stocked. If San Diego State’s Strasburg is the best pitcher in the college game, than right behind him is Mike Leake. He comes in with 16-1 record and miniscule 1.36 ERA. He’s matched with Josh Spence, who is 9-1 with 2.33 ERA and each pitcher easily averages better than a punch-out per inning. The pen has reliable arms coach Pat Murphy can count on. Arizona State has the lowest earned run average among the field of eight and if the Sun Devils aluminum bats heat up, you never know.
North Carolina (51-16) Last CWS was 2008 (+350 to win title)
The Tar Heels are making their fourth consecutive CWS showing, a first for ACC squad. North Carolina has been doomsday machine in the tourney, winning by better than seven runs per game. UNC doesn’t boast a sensational lineup, being more reliant on a number of players. Irregardless how everyone performs, first baseman Dustin Ackley and his across the diamond counterpart, 3B Kyle Seager have to have big games for Heels to play on. North Carolina has exceptional pitching depth, with Alex White and Adam Warren at the front of the line. Relievers Brian Moran and Colin Bates are two of the best in Omaha and should give offense chance, since they can shutdown opposing offenses. If Ackley and Seager shine, Tar Heels in the chase.
Southern Mississippi (40-24) First CWS appearance (+1400 to win title)
This team makes Cinderella’s story really look a fairy tale. Head coach Corky Palmer announced in April he was retiring and never could have dreamed of all-expense trip with his team to Nebraska. The Golden Eagles are collection of veteran players, who just found a way. USM is nothing special offensively, but with the likes of Bo Davis hitting .372 with 13 long balls, they hustle and manufacture runs. Don’t expect the Golden Eagles to be nervous, they know they were a long shot to even be in CWS, let alone win it. C-USA Pitcher of the Year Todd McInnis is the real thing, however beyond JR Ballinger and relief pitcher Collin Cargill, the kind of pitching depth needed to compete at this level is thin.
Texas (46-14) Last CWS was 2005 (+300 to win title)
No team has been to Omaha as much as the Longhorns, who have made 33 trips. Coach Augie Garrido has won more games than any D-1 baseball head coach and brings one of his more intriguing teams to Rosenblatt Field. No pitching staff has the depth of Texas, which is why the Horns have a shot. Offensively, Texas has the lowest collect batting average in the field at .287, meaning the hitters have to step up or pitchers have to be domineering. Starters Chance Ruffin, Cole Green and Taylor Jungmann are each capable of low run-low hit games and relief pitchers Austin Wood and Austin Dicharry can shut the door. The Longhorns are comfortable playing low scoring games, making them legit threat.
StatFox Pick – LSU
Second Pick – Cal State- Fullerton
MLB: American League Series Betting Preview
2008-10-10
If familiarity breeds contempt, than this has the making of a special American League pennant series. East Division rivals Boston and Tampa Bay will begin their quest for a trip to the World Series when they start their best-of-7 set on Friday night. Despite having home field advantage, the Rays find themselves as a +115 series underdog according to oddsmakers. Here’s a look at the matchup.
Start with the fact these are division partners, hard to call them rivals until this year with the history of the two clubs. In the first 13 games between these teams, the home team won every time. Tampa Bay finally broke the string on Sept. 9 in Boston and won the next day also, winning a series in Beantown for the first time in their existence (1-23-2). Later in the month, the Red Sox won for the first time in Tampa and many believed this is where they would roll past the Rays and win the division, instead Joe Maddon’s young team stood up and won the next two games, effectively holding serve and later captured the AL East crown.
Having seen how well Tampa Bay played all year, it’s easy to forget how incredibly bad this franchise has been since its inception, thus a little history lesson. Until this year, Tampa Bay had never been above .500; in fact they had never won 71 games in a season. Just two seasons ago, the Rays tied the major league record (Philadelphia Athletics 1943) for fewest road wins after July 1, winning three times in last 39 games played. On top of that, they led the major leagues in the number of leads blown with 94 and set a new American League record by losing 60 games that they had led. The Rays led in 121 games, but won only 61. Based on its putrid past and playing in baseball’s toughest division, Tampa had about as much chance of winning the AL East as the world’s fattest man getting married (he is).
The Boston Red Sox are the best example of what a well run organization looks like in baseball today. The Boston Red Sox were New England’s version of the Chicago Cubs for decades. The “Sox” had several close calls over the years to be World Series champions, but in the end, always came up short. That was until 2004, with a new ownership group in place, Red Sox management took what appeared to be huge risk in hiring 28-year old Theo Epstein to be their general manager the prior year. Epstein and the rest of the franchise put a plan together to play a certain style of baseball and trade away players that didn’t fit or trade for those that did. The farm system was immediately revamped to reflect this culture and in short, this has worked to near perfection with two World Series titles in four years.
These two teams had a pretty good baseball fight in June, by the sports standards and bad blood was spilled at least verbally by both teams. Daisuke Matsuzaka (18-3, 2.97) will pitch Game 1 in Tampa, mostly because how well he has pitched on the road with 9-0 record and Boston winning 11 of his 13 starts. Josh Beckett (14-12, 4-12) will follow, with Red Sox manager Terry Francona saying Beckett is healthy and was just rusty against Los Angeles. Back home, baseball’s best postseason starting pitcher of late John Lester (17-6, 3.01) will go and Tim Wakefield (10-11, 4.13) will start Game 4.
Manager Maddon will go with the rotation he had for the ALDS, with James Shields (15-8, 3.58) leading off at Tropicana Field, where he and Rays are 15-3 this year. Left-hander Scott Kazmir (13-8, 3.48) is next being their most experienced member on the staff. When they travel to Boston, Matt Garza (11-10 3.82) will start Game 3 despite being 4-7 on the road. Andy Sonnanstine (14-9, 4.34) will complete the initial go-round.
StatFox Take: Because Boston is so patient at the plate, their approach can be demoralizing to competitors, ask the Angels about the number of two strike hits and two out runs the Red Sox scored in the ALDS. Because Tampa Bay pitchers don’t have overpowering stuff other than Kazmir, Boston will have their chances if they continue same approach. Tampa Bay actually is similar to the Red Sox in how they work at the plate, with a high walk total. The Rays hit more home runs and can make things happen on the base paths with 142 steals this year.
The Red Sox are tough, intelligent team that understands how to win. Their starting pitching beyond Matsuzaka and Lester is a question mark coming into this series. Will Tampa Bay’s youth catch up to them? This team is no fluke and with a couple of guys hitting home runs like B.J. Upton or Evan Longoria, anything becomes possible. Tampa Bay won the season series 10-8, however the “been there, done that” approach of Boston wins out in a long series.
Series odds from Sportsbook.com: Boston -135, Tampa Bay +115
Friday October 10
Boston (Matsuzaka) at Tampa Bay (Shields) 8:37 EDT
Saturday October 11
Boston (Beckett) at Tampa Bay (Kazmir) 8:07 EDT
Monday October 13
Tampa Bay (Garza) at Boston (Lester) 4:37 EDT
Tuesday October 14
Tampa Bay (Sonnanstine) at Boston (Wakefield) 8:37 EDT
Thursday October 16
Tampa Bay at Boston if necessary
Saturday October 18
Boston at Tampa Bay if necessary
Sunday October 19
Boston at Tampa Bay if necessary
Offensive – American League
Runs scored Boston 2nd Tampa Bay 9th
Home Runs Boston 6th Tampa Bay 5th
Total Bases Boston 4th Tampa Bay 8th
Slugging Ptc. Boston 3rd Tampa Bay8th
Walks Boston 7th Tampa Bay 2nd
On base Ptc. Boston 1st Tampa Bay 5th
Pitching & Defense
ERA Boston 4th Tampa Bay 2nd
Strikeouts Boston 1st Tampa Bay 3rd
Walks Boston 6th Tampa Bay 8th
On base Ptc. Boston 4th Tampa Bay 2nd
Putouts Boston 5th Tampa Bay 1st
Errors Boston 3rd Tampa Bay 4th
MLB: Big Series Brewing in Milwaukee
2008-07-29
It seems almost impossible to believe, two division rivals with over a 100 games played on the season, would be meeting in one of the team’s ball parks for the first time all year. Yet this is exactly what is happening in Milwaukee, as the Brewers, one game back in the standings in the NL Central, welcome the Chicago Cubs for the initial time in 2008, in a four game series.
The Brewers have made the trip south twice to Wrigley Field; winning four of six this year and can make a pronounced statement with a series win and take over first place in the division. Chicago is only 4-7 (-4.35 units) in last 11, with the offense to blame for lackluster performances, scoring two or less runs in eight of the contests. Having to venture to Miller Park to solve what ails the slumping Cubs is not the best situation, having lost 13 of last 19 on the road.
Milwaukee had eight game winning streak snapped Friday and potentially was looking past Houston to this super-sized series, dropping two of three to the Astros. Manager Ned Yost’s club is 22-12 against the money line after having lost two of their last three games this season.
The Chicago Cubs have tried to start fast in new series with 16-6 mark in last 22 Game One’s. This has been ultra-critical when these division rivals meet, as the opening game winner has won the last six series and is 9-1-1 in last 11 meetings between these clubs.
C.C. Sabathia (10-8, 3.30, 1.152 WHIP) has been even better than Milwaukee could have hoped for, with 4-0 record in a Brewers uniform and 1.36 ERA. The big left-hander has won seven straight, dating back to pitching for Cleveland. Sabathia has been a work-horse also, with three consecutive complete games, the first time this has occurred for pitcher in a Milwaukee uniform since 1994, when Cal Eldred was hurling in Brew Town.
Chicago, faced with this challenge, is a +155 road underdog and will start Ted Lilly (10-6, 4.49, 1.340) in a battle of left-handers. Lilly and the Cubs have won six of last seven Game 1 assignments and are 5-2 when in the role of underdog. Chicago has enjoyed success against top line pitchers, with 8-3 record versus starters with WHIP of 1.150 or less.
Both teams have pounded out success against lefties, with Milwaukee 22-11 and the Cubs 19-11. Sportsbook.com, besides having the Brew Crew as solid favorites, have total listed at 7.5 and Milwaukee is 35-16 at home when the total is 7 to 8.5 over the last two seasons. Lou Pinella’s club is 1-9 in last 10 underdog roles and hapless 2-12 when facing a home team with .600 or better home winning percentage. With the North Siders 3-12 in road games vs. a starting pitcher whose strikes out five or more batters, they will have to hope Sabathia has reoccurrence of the past, as he is 12-29 vs. teams outscoring opposition by one or more runs a game on the season. (Teams Record)
These matchups are always entertaining and will be able to seen in local markets or on MLB.TV starting at 8:05 Eastern. It doesn’t happen often, however when the total is this low, Milwaukee is 8-0 OVER at home when the number is 7.5 or less over the last three seasons.
StatFox Power Line – Milwaukee -137