MLB betting cheat sheet: ‘A’ For Effort
The hottest team in baseball right now is … the Oakland A’s?
Power Sports breaks down all the best betting notes for this weekend's MLB series in our betting cheat sheet, including the Oakland A's hot streak.
‘A’ For Effort
The hottest team in baseball right now is … the Oakland A’s? Though they are winners of five in a row, we should be careful about reading too much into this as all they did was sweep Minnesota in the last series and their run differential remains a poor -42 for the season (second worst in the American League, ahead of only the Twins). This weekend might present an ideal time to “sell high” on Billy Beane’s club as they pay a visit to Houston. Sure, the Astros have been a huge disappointment thus far, but they themselves were on a five-game win streak prior to Thursday’s loss. The A’s have lost 13 of their last 18 road games and I’ll be talking a lot more about them in this column.
Just As We Expected
Coming into the season, there were a consensus seven teams expected to be playoff contenders in the National League. Through 50+ games, those same teams (Nats, Mets, Cubs, Pirates, Cardinals, Giants and Dodgers) are the seven that have produced positive run differentials so far in the Senior Circuit. The only matchup this weekend among that grouping takes place in St. Louis where the Giants come calling. They’ll conclude the three game set on Sunday Night Baseball. That finale probably represents the Cards best chance at a win in this series as they’ll face Jake Peavy, who has the highest ERA and WHIP on the Giants staff. The fact that both teams will be sending a trio of righties to the hill in this series does seem to favor the home team, however. While St. Louis bats just .245 vs. lefties, they are at .273 vs. righties. For San Francisco, it’s just the opposite. They hit .276 vs. lefties, but only .248 vs. righties.
Rocky Road
You have to feel for San Diego, who blew a 10-run lead (at home!) to Seattle Thursday night. Scoring 27 runs in two days and coming away with only a split is tough. But you should probably look for the strong offensive output to continue this weekend. That’s because the Padres welcome in the division rival Rockies, whose pitching staff, as always, is very, very bad. While the ERA of the Colorado staff does jump from 29th overall to 12th on the road, the team has lost 14 of its last 18 games at Petco Park and also just dropped three of four – at home – to the lowly Reds.
Hitting Notes
* The A’s Khris Davis hit 11 home runs in May, tied for the most in all of baseball with the Reds’ Adam Duvall. However, he’s already started to slow down (just 1 HR in last 21 at-bats) and he strikes out at an alarming rate (53 times in 51 games). In other words, look for Davis to regress here in June.
* Yet another Oakland slugger, Danny Valencia, has been swinging the stick quite well of late. Over the last seven days, Valencia is 12 for 22 at the plate. But, yet again, regression is probably forthcoming. After not hitting a single home run in his first 61 at-bats this year, Valencia proceeded to hit five in a three-day span earlier this month. The two multi-homer games equaled the number of times he’d done that in the first 543 games of his career.
Pitching Notes
* Oakland also has a pitcher worth talking about as Rich Hill went 5-1 in May with 2.13 ERA and 37 strikeouts in 38 innings pitched. He is expected to start Saturday against the one team that beat him last month, that being Houston. Interestingly, Hill has a perfect 6-0 team start record on the road where he’s made 6.6 units.
* Don’t be fooled by Noah Syndergaard’s 6-4 team start record. The Mets’ phenom has pitched very well of late, not giving up a single earned run in his last three starts, though the last one was cut short due to him being ejected. He threw an inning of scoreless relief on Tuesday (two strikeouts) and now has a 26-0 KW ratio his last 17 1/3 innings of work. He will be on the hill Friday vs. Miami.
Totals Trend
Last year, the Blue Jays lapped the field in terms of runs scored, but this year it is another American League East team doing the same (Red Sox). Even though Boston is by far and away baseball’s highest scoring team, be careful about betting Overs this weekend. Toronto’s last visit to Fenway Park produced four Unders and they are the surprising best team to bet on for Under bettors at 19-33-3 in all games this season.
Friday's Weather Report
* In Baltimore, there is a 42 percent chance of rain and even a chance of thunderstorms for tonight's game between the Orioles and Yankees. The total for the game is currently 8.0.
* In Arlington, there is a 60 percent chance of rain with a chance of thunderstorms in the forecast with the Rangers expected to host the Mariners. The total is currently 8.5.
* It could be a messy in in Minnesota, where the Twins are scheduled to face off against the Rays. There is a 67 percent chance of rain and thunderstorms expected in the forecast. There will also be a 10-12 mile per hour hitters wind gusting out to let field. The total is currently 9.0.
* In St. Louis, there is a 20 percent chance of rain and a chance of thunderstorms, with the Cardinals expected to face off against the Giants. The total is currently 7.5.