Sunday’s MLB Betting Cheat Sheet
Afternoon Delight
Yankees ace Masahiro Tanaka continued his sensational start to his rookie campaign, limiting Minnesota to an unearned run over eight innings as New York (-258) prevailed 3-1. Tanaka is 8-1 on the season – including a 4-0 mark with a 1.21 ERA in day games – and has earned $576 to date.
Brewers Bucking the Trend
The Milwaukee Brewers are no longer an automatic Under play at home. After opening the season 6-17-1 O/U at Miller Park, the Brewers registered their fifth consecutive home Over on Saturday, dropping an 8-0 decision to the Chicago Cubs (+129).
Minnesota’s Mad May
What a difference a month makes for the Minnesota Twins: after posting a stunning 19-4-1 O/U mark in April, the Twins came back to Earth in May, completing an 11-17-1 month with Saturday’s 3-1 loss to the Yankees. The Twins are 1-5 O/U in their last six entering Sunday’s series finale.
Pitching Notes
* Chicago White Sox lefty Chris Sale has been nearly perfect over his last three starts, allowing one run on only two hits with 24 strikeouts over 16 innings in that stretch. Sale and the White Sox (-177, 7.5) host San Diego in an interleague matchup Sunday.
* Texas Rangers ace Yu Darvish is 5-0 against the moneyline in his last five road outings dating to the end of last season, throwing four quality starts in that stretch. Darvish and the Rangers (-123) close out their interleague series with host Washington on Sunday.
Hitting Notes
* Atlanta Braves outfielder Justin Upton has some of the most extreme splits of any hitter in the league, batting .400 with 10 homers and 36 RBIs in 29 home games and .192 with three homers and seven RBIs in 24 road games. Upton and the Braves (-113, 7.5) visit Miami on Sunday.
* Baltimore outfielder Nelson Cruz became the first major-leaguer to reach the 20-homer plateau, going deep in Saturday’s 4-1 win in Houston. The Orioles are 9-9 S/U and 11-7 O/U in games in which Cruz hits at least one home run entering Sunday’s showdown with the Astros (+105, 8.5).
Totals Streak
Arizona Diamondbacks (4-13 O/U): Arizona still can’t seem to get its offense untracked, dropping a 5-0 decision to Cincinnati on Saturday for its seventh shutout of the season. The Diamondbacks were shut out seven times all of last season.
Prop of the Day
Bettors may want to take a flier on the Los Angeles Dodgers -3.5 against visiting Pittsburgh, which pays out at a cool +365. Dodgers starter Zack Greinke has allowed three runs or more just once all season, while Los Angeles has scored six or more runs in six of his last 10 starts.
Injury Notes
* Los Angeles Angels outfielder Mike Trout says he’ll return to the lineup Sunday after missing Saturday’s game with a stiff back. Trout has hit safely in 11 consecutive games entering Sunday’s encounter with host Oakland (-135, 7), the Angels have gone 6-5 S/U and 6-4-1 O/U in those contests.
* Arizona outfielder A.J. Pollock suffered a fractured hand after being hit by a pitch Saturday against Cincinnati and is out indefinitely. Pollock had gone 12-for-23 over his previous six games, during which the Diamondbacks were 3-3 S/U and 3-3 O/U.
Weather Watch
* Wind at U.S. Cellular Field is expected to blow in from right field at 13 mph for Sunday’s game between the host White Sox and the Padres. Teams combined to average just 6.5 runs and 1.67 homers under similar conditions in 2013, compared to park averages of 8.15 runs and 2.21 homers.
Umpire Note of the Day
Under is 16-5 in umpire James Hoye’s last 21 games behind home plate. Hoye will call the balls and strikes for Sunday’s interleague showdown between Cleveland (-127, 8.5) and visiting Colorado.
