Monday's Tip Sheet
September 14, 2015
Washington Nationals at Philadelphia Phillies | 7:05 p.m. ET
The Washington Nationals picked up a huge win in yesterday’s series finale with the Miami Marlins behind Max Scherzer, and will now seek to keep it going against another downtrodden NL East team to keep their faint playoff hopes alive.
Fortunately for them as it pertains tonight’s series opener in Philadelphia, they have another constant on the hill in veteran Jordan Zimmermann (12-8, 3.32 ERA), who will simply wish to continue on his recent roll as of late. To be specific, Zimmermann has allowed exactly one run in each of his last three outings, while pitching into the sixth inning or deeper in each instance. All three of those starts came at home at Nationals Park, though, where the 29-year-old has fared significantly better in 2015. He’s on the road tonight, and in 12 starts away from our nation’s capital, he’s just 5-5 with a 4.67 ERA and 1.40 ERA, while opposing lineups are surprisingly hitting .303 off Zimmermann in those outings. The over/under is 7.5 in any case.
That could mean Phillies rookie Aaron Nola (6-2, 3.56 ERA) might be one of the more tempting underdog bets on tonight’s slate, having +145 odds in this home assignment. That’s especially true with how the youngster has pitched as of late, with one run or less surrendered by Nola in three of his past four starts. That includes his most recent performance -- arguably the most impressive thus far into his freshman campaign -- when he blanked the Braves over seven sharp innings and striking out seven. His splits, unlike with Zimmermann, also figure to aid his outlook this evening, as he has a 2.10 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, and .198 BAA in his five starts at Citizens Bank Park. He’ll be taking on division rival Washington for the first time in his career.
Houston Astros at Texas Rangers | 8:05 p.m. ET (MLB Network)
With ESPN hosting the year’s first edition of Monday Night Football this evening, there’s no Monday Night Baseball on the network as a result, leading to rare Monday action set to air on MLB Network. They couldn’t ask for a more intriguing division race to showcase in their contest tonight, as the latest installment of the Lone Star Series kicks off the new week, with the first-place Houston Astros just 1.5 games up on the in-state rival Texas Rangers in the AL West.
At the moment, the Rangers still have possession of the AL’s second Wild Card spot, but certainly would like more if they can get it. To continue their quest towards accomplish such, they have trade deadline acquisition Cole Hamels (9-8, 3.76 ERA) on the hill looking to continue his notable success as of late. When the Rangers first got Hamels, it took the former Philadelphia ace a little while to settle in, as he allowed four runs or more in his first pair of outings. Since then, however, Hamels has looked like the standout pitcher the Rangers hoped they were getting, as evident in the fact that he’s registered five consecutive quality starts entering this evening’s assignment, while going seven innings or more in each instance. He’s a -125 favorite for this series opener.
The Astros, just looking to hang onto their spot atop the division, will counter with a talented left-hander of their own, that being Scott Kazmir (7-10, 2.63 ERA). Like Hamels, Kazmir is also a trade deadline acquisition who has excelled with his new club since arriving. In fact, the 31-year-old has now made nine starts with Houston, and although he’s officially 2-5 in those games, his numbers would certainly indicate much better, as he has a 3.13 ERA and .245 batting-average-against over 54 2/3 total innings of work. One of those outings includes a night’s work in Arlington on the road against these Rangers, who managed to plate four runs (one earned) off Kazmir on six hits and a pair of walks in 5 2/3 innings on August 5. The over/under is appropriately 8.
Colorado Rockies at Los Angeles Dodgers | 10:10 p.m. ET
Bettors are always taking notice of when Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw (13-6, 2.15 ERA) takes the mound at Chavez Ravine, and tonight’s assignment will mark his latest home start, when he goes up against the NL West’s basement resident, the Colorado Rockies. If Kershaw is at all concerned with adding yet another NL Cy Young award to his already-remarkable resume, he’ll certainly be motivated to match teammate Zack Greinke’s eight-shutout-inning performance in Arizona yesterday afternoon.
Being that he’s at home, Kershaw is a good bet to twirl one of his usual gems, considering he’s 9-2 in 13 starts at Dodger Stadium with a truly marvelous 1.41 ERA and 0.77 WHIP, while compiling a ridiculous 134/14 K/BB ratio in 95 2/3 home innings. At the same time, Kershaw is a little more human when taking on Colorado, as although he’s 3-0 in four starts opposing the club, he has just a 3.91 ERA and 1.26 WHIP in those outings. He’s a -330 favorite nonetheless, as is usually the case for a Kershaw start at home.
While Kershaw is as close to automatic as it gets when working from Dodger Stadium, bettors might want to show a little discipline considering who he’s facing, that being intriguing Rockies rookie hurler Jon Gray (0-0, 5.17 ERA). One interesting item about the 23-year-old right-hander thus far is that through seven starts into his big league career, Gray still hasn’t received a decision on his record, although after his most recent outing, it would appear he’s trending more towards notching his first career win.
That’s because he had his best performance to date, when he logged five shutout innings in San Diego against another division rival, while striking out six and yielding only four baserunners. On the contrary, the Rockies are 1-6 in games started by Gray. The linesmakers have set the line at 6 due to the presence of Kershaw.
September 14, 2015
Washington Nationals at Philadelphia Phillies | 7:05 p.m. ET
The Washington Nationals picked up a huge win in yesterday’s series finale with the Miami Marlins behind Max Scherzer, and will now seek to keep it going against another downtrodden NL East team to keep their faint playoff hopes alive.
Fortunately for them as it pertains tonight’s series opener in Philadelphia, they have another constant on the hill in veteran Jordan Zimmermann (12-8, 3.32 ERA), who will simply wish to continue on his recent roll as of late. To be specific, Zimmermann has allowed exactly one run in each of his last three outings, while pitching into the sixth inning or deeper in each instance. All three of those starts came at home at Nationals Park, though, where the 29-year-old has fared significantly better in 2015. He’s on the road tonight, and in 12 starts away from our nation’s capital, he’s just 5-5 with a 4.67 ERA and 1.40 ERA, while opposing lineups are surprisingly hitting .303 off Zimmermann in those outings. The over/under is 7.5 in any case.
That could mean Phillies rookie Aaron Nola (6-2, 3.56 ERA) might be one of the more tempting underdog bets on tonight’s slate, having +145 odds in this home assignment. That’s especially true with how the youngster has pitched as of late, with one run or less surrendered by Nola in three of his past four starts. That includes his most recent performance -- arguably the most impressive thus far into his freshman campaign -- when he blanked the Braves over seven sharp innings and striking out seven. His splits, unlike with Zimmermann, also figure to aid his outlook this evening, as he has a 2.10 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, and .198 BAA in his five starts at Citizens Bank Park. He’ll be taking on division rival Washington for the first time in his career.
Houston Astros at Texas Rangers | 8:05 p.m. ET (MLB Network)
With ESPN hosting the year’s first edition of Monday Night Football this evening, there’s no Monday Night Baseball on the network as a result, leading to rare Monday action set to air on MLB Network. They couldn’t ask for a more intriguing division race to showcase in their contest tonight, as the latest installment of the Lone Star Series kicks off the new week, with the first-place Houston Astros just 1.5 games up on the in-state rival Texas Rangers in the AL West.
At the moment, the Rangers still have possession of the AL’s second Wild Card spot, but certainly would like more if they can get it. To continue their quest towards accomplish such, they have trade deadline acquisition Cole Hamels (9-8, 3.76 ERA) on the hill looking to continue his notable success as of late. When the Rangers first got Hamels, it took the former Philadelphia ace a little while to settle in, as he allowed four runs or more in his first pair of outings. Since then, however, Hamels has looked like the standout pitcher the Rangers hoped they were getting, as evident in the fact that he’s registered five consecutive quality starts entering this evening’s assignment, while going seven innings or more in each instance. He’s a -125 favorite for this series opener.
The Astros, just looking to hang onto their spot atop the division, will counter with a talented left-hander of their own, that being Scott Kazmir (7-10, 2.63 ERA). Like Hamels, Kazmir is also a trade deadline acquisition who has excelled with his new club since arriving. In fact, the 31-year-old has now made nine starts with Houston, and although he’s officially 2-5 in those games, his numbers would certainly indicate much better, as he has a 3.13 ERA and .245 batting-average-against over 54 2/3 total innings of work. One of those outings includes a night’s work in Arlington on the road against these Rangers, who managed to plate four runs (one earned) off Kazmir on six hits and a pair of walks in 5 2/3 innings on August 5. The over/under is appropriately 8.
Colorado Rockies at Los Angeles Dodgers | 10:10 p.m. ET
Bettors are always taking notice of when Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw (13-6, 2.15 ERA) takes the mound at Chavez Ravine, and tonight’s assignment will mark his latest home start, when he goes up against the NL West’s basement resident, the Colorado Rockies. If Kershaw is at all concerned with adding yet another NL Cy Young award to his already-remarkable resume, he’ll certainly be motivated to match teammate Zack Greinke’s eight-shutout-inning performance in Arizona yesterday afternoon.
Being that he’s at home, Kershaw is a good bet to twirl one of his usual gems, considering he’s 9-2 in 13 starts at Dodger Stadium with a truly marvelous 1.41 ERA and 0.77 WHIP, while compiling a ridiculous 134/14 K/BB ratio in 95 2/3 home innings. At the same time, Kershaw is a little more human when taking on Colorado, as although he’s 3-0 in four starts opposing the club, he has just a 3.91 ERA and 1.26 WHIP in those outings. He’s a -330 favorite nonetheless, as is usually the case for a Kershaw start at home.
While Kershaw is as close to automatic as it gets when working from Dodger Stadium, bettors might want to show a little discipline considering who he’s facing, that being intriguing Rockies rookie hurler Jon Gray (0-0, 5.17 ERA). One interesting item about the 23-year-old right-hander thus far is that through seven starts into his big league career, Gray still hasn’t received a decision on his record, although after his most recent outing, it would appear he’s trending more towards notching his first career win.
That’s because he had his best performance to date, when he logged five shutout innings in San Diego against another division rival, while striking out six and yielding only four baserunners. On the contrary, the Rockies are 1-6 in games started by Gray. The linesmakers have set the line at 6 due to the presence of Kershaw.
