Welcome back to a preview of some MLB action to close out your weekend. After what seems like a long time without baseball, what was it 3 days ? The 2nd half of the MLB season is underway post All Star break. Think we will see some trades over the next 2 weeks as teams push for a run at the post season. Reds, Brewers, Phillies all look like selling while there are a fair few teams in the AL East that need to make a move and strengthen their lineup. Something to keep an eye on but let’s not worry about that for the moment. Plenty of games to sink your teeth into tomorrow, and I’ve picked a few that I’m keen on.
Best Bet – Tigers at $1.69
Next Best – Angels at $1.70
Best Multi – Tigers/Cardinals at $2.78
Best Totals Line – Mets/Cardinals u7.0 at $2.01
Baltimore Orioles vs Detroit Tigers (9.05am AEST)
Orioles ($2.22) -Tillman (6-7, 5.40)
Tigers ($1.69) – Price (9-2, 2.38)
Prediction
Tigers. The Orioles really need the struggling Chris Tillman to improve if they want to make any in roads into their division. He is supposed to be the leader of this rotation yet this season he has struggled to find any consistency. I suppose you could say he actually sums of the Orioles this season. Failed to live up to expectations. A sluggish away record of 17-27 and Tillman with a road ERA of 5.44. This game looks a tough one for them to turn the corner. Price, as usual, has been stellar this season. The All Star continues to get it done, with the Tigers only losing 3 of his 18 starts. 2nd in the AL in complete games, he will usually pitch deep. That’s a good thing with this Tigers bullpen. Orioles are not the offensive powerhouse they were last year, even though Jones, Machado and Davis are putting up good numbers. A Miguel Cabrera less Tigers should still get this one though on the shoulders of David Price
Suggested Bet
Tigers at $1.69
New York Mets vs St Louis Cardinals (9.15am AEST)
Mets ($2.29) – Colon (9-7, 4.46)
Cardinals ($1.65) – Lackey (7-5, 2.99)
Prediction
Cardinals. After a terrific start to the season Bartolo Colon has dropped off in recent months and he will be matched up against the home strong John Lackey. The Cardinals man has a 5-2 home record with a 1.98 ERA at Busch Stadium. The Mets struggle to score runs, 28th in the MLB in runs and dead last in Batting Average. Wouldn’t expect much from them this series, and that 15-28 road record looks likely to get worse. A partially depleted Cardinals lineup has still managed to be relatively productive and a few runs should be enough to get this win. Colon is 3-5 on the road with a 4.78 ERA. Not out of the question he could keep the Cards quiet. However I favour Lackey in this match up by enough to take them with some confidence.
Suggested Bet
Cardinals at $1.65
San Francisco Giants vs Arizona Diamondbacks (10.10am AEST)
Giants ($2.03) – Peavey (0-4, 4.71)
D-Backs ($1.82) – Anderson (4-3, 3.91)
Prediction
D-backs. Really a match up that leans towards the better offensive team. Lead by NL MVP candidate Paul Goldschmidt the D-back rank high in all batting statistics. Expected at Chase field though, a hitter friendly ballpark. Jake Peavy is yet to get a win this season after 4 starts, and he only lasted 3 innings in a start against the D-backs earlier this season. He has been good since coming off the DL giving up only 3 runs in 13 innings. Chase Anderson, is a handy type of pitcher and with a decent home ERA of 3.43. He gave up only 1 hit in 7 innings against these Giants in June. Going to be some runs and would lean towards the home team in this one as they try and get to .500 on the season. Peavy not to get his first win on the season.
Suggested Bet
D-backs at $1.82
Boston Red Sox vs Los Angeles Angels (11.05am AEST)
Red Sox ($2.20) – Porcello (5-9, 5.90)
Angels ($1.70) – Richards (9-6, 3.53)
Prediction
Angels. A Boston Red Sox team that looked dead and buried somehow still is alive in 2015. With a packed tight AL East they still have a small chance to make the postseason and can only improve on their first half of the seasons performances. Rick Porcello has been a huge disappointment for Boston. He is not as bad as his numbers suggest, he has just had trouble adapting since his move from Detroit. A 7.16 road ERA though, you can’t ignore. That’s over 9 starts as well not a small sample size. The Angels on the other hand have powered to the lead of the AL West after an impressive pre All Star run winning 11 of their last 15. Garrett Richards wasn’t very good in his last start, giving up 12 hits, 4 runs in 5 innings. Lucky though that was on the road, and at home his work has been solid. 5-1 with an ERA of 2.25 in 7 starts. Forget the pitching matchup though, how do you stop AL MVP Mike Trout and Albert Pujols ? It took a while to get going but over the last months play they have been in fine form. Trout with 6 Home Runs and 12 RBI’s in his last 10 games. All on the road. After a sluggish offensive game on Saturday, Angels win this one, possibly even by a few.
Suggested Bet
Angels at $1.70
For records. Best Bet 2 Units, Next Best 1 Unit, Multi 0.5 Units (unless stated otherwise)
Hope you all have a good week with your MLB betting. Hopefully your thoughts on the games match up with mine. As always these are only a select few games I was interested in, feel free to share your opinions on any games at @MLB_TheProfits on Twitter. Happy Punting.
