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Preview: Athletics (67-88) at Angels (69-87)

Game: 1
Venue: Angel Stadium of Anaheim
Date: September 26, 2016 10:05 PM EDT

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Two pitchers who are hitting their stride as the season concludes will face each other when the Oakland Athletics meet the Los Angeles Angels on Monday night to begin a three-game series at Angel Stadium.

Rookie left-hander Sean Manaea has pitched 11 shutout innings in his past two starts for the A's. Veteran right-hander Jered Weaver posted his 150th career win in his last start with the Angels as he continues his finest stretch of the season.

In six starts since Aug. 25, Weaver has gone 4-1 with three quality starts and 31 strikeouts in 34 2/3 innings. Before that surge, the 11-year veteran compiled an 0-4 record and a 7.01 ERA in six starts while getting just nine strikeouts and allowing opposing batters to hit .391.

"Everything is starting to come together," Weaver told MLB.com. "I've been able to throw the ball the way I want to, and the location of all my pitches has been where I want it to be. It's been promising."

Weaver has been fighting numerous physical problems and declining velocity for three years. But in a testament to his resiliency, the three-time All-Star secured his 150th career win Wednesday night against the Texas Rangers. In six innings, Weaver allowed four runs, six hits and two walks while striking out six in the 5-4 victory.

"He has been incredible for a long time," Los Angeles manager Mike Scioscia told MLB.com. "He's part of the heart and soul of what we've done. It's great to see him reach some milestones."

Weaver ranks second to Chuck Finley in career victories for the club. Finley won 165 games between 1986 and 1999.

Manaea, who missed the first two weeks of September because of a strained back, scattered just three hits and a walk while striking out five and throwing 67 pitches during five scoreless innings in his return Sept. 14.

The left-hander combined with three other pitchers in an 8-0 rout of the Kansas City Royals, the team that originally signed Manaea three years ago before sending him to the A's last year in a three-player trade for Ben Zobrist.

"He was great," Oakland manager Bob Melvin told MLB.com afterward. "It didn't look like he had any time off."

In this next start on Tuesday night against the Houston Astros, Manaea collected seven strikeouts in six innings while conceding just two walks and three hits. But the Astros rallied for a 2-1 win in 10 innings.

"That was one of his best outings of the season," A's reliever Sean Doolittle told MLB.com, "and to squander it is incredibly frustrating."

When Manaea's rookie season began, he lost three of his first four decisions. Now as it ends, the left-hander possesses a newfound confidence that he seeks to refine.

"At the beginning of the season, I didn't really trust my stuff and I was shying away from contact," Manaea told MLB.com. "Now it just seems like I'm pounding the strike zone and I want those early contact swings. That's been a huge difference from the beginning of the season until now. I feel like I'm doing a pretty good job of that."

 

[Can'tPickaWinner2]

Preview: Reds (65-90) at Cardinals (81-74)

Game: 1
Venue: Busch Stadium
Date: September 26, 2016 8:15 PM EDT

ST. LOUIS -- To make the National League playoffs for the sixth consecutive year, the St. Louis Cardinals will have to conquer their home-field disadvantage.

Heading into a regular-season-ending, seven-game homestand that begins Monday night with the first of four games against the Cincinnati Reds, St. Louis owns a 33-41 record at Busch Stadium.

It is the first time since the stadium opened in its third iteration in 2006 that the Cardinals (81-74) will finish with a losing mark at home. They will post their first losing home record since 1999.

The Cardinals start the week a half-game behind San Francisco (82-74) for the NL's second wild-card and 1 1/2 games in back of the New York Mets for the first wild card. On Monday, New York (83-73) opens a three-game series at grieving Miami, playing its first game since the boating death of ace pitcher Jose Fernandez early Sunday morning, while San Francisco gets a day off.

Home, not sweet home is where the Cardinals will have to get the job done, and the task doesn't seem impossible by any means. Cincinnati (65-90) is headed for a last-place finish in the NL Central and has won just one of its past 11 series in St. Louis dating back to April 2013.

The Cardinals are 4-2 against the Reds at home this year, including a 3-2 win on Aug. 10 that saw Jaime Garcia work into the ninth inning to earn the decision. Perhaps because of that outing, or because of Luke Weaver's struggles during a just-completed road trip, Garcia (10-12, 4.59 ERA) gets the ball Monday for his first start since Sept. 13.

While Garcia has pitched to a puffy 8.23 ERA over his past six starts, he is coming off four scoreless innings of relief Wednesday in Colorado. He struck out five without issuing a walk.

He will be opposed by Reds rookie Tim Adleman (2-4, 4.06 ERA). The right-hander lost two starts to St. Louis this year, although he pitched decently in a 5-2 defeat on Sept. 4 in Cincinnati. Adleman recorded a quality start in a no-decision Sept. 19 at the Chicago Cubs, allowing two runs in 6 1/3 innings and fanning five.

Cincinnati is 2-4 on its 10-game road trip, winning 4-2 in Milwaukee on Sunday behind five scoreless innings from Brandon Finnegan. The Reds are getting outstanding play from shortstop Jose Peraza, who is batting .378 with two homers and 16 RBIs in 127 at-bats since being recalled from Triple-A Louisville on Aug. 20.

"It's just a really nice template to look at to say this guy is going to be really good as he matures," Reds manager Bryan Price said.

Power has kept St. Louis in contention, but the offense has slowed in September. On a 5-5 road trip that ended with a 3-1 loss to the Cubs on Sunday night at Wrigley Field, the Cardinals scored 37 runs. Twenty of those runs came in a pair of wins.

"We're going to have to mix and match and make something happen," St. Louis manager Mike Matheny said.

Still, right-hander Carlos Martinez, who likely would get the start in the wild-card game if the Cardinals qualify, remains optimistic about the team's chances in October.

"I think we're in a good position right now," he said. "I also think we have a great shot at winning the World Series."

 

[Can'tPickaWinner2]

MLB betting cheat sheet and odds: Cleveland Clincher?
By MONTY ANDREWS

MLB cheat sheet breaks down the best MLB betting notes so you can handicap every series like a pro this week, including the Cleveland Indians who roll into Detroit to take on the Tigers with a champagne party on their minds.

Cleveland Clincher?

The Cleveland Indians blew a chance to secure their first division title in eight years at Progressive Field on Sunday, so they'll have to do it on the road. That quest begins Monday as the Indians kick off a four-game series with the only team that can stand in the way of the AL Central crown - the Detroit Tigers, who are a full seven games back. Cleveland only needs one more win or a Detroit loss over the final seven games for its first division championship in nine years. And that should happen at some point during this series, with the Indians having beaten the Tigers in 13 of their first 15 meetings this season. Detroit does have the edge in units won, accumulating $1,214 to the Indians' $692.

Worst in the West

Nothing but pride will be on the line this week in Anaheim as the Los Angeles Angels host the Oakland Athletics in a three-game series. Both teams had high hopes for the 2016 season, but injuries and poor performances have relegated both rosters to the basement of the American League West. The Angels have lost the third-most units in the AL (-$1,296), with the Athletics only marginally better (-$1,292). The teams have combined to produce just two winning months all season; at 10-12 in September, the Angels have a slightly better shot at accomplishing the feat than Oakland (9-12). The Angels come into the series with a 9-7 edge over the Athletics in the season series.

Over and Out

The hottest Over play over the past 30 games takes on the best Over option of the season as the Kansas City Royals entertain the Minnesota Twins in a three-game series beginning Tuesday night. The Royals have taken part in some high-scoring affairs, going 22-7-1 O/U since Aug. 28 - capped by a 12-9 slugfest victory over the Tigers on Sunday afternoon. It has been that way all season for the Twins, who are a stunning 92-56-8 O/U - easily the most Overs in baseball. The Twins secured their place as the only 100-loss team in the majors with Sunday's 4-3 loss to the Seattle Mariners. The teams opened their season series with three straight Unders, but are 9-3-1 O/U since.

Injury Update

* The Houston Astros remain in the American League wild card race despite losing promising rookie infielder Alex Bregman for the rest of the season with a hamstring injury. The Astros have gone 6-4 SU for 110 units in Bregman's absence, going 4-6 O/U in that span.

* The Tampa Bay Rays' struggles without Steven Souza Jr. continue, as he misses the remainder of the season with a hip injury. The Rays have lost five of six for -$400 since Souza was ruled out for the year, and are an abysmal 5-21 for -$1,645 without Souza on the year.

Hitting Notes

* David Ortiz is having the best final season in the history of baseball. With one week left in his amazing career, the 40-year-old Boston Red Sox designated hitter is batting .321 with 37 home runs and 121 RBIs; his 5.1 WAR (per Baseball Reference) is his highest tally since 2007.

* The Atlanta Braves' season was a disappointment, but Freddie Freeman isn't content to let it end on a sour note. The Braves first baseman is slashing a red-hot .405/.495/.709 so far in September, with five home runs, nine doubles, 21 RBIs and 15 walks in 79 at-bats.

Pitching Notes

* Can Dan Straily beat astronomical odds and wind up the top money pitcher in the majors? Straily has his chance Thursday night against the St. Louis Cardinals; the veteran right-hander comes into the start at +$1,577, with the disappointing Reds going 20-10 in his starts.

* If Lance McCullers is done for the season, he will go down as the one of the top Under starters in the majors - albeit in limited time. McCullers made just 14 regular-season starts, but he provided plenty of value to totals bettors, going 2-12 O/U in those games.

Totals Trend

Camden Yards isn't thought of as an offense-suppressing park, but bettors might suggest otherwise. The Orioles went 1-9-1 O/U on their most recent 11-game homestand that wrapped up with a 2-1 win over Arizona on Sunday; they finished 26-51-4 O/U at home on the season.

 

[Can'tPickaWinner2]

'Advantage Rangers!'

Milwaukee at Texas September 26, 8:05 EST

One team comes home, the other hits the road as the Texas Rangers and Milwaukee Brewers meet in the first of a three-game series at Globe Life Park in Arlington. Rangers one of the better home teams in the league at 50-25, Brewers not a peg to hang your hopes on away from Miller Park at 29-46 sportsbooks* opened Texas -$1.80 to -$1.90 home favorites depending on locale.

Martin Perez carrying a 10-10 record, 4.14 ERA gets the call for Texas. The Rangers have won the lefties last four starts and have dominated at home with the hurler winning 11 of his last 12 assignments at Globe Life Park. Perez's pitching rival will be righthander Matt Garza who is 5-8 with a 4.52 ERA on the campaign. The Brewers have had issues in an opposing park with Garza going 2-8 this year, 4-12 his last sixteen in unfriendly territory.

Those inclined towards laying extra juice, backing Rangers in the first game of a new series has been a solid proposition. The Rangers have a 13-2 stretch opening a series including a sparkling 8-0 in front of the home audience. The club is also 6-1 in its last seven opening a home series after a road swing.