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Whether you crave an analysis on a pitching match-up or a breakdown of how a particular team plays away on grass, this site will provide you with all of that information and so much more.

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MLB News

MLB: Five teams go for sweeps on Wednesday
2010-07-07

Another full schedule of 15 baseball games awaits on Wednesday night, and interestingly, in one-third of them, one of the teams is looking to wrap up a 3-game sweep of its opponent. The Cubs, Tigers, Rays, Yankees, and Royals all have a chance to finish off already successful series’. Let’s take a look at those matchups, focusing specifically on the sweep aspect and how we might take advantage for Wednesday. Get all of the key betting information for these and all 10 other MLB games on the GAME MATCHUPS page on Sportsbook.com.

(963) CHICAGO CUBS (DEMPSTER) at (964) ARIZONA (JACKSON) 9:40 PM

With a road record of 17-24 this season, sweeps are obviously a rarity for the Cubs when away from Wrigleyville. In fact, it has only happened one time in 2010, that being a 3-game set back in Milwaukee in late April. The Diamondbacks have been swept twice at home this season, as they lost six straight games to the Brewers and Dodgers back in May.

Tonight’s pitching matchup features Ryan Dempster vs. Edwin Jackson. The Cubs are just 6-11 in Dempster’s starts, while Arizona has won four straight games with Jackson on the hill, including the no-hitter at Tampa on June 25th.

One of the more interesting trends for today’s game concerns the Cubs’ struggles as road chalk this season:

• CHICAGO CUBS are 5-12 (-11.4 Units) against the money line as a road favorite of -110 or higher this season. The average score was CHICAGO CUBS 3.2, OPPONENT 3.9 - (Rating = 1*)

Dempster and the Cubs are playing as -115 favorites, but the StatFox Game Estimator indicates the line should be only -107. With Jackson pitching well of late, I’d say there’s a better chance the D-Backs avoid the sweep than the opposite.

(969) BALTIMORE (BERGESEN) at (970) DETROIT (SCHERZER) 7:05 PM

The most likely sweep on the board today finds the Tigers looking for their third straight win over the Orioles. Detroit is a heavy -235 favorite according to Sportsbook.com with Max Scherzer (5-6, 4.88 ERA) taking the hill for the hosts and Bradley Bergesen (3-5, 6.64) going for the O’s. Baltimore is of course no stranger to seeing the brooms on the road, having been swept five times already in 2010. The Tigers are looking for their fifth home sweep themselves, and boast the American League’s best home mark overall at 29-12.

While the price on this one seems fairly steep with Scherzer’s overall 2010 numbers, the fact that he has a 1.69 ERA with 32 strikeouts in 25-2/3 innings in his last four starts makes it even tougher to back the underdogs. Plus, how can you overlook a trend like this:

• BALTIMORE is 10-40 (-24.6 Units) against the money line when playing against a team with a winning record this season. The average score was BALTIMORE 3.1, OPPONENT 5.7 - (Rating = 3*)

(971) BOSTON (WAKEFIELD) at (972) TAMPA BAY (PRICE) 7:10 PM

When I focused on Game 1 of the 3-game set between the Red Sox and Rays on Monday night, I pointed out the following trend, which now includes back-to-back losses over the last two nights:

• BOSTON is 3-19 (-17.2 Units) against the money line in road games when playing against a team with a winning record in the second half of the last 2 seasons. The average score was BOSTON 3.0, OPPONENT 5.2 - (Rating = 4*)

Having been turned back in consecutive one-run games, the Red Sox turn to Tim Wakefield to stop the bleeding. Unfortunately, Boston is only 5-8 in his starts this season and he is matched by a pitcher enjoying a breakout season in David Price (11-4, 2.42 ERA).

Perhaps the one thing going for the Sox here today is that WAKEFIELD is 18-6 when starting against TAMPA BAY with an ERA of 3.79 and a WHIP of 1.249.

At -175, the Rays have been favored by a nickel more in each of the three consecutive contests. Considering that Boston has not been swept on the road since the beginning of May, and actually did the sweeping last time in Tampa (5/24-5/26), I’d be leery of laying this high price for Wednesday. The Sox left 11 men on base on Tuesday and are scoring 5.8 runs per game vs. lefties in 2010. They could be due for a breakout game.

(977) NY YANKEES (BURNETT) at (978) OAKLAND (GONZALEZ) 10:05 PM

As far as season numbers go, the A’s and Mariners have distinct starting pitching advantages in their quests to avoid getting swept at home. The A’s match Gio Gonzalez (7-5, 3.50 ERA) against the Yankees’ A.J. Burnett (6-7, 4.90). The latter has been on the hill for six straight Yankees’ losses. Although he pitched very well in his last outing at Toronto, Burnett’s five prior starts amounted to 29 runs allowed in 23 innings. Gonzalez meanwhile, has only allowed five or more runs in two of his 17 starts this season, and has allowed just one run in 19-2/3 innings in his last three starts. Even with all of this info available for both pitchers, oddsmakers have installed the Yankees as -120 favorites. It all sets up for a very powerful system backing the home dogs:

• Play Against - Road teams when the money line is +125 to -125 (NY YANKEES) - with a cold starting pitcher- ERA >= 7.50 over his last 3 starts, with an on base percentage of .310 or worse over their last 20 games. (56-15 over the last 5 seasons.) (78.9%, +38.5 units. Rating = 4*)

The A’s offense is struggling right now, but it might not matter with Gonzalez on the hill. Look for Oakland to avoid a second 3-game home sweep of 2010.

(979) KANSAS CITY (DAVIES) at (980) SEATTLE (FISTER) 10:10 PM

Don’t look now but the Royals are playing very good baseball, and they will look for their first series sweep of 3-games or more in 2010 when they take on Seattle Wednesday night. Oddsmakers don’t like their chances, installing the Mariners are -145 favorites behind Doug Fister, but when sifting through the facts & figures, bettors may see things differently.

First and foremost, the Royals are killing the baseball of late, pounding out 125 hits during their current 9-3 surge. While leaving men on base has been a problem, they are getting just enough pitching to come out on the right end of the scoreboard most often.

The Mariners have gone just 4-8 since their season long 7-game winning streak was snapped a couple weeks back. The magic number for them has been five runs, as they are 4-0 in the 12-game stretch when reaching that figure as opposed to 0-8 when coming up short.

One other angle going for Kansas City is that Fister, while boasting strong stats for 2010 overall (3.22 ERA, 1.047 WHIP), has struggled his last three times out, yielding 14 runs in 16-1/3 innings.

Davies has been pretty effective for the Royals against lesser hitting teams on the road lately:

• DAVIES is 8-3 (+10.0 Units) against the money line in road games vs. teams averaging 2.75 or less extra base hits per game over the last 2 seasons. (Team's Record) The average score was DAVIES 5.7, OPPONENT 4.5 - (Rating = 1*)

Don’t be surprised to see the Royals finish this one off, despite oddsmakers’ indications.

MLB: Time for MLB Trendy Talk
2010-05-25

Baseball, like any sport is often decided by how teams matchup. Often, little secrets emerge when two teams face off and they can be frequently found in baseball trends. Those participating in sports betting can grab an edge they might otherwise not have with a couple of key points about any given contest on a typical slate of 15 games. Take the time to peruse baseball’s top trends for tonight below, then head over to the LIVE ODDS page on Sportsbook.com for the latest game prices.

In the National League the Cincinnati Reds host Pittsburgh being tied with the St. Louis atop the Central Division. The Reds are a -170 money line favorite at Sportsbook.com and have feasted on rotten teams. Cincy is 12-2 playing against a bad club with 38-46 win percentage and is 11-2 if a NL team has an on-base percentage .315 or worse this season.

Philadelphia visits the New York Mets and is 10-2 on the road after seven or more consecutive home games the last three seasons. Tonight, the Phillies starter is Jamie Moyer and he and the Phils are 14-3 in road encounters against division opponents since 2008.

Atlanta heads to south Florida with the total at nine. This might be setting up as Under play since the Braves are 14-3 UNDER in road games when playing with a day off over the last three years and Florida starter Anibal Sanchez is 11-1 UNDER when the ML is +125 to -125.

The Houston at Milwaukee matchup is like picking your own poison. The Brewers are 4-14 at Miller Park and 2-7 as a home favorite of -110 or higher this season. The Astros on the other hand are 15-29 and 7-21 coming of a loss. Houston will start Felipe Paulino, who is 0-6 this year, and he and the ‘Stros are 2-15 as an underdog of +100 or higher over the last two seasons.

Over in the American League, two scuffling Central Division partners do battle in Cleveland. The Chicago White Sox are underachieving 19-25 and cannot formulate any momentum with 4-14 record after a win in 2010. The Indians have hitting and pitching woes are 4-17 after scoring four runs or less in five straight games since 2008. The Pale Hose are -132 ML favorites because of starter Jake Peavy.

Oakland has won three in a row and five of seven to climb back over .500 at 23-22 and has owned Baltimore with 13-2 mark. The A’s are -111 ML road faves behind Dallas “Mr. Perfect” Braden; however an inkling of doubt arises. The Athletics are feeble 0-13 in road games vs. an AL starting pitcher whose WHIP is 1.100 or better.

Minnesota, like a lot of AL clubs, has problems with the New York Yankees. The Twins are 5-18 vs. New York and 4-7 at home the last couple of years. The simplest explanation is the 16-32 record vs. an AL team with an on-base percentage of .345 or better. Minnesota will try to change their luck in new Target Field against the Bronx Bombers, but are 12-30 versus AL squads scoring 5.2 or more runs a game.

The Toronto Blue Jays continue to mash, leading baseball with 76 dingers and are 12-4 in road encounters when playing against a team with a losing record after last night’s impressive 6-0 white-washing of the L.A. Angels. The Halos are presently listed as a Pick with a great deal of line movement. This evening they give the ball to Ervin Santana who is 22-8 throwing at the Big A vs. teams outscoring opponents by 0.5 or more runs game. (Team's Record)

MLB: Top Baseball Weekend Power Trends
2008-09-12

With the Angels having clinched a trip to the postseason already, the rest of the eight playoff spots remain to be filled. A couple of the pennant races are really tightening up, and this weekend’s games figure to have a big impact, especially in the N.L. Wildcard, where Milwaukee and Philadelphia are continuing a 4-game set in the City of Brotherly Love. Just two weeks remain in the season after Sunday’s games. Here’s a closer look at the upcoming action and a Top StatFox Power Trend from each of baseball’s 15 series’ this weekend.

The big series of the weekend is between the Phillies and Brewers. After Philadelphia’s 5-3 win on Thursday night in the opener of the series, only three games separate the teams in the N.L. wildcard standings. Neither team is playing its best baseball of the season at this point though, so each is looking to turn it around. The Brewers have the unfortunate timing of not throwing C.C. Sabathia in the series. Both clubs have another competitor to deal with though in the wildcard race, the Houston Astros. Hurricane Ike has postponed the first two games of the Cubs-Astros series and the teams are still working with Major League Baseball on arranging a suitable schedule. With a record of 34-12 in its L46 games, perhaps only Mother Nature can slow down Houston.

In the American League, the only playoff race where it remains to be seen which team will make it to the postseason and which will go home is in the A.L. Central. Mediocre play by both clubs has left the White Sox and Twins battling for one playoff spot, as wildcard dreams are no longer in the picture. The teams are separated by a single game with 16 to go. Minnesota hits the road in Baltimore for the weekend, while Chicago welcomes Detroit to town.

The A.L. East race is still tight at the top, but both the Rays and Red Sox are in comfortable position for making the postseason. It just remains to be seen who will be the division champion and who will be the wildcard representative. Coming off their 3-game set in Boston in which the Rays took two games in dramatic fashion to open up a 2-1/2 game lead, Tampa will head to New York to take on the listless Yankees. The Bronx Bombers have been relegated to the role of spoiler at this point. The Sox meanwhile, will host red-hot Toronto.

With such little time left in the regular season, every game is critical for the contending teams. Don’t miss a key play. Now, here’s a look at a Top StatFox Power Trend for each of the weekend’s 15 series:

ST LOUIS at PITTSBURGH
ST LOUIS is 18-6 OVER (+11.8 Units) when playing against a team with a losing record in the second half of the season this season.
The average score was ST LOUIS 7.0, OPPONENT 5.0 - (Rating = 2*)

MILWAUKEE at PHILADELPHIA
MILWAUKEE is 0-8 (-9.8 Units) against the money line vs. teams outscoring opp by 0.5 or more runs/game in the second half of the season this season.
The average score was MILWAUKEE 2.9, OPPONENT 7.0 - (Rating = 3*)

ATLANTA at NY METS
ATLANTA is 3-14 (-10.7 Units) against the money line when playing against a good team (Win Pct. 54% to 62%) in the second half of the season this season.
The average score was ATLANTA 3.4, OPPONENT 7.2 - (Rating = 1*)

WASHINGTON at FLORIDA
WASHINGTON is 2-18 (-14.4 Units) against the money line in road games vs. an NL team with an on base percentage .325 or worse in the second half of the season this season.
The average score was WASHINGTON 2.4, OPPONENT 4.6 - (Rating = 2*)

CHICAGO CUBS at HOUSTON
HOUSTON is 16-8 (+12.5 Units) against the money line vs. an NL team with a team batting average of .275 or better this season.
The average score was HOUSTON 4.1, OPPONENT 3.4 - (Rating = 2*)

LA DODGERS at COLORADO
COLORADO is 17-35 (-18.4 Units) against the money line vs. a good bullpen whose WHIP is 1.350 or better this season.
The average score was COLORADO 4.3, OPPONENT 5.6 - (Rating = 2*)

CINCINNATI at ARIZONA
CINCINNATI is 26-41 (-22.1 Units) against the money line when playing against a team with a losing record this season.
The average score was CINCINNATI 4.4, OPPONENT 5.5 - (Rating = 2*)

SAN FRANCISCO at SAN DIEGO
SAN DIEGO is 14-26 (-14.9 Units) against the money line vs. NL teams scoring 4.3 or less runs/game on the season this season.
The average score was SAN DIEGO 3.4, OPPONENT 4.3 - (Rating = 1*)

TORONTO at BOSTON
BOSTON is 7-16 (-14.9 Units) against the money line vs. AL teams allowing 4.2 or less runs/game in the second half of the season this season.
The average score was BOSTON 3.8, OPPONENT 5.3 - (Rating = 3*)

MINNESOTA at BALTIMORE
BALTIMORE is 8-22 (-15.3 Units) against the money line vs. poor power teams - averaging 0.9 or less HR's/game in the second half of the season over the last 2 seasons.
The average score was BALTIMORE 4.5, OPPONENT 6.4 - (Rating = 2*)

TAMPA BAY at NY YANKEES
TAMPA BAY is 13-47 (-27.4 Units) against the money line in road games vs. AL teams allowing 4.7 or less runs/game in the second half of the season over the last 3 seasons.
The average score was TAMPA BAY 3.5, OPPONENT 5.7 - (Rating = 2*)

KANSAS CITY at CLEVELAND
KANSAS CITY is 7-20 (-13.0 Units) against the money line vs. a poor bullpen whose ERA is 4.50 or worse this season.
The average score was KANSAS CITY 3.8, OPPONENT 5.9 - (Rating = 1*)

DETROIT at CHI WHITE SOX
DETROIT is 13-27 (-16.2 Units) against the money line when playing against a good team (Win Pct. 54% to 62%) this season.
The average score was DETROIT 3.7, OPPONENT 5.6 - (Rating = 2*)

TEXAS at OAKLAND
TEXAS is 21-12 (+11.7 Units) against the money line vs. AL teams scoring 4.2 or less runs/game on the season this season.
The average score was TEXAS 6.3, OPPONENT 5.6 - (Rating = 1*)

SEATTLE at LA ANGELS
SEATTLE is 13-4 OVER (+9.1 Units) in road games when playing against a good team (Win Pct. 54% to 62%) in the second half of the season over the last 2 seasons.
The average score was SEATTLE 4.9, OPPONENT 7.6 - (Rating = 1*)

Baseball Betting 2nd Half Outlook- AL
2008-07-17

With the second half of the season about to commence, here is an in-depth look at many of the different perspectives of the contenders to win divisions or American League pennant. We’ll look into scheduling aspects, key stats that the contenders must maintain or improve upon in the last 60+ games remaining in the season. Additionally, we’ll look into these teams’ odds to win division or be AL representative in the World Series.

The Los Angeles Angels have the best record in the American League at 57-38 (+12.5 units). Their style of play in more National League-like, thanks to manager Mike Scioscia preferring to steal bases, having runners on the move and being aggressive. Despite superior record, they rank just third at Sportsbook.com to be AL squad to be in Fall Classic at 3-1 odds. L.A. is only +21 in score differential, thanks to faulty offense. The Halos are 11th in runs scored in the AL, 12th in on-base percentage and impatient at the plate, ranking next to last in walks. The L.A. pitching staff is awesome, however the bullpen ranks only 11th in ERA in the AL. The Angles open the second half with Boston and Cleveland at the “Big A” in Anaheim. After that they head east to face Baltimore, the Red Sox and New York. In scheduling oddity, they have more games left with the Yankees (7), than with division rival Oakland (6).

Oakland continues to hang around in the AL West thanks to tremendous pitching from mostly talented youngsters. The A’s allow the fewest runs; have the lowest OBP surrendered and fourth best bullpen ERA. On offense, Oakland scuffles. The A’s are 11th in OBP and have the 2nd most strikeouts, making scoring runs an uphill battle. After the break, the Athletics road schedule is brutal, with series at New York, at Tampa Bay, at Boston, at Toronto, at Detroit and at Minnesota. Starting August 1, 20 of next 26 contests will be in traveling grays. Oakland is 4-1 to win division and real long shot at 30-1 to make Series.

Texas has baseball’s best offense-to-pitching dichotomy. The Rangers are first in runs scored, 2nd in OBP and 2nd in walks. These free swingers whiff more than any team in the junior circuit. Pitching numbers has Texas last in runs allowed, OBP, walks and next to last in strikeouts and bullpen ERA. In spite of playing pretty good baseball to have 50-46 record, hard to consider them even serious wild card contenders. The Rangers fate could be decided quickly with nine-game roadie at Twins, at White Sox and at Oakland.

The Chicago White Sox lead the AL Central by 1.5 games and are second in the league in run differential at +83. The White Sox offense has gone through a few droughts, yet have bounced back to be third in runs scored. Manager Ozzie Guillen has produced a few tirades; however they have had nothing to do with the pitching. Sox pitchers do a fantastic job in limiting big innings; ranking 2nd in fewest walks and stay out of jams, being 3rd in strikeouts. Closer Bobby Jenks will start the second part of the season on the DL, with the Pale Hose having enough to cover up with the finest bullpen ERA in AL. If Chicago can but together 6-4 road trip starting July 25, they return to U.S. Cellular Field to take on Detroit, Boston and Kansas City, where they are sensational 32-13. Sox are 1-2 to take AL Central and 6-1 to make World Series.

Have to give manager Ron Gardenhire credit again, as most preseason magazines had Minnesota 4th or 5th in the division. Justin Morneau and Joe Mauer are legit stars and Michael Cuddyer has turned himself into a good player from a part-timer. With offensive deficiencies in the lower part of the line-up, scoring a lot of runs will continue to be an issue, but as long as the pitchers continue to give up the fewest walks, Minnesota is still a threat. The Twinkies open second half at the MetroDome and will play 19 of 31 there thru August 20. After this they leave for 15-day, 14-game road trip that sends them out West and to Canada. When the Twins arrive back home, everyone will know if 2-1 odds to division were true.

Detroit really missed a golden opportunity to close the gap in division; losing three of four to Minnesota at home in last series. If they had reversed those numbers, the Tigers would be only five back of Chicago and 1.5 behind the Twins. Holding a 19-27 road record, Jim Leyland’s club will prove if they deserve being mentioned for postseason or just underachievers. Detroit will start with 17 of 20 on the road, which includes six conflicts with the White Sox. To have any hope, they will need to be within four games of Sox to have any potential real chance it appears. The Tigers are 4-1 to win division title and with pitching staff that is 12th in OBP and walks, the Tigers will need gigantic leap by all members of the staff to make run.

When analyzing numbers, no wonder Boston is 13-10 odds to return to World Series to defend crown. Second in runs, first in free passes and OBP, the Red Sox do all the little things right. They will definitely have to clean up 21-29 road record and possibly having David Ortiz back will help. The starting pitching is secure, with more consistency needed out of the bullpen to put together winning streaks of six or seven games. The schedule is fairly balanced and the Red Sox will enjoy a couple more days off than competitors, having played the most games in baseball to this point. Hard not to like Boston chances, if for no other reason than 36-11 record at Fenway Park.

Everyone was waiting for Tampa Bay slump and it came right before All-Star break. The Rays will seek to quickly regroup at Tropicana Field, where they are 36-14. Great pitching has kept Tampa Bay on everyone’s mind, being second in OBP allowed, 3rd best bullpen and 4th in runs allowed. The offense runs hot and cold, which is exhibited by being 3rd in walks and 3rd in striking out. Manager Joe Maddon will have to massage the egos of his young team, since after six home games starting Friday, 20 of next 29 are on the road. The Rays will have mettle tested in September also, playing AL East clubs, plus six with Twins and trio with Tigers. Tampa is 1-1 to steal the East and 5-2 to be Series rep from the AL.

The Yankees still believe they have enough to at least be wild card team. Injured players are returning, giving the New York faithful hope. Statistically, the numbers are not present to suggest such a run, being rather pedestrian in most categories. Joe Girardi’s squad will have opportunity to get on a roll with 13 of 16 at Yankee Stadium beginning Friday. The Bronx Bombers will need to likely be very close come Labor Day, with only 10 home games at Yankee Stadium in September. New York is just 7-1 to win division yet interestingly enough, have same 6-1 odds as White Sox to play in World Series.

Though a real long shot, have to at least mention Toronto, with its exceptional pitching, ranking 2nd in runs allowed. If the Blue Jays could at least be a top five offense team in the second part of the year, they would have to be a factor and sneak up to be in the hunt for wild card