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[Can'tPickaWinner2]

July Pitchers Report
By Marc Lawrence

Fireworks and the MLB All-Star game go hand-in-hand during the month of July. It also denotes the start of the 2nd half of the MLB campaign. And as we’ve come to learn the key to each and every team’s fortune lies on the pitching staff.

Can they sustain or will they unravel like Jose Canseco going back on a fly ball? Stay tuned. What we do know is that certain pitchers love hurling this time of the season while others tend to get lit up like a roman candle on the 4thof July.

Listed below are hurlers that have enjoyed a two-to-one or better success ratio in team-starts over the course of the last three seasons during the month of July.

On the flip side, we've also listed pitchers that struggle in July, winning 33% percent or less of their team-start efforts. To qualify pitchers must have made a minimum of 10 starts, with at least one start each July over the last three years.

And for your convenience alongside each record we break down each pitcher’s greatest success or greatest failure rate either home (H) or away (A) within his good or bad month.

Note: * designates a categorical repeat appearance by this pitcher, maintaining status quo from last season’s July list.

GOOD MONTH PITCHERS:

*Chen, Wei-Yin - 9-4 (5-1 H)

The Miami left-hander has not been terribly effective with an ERA hovering around 5. If Chen can develop more command, he's shown again this year he's tough when in challenging situations, allowing .186 batting average and .271 on-base percentage with runners in scoring position.

Garza, Matt - 9-3 (5-1 H)

Since coming back from spring training injury on June 14th, the Milwaukee right-hander has been a mix of good and bad, but come through when it counted. Opposing hitters are batting over .300 against Garza, but he's held those runners in check and induced a heavy dose of ground balls that have led to outs. If he continues, this Brewers starter might be effective.

Greinke, Zack - 11-4 (6-2 H)

Though Arizona is falling short of preseason expectations, the Diamondbacks ace is not and, other than Clayton Kershaw, has arguably been as effective as any pitcher since the end of April with batters hitting around .200 against him. Once again his array of pitches are finding the right spots and fastball is cooking!

Kazmir, Scott - 10-5 (6-2 H)

When Kazmir misses on location for fastball, the other team's lineup begins to look for off-speed stuff, which has caused his inconsistency this season. When he's working the corners on the knees early in the count, this sets up secondary pitches. In the past he's done so in July, let's see what he comes up with this time.

*Kershaw, Clayton - 12-3 (8-0 A)

When either Kershaw loses or has a less than stellar performance, which is infrequent, it is home page news on most sports websites. With opponents batting just .185 against him, baseball's best pitcher has close to as many home runs surrendered (6) as walks (9) to start the month over 121 innings. It’s no wonder his name is whispered in the same company as Sandy Koufax.

Kluber, Corey - 13-4 (9-2 H)

Since winning the Cy Young award in 2014, Kluber has not been able to match that magical season, but is part of a very good Cleveland rotation. Looking ahead, if the Indians righty can do a better job than permitting .281 batting averages with runners in scoring position, all his numbers will drop and his victories will go up. Note: Kluber’s numbers above also reflect his career team mark during July.

*Liriano, Francisco - 12-2 (7-0 H)

After several fine seasons with Pittsburgh, Liriano has not been effective in 2016. Walks and home runs have done him in and in order to reflect past results of July, he's going to have to stop leaving pitches in the heart of the plate.

Peralta, Wily - 8-4 (5-1 H)

Peralta has been thoroughly ineffective all season (6.68 ERA) and was sent to minors after June 11th start. His return this month or this season depends on his Triple-A results. Note: Peralta’s numbers above also reflect his career team mark during July.

Price, David - 11-5 (7-1 A)

To date, the Boston lefty could be described as a mild disappointment, with an ERA north of 4.5 most of the season. No longer owning an upper 90's heater, Price does not blow away as many hitters as before and the fastball lacks some of the previous movement of the past. The slider has not had the usual bite from start to start. Red Sox need this ace to be one.

Ross, Tyson - 10-4 (4-1 H)

Ross has not pitched since he hit the DL with right shoulder inflammation after first start in April. San Diego Union reports a return even this month appears optimistic.
Note: Ross’ numbers above also reflect his career team mark during July.

Santana, Ervin - 11-4 (8-1 H)

Like his teammates, Santana is not having a good year, as opposing hitters are clocking him for nearly .300 average, compared to .256 over his 11-year career. Little reason to believe this month will match the past even if he improves with this Twins club.

*Volquez, Edinson - 10-5 (6-1 A)

Never a frontline hurler, Volquez numbers this campaign have matched the Royals, being very ordinary to date. The Dominican Republic native has done the job against right-handed batters, who have been knocking him around for nearly .300 average.

BAD MONTH PITCHERS:

Wood, Alex - 4-8 (0-6 A)

Wood – the only pitcher to appear on the July Bad Month list this season - was initially expected to be shut down for four weeks after landing on the 15-day disabled list at the end of May with a posterior impingement in his throwing elbow. Currently, the timetable is for mid-July return, but the oft-injured pitcher can hardly be counted on as record shows. Note: Wood’’s numbers above reflect his career team mark during July.

 

[Can'tPickaWinner2]

How run differential can be the key to cashing MLB runline bets
By JOE FORTENBAUGH

Behind yet another incendiary performance from a member of their starting rotation, the white-hot Cleveland Indians matched a franchise record in Thursday night’s 4-1 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays by winning their 13th consecutive game.

The Tribe’s current winning streak is the longest by any team in Major League Baseball this season as well as the longest run of success the club has strung together since winning 13 straight in 1951.

Thursday’s accolades belonged to 29-year-old righty Carlos Carrasco, who is now 1-0 with a 1.14 ERA, 27 strikeouts and just seven walks in three starts during Cleveland’s 13-game rampage through professional baseball. A rampage, mind you, that has featured the Indians outscoring the opposition 80-26 (+54 run differential), which is good for a winning margin of 4.15 runs per game.

Predictably, gambling twitter immediately responded with some variation of the following data: If you had bet to win $100 on every game Cleveland was listed as a favorite during the team’s current 13-game winning streak and risked $100 on Cleveland when the Indians assumed the underdog position during said streak, you would currently be up $1,337.

That’s a respectable chunk of change for less than two week’s worth of work. But with Cleveland’s moneyline prices beginning to surge due to the team’s recent onslaught against all comers, could you have found a way to turn a similar profit without assuming as much risk?

The answer, of course, is yes. And all you would have had to do was replace your moneyline bets with run line wagers.

For the uninitiated, a run line bet is essentially Major League Baseball’s version of the NFL point spread, with one team listed as a 1.5-run favorite, the other listed as a 1.5-run underdog and corresponding odds attached to both spreads. For example, the Indians were listed as -120 favorites for Thursday night’s game against the Blue Jays (+110) on the moneyline, but were posted at the more appealing price of +130 if you were willing to lay 1.5 runs against Toronto (-150). The benefit is the opportunity to back the better team with less financial risk, while the downside is the fact that Cleveland had to win by two or more runs to cash the run line bet as opposed to simply winning the game by any margin to cash the moneyline ticket.

Since the Indians launched their 13-game tirade against the rest of Major League Baseball back on June 17 in Cleveland against the White Sox, the Tribe have been listed as a moneyline favorite 11 times and run line favorite four times. And if you were to bet to win $100 every time Cleveland was a favorite and risk $100 in each instance the Indians were listed as an underdog, here’s how your portfolio would break down:

13 moneyline bets: 13-0 record, $1,884 risked, $1,337 won

13 run line bets: 11-2 record, $1,468 risked, $1,129 won

By simply substituting run line bets for moneyline bets during Cleveland’s 13-game winning streak, your profits would have dropped by 15.5 percent, but your overall risk assumed would have plummeted by 22.1 percent. That’s not a bad tradeoff when you need to win by two or more runs with a pitching staff that has limited the opposition to just 2.0 runs per game during its 13-game stretch of nothing but victory celebrations.

But here’s the tricky part: It’s easy to come swooping in after a team has won 13 straight matchups and exclaim, “Hey, you should have been betting the run line instead of the moneyline!” After all, hindsight is 20/20. What we need to identify is a way of determining which teams offer the best chance for success when betting the run line.

Thankfully, we have those rankings for you, as well as something else you should be taking into consideration.

Below you will find Major League Baseball’s 30 member organizations ranked by run line winning percentage entering Thursday night’s slate of action. In addition, you’ll notice a number in parenthesis next to each team’s record. That number represents the run differential ranking for each club entering Thursday night as well. For example, when you see a (6) next to the Texas Rangers, you’ll know that Texas ranks sixth in MLB in run differential.

1. Texas Rangers: 52-28 (6)
2. Baltimore Orioles: 46-31 (7)
3. San Diego Padres: 46-33 (25)
4. Detroit Tigers: 45-34 (15)
5. Chicago Cubs: 44-34 (1)
6. Kansas City Royals: 44-34 (18)
7. Cleveland Indians: 43-35 (2)
8. Colorado Rockies: 42-36 (16)
9. Oakland A’s: 42-36 (23)
10. St. Louis Cardinals: 41-37 (4)
11. Washington Nationals: 42-38 (3)
12. Milwaukee Brewers: 40-38 (26)
13. Toronto Blue Jays: 41-40 (11)
14. Boston Red Sox: 39-39 (5)
15. Miami Marlins: 39-39 (14)
16. San Francisco Giants: 39-41 (8)
17. Philadelphia Phillies: 39-41 (27)
18. Cincinnati Reds: 39-41 (30)
19. Chicago White Sox: 38-41 (17)
20. Seattle Mariners: 37-41 (10)
21. Houston Astros: 37-42 (12)
22. Los Angeles Dodgers: 37-44 (9)
23. Arizona Diamondbacks: 37-44 (21)
24. Pittsburgh Pirates: 36-43 (19)
25. Minnesota Twins: 35-43 (29)
26. Atlanta Braves: 34-44 (28)
27. New York Yankees: 34-44 (20)
28. Tampa Bay Rays: 32-46 (22)
29. Los Angels Angels: 32-47 (24)
30. New York Mets: 30-48 (13)

The first question you may be asking yourself is, “Why run differential?” That’s an excellent inquiry. Essentially, we want to look at each team’s run differential to give us an idea of which squads have the firepower to consistently cover 1.5 runs while also examining which clubs get blown out on a regular basis. As you’ll notice in the rankings above, five of the top ten run line clubs (Rangers, Orioles, Cubs, Indians and Cardinals) also rank within the top ten in run differential, while five of the bottom ten run line clubs (Angels, Rays, Braves, Twins and Diamondbacks) also rank within the bottom ten in run differential. So based on this simple correlation alone, we’ve discovered that a third of the league’s run line record matches up with its run differential ranking.

One team to keep an eye on moving forward in regards to run line wagering is the Philadelphia Phillies, who have lost 28 of their last 39 games after commencing the season with a 24-17 record. What’s intriguing about Philadelphia is that despite winning just 43.8 percent of their contests this season, the 2008 World Champions are a shocking 18-9 (.666) in one-run games in 2016. That type of performance in one-run affairs is extremely difficult to sustain over the course of a 162-game season, so don’t be surprised if the Phillies exhibit a regression in that department in the very near future.

As for the Indians, who knows when Cleveland’s starting rotation will hit a rough patch and regress to the mean. After all, this club hasn’t lost since the Cavaliers defeated the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals.

 

[Can'tPickaWinner2]

MLB roundup: Tigers beat Indians on 12th attempt
By The Sports Xchange

CLEVELAND -- Nick Castellanos homered among his three hits and had five RBIs as the Detroit Tigers cruised to a 12-2 victory over the Cleveland Indians at Progressive Field.
With the win, Detroit snapped its 11-game losing streak to Cleveland -- with all 11 setbacks coming in 2016.
Cleveland also saw its 14-game home winning streak end as Wednesday's loss was the Indians' first at Progressive Field since a 7-3 setback to Texas on May 31.
Cameron Maybin also homered for the Tigers, who are 5-2 in the first seven contests of an 11-game road trip to Tampa Bay, Cleveland and Toronto.

Mets 4, Marlins 2
NEW YORK -- Wilmer Flores hit two homers in a game for the second time in four days and right-hander Jacob deGrom threw seven strong innings as New York defeated Miami at Citi Field.
The Mets (46-38) won two of three from the Marlins (44-41) to ensure they would be no more than four games behind the National League East-leading Washington Nationals heading into a four-game series that begins Thursday at Citi Field.
Flores belted solo homers in each of his first two at-bats before hitting into a double play in the fifth inning and striking out in the eighth. He also had two homers Sunday, when he tied a team record by collecting six hits in a 14-3 win over the Chicago Cubs.

Twins 4, Athletics 0
MINNEAPOLIS -- Ervin Santana had his best start for Minnesota, tossing his first complete game shutout in more than four years and allowing just two hits in a win over Oakland at Target Field.
Santana (3-7) retired the first 14 men he faced in order before a two-out double off the left-field wall by Oakland's Billy Butler in the fifth inning. The right-hander retired the next seven men he faced before surrendering a leadoff single to Stephen Vogt in the eighth, but Santana quickly erased him on a 3-6-1 double play grounder by Butler.
Santana walked none and struck out eight in completing his first game since he shut out Arizona on June 16, 2012, when he played for the Los Angeles Angels.

Phillies 4, Braves 3
PHILADELPHIA -- Freddy Galvis belted a two-run homer over the right-field fence in the eighth inning to lift Philadelphia to a 4-3 win over visiting Atlanta.
Galvis finished the day 2-for-4 and hit his first home run since June 23.
Jeanmar Gomez tossed a 1-2-3 ninth to record his 23rd save of the season. Hector Neris (3-3) picked up the win despite allowing a run in the eighth.

Reds 5, Cubs 3
CHICAGO -- Tucker Barnhart belted a go-ahead three-run homer to power Cincinnati to a victory and a rare series triumph over Chicago.
Barnhart's seventh-inning blast lifted the Reds to a 4-3 lead and helped make a winner of starter Anthony DeSclafani (3-0), who worked six innings for the win.
Closer Tony Cingrani picked up his 10th save by pitching a perfect ninth inning.

Nationals 7, Brewers 4
WASHINGTON -- Milwaukee starter Matt Garza gave up three home runs to his nemesis, Washington, which salvaged the finale of the three-game series.
Bryce Harper had a three-run homer in the first, Jose Lobaton added a solo shot in the second and Ryan Zimmerman went deep for a two-run blast in the fifth off Garza (1-2), who allowed seven earned runs on eight hits in 4 1/3 innings. Garza, who came off the disabled list on June 14, had a 7.01 ERA in nine previous starts against Washington.
Washington starter Tanner Roark (8-5) yielded four runs -- all in one inning -- on seven hits with six strikeouts in seven innings. Jonathan Papelbon finished the ninth for his 17th save.

Orioles 6, Dodgers 4 (14 innings)
LOS ANGELES -- Jonathan Schoop hit a two-run double in the 14th inning to give Baltimore a win over Los Angeles.
Mark Trumbo added two home runs and a double, and he scored three runs. Trumbo now has 26 homers, one more than the Chicago Cubs' Kris Bryant for the major league lead. Mychal Givens (6-1) pitched one scoreless inning for the win, and Zach Britton escaped a bases-loaded jam for his 25th save.
Chase Utley set a career high with six hits, and Adrian Gonzalez added three hits and two RBIs, but the Dodgers' sustained their second consecutive loss after winning 15 of 20.

Blue Jays 4, Royals 2
TORONTO -- Marcus Stroman allowed two runs over eight innings, Michael Saunders homered in the fourth and then singled home the go-ahead run in the eighth, and Toronto defeated Kansas City to complete a three-game sweep.
Stroman (7-4) allowed three hits and one walk while striking out six to help the Blue Jays earn their fifth win in a row. Roberto Osuna pitched around a two-out single in the ninth to earn his 17th save.
After Kansas City's Ian Kennedy struck out 10 in six innings of two-run ball, Kelvin Herrera (1-2) entered in the eighth and struck out his first two batters. Herrera then allowed a double to Edwin Encarnacion, a single to Saunders and a double to Russell Martin give the Blue Jays a 4-2 lead.

CLEVELAND -- Nick Castellanos homered among his three hits and had five RBIs as the Detroit Tigers cruised to a 12-2 victory over the Cleveland Indians at Progressive Field.
With the win, Detroit snapped its 11-game losing streak to Cleveland -- with all 11 setbacks coming in 2016.
Cleveland also saw its 14-game home winning streak end as Wednesday's loss was the Indians' first at Progressive Field since a 7-3 setback to Texas on May 31.
Cameron Maybin also homered for the Tigers, who are 5-2 in the first seven contests of an 11-game road trip to Tampa Bay, Cleveland and Toronto.

Mets 4, Marlins 2
NEW YORK -- Wilmer Flores hit two homers in a game for the second time in four days and right-hander Jacob deGrom threw seven strong innings as New York defeated Miami at Citi Field.
The Mets (46-38) won two of three from the Marlins (44-41) to ensure they would be no more than four games behind the National League East-leading Washington Nationals heading into a four-game series that begins Thursday at Citi Field.
Flores belted solo homers in each of his first two at-bats before hitting into a double play in the fifth inning and striking out in the eighth. He also had two homers Sunday, when he tied a team record by collecting six hits in a 14-3 win over the Chicago Cubs.

Twins 4, Athletics 0
MINNEAPOLIS -- Ervin Santana had his best start for Minnesota, tossing his first complete game shutout in more than four years and allowing just two hits in a win over Oakland at Target Field.
Santana (3-7) retired the first 14 men he faced in order before a two-out double off the left-field wall by Oakland's Billy Butler in the fifth inning. The right-hander retired the next seven men he faced before surrendering a leadoff single to Stephen Vogt in the eighth, but Santana quickly erased him on a 3-6-1 double play grounder by Butler.
Santana walked none and struck out eight in completing his first game since he shut out Arizona on June 16, 2012, when he played for the Los Angeles Angels.

Phillies 4, Braves 3
PHILADELPHIA -- Freddy Galvis belted a two-run homer over the right-field fence in the eighth inning to lift Philadelphia to a 4-3 win over visiting Atlanta.
Galvis finished the day 2-for-4 and hit his first home run since June 23.
Jeanmar Gomez tossed a 1-2-3 ninth to record his 23rd save of the season. Hector Neris (3-3) picked up the win despite allowing a run in the eighth.

Reds 5, Cubs 3
CHICAGO -- Tucker Barnhart belted a go-ahead three-run homer to power Cincinnati to a victory and a rare series triumph over Chicago.
Barnhart's seventh-inning blast lifted the Reds to a 4-3 lead and helped make a winner of starter Anthony DeSclafani (3-0), who worked six innings for the win.
Closer Tony Cingrani picked up his 10th save by pitching a perfect ninth inning.

Nationals 7, Brewers 4
WASHINGTON -- Milwaukee starter Matt Garza gave up three home runs to his nemesis, Washington, which salvaged the finale of the three-game series.
Bryce Harper had a three-run homer in the first, Jose Lobaton added a solo shot in the second and Ryan Zimmerman went deep for a two-run blast in the fifth off Garza (1-2), who allowed seven earned runs on eight hits in 4 1/3 innings. Garza, who came off the disabled list on June 14, had a 7.01 ERA in nine previous starts against Washington.
Washington starter Tanner Roark (8-5) yielded four runs -- all in one inning -- on seven hits with six strikeouts in seven innings. Jonathan Papelbon finished the ninth for his 17th save.

Orioles 6, Dodgers 4 (14 innings)
LOS ANGELES -- Jonathan Schoop hit a two-run double in the 14th inning to give Baltimore a win over Los Angeles.
Mark Trumbo added two home runs and a double, and he scored three runs. Trumbo now has 26 homers, one more than the Chicago Cubs' Kris Bryant for the major league lead. Mychal Givens (6-1) pitched one scoreless inning for the win, and Zach Britton escaped a bases-loaded jam for his 25th save.
Chase Utley set a career high with six hits, and Adrian Gonzalez added three hits and two RBIs, but the Dodgers' sustained their second consecutive loss after winning 15 of 20.

Blue Jays 4, Royals 2
TORONTO -- Marcus Stroman allowed two runs over eight innings, Michael Saunders homered in the fourth and then singled home the go-ahead run in the eighth, and Toronto defeated Kansas City to complete a three-game sweep.
Stroman (7-4) allowed three hits and one walk while striking out six to help the Blue Jays earn their fifth win in a row. Roberto Osuna pitched around a two-out single in the ninth to earn his 17th save.
After Kansas City's Ian Kennedy struck out 10 in six innings of two-run ball, Kelvin Herrera (1-2) entered in the eighth and struck out his first two batters. Herrera then allowed a double to Edwin Encarnacion, a single to Saunders and a double to Russell Martin give the Blue Jays a 4-2 lead.

Red Sox 11, Rangers 6
BOSTON -- First-time All-Star Steven Wright earned his 10th win, and David Ortiz ripped his 20th home run of the season and drove in three runs, powering Boston past Texas.
In winning the rubber game of the three-game series handing the road-weary Rangers their fourth loss in five games, the Red Sox cashed in on three infield errors by Texas in a five-run second inning after Ortiz hit a two-run homer in the first.
Wright (10-5) worked six-plus innings, allowing six runs (five earned). Bryce Brentz drove in three runs for the Red Sox.

Angels 7, Rays 2
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Los Angeles won back-to-back games for the first time in 17 days, making easy work of Tampa Bay.
The Angels got to Rays starter Drew Smyly early, tagging him for seven runs (four earned) on eight hits in four-plus innings. Los Angeles got a strong start from Jered Weaver (7-7), who held the Rays to one run on four hits in six innings.
Mike Trout drove in two runs for the Angels, who got two hits apiece for Jett Bandy and Yunel Escobar.

White Sox 5, Yankees 0
CHICAGO -- The White Sox bounced back from a tough loss with a big win, defeating New York to win their fifth straight series.
Right-hander Miguel Gonzalez (2-4) had his best start of the season. Gonzalez lasted seven innings for the second straight outing, struck out three and walked just one for his first win since June 9 against the Nationals.
Rookie shortstop Tim Anderson lined a two-run double off Yankees starter Michael Pineda (3-8) in Chicago's four-run second inning.

Giants 5, Rockies 1
SAN FRANCISCO -- Johnny Cueto made a pitch to be the National League's starting pitcher in the All-Star Game, recording a 10th consecutive win in complete-game fashion as San Francisco beat Colorado.
Buster Posey smacked a home run, and Brandon Belt hit a double and a triple for the Giants.
Cueto (13-1) became the NL's first 13-game winner by throwing a five-hitter. He walked one and struck out eight in his NL-leading fourth complete game of the season. In pitching the Giants to a 16th victory in his 18 starts this season, Cueto became the first San Francisco pitcher since John Burkett in 1993 to record 13 wins before the All-Star break.

Padres 13, Diamondbacks 6
PHOENIX -- Yangervis Solarte had three hits and a career-high five RBIs, and rookie Ryan Schimpf homered twice as San Diego moved into a virtual tie with Arizona for fourth place in the NL West.
Solarte singled in a run in a five-run fourth inning, doubled in a run in the fifth and hit a three-run homer in the ninth. Schimpf hit a two-run homer to cap the fourth-inning rally and hit a bases-empty homer in the ninth.
Schimpf, who had 15 homers in 51 games for Triple-A El Paso this season, has four homers since being recalled June 14.

Astros 9, Mariners 8
HOUSTON -- Luis Valbuena crushed his second upper-deck home run in as many nights as Houston completed a three-game sweep of Seattle.
After the Mariners erased what was once a five-run deficit when Seth Smith cranked a three-run home run off Michael Feliz to knot the score at 7-7 in the seventh inning, Valbuena drilled a 2-2 fastball from Edwin Diaz (0-2) an estimated 415 feet to right field in the eighth. Jason Castro, who doubled leading off the frame, scored to give the Astros the lead.
Houston right-hander Luke Gregerson surrendered a pair of walks and an RBI double to Robinson Cano in the ninth yet picked up his 14th save by striking out Nelson Cruz and Dae-Ho Lee, the latter with the bases loaded.

Pirates 7, Cardinals 5
ST. LOUIS -- Jung Ho Kang's two-run double put Pittsburgh ahead to stay in the top of the seventh inning as the Pirates wiped out a 5-1 deficit to dump St. Louis.
Kang's hit scored David Freese and Andrew McCutchen, who walked and singled, respectively, against Jonathan Broxton (1-1). Kang capped the scoring later in the inning when St. Louis shortstop Aledmys Diaz booted Josh Harrison's two-out grounder for an error.
A.J. Schugel (2-2) worked a clean sixth inning for the win as the Pirates captured their seventh consecutive victory. Closer Mark Melancon earned his 26th save, finishing off a second straight night of five scoreless innings for a Pittsburgh bullpen that has allowed only one run in its past 45 1/3 innings dating back to June 24.

 

[Can'tPickaWinner2]

Preview: Angels (35-50) at Rays (34-50)

Game: 4
Venue: Tropicana Field
Date: July 07, 2016 12:10 PM EDT

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- The Tampa Bay Rays are doing very little well lately.

Thanks to a torrid stretch in which they have dropped 18 of 21 games, the last-place Rays (34-50) are now 15 games behind the first-place Baltimore Orioles in the American League East. They are also seven games behind the team directly ahead of them, the fourth-place New York Yankees.

However, the Rays are consistently hitting the ball well against lefties. They are batting .283 against left-handers as opposed to .229 against right-handers, and they are 11-9 against lefties, 23-41 against righties.

Thus, if there is any optimism for Tampa Bay headed into the series finale against the Angels on Thursday, wrapping up a homestand that currently stands at 3-7, it is that the Rays get to face Los Angeles left-hander Hector Santiago.

Santiago (5-4, 4.93 ERA) owns a career 8.38 ERA against Tampa Bay, including a 9.00 ERA in one previous start this season.

The Rays counter with a young lefty of their own, rookie Blake Snell, who is 1-3 with a 3.86 ERA. He is making just his sixth career start, his first against the Angels.

Los Angeles (35-50) were in a 2-12 tailspin after dropping the series opener at Tropicana Field on Monday. The Angels responded a 13-5 win Tuesday and a 7-2 victory Wednesday for their first two-game winning streak in 17 days.

Wednesday was another game in which so much went wrong for the Rays early that it mattered little that the bullpen stepped up with five scoreless innings, including three innings of one-hit ball from Matt Andriese, who has pitched well since transitioning from the rotation.

By the fifth inning, however, the Rays trailed 7-0, done in by three errors, matching their season high, and another ineffective outing by right-hander Drew Smyly, who is 0-6 in his last nine starts.

"We're not playing well. We're not pitching well," said Smyly, who said he can't wait for the All-Star break and a chance to reset things from his current slump. "Hopefully the second half will go better for us."

The Angels are swinging hot bats right now. They are averaging 8.7 runs per game on their current road trip while hitting .336, including a .383 average with runners in scoring position. Wednesday brought a rare bright spot from their pitching to match that, holding an opponent to two runs or fewer for just the second time in 16 games.

"If you're a team that wants to reach your goal, you need quality innings," said Angels manager Mike Scioscia, pleased with Jered Weaver, who held the Rays to one run on four hits over seven innings. "You need a pitcher to go out and throw 200 quality innings, which is something a pitcher strives for. That's what important. You can give a guy the ball, let him go out and get beat up and give you 200 innings, and that's going to have a minimum positive effect on the outcome of your season."

Both teams have one more series before the All-Star break. The Rays go to Boston, hoping to find some positive momentum to take into the break, while the Angels go to Baltimore, aiming to close out their road trip with more hitting and more wins.

 

[Can'tPickaWinner2]

Preview: Pirates (44-41) at Cardinals (43-41)

Game: 4
Venue: Busch Stadium
Date: July 07, 2016 1:45 PM EDT

ST.LOUIS - Jameson Taillon and Steven Brault have already made successful major league debuts in the last month for the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Now comes perhaps their top pitching prospect down the assembly line to take the mound for the first time as a big leaguer.

Right-hander Tyler Glasnow will make his debut Thursday as Pittsburgh tries to sweep a four-game series from the St. Louis Cardinals in St. Louis for the first time since 1997.

Glasnow will officially be called up for the start in the morning, although he already had locker space in the team's dressing room Wednesday. The 6-foot-6 Glasnow went 7-2 with a 1.78 earned run average this year at Triple-A Indianapolis, fanning 113 over 96 innings.

"I think it speaks to the way we raise players in our system," Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said of this run of young pitchers. "But once you're here, the biggest challenge starts. Do you like to compete Can you make adjustments?"

That's a question Glasnow's mound opponent has answered many times over the years.

Cardinals' right-hander Adam Wainwright gets the call, hoping to snap his team's 10-game losing streak at home against winning teams.

Wainwright (7-5, 4.70) is coming off a 3-0 win Saturday over Milwaukee, tossing seven innings despite not having his top velocity or command, particularly to his arm side. He used more curves to compensate and induced three double play balls.

St. Louis needs a big outing from Wainwright in the worst way. It fell to third place Wednesday night with a come-from-ahead 7-5 loss in which it coughed up a 5-1 lead, and might have lost yet another player to a growing disabled list.

The Cardinals only All-Star, second baseman Matt Carpenter, suffered a right oblique injury on a half-swing in the third inning and left the game. Carpenter went through an MRI tube after the game, but details were not available afterwards.

When Carpenter last suffered an oblique injury in 2012, he missed a month. A similar absence would rob St. Louis of a guy batting .298 with 14 homers and 53 RBI from the leadoff spot.

"I dont know the similarities," Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said of the injuries, "But when he grabbed (at it), we just had to get him off the field. High level of concern."

If Carpenter has to go on the disabled list, he would be the fourth player the team has had to shelve since Friday.

Reliever Kevin Siegrist (mono), first baseman/outfielder Brandon Moss (ankle) and backup catcher Brayan Pena (left knee) are on the DL. Additionally, third baseman Jhonny Peralta (left thumb) left Tuesday night's game early and wasn't available on Wednesday night.

The injuries haven't helped during the Cardinals latest losing homestand, which has left them 18-26 at Busch Stadium, where last year they were 55-26. Wednesday night's defeat dropped St. Louis (43-41) into third place in the National League Central, a half-game behind the Pirates (43-40).

Pittsburgh will try to stretch its season-high winning streak to eight games.

"We're just playing a bit better than the other team," Pirates manager Clint Hurdle explained said. "We're not reinventing the game."

 

[Can'tPickaWinner2]

Preview: Tigers (45-40) at Blue Jays (48-39)

Game: 1
Venue: Rogers Centre
Date: July 07, 2016 7:07 PM EDT

TORONTO -- There will be a game within the game Thursday when the Detroit Tigers play the Toronto Blue Jays in the opener of a four-game series at Rogers Centre.

Both teams have playoff aspirations and could be in the mix for wild card spots down the road,

Then there is a more immediate drama.

Detroit second baseman Ian Kinsler and Toronto left fielder Michael Saunders are facing each other in the polls as American League All-Star Final Vote candidates.

The other candidates are Houston Astros outfielder George Springer, Boston Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia and Tampa Bay Rays third baseman Evan Longoria.

The game Thursday will be the only game in the series that could influence the voting, which closes at 4 p.m. Friday.

Saunders was leading the polls as of Wednesday night with Kinsler fourth. He also helped himself by hitting his 16th homer of the season and then driving in the go-ahead run in the eighth inning of the 4-2 victory over the Kansas City Royals.

Kinsler was 3-for-4 and scored three runs Wednesday afternoon to help the Tigers defeat the Cleveland Indians for the first time in 12 games against them this season, 12-2.

"First and foremost, what's important right now is that we get the wins," Saunders said. "Finish strong leading into the all-star break. Obviously the support that I've received, not only from the guys in this locker room and this organization, but fans all across Canada words can't explain how grateful I am."

"He's had a tremendous year," Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said. "I guess he goes unnoticed with some of the fire power and the big names we have on the team. He just kind of slides by."

Saunders is batting .296 with 40 RBIs.

"I would love to play in the game," Kinsler said. "It's always an honor, always a privilege to be an All-Star. If I'm deserving, if the people think I'm deserving, I guess I will go. There are obviously other good players in the Final Vote, guys who are having really good years. They should all be there."

Tigers All-Star first baseman Miguel Cabrera said. "Now we've got to make a push for Kinsler. He is one of our best players in the lineup. He does everything to win games for us.

Kinsler is batting .293 with 16 homers and 52 RBIs.

Saunders has had some success against the Tigers in his career, batting .307 (27-for-88) with 10 RBIs.

He has not been so successful against Justin Verlander (8-6, 4.11) who will start the opener on Thursday. Saunders is 3-for-20 against the Tigers right-hander.

Kinsler is batting .233 in his career against the Blue Jays but has done much better since joining the Tigers in 2014, hitting .333 (22-for-66) with 15 RBIs.

Verlander is 3-4 with a 4.90 ERA in 10 career starts against Toronto. He is 2-1 with a 3.25 ERA in four career starts at Rogers Centre, where he had a no-hitter in 2011.

Verlander has 115 strikeouts, fourth in the league, in 111 innings. The Blue Jays whiffed 15 times Wednesday against the Kansas City Royals.

With Marco Estrada -- who was named to the All-Star team -- going on the disabled list with a sore back on Wednesday, the start on Thursday falls to Drew Hutchison (1-0, 5.40 ERA), who has made 15 of his 16 starts this season with Triple-A Buffalo, where he is 6-3 with a 2.78 ERA. In three career starts against the Tigers, he is 1-1 with a 2.89 ERA.

 

[Can'tPickaWinner2]

Preview: Nationals (51-35) at Mets (46-38)

Game: 1
Venue: Citi Field
Date: July 07, 2016 7:10 PM EDT

NEW YORK -- The New York Mets have changed a lot in the eight days since they were swept by the Washington Nationals in Washington, D.C. But the Nationals hope the result remains the same during a four-game series this weekend in New York.

The series pitting the top two teams in the National League East begins Thursday night, when the suddenly scorching Mets host the first-place Nationals at Citi Field.

The Nationals remained four games ahead of the Mets by virtue of a 7-4 win over the Milwaukee Brewers on Wednesday. Earlier in the day, New York beat the Miami Marlins 4-2.

The Nationals' lead was six games on June 29, the day they capped the sweep of the Mets. At that time, it seemed as if the final series before the All-Star break might present an opportunity for Washington to bury the defending NL champions.

But the Mets responded to the three straight losses by authoring a four-game sweep of the Chicago Cubs and then taking two of three from the Miami Marlins. New York outscored the Cubs and Marlins 46-24 in the last seven games -- a stunning turnaround for a team that scored just 47 runs in 15 games from June 14 through June 29.

"I said it a lot in the Cubs series: Coming into that series without playing well, (it was) really, really important to have a good series against them, and we did," Mets manager Terry Collins said Wednesday afternoon. "(The) Marlins, for all the years I've been here, play us tougher than any team we play, I think.

"Now we've got to go against the Nationals, who are going to come in here looking to put some more distance between us. So we've got our work cut out for us this weekend."

So do the Nationals, who went 3-3 between series against the Mets despite playing two NL Central non-contenders in the Brewers and Cincinnati Reds.

"I always want to go into the All-Star break hot and come out hot," Nationals manager Dusty Baker told reporters Wednesday.

Nationals right fielder and reigning NL Most Valuable Player Bryce Harper put his inimitable succinct spin on the weekend.

"How many games are we up on them? Four?" Harper told reporters Wednesday. "We could either be tied or up eight. It's plain and simple."

Mets right-hander Bartolo Colon is scheduled to start Thursday's opener against Nationals right-hander Lucas Giolito in perhaps the most distinct old vs. young battle of the season.

Colon is the oldest player in baseball at 43 and has 483 starts under his belt, most among active players. He has been pitching so long that his first appearance against the Nationals' franchise came in 2002, when the team was still the Montreal Expos. Colon is 4-6 with a 3.15 ERA in 11 career appearances (10 starts) against the Nationals/Expos.

The 21-year-old Giolito. meanwhile, is the seventh-youngest player in the majors and has made just one career start. He threw four shutout innings against the Mets in an appearance cut short by a rain delay on June 28.

 

[Can'tPickaWinner2]

Preview: Yankees (41-43) at Indians (51-33)

Game: 1
Venue: Progressive Field
Date: July 07, 2016 7:10 PM EDT

CLEVELAND -- The Cleveland Indians and New York Yankees will meet for the first time this season Thursday night in the opener of a four-game series at Progressive Field.

Both teams are coming off losses on Wednesday. Cleveland fell 12-2 at home to the Detroit Tigers, while the Yankees were shut out by the White Sox 5-0 in Chicago.

For the Yankees, the series in Cleveland will conclude a 10-game road trip leading into the All-Star break. The Yankees, mired in fourth place in the American League East, are 2-4 in the first six games of their trip. They lost two of three to the San Diego Padres and dropped two of three in Chicago.

The Indians, meanwhile, have been one of the majors' most refreshing success stories. They recently had a team-record 14-game winning streak, and Wednesday's 12-2 loss to Detroit was the Indians' first defeat at home since May 31 and snapped a 13-game winning streak at Progressive Field.

Winners of 16 of their last 19 games overall, the Indians are in first place in the AL Central, 6 1/2 games ahead of the second-place Tigers, and they've impressed Yankees manager Joe Girardi.

"They're playing extremely well, and I think it all starts with their starting pitching," Girardi said. "They've pitched extremely well. Their bullpen has done a nice job, and they have young players who are playing well. They are a complete club. They are not going to beat themselves. So it will be a tough series."

Indians manager Terry Francona says one of the unheralded areas of strength on his team is its base running. "We've been a very good base-running team, which is good because we worked on it a lot in spring training," Francona said. "We need to be a team that can score from second on a hit, and go from first to third on a hit."

The pitching matchup for the series opener will feature Cleveland's Trevor Bauer (7-2, 3.02 ERA) versus New York's Ivan Nova (5-5, 5.06). Bauer's last appearance, and last win, came in relief. In the Indians' 2-1 win over Toronto in 19 innings on July 1, Bauer was pressed into service as a reliever and pitched the last five innings, holding Toronto scoreless on two hits. Bauer has struggled in his career versus the Yankees, going 1-3 with a 4.78 ERA in five appearances.

Nova is looking for his first win since June 9. In four starts since, he is 0-2 with a 6.98 ERA while allowing opposing batters to hit .333 against him. In two career starts vs. Cleveland, Nova is 1-1 with a 3.75 ERA.

The Yankees are 0-3-1 in their last four series vs. Cleveland since the start of the 2014 season. New York was 2-5 against the Indians last year, the five losses being the Yankees' most in a season to Cleveland since 2000, when they were also 5-5.

 

[Can'tPickaWinner2]

Preview: Twins (29-55) at Rangers (53-33)

Game: 1
Venue: Globe Life Park in Arlington
Date: July 07, 2016 8:05 PM EDT

The Texas Rangers are looking forward to a few days off with the All-Star break looming. They've been scuffling some and are battling injuries, especially to their pitching staff, so the Midsummer Classic couldn't come at a better time.

But before the American League West leaders can kick their heels up, the Minnesota Twins are coming to town for four games. The series opener is Thursday night at Globe Life Park in Arlington.

These are the only four home game for the Rangers (53-33) in a span of 23 games overall. Texas just came off a 4-6 road trip that ended with Wednesday night's 11-6 loss at Boston and heads out on a nine-game trip after the break.

The Rangers committed three errors in the second inning Wednesday, allowing the Red Sox to break the game open.

"Not the way we wanted to end the road trip," Rangers manager Jeff Banister said, "but it will be nice to get back home, get to Arlington, show up tomorrow, and hopefully put together four quality baseball games before the break and allow these guys to have some time off their feet."

Texas is 28-12 at home and 12-0-1 in its last 13 home series. The Rangers still own a (7.5 or 6.5-game) division lead over Houston.

Minnesota (29-55) won two out of three against the Rangers last weekend at Target Field to snap Texas' streak of 13 straight series victories. The Twins have also claimed five of the last seven between the clubs.

"It's necessary for us to regain some momentum," Banister said. "Obviously it's nice to be able to try to do it in our ballpark.

"We didn't play so well against Minnesota. We've got to play better against that ballclub. They look to be playing a little bit better right now. It's nice that we saw them recently, so we know what to expect."

Minnesota is coming off Wednesday afternoon's 4-0 home shutout of Oakland, and have won four of their last five. The Twins technically beat the A's twice Wednesday, as Tuesday night's 11-4 victory ended after 1 a.m. due to a long rain delay.

Getting back on the field about 11 hours later and winning again wasn't lost on manager Paul Molitor.

"It was one of those games where you're challenged as a professional to be out there and give it your best effort even when your body is telling it's being pushed a little bit," he told MLB.com. "So to win two games in situations we're not usually accustomed to was a good sign. We had a good homestand and had a chance to win all six games."

The Twins are 12-9 against the AL West, compared to 11-39 against the rest of the AL this season.

Minnesota sends right-hander Tyler Duffey (4-6, 5.62 ERA) to the mound for the series opener. The right-hander leads the team in wins and beat Texas on Saturday after allowing four runs on eight hits with two strikeouts and no walks over 6.0 innings.

Duffey was backed by plenty of offense in the 17-5 victory. Texas righty Chi Chi Gonzalez (0-1, 9.53) was on the losing end of that one and didn't get out of the first inning.

The Rangers' defense didn't do Gonzalez any favors, failing to make several plays that could have resulted in outs and ended the inning much sooner.

Texas starters have taxed the bullpen lately with short outings. Gonzalez going deep into the game would be a big help.

Minnesota, making its only trip of the season to the Lone Star State, should get back shortstop Eduardo Escobar during the series. He ran sprints before Wednesday's game at Oakland to test his strained left hamstring.

"He's doing better," Molitor told MLB.com. "When he got hurt, everyone thought going on the DL would be too long."

Escobar was injured running the bases Saturday, but didn't go on the disabled list.

Texas made a roster move Wednesday by recalling outfielder Jared Hoying for insurance reasons with Shin-Soo Choo dealing lower back stiffness. Nomar Mazara started in right field in place of Choo against the Red Sox.

 

[Can'tPickaWinner2]

Preview: Braves (28-57) at Cubs (52-32)

Game: 1
Venue: Wrigley Field
Date: July 07, 2016 8:05 PM EDT

CHICAGO -- The weary Chicago Cubs are scheduled to play a game for the 21st straight day Thursday -- the latest in a run of 24 consecutive dates -- as the Atlanta Braves arrive for a one-off makeup game.

The match completes a three-game Wrigley Field series from late April and works out perfectly for the Braves, who open a three-game series with the Chicago White Sox at U.S. Cellular Field on Friday.

But the rescheduled night game does the Cubs no favors since Thursday was originally off-day and getaway day for a trip to Pittsburgh and a three-game series that carries Chicago to the All-Star break.

Cubs manager Joe Maddon tried to give his pitching staff an extra day off during the long run. He brought up right-hander Adam Warren from Triple-A Iowa for a spot start on Wednesday -- his first of the season.

"We thought it was the most optimal moment to attempt to do something like this," Maddon said.

Warren worked five innings and gave up just one run on three hits while striking out six. He retired the last 11 batters he faced.

Whether he gets another shot after the All Star break hasn't been determined but he believes he's made a case to stay.

The regular rotation resumes on Thursday with Jason Hammel, Jake Arrieta, Jon Lester and John Lackey working consecutive games into the All-Star break.

All four suffered losses in their previous starts.

The Cubs collectively are slumping since late June with a 5-12 record while losing four of five series in the span.

"I really can't explain it right now but we're still going to try to go out there and get the job done," said shortstop Addison Russell. "Obviously the past few weeks it hasn't been working but we still have high hope and high faith."

Most of the Cubs will get four days away from baseball next week before resuming the season on July 15 at home against Texas.

But seven won't get time off, instead traveling to San Diego where they will participate in the All-Star Game.

Five Cubs -- first baseman Anthony Rizzo, second baseman Ben Zobrist, Russell, third baseman Kris Bryant and outfielder Dexter Fowler -- were voted National League starters while pitchers Jake Arrieta and Jon Lester were also named to the roster.

On Thursday, Hammel (7-5) will make his 17th start and just his seventh at home. In his last outing he gave up a career-high five home runs and 10 earned runs over four innings in a 10-2 loss to the Mets. The Cubs are 0-5 in his last five starts.

Chicago and Atlanta split the two other games in an early season series as Pedro Strop picked up the win in relief in a 6-1 decision on April 29. Reliever Hector Rondon was tagged with the loss in a 4-3 decision on May 1.

While the Cubs are struggling of late, the Braves are even worse.

Atlanta started the season with nine straight losses and was 6-18 by the time it left Chicago on May 1.

Fortunes haven't improved since. Atlanta (28-57) has dropped 10 of its last 13 and Philadelphia completed a four-game sweep of the Braves with Wednesday's 4-3 victory.

On Thursday, right-hander Lucas Harrell (1-0, 1.50) makes his second appearance and start since the Braves selected his contract from Triple-A Gwinnett on July 2.

Harrell, 31, worked six innings and allowed one run on three hits in his lone appearance -- a 9-1 Braves victory over Miami on July 2.

It was his first big league appearance since April 15, 2014, while with the Astros.

After Thursday, the Braves move on to play the Chicago White Sox in a weekend inter-league series.

 

[Can'tPickaWinner2]

Preview: Athletics-Astros
By MoiseKapenda Bower, The Sports Xchange

HOUSTON -- After their pitching carried them to a pair of victories this week and set the stage for a series sweep of the Seattle Mariners, the Houston Astros turned to their offense to seal the deal in a 9-8 win Wednesday night.
Entering Wednesday, the Astros owned the second-best ERA (3.43) in the American League since May 1. Despite an off night on the mound in the finale against Seattle, Houston (46-39) generally is showcasing impressive pitching depth.
"We have a lot of guys that are pitch executers and are really good at it," Astros manager A.J. Hinch said. "Sometimes that comes with some disrespect (from the opposition). I feel like our guys can stand their own, and when we go out and pitch our game, we have every opportunity to win (that) game, which is the role of the starting pitcher.
"You have to earn that over time, and sometimes the narrative doesn't follow the facts. I love our pitching staff, we have ways to get better, and I look forward to seeing if the script can maintain this type of consistency the rest of the season."
Astros right-hander Doug Fister (8-5, 3.66 ERA) will seek to rebound against the Athletics on Thursday from consecutive losses following a career-high-tying, seven-game winning streak. Fister surrendered five runs on nine hits over 4 2/3 innings against the Chicago White Sox on July 2, the most runs he allowed since April 14 against the Kansas City Royals.
Fister has enjoyed success against the Athletics this season and throughout his career. He is 2-0 with a 0.71 ERA in two starts against Oakland in 2016, allowing one earned run over 12 2/3 innings. For his career, Fister is 7-6 with a 3.17 ERA over 15 starts against the A's.
Athletics left-hander Rich Hill (8-3, 2.31 ERA) will make his 10th career appearance and sixth start against the Astros, against whom he is 2-1 with a 2.88 ERA.
Hill will make his second start since his return from the disabled list. Sidelined for the entire month of June due to left groin discomfort, Hill allowed two runs on four hits and two walks with six strikeouts over six innings against the Pirates on July 2, a game the Athletics lost 4-2.
"Everything was good command," Hill said. "Breaking ball was good, changeup was good, slider was good. I just expect more out of myself going out there. When we go out there and score two runs we (need) a shutdown inning to keep us ahead and let them work. That's one thing that didn't sit well with me."
The 36-year-old veteran had won five consecutive starts before landing on the DL.
The Athletics (36-49) have lost six of seven games and were swept in three games in their last visit to Houston. Perhaps the only recent bright spot for Oakland was the Wednesday performance of ace right-hander Sonny Gray, who allowed one run over six innings in a 4-0 loss to the Minnesota Twins.

 

[Can'tPickaWinner2]

Preview: Mariners (43-42) at Royals (43-41)

Game: 1
Venue: Ewing M. Kauffman Stadium
Date: July 07, 2016 8:15 PM EDT

Kansas City is in need of a boost heading into the All-Star break.

The reigning World Series champion Royals have dropped five of six entering Thursday's opener of their four-game series with the Seattle Mariners in Kansas City, which will bring both teams into the break.

Kansas City suffered its fourth straight loss Wednesday night while stumbling through a three-game sweep by Toronto, which concluded with a 4-2 defeat.

The Royals (43-41) haven't been as dominant since ending a 30-year title drought last year, but they're only a hot streak from contending in the American League Central.

"We're an aggressive team when we're swinging the bats well," Kansas City manager Ned Yost said. "Right now, we're just not making any hard contact."

Seattle, meanwhile, had won five of eight entering Wednesday's series finale at Houston, which it lost 9-8 after starter Wade LeBlanc gave up five runs in 3 1/3 innings.

The Mariners (43-42) took two of three when the teams first met this year on April 29-May 1, blanking Kansas City in the first two games. Last season, the Royals won four of six against the Mariners.

Two 27-year-old southpaws toe the rubber Thursday as Seattle's James Paxton (2-3, 4.24 ERA) counters Kansas City's Danny Duffy (4-1, 3.11).

Paxton is making his eighth start in place of ace Felix Hernandez, who landed on the disabled list June 1 with with a strained right calf.

He is 2-3 with a 4.24 ERA in place of Hernandez, who threw a 45-pitch, three inning simulated game Wednesday and said he is ready to begin a minor league rehab assignment.

"That was pretty good, to get back out there and face some hitters," Hernandez told MLB.com. "That last inning was 100 percent. I picked up the intensity and it was way better. It felt pretty good. I'm happy."

In his last outing, Paxton surrendered four runs (three earned), nine hits and two walks with two strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings of Saturday's victory over Baltimore.

Paxton has experienced smooth sailing against the Royals historically, going 1-0 with a 2.16 ERA in two starts against the defending champs.

One of his best starts came against Kansas City in 2013, when he struck out a career-high 10 batters while holding the Royals scoreless on four hits and no walks in seven innings.

Eric Hosmer is the only Kansas City batter with more than one hit off Paxton, going 2-for-4 against him.

Duffy is looking to make it three straight starts of at least eight innings after allowing just four runs while striking out 16 in his last 16 2/3 innings entering Wednesday.

On Saturday, Duffy limited Philadelphia to two runs and seven hits in a personal-best 8 2/3 innings, fanning eight for the third consecutive start. He also didn't walk a batter for the second straight outing.

In his last six starts, Duffy has had his punch-out pitch working, striking out eight or more in five of those outings -- including a career-high 10 on June 11 at the Chicago White Sox.

Duffy is 0-1 with a 1.69 ERA in five career appearances (three starts) against the Mariners. Robinson Cano has given him fits, going 4-for-11 (.364) with a homer and four RBIs.

Chris Ianetta has two hits against Duffy, going 2-for-6 with a homer and two RBIs, and Kyle Seager is 3-for-8.

 

[Can'tPickaWinner2]

Preview: Phillies (40-46) at Rockies (38-46)

Game: 1
Venue: Coors Field
Date: July 07, 2016 8:40 PM EDT

DENVER -- A brief road trip for the Philadelphia Phillies and a short homestand for the Colorado Rockies will take both clubs to the All-Star break.

They teams begin a four-game series Thursday night at Coors Field.

The Phillies, who just finished a 5-1 homestand against Kansas City and Atlanta by sweeping a three-game series with the Braves, have won eight of their past nine games. Philadelphia, 19-23 on the road, has won three consecutive series, one shy of its season high.

In their first 71 games through June 20, the Phillies scored a major-league-low 221 runs, an average of 3.1 per game. In their past 15 games, they have scored 87 runs, an average of 5.8 per game.

The Phillies hit 24 home runs in their past 15 games, going 10-5 in that stretch. In their previous 24 games, they went 4-20 while hitting 24 home runs.

Maikel Franco has homered in four straight games, the first Phillies player to do so since Ryan Howard accomplished the feat Sept. 19-22, 2012.

Franco is one shy of the Phillies' record for homers in consecutive games. Chase Utley (twice during the 2008 season), Bobby Abreu, Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt and Dick Allen homered in five straight games for the Phillies. Franco has yet to homer at Coors Field, where he is 4-for-15 with a double and three RBIs in four games.

Franco hit .375 with six homers and 16 RBIs in his past 15 games, coinciding with the team's 10-5 surge. When the Phillies weren't hitting, Franco was overly aggressive. In the 15-game surge, however, he has drawn nine walks in 66 plate appearances, including a key walk in the eighth inning Wednesday ahead of Freddy Galvis' game-winning, two-run homer. Franco drew 16 walks in his first 263 plate appearances this season.

"Sometimes when you get frustrated, when you see the team not doing (well), that's the first thing you think about -- you want to go out there and try to do something, and obviously at that point you try to do too much," Franco said. "But right now, I just feel comfortable at the plate. The team's showing a lot of energy. We're playing as a team."

Aaron Nola's turn in the rotation comes up Thursday, but manager Pete Mackanin said the Phillies want to give Nola, who is in his first full season in the big leagues, time to "clear his head." Nola is 0-4 with a 13.50 ERA in his past five starts, though he retired the final 10 Royals he faced Saturday with six strikeouts.

Rather than make one more start before the All-Star break, Nola will throw a simulated game at Coors Field during the series, and left-hander Adam Morgan, who is 1-6 with a 6.31 ERA in 13 games, 11 starts, the last on June 22, will replace him Thursday. Morgan will face the Rockies for the first time.

Morgan just left the rotation to become the long man in the bullpen when Vince Velasquez was reinstated from the disabled list June 27.

The Rockies, who have lost seven of their past eight games, are returning home after a 1-5 road trip to face the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants. They scored one run in four of the losses and were shut out in the other.

The one win came Tuesday at San Francisco. Giants ace Madison Bumgarner left after six scoreless innings, and the Rockies erupted for seven runs in the seventh and eighth and won 7-3.

A night earlier, after the Rockies lost their season-high sixth consecutive game, first baseman Mark Reynolds said, "It's a snowball going in the wrong direction. We have to get out of this hole we dug ourselves into."

They did -- for one night. Then San Francisco's Johnny Cueto limited them to five singles Wednesday night in his complete-game 5-1 win.

Chad Bettis, who is 6-6 with a 5.85 ERA, will start the first game with the Phillies. He lost his last start Saturday at Los Angeles when he allowed four runs in six innings in a 6-1 defeat. In his past two starts, Bettis is 0-1 with a 9.00 ERA, having allowed 18 hits and 11 runs in 11 innings.

The right-hander was 4-2 with a 4.18 ERA on May 17. In eight subsequent starts, he is 2-4 with an 8.24 ERA.

After getting pushed around on the road by the Dodgers and Giants, the Rockies will play their next four series, totaling 14 games, against teams with losing records. That stretch starts against the Phillies, albeit a hot Phillies club at this point, and gives the Rockies their latest chance to assert themselves at Coors Field.

Given their historic road woes, the Rockies need to dominate at home, but are just 18-20 in Denver this season.

 

[Can'tPickaWinner2]

Preview: Padres (37-48) at Dodgers (48-39)

Game: 1
Venue: Dodger Stadium
Date: July 07, 2016 10:10 PM EDT

LOS ANGELES -- For the second time in five days, one of the Los Angeles Dodgers' veteran starting pitchers will return to the rotation after spending more than a year recuperating from surgery.

Left-hander Hyun-Jin Ryu will make his first start in nearly two years Thursday night when the Dodgers and the San Diego Padres begin a four-game series at Dodger Stadium.

"He thought he could help us win a ballgame on Thursday," Los Angeles manager Dave Roberts said. "He was open to whatever we felt. But we wanted to have the conversation with him about his comfort level and how he felt physically and mentally. He was really certain and excited about making a start with us."

Ryu had not pitched since Oct. 6, 2014, when he held the St. Louis Cardinals to one run in six innings during the third game of the National League Division Series. During spring training the following year, Ryu felt shoulder pain after two starts. Doctors diagnosed him with a torn labrum, and he had surgery in May 2015.

The 29-year-old Korean made a total of eight rehab starts this year for Class A Rancho Cucamonga and Triple-A Oklahoma City despite having his program interrupted twice: once in April because of a strained groin and again in May when his shoulder continued to bother him.

In his final rehab outing, Friday for Rancho Cucamonga, Ryu allowed two runs on five hits in six innings and struck out three while issuing no walks. He threw 84 pitches and averaged 86 mph on his fastball, which reached 90 mph.

"What I have accomplished as far as my rehab goals, gaining all my pitches in quite a few outings, I think I'm pretty much ready to go," Ryu said through an interpreter.

Ryu rejoins a Dodgers rotation that just got back right-hander Brandon McCarthy, who underwent Tommy John surgery in April 2015. McCarthy conceded just two hits and one walk while amassing eight strikeouts in five shutout innings to earn a 4-1 victory Sunday over the Colorado Rockies.

Ryu's arrival, combined with McCarthy's, comes at a pivotal juncture. The Dodgers are trying to erode the San Francisco Giants' lead in the National League West with three starting pitchers still on the disabled list, including ace Clayton Kershaw.

Before missing all of last year, Ryu compiled a 28-15 record and a 3.17 ERA in two seasons with the Dodgers.

Opposing Ryu will be left-hander Drew Pomeranz, the Padres' ace who already established personal records with seven victories and 109 strikeouts and is on pace for career highs in starts and innings pitched.

Pomeranz (7-7) leads San Diego not only in those categories but also owns the lowest ERA (2.65) and the lowest opponents' batting average (.191) among the Padres' starters.

"Everything lines up with top-of-the-rotation guys," San Diego manager Andy Green told MLB.com in describing Pomeranz's statistics. "He's pitched like an ace."

Against the Dodgers, Pomeranz seeks his third consecutive winning decision. He has thrown three successive quality starts. In his past two appearances covering 14 innings, Pomeranz collected 13 strikeouts while permitting only one run, one walk and eight hits.

"I feel like I have four solid pitches that I've used these last two times out," Pomeranz told MLB.com. "I've been pretty efficient, pretty effective with everything. Fastball, cutter, curveball, everything's coming together now."

The Padres arrive at Dodger Stadium after winning two of three in Arizona against the Diamondbacks, including a 13-6 victory Wednesday. The Dodgers just dropped two of three at home to the Baltimore Orioles, including a 6-4, 14-inning setback in the series finale.

 

[Can'tPickaWinner2]

Thursday's Diamond Notes
By Tony Mejia

Hottest team: Pirates (7-0 last last seven)
Last night’s vanquishing of the Cardinals helped Pittsburgh leapfrog them into second place in the NL Central, extending its winning streak to a season-long seven, the longest such run since winning eight in a row from June 10-18, 2015. The Pirates have outscored opponents 41-18 during this stretch and have yet to be involved in a one-run game. Since they’ve been on the road, every one of the wins have been upsets that have netted a total of +990 for Pittsburgh-backers. After winning the second of a two-game set in Seattle, the Pirates swept a three-game series in Oakland and will look to claim four straight in St. Louis. Tyler Glasnow, a 22-year-old right-hander who has been dominating in the minor leagues, will try and keep the success going in his major-league debut against Cardinals standout Adam Wainwright (7-5, 4.70 ERA), who comes off a win over the Brewers where he pitched seven shutout innings. Glasnow has gone 7-2 with a 1.78 ERA at Triple-A Indianapolis, striking out 113 batters in 96.0 innings. He’s been known to have control issues, so look for the Cardinals to be patient early to see whether his nerves get the best of him. Andrew McCutchen has the most extensive history of any of the Pirates against Wainwright, batting .292 with a homer and 4 RBI in 48 at-bats. Josh Harrison is 7-for-18 (.389) against the big St. Louis righty, while Jordy Mercer has homered off him twice.

Coldest team: Braves (3-10 last 13)
A two-out, two-run home run from Freddy Galvis off closer Arodys Vizcaino denied the Braves a win Philadelphia, where they were swept in the first leg of a seven-game road trip heading into the All-Star break. They’ll spend the next four games in Chicago, visiting the Cubs today before heading to the South Side for a three-game set with the White Sox this weekend. Tonight’s contest is a make-up game from a April 30 rainout and marks the first time the Cubs haven’t had the best record in all of MLB since early in the season’s opening month after San Francisco surpassed them late Wednesday. On the flip side, Atlanta has slipped back behind Minnesota due to this recent slump and sports the worst mark in the league (28-57, .329). The Twins are the only other team who haven’t reached the 30-win mark. Veteran Lucas Harrrell (1-0, 1.50), who won a spot start by pitching six innings of one-run ball against Miami to earn his first major-league victory since August 2013, gets the ball again for the Braves. Despite the disparity between the records for these two teams, Chicago has won just three of five in the season series, but are Thursday's biggest favorite (-270). The Cubs send Jason Hammel (7-5, 3.45) looking to put an end to a skid that has seen them lose 12 of 17. His team has lost his last five starts. Hammel surrendered five homers in four innings against the Mets in his last start. Chicago visits surging Pittsburgh this weekend.

Hottest pitcher: Trevor Bauer (7-2, 3.02 ERA)
The Indians failed to sweep Detroit on Wednesday, surrendering the final dozen runs in a 12-2 rout after grabbing an early lead. Though they’re still on a marvelous run with wins in 16 of 19, the Tribe also got hammered 17-1 on Sunday and may be eagerly anticipating the All-Star break for a breather. They’ll try and get this four-game series against LeBron James’ Yankees by sending Bauer to the mound for his first start since June 27. Although he’s become a fixture in the rotation after opening in the bullpen, Bauer entered last Friday’s 19-inning classic at Toronto in the 15th and pitched five scoreless frames to help Cleveland set a new franchise-record with its 14th consecutive victory. He was skipped the next day, but hasn’t lost a start since May 21, winning four consecutive decisions. He hasn’t surrendered more than two earned runs in his last six appearances, a span of 42.2 innings. Bauer has struck out 40 batters while walking 12 in that span. Bauer is just 1-3 with a 4.78 ERA in five career starts against the Yanks. Brian McCann is the only member of New York’s roster to have homered against him. Ivan Nova (5-5, 5.06) will get the ball for the Bombers, who were blanked by the White Sox on Wednesday to fall to 2-4 entering the final leg of a 10-game road trip.

Coldest pitcher: Chi Chi Gonzalez (0-1, 9.53 ERA)
Although Chicago's Hammel would qualify in this category too, Texas' Gonzalez, who failed to get out of the first inning on Saturday at Minnesota, fits the category nicely. The 24-year-old has walked more batters than he's struck out over 72 career innings and has largely been a massive disappointment after starting his big-league career by giving up just three runs over 30 innings in his first four starts. He'll face a Twins offense that has helped win four of five games by twice cranking out double-digits in runs after acomplishing that just once over the season's first three months. Gonzalez allowed five runs in 5.2 innings in his only appearance in against Minnesota, ending up with a no-decision at Target Field last August. Opposing starter Tyler Duffey (4-6, 5.62) has had 38 runs scored for him over his last three starts.

Biggest UNDER run: Rockies (6-1 last seven)
The Rockies played eight consecutive games that climbed well 'over' the posted total entering their final date in June. In that span, games there were 130 runs scored in games involving baseball’s highest-scoring team, an average of 16.2 per game. Colorado closed last month with a 5-3 loss to Toronto and have been held to one run or fewer in five of its six July games, including last night’s 5-1 loss to the Johnny Cueto-led Giants. Ironically, the Rockies only win and ‘over’ game thus far this month came against Madison Bumgarner. They’ll look to get the offense back on track back in Denver against the visiting Phillies, who have won eight of nine, pulling off sweeps at Arizona and home against Atlanta while taking two of three from Kansas City. Chad Bettis (6-6, 5.85) gets the ball for Colorado and is just 2-2 with a brutal 6.69 ERA at Coors, while Phillies lefty Adam Morgan (1-6, 6.31) is 1-1 with a 5.60 road ERA and will be making his first appearance pitching in Denver’s altitude. The total has been set at 12.

Biggest OVER run: Padres (4-0, last four, 7-1 last eight)
The Diamondbacks have seen the 'over' prevail in their last seven games, but they're off tonight. That bumps up the mighty Padres, who picked up a 13-6 win at Arizona to score a third series victory in four chances. Since June 15, the 'over' has gone 15-4 in games involving San Diego, with factors including inexperienced starters, a slumping bullpen and the sizzling bat of All-Star Wil Myers. Teammates Yangervis Solarte and rookie Ryan Schimpf has gotten into the act, with the latter hitting two home runs in Phoenix to increase his total to four, all coming this month. Ace Drew Pomeranz (7-7, 2.65) may keep this total down since he's allowed just one run in his last 14 innings and held the Dodgers to a single run on three hits over seven frames last time he pitched in L.A. (May 1) The Dodgers are sending Korean righty Hyun-Jin Ryu to the mound for his first start since Game 3 of the 2014 NLDS. Ryu has been out with shoulder trouble since, but has looked promising in rehab, last allowing two runs over six innings at Class-A Rancho Cucamonga. He hit 90 on the radar gun. Ryu is 28-15 with a 3.17 ERA over 56 major-league regular-season starts.

Matchup to watch: Nationals at Mets
Although the Marlins made a big move in trading for Fernando Rodney, these two remain the top dogs in the N.L. East, setting up an important four-game set just before the break. Washington owns the most tenuous division lead in the National League, but will look to stay at least four games up by securing a split in Queens. The Mets were swept in a three-game set in D.C. to close out June, getting outscored 20-6. The teams split six May meetings, which included the Nats winning two of three at Citi Field. There has yet to be a one-run game in any of the nine encounters to date. Oddsmakers see this series opener as practically a pick'em, slightly favoring New York (-110) and 43-year-old Bartolo Colon (7-4, 2.87) at home against 21-year-old rookie Lucas Giolito (0-0, 0.00), who allowed just one hit over four innings in his major-league debut against the Mets on June 28. Colon is 1-1 against the Nats this season.

Betcha didn’t know: A’s ace Rich Hill (8-3, 2.31) returned from a month-long absence due to a groin injury in Saturday’s 4-2 loss to the hot Pirates, but he gave a great account of himself in front of scouts from contenders who are looking at him as a potential reinforcement prior to the trade deadline following a resurgent first half of 2016. The 36-year-old Boston native has already won more games this season than in any other in his 12-year career with the exception of 2007, when he went 11-8 for the Cubs, striking out a career-high 183 batters. The lefty has been fantastic through 12 starts as Oakland’s most successful reclamation project and should yield them a prospect or two prior to the trade deadline. He’ll be facing an Astros team he held to just two runs on two hits on May 1 in a game the A’s lost 2-1 against tonight’s pitcher, Doug Fister (8.5, 3.66). This should arguably be the best pitching matchup of the day and certainly offers the most size. Hill is listed 6’5. Fister is 6-foot-8.

Biggest public favorite: Indians (-160) vs. Yankees

Biggest public underdog: Padres (+117) at Dodgers

Biggest line move: Padres (+138 to +117)at Dodgers

 

[Can'tPickaWinner2]

'Cubbies big faves'

Atlanta Braves at Chicago Cubs July 7, 8:05 PM EST

The Atlanta Braves (28-57) are a complete mess no matter where, when they play. The club is 13-34 at home, 15-23 on the road, 10-18 in day games, 18-39 under the light's. Due to those gaudy numbers, no surprise to see Chicago Cubs pegged hefty -$2.75 moneyline favorite. A lot of juice to be laying when you consider Cubs are on a 1-6 skid and 0-5 slide with Jason Hammel handling starting duties which includes a 5-1 defeat vs Braves.

 

[Can'tPickaWinner2]

'Runs at a premium'

San Diego Padres at L.A. Dodgers July 7, 10:10 EST

L.A. Dodgers and San Diego Padres open a four-game series at Dodger Stadium in what has the markings of a low-scoring affair. The Dodgers have made a habit of playing 'Under' at Dodger Stadium this season. In 44 games 'Under' has been the right choice 31 times with 13 'Over' and Dodgers carry a 4-11 'Under' stretch the last fifteen in front of the home audience.

Additionally, the clubs have met three times this season at this venue with 'Under' being the right choice in each case. Finally, Padres have lefty Drew Pomeranz handling starting duties. Pomeranz off back-2-back gems tossing 14 innings of 1 run-ball has shown that he can keep the score low. In his last twelve starts the game has gone 'Under' ten times with two 'Over' and that includes holding Dodgers to one run on three hits over seven innings back on May 1st.

One final betting nugget favoring 'Under'. It's been the correct betting option whenever L.A. face a portsider on home field, since Dodgers are 9-1 'Under' last ten facing a lefty starter in front of the home crowd. Factor all that data together and the arrow is clearly pointing toward taking the 'Under'

 

[Can'tPickaWinner2]

MLB

Thursday's games

National League games

Pirates @ Cardinals
Glasnow makes his MLB debut here; he was 7-2, 1.78 in 17 AAA starts this year.

Wainwright is 2-1, 3.16 in his last four starts; his last six starts stayed under. Cardinals are 5-3 in his home starts.

Pirates won their last seven games; over is 9-6 in their last 15 games. St Louis lost ten of last 13 home games, under is 9-3-1 in their last 13 home games.

Nationals @ Mets
Giolito threw four shutout innings (45 PT) in his MLB debut; his start was shortened by rain.

Colon is 3-1, 1.93 in his last five starts (under 3-1-1); Mets are 5-3 in his home starts.

Washington won eight of last 11 games; they're 8-6 in road series openers. Over is 13-5 in their last 18 road games. Mets won eight of last nine home games, are 11-3 in home series openers. Under is 12-5-2 in last nineteen New York games.

Phillies @ Rockies
Morgan is 0-6, 8.42 in his last eight starts; his last six starts went over. Phillies are 1-4 in his road starts. .

Bettis is 1-1, 7.94 in his last three starts; over is 7-4 in his last 11. Rockies won his last three home starts.

Philly won eight of its last nine games; over is 15-6 in their last 21 road games Philly is 5-9 in road series openers. Colorado lost seven of last eight games, is 6-7 in home series openers. Over is 6-1 in last seven games at Coors Field. .

Padres @ Dodgers
Pomeranz is 2-0, 1.80 in his last three starts; 10 of his last 12 stayed under. San Diego is 3-5 in his road starts.

Ryu is making first '16 start after missing long time with shoulder issues. He is 28-15, 3.17 in 56 career starts, but his last start was in 2014. He was 0-1, 8.38 in three AAA rehab starts this season.

Padres are 10-6 in last 15 games, over is 14-4-1 in their last 19 games. Los Angeles won 10 of last 12 home games; eight of last ten games at Dodger Stadium stayed under. San Diego is 9-4 in road series openers. Dodgers are 7-7 in home series openers.

Braves @ Cubs
Harrell allowed one run in six IP (85 PT) in his first '16 start.

Hammel is 0-4, 6.35 in his last five starts; three of his last four went over. Cubs are 5-1 in his home starts.

Braves lost their last four games, are 4-9 in road series openers. Nine of Atlanta's last ten road games stayed under. Chicago lost six of last seven games- they're 11-2 in Wrigley series openers. Over is 11-3-1 in last fifteen Cub games.


American League games

Angels @ Rays
Santiago is 2-0, 3.33 in his last four starts; over is 10-2 in his last 12. Angels are 6-3 in his road starts this year.

Snell is 1-3, 6.53 in his last four starts (under 3-2).

Angels lost 12 of last 16 games, nine of their last 13 games went over. Tampa Bay lost 18 of its last 21 games; three of last five Tampa Bay games stayed under the total.

Tigers @ Blue Jays
Verlander is 4-1, 4.35 in his last six starts; six of his last eight stayed under. Detroit won five of his eight road starts.

Hutchison allowed two runs in 5.2 IP in his first '16 start, back in April.

Tigers won seven of last nine games, are 5-10 in road series openers. Over is 7-3 in their last ten games. Toronto is 15-6 in last 20 home games, three of last five Blue Jay games went over. Blue Jays are 4-10 in home series openers.

New York @ Indians
Nova is 0-2, 7.45 in his last four starts (over 5-5-1). Bronx is 2-3 in his road starts.

Bauer is 3-0, 1.91 in his last five starts; he pitched five innings in relief in Cleveland's win at Toronto Thursday. Four of last five Bauer starts stayed under. Indians are 4-2 in his home starts.

New York is 6-12 in its last 18 road games, seven of last nine Bronx road games went over total. Bronx is 6-8 in road series openers. Indians won 16 of last 19 games, are 9-4 in home series openers. Four of last five Cleveland games went over.

Twins @ Rangers
Duffey is 2-0, 3.21 in his last two starts; seven of his last nine went over. Minnesota is 4-2 in his road starts.

Gonzalez is 0-1, 14.29 in two starts this year (over 2-0).

Minnesota won four of last five games but is 3-9 in last 12 road games, 4-9 in road series openers. Over is 20-9-2 in their last 31 road games. Rangers lost six of last eight games, is 8-5 in home series openers. Over is 4-0-1 in last five Texas games.

A's @ Astros
Hill is 5-0, 2.13 in his last six starts, with last three staying under. Oakland won all six of his road starts.

Fister is 0-2, 7.15 in his last two starts; over is 4-1-1 in his last six home starts, with five of those going over the total.

A's lost six of last seven games, are 9-5 in road series openers. Over is 7-2 in Oakland's last nine road games. Houston won 16 of its last 20 games, 9-5 in home series openers; under is 10-3 in Astros' last 13 home tilts.

Mariners @ Royals
Paxton is
1-1, 6.38 in his last three starts; three of his last four went over.
Duffy is 3-0, 2.78 in his last five starts; under is 4-1-1 in his last six. Royals are 4-1 in his home starts. .

Mariners lost nine in row on road; eight of last nine Seattle road games stayed under. Mariners are 7-7 in road series openers. Royals lost five of last six games; they're 11-2 in home series openers. Over is 11-6-1 in last 18 Kansas City home games.


Teams won-lost records when this pitcher starts:

Pitt-StL-- Glasnow 0-0; Wainwright 11-6
Wsh-NY-- Giolito Colon 10-6
Phil-Col-- Morgan 2-9; Bettis 9-8
SD-LA-- Pomeranz 8-8; Ryu 0-0
Atl-Chi-- Harrell 1-0; Hammel 9-7 (0-5 last 5)

LA-TB-- Santiago 11-6; Snell 1-4
Det-Tor-- Verlander 10-7; Hutchison 1-0
NY-Clev-- Nova 5-6; Bauer 7-5
Min-Tex-- Duffey 5-8 (3-0 last 3); Gonzalez 1-1
A's-Hst-- Hill 8-4; Fister 11-5
Sea-KC-- Paxton 2-5; Duffy 7-3


Starting pitchers allowing 1+ runs in first inning:

Pitt-StL-- Glasnow 0-0; Wainwright 6-17
Wsh-NY-- Giolito Colon 5-15
Phil-Col-- Morgan 5-11; Bettis 8-17 (6 of last 7)
SD-LA-- Pomeranz 4-16; Ryu 0-0
Atl-Chi-- Harrell 0-1; Hammel 3-16

LA-TB-- Santiago 8-17; Snell 2-5
Det-Tor-- Verlander 6-17; Hutchison 0-1
NY-Clev-- Nova 3-11; Bauer 3-12
Min-Tex-- Duffey 3-13; Gonzalez 1-2
A's-Hst-- Hill 3-12; Fister 3-16
Sea-KC-- Paxton 2-7; Duffy 2-10

 

[Can'tPickaWinner2]

Thursday's six-pack

-- Dwyane Wade signed with Chicago, ending his 13-year run with the Heat.

-- To clear cap room, the Bulls traded Jose Calderon to the Lakers, Mike Dunleavy to the Cavaliers.

-- Wade has banked $156M (in salary) in his career; don't want to hear any whining about Miami not showing him respect- he'll turn 35 during next season.

-- Matt Harvey (shoulder) goes on DL; bad news for the Mets.

-- Orioles 6, Dodgers 4 (14)-- Chase Utley had six hits for the Dodgers.

-- 40-year old Ray Allen may be coming out of retirement, possibly to play for the Warriors. Allen last played for the Heat in 2014-- he turns 41 on July 20.

 

[Can'tPickaWinner2]

MLB

Thursday, July 7

Trend Report

12:10 PM
LA ANGELS vs. TAMPA BAY
LA Angels are 5-2 SU in their last 7 games when playing on the road against Tampa Bay
LA Angels are 5-11 SU in their last 16 games on the road
Tampa Bay is 1-6 SU in its last 7 games
Tampa Bay is 2-5 SU in their last 7 games when playing at home against LA Angels

1:45 PM
PITTSBURGH vs. ST. LOUIS
Pittsburgh is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
Pittsburgh is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games on the road
St. Louis is 1-6 SU in its last 7 games when playing at home against Pittsburgh
St. Louis is 4-8 SU in its last 12 games when playing Pittsburgh

7:07 PM
DETROIT vs. TORONTO
Detroit is 2-5 SU in its last 7 games when playing Toronto
Detroit is 5-2 SU in its last 7 games on the road
Toronto is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
Toronto is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home

7:10 PM
NY YANKEES vs. CLEVELAND
NY Yankees are 2-4 SU in their last 6 games
The total has gone OVER in 4 of NY Yankees's last 6 games
Cleveland is 16-3 SU in its last 19 games
Cleveland is 13-1 SU in its last 14 games at home

7:10 PM
WASHINGTON vs. NY METS
The total has gone OVER in 10 of Washington's last 15 games on the road
Washington is 8-3 SU in its last 11 games
NY Mets are 6-1 SU in its last 7 games
NY Mets are 1-4 SU in its last 5 games when playing Washington

8:05 PM
MINNESOTA vs. TEXAS
The total has gone OVER in 17 of Minnesota's last 24 games
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Minnesota's last 9 games on the road
Texas is 2-5 SU in its last 7 games when playing Minnesota
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Texas's last 5 games when playing Minnesota

8:05 PM
ATLANTA vs. CHI CUBS
Atlanta is 1-5 SU in their last 6 games when playing on the road against Chi Cubs
Atlanta is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games on the road
Chi Cubs are 1-6 SU in their last 7 games
The total has gone OVER in 9 of Chi Cubs's last 13 games

8:10 PM
OAKLAND vs. HOUSTON
Oakland is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games when playing Houston
The total has gone OVER in 7 of Oakland's last 9 games on the road
Houston is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Oakland
Houston is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing Oakland

8:15 PM
SEATTLE vs. KANSAS CITY
Seattle is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games on the road
Seattle is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games when playing on the road against Kansas City
Kansas City is 14-4 SU in its last 18 games at home
The total has gone OVER in 13 of Kansas City's last 18 games at home

8:40 PM
PHILADELPHIA vs. COLORADO
Philadelphia is 15-8 SU in its last 23 games when playing on the road against Colorado
Philadelphia is 3-6 SU in its last 9 games when playing on the road against Colorado
Colorado is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games when playing Philadelphia
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Colorado's last 5 games when playing Philadelphia

10:10 PM
SAN DIEGO vs. LA DODGERS
San Diego is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games
The total has gone OVER in 7 of San Diego's last 8 games
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of LA Dodgers's last 6 games
The total has gone UNDER in 8 of LA Dodgers's last 10 games at home