Trend sheet 6.13

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MINNESOTA vs. CHI CUBS
Minnesota is 4-1 SU in their last 5 games when playing Chi Cubs
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Minnesota's last 6 games when playing Chi Cubs
Chi Cubs are 2-4 SU in their last 6 games
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Chi Cubs's last 8 games

FLORIDA vs. TORONTO
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Florida's last 7 games on the road
Florida is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing Toronto
Toronto is 2-5 SU in its last 7 games when playing at home against Florida
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Toronto's last 6 games when playing at home against Florida

CHI WHITE SOX vs. MILWAUKEE
Chi White Sox are 4-2 SU in their last 6 games when playing on the road against Milwaukee
Chi White Sox are 5-2 SU in their last 7 games on the road
Milwaukee is 16-8 SU in its last 24 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 14 of Milwaukee's last 21 games at home

NY METS vs. NY YANKEES
The total has gone OVER in 5 of NY Mets's last 5 games when playing on the road against NY Yankees
NY Mets are 3-7 SU in its last 10 games
The total has gone OVER in 6 of NY Yankees's last 9 games when playing NY Mets
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of NY Yankees's last 6 games

ST. LOUIS vs. CLEVELAND
St. Louis is 2-6 SU in its last 8 games
St. Louis is 2-7 SU in its last 9 games when playing Cleveland
Cleveland is 7-2 SU in its last 9 games when playing St. Louis
Cleveland is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games

WASHINGTON vs. TAMPA BAY
Washington is 3-13 SU in its last 16 games
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Washington's last 5 games
Tampa Bay is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games when playing Washington
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Tampa Bay's last 6 games when playing Washington

ATLANTA vs. BALTIMORE
Atlanta is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Atlanta's last 5 games
Baltimore is 1-6 SU in its last 7 games when playing at home against Atlanta
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Baltimore's last 6 games when playing at home against Atlanta

BOSTON vs. PHILADELPHIA
Boston is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games when playing Philadelphia
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Boston's last 9 games when playing Philadelphia
Philadelphia is 2-9 SU in its last 11 games when playing at home against Boston
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Philadelphia's last 6 games when playing at home against Boston

DETROIT vs. PITTSBURGH
Detroit is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games when playing on the road against Pittsburgh
Detroit is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games when playing Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games at home
Pittsburgh is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games

CINCINNATI vs. KANSAS CITY
Cincinnati is 4-10 SU in its last 14 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Cincinnati's last 5 games on the road
Kansas City is 2-5 SU in its last 7 games when playing Cincinnati
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Kansas City's last 7 games when playing Cincinnati

LA DODGERS vs. TEXAS
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of LA Dodgers's last 8 games
LA Dodgers are 9-4 SU in their last 13 games on the road
Texas is 2-4 SU in their last 6 games when playing LA Dodgers
Texas is 14-5 SU in its last 19 games at home

HOUSTON vs. ARIZONA
Houston is 2-9 SU in its last 11 games when playing Arizona
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Houston's last 5 games when playing Arizona
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Arizona's last 5 games at home
The total has gone OVER in 7 of Arizona's last 8 games

SEATTLE vs. COLORADO
Seattle is 6-13 SU in its last 19 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 8 of Seattle's last 11 games on the road
Colorado is 3-6 SU in its last 9 games at home
The total has gone OVER in 17 of Colorado's last 25 games at home

SAN DIEGO vs. LA ANGELS
San Diego is 2-4 SU in their last 6 games when playing on the road against LA Angels
The total has gone OVER in 4 of San Diego's last 6 games when playing on the road against LA Angels
LA Angels are 4-2 SU in their last 6 games when playing San Diego
The total has gone OVER in 4 of LA Angels's last 6 games when playing San Diego

OAKLAND vs. SAN FRANCISCO
Oakland is 10-4 SU in its last 14 games when playing San Francisco
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Oakland's last 9 games when playing San Francisco
San Francisco is 1-7 SU in its last 8 games when playing at home against Oakland
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of San Francisco's last 6 games when playing at home against Oakland

 

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Streaking and Slumping Pitchers
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Streaking

Josh Outman, Oakland A?s, (4-0, 3.17 ERA)

Outman has perhaps the best name for a pitcher in major league history and so far this season, he?s lived up to it. The lefty hasn?t allowed more than three runs in any of his seven starts and that has helped under bettors win in six of those outings.

He?ll get his first taste of the Bay Area rivalry this weekend when the A?s take on the Giants. Outman picked up a win in his only other interleague start this year, a 6-2 victory over the Diamondbacks.

Erik Bedard, Seattle Mariners, (5-2, 2.47 ERA)

Nothing inspires outstanding efforts like a contract year. Seattle Mariners lefty Erik Bedard is singing for his supper in recent starts, going 3-1 in his last six starts with an ERA of 2.33.

Bedard hasn?t allowed more than three earned runs in any of his 11 outings this year but has only gone past the sixth inning in six of those appearances. In his most recent start, he had trouble with his control and allowed four walks before leaving the game in the fifth.

However, he?s done a good job limiting the damage from those mistakes and is posting a strikeout-to-walk count of 65-to-22 on the season. This will be Bedard?s first-career start in Coors Field, which ranks first in the majors in runs and hits.

Slumping

Anthony Swarzak, Minnesota Twins, (1-2, 5.23 ERA)

You can forgive Swarzak for slumping recently. He is a rookie after all. And like many big league rookies, you can have some success for a little while but once the opposition has had a chance to see a bit of what you?ve got, things can unravel.

He started the year with a pair of quality starts going 1-1. The Twins lost his last two starts though and Swarzak failed to make it past the fourth inning in either one. He also threw more than 80 pitches in each game.

It?s going to take this 24-year-old righty a little long to learn how to get outs in the bigs and until then, you might want to fade him.

 

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MLB weekend cheat sheet
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Round 2 in Interleague play resumes this weekend as the American League looks to improve on its domination this weekend. American League certainly holds a 724-591 record against its National League cousins over the last five-plus years (including 22-20 overall this season).

In this week?s edition of the Cheat Sheet, a guide designed to help you isolate a few key best bets, we focus on two rivalry series. In addition, we?ve updated the records of the best and worst performers in the history of Interleague play. Keep in mind that all pitcher records are team stats unless noted otherwise.

Boston Red Sox at Philadelphia Phillies

Most recent series result: Red Sox 13-3 last sixteen games vs. Phillies

Most recent series result at the site: Red Sox 8-2 last 10 games away vs. Phillies

Key day/month stat: Phillies 20-4 on Sundays; Red Sox 1-4 away in Sundays

Best arm in the series: Josh Beckett 12-4 3.79 lifetime vs. Phillies (4-0 last four)

Worst arm in the series: Joe Blanton 1-3 3.24 ERA home lifetime vs. Red Sox

New York Mets at New York Yankees

Most recent series result: Mets 4-2 last six games vs. Yankees

Most recent series result at the site: Mets 3-0 last three away vs. Yankees

Key day/month stat: Yankees 16-3 home on Sundays; Mets 1-4 away on Sundays

Best arm in the series: Johan Santana 5-1 1.67 ERA away lifetime vs. Yankees; Yankees? Andy Pettite 6-1 3.33 ERA home lifetime vs. Mets

Worst arm in the series: John Maine 0-2 16.50 ERA lifetime vs. Yankees; Mets? Livan Hernandez 0-2 6.55 ERA away lifetime vs. Yankees

Best all-time interleague teams

1. New York Yankees 124-89 .582

2. Minnesota Twins 123-90 .578

3. Oakland Athletics 124-91 .577

4. Chicago White Sox 118-96 .551

5. Boston Red Sox 117-97 .547

Worst all-time interleague teams

1. Pittsburgh Pirates 64-105 .379

2. Baltimore Orioles 92-122 .430

3. San Diego Padres 83-111 .428

4. Tampa Bay Rays 88-111 .442

5. Cincinnati Reds 79-96 .457

 

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Hot Lines: Saturday's best MLB bets

Houston Astros at Arizona Diamondbacks (+101, 9)

Roy Oswalt is struggling to find consistency and coming off one of his worst performances of the season. A start against the Arizona Diamondbacks could be just what he needs to get on track.

With their lineup struggling to produce runs, the Houston Astros hope their ace can continue his dominance of the Diamondbacks in the middle game of this series Saturday.

Oswalt (2-3, 4.66 ERA) battled through six innings last Saturday, giving up six runs and nine hits on 105 pitches in a 6-4 loss to Pittsburgh. That outing came five days after he yielded one run and six hits with a season-high eight strikeouts in seven innings of a 4-1 win over Colorado.

"I pitched myself into that trouble," Oswalt said of allowing three runs in both the second and third against the Pirates. "That was probably the most out of place I've ever felt on the mound during the second and third innings. I couldn't throw the ball anywhere I wanted to. I was scared to throw a breaking ball."

Oswalt then saw his next scheduled start pushed back due to a wrist problem, according to the Astros' official Web site.

The three-time All-Star will try to overcome that injury by continuing his dominance of the Diamondbacks (27-35). He's 7-1 with a 2.25 ERA in nine career starts against them.

Oswalt may not get much help from the Astros' lineup, though, after it was two-hit in Friday's 2-1 loss at Arizona in a matchup of last-place clubs.

Houston (27-32) has scored six runs and is batting .169 in splitting its last four games after hitting .312 to win seven of the previous 10.

Pick: Under 9


Seattle Mariners at Colorado Rockies (-106, 9)

The Colorado Rockies haven't been this hot since their improbable late-season run to the playoffs two years ago.

Looking for a 10th straight victory Saturday night, the Rockies won't have to face the ace of the Seattle Mariners' staff in the continuation of this three-game interleague series at Coors Field.

Colorado (29-32) rallied from an early three-run deficit to win 6-4 in Friday's series opener. The Rockies are 11-4 since Jim Tracy replaced the fired Clint Hurdle as manager on May 29.

"I think you can say we're playing very good baseball and doing things that give us an opportunity to get back to .500," Tracy told the Rockies' official Web site. "These kids deserve to be talked about right now."

In the midst of their longest consecutive stretch without a loss since winning a franchise-record 11 in a row from Sept. 16-27, 2007, the Rockies could catch a break by not having to face Seattle's Erik Bedard (5-2, 2.47 ERA) in this contest.

The left-hander, who has won his last three starts, was scratched due to left shoulder inflammation. Bedard could pitch next Friday against Arizona at home.

"This is precautionary," manager Don Wakamatsu told the Mariners' official Web site. "He could probably pitch, but it's safer to push him back. To keep him healthy all year, we felt it's best to push him back one start."

Former closer Brandon Morrow (0-3, 6.38) will make his first start since Sept. 26 after appearing in 16 games out of the bullpen this season for the Mariners (30-31).

The right-hander, who is 2-2 with a 5.79 ERA in five career starts, could be limited to around 60 pitches. He has never faced Colorado.

Pick: Colorado -106

 

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Game of the day: Twins at Cubs


Minnesota Twins at Chicago Cubs (-162)

Setting the table

Interleague play strikes up again sending the Minnesota Twins south for a weekend within the friendly confines of Wrigley Field.

For Minnesota, this is the second set of three games against the National League Central. The Twins swept the Milwaukee Brewers back in mid-May, outscoring the Brew Crew 23-8. For the Cubbies, this will be their first action against the American League this season.

After Minnesota leaves town, the Cubs will continue their nine-game interleague home stand, welcoming the cross-town rival White Sox followed by another AL Central foe in the Cleveland Indians.

Minnesota Masterpiece

Outside of the Milwaukee sweep at the Metrodome, the Twins are 4-1 in their last five interleague contests. Minnesota also swept the Cubs the last time these clubs met in June 2006. The Twins are 21-6 over the last 27 games played against the NL Central.

The Twins have just shown dominance across the National League and, despite a losing record, they still hold second place in their own division. When playing on the road against the NL, Minnesota's 20-8 over the last 28 games.

Pitching has played a big part in those victories, as the under was 4-1 over their last five against the NL Central. Oddly enough, right-hander Anthony Swarzak became the only Twins pitcher to toss seven scoreless innings in his major league debut for a 6-2 win over Milwaukee on May 23. It was Swarzak's only win to date.

In front of the second-largest crowd since opening day at the Metrodome, the 23-year-old starter calmed the Brewers? bats while receiving help from Joe Mauer and Joe Crede. Since that first win, Swarzak has failed to last more than six innings and hasn?t held an opponent to under three earned runs in an outing. Minnesota is also 1-5 in its last six meetings in Chicago.

Cubbie Blues

The Cubs bullpen is struggling heading into the third month of the season. Whether it is closer Kevin Gregg, the inconsistency of Carlos Marmol or the recent collapse of Jose Ascanio, the Cubs pen has faulted on the mound.,

They?re almost as bad as the Cubs bats. During its recent eight-game road trip, Chicago finished 4-4 and is now hitting just .248 BA as a team. Adding insult to injury, the Cubs suffered back-to-back walk-off extra-inning defeats at the hands of the Houston Astros their past two games - both thanks to Geoff Blum.

With Swarzak slated to start for Minnesota, Chicago's 6-1 at Wrigley Field when facing a right-handed starter. Conversely, the Cubs are also 1-4 in their last five interleague games when facing a right-handed starter. Having not played an interleague contest this year heading into this series, the Cubs are 0-4 in their last four games against the American League.

With Rich Harden scheduled to make his first start since being put on the 15-day DL (May 18, back strain), more hope will fill the stands on the North Side. The Cubs are 5-1 in Harden's last six starts, as well as 8-2 in Harden's last 10 starts at Wrigley.

Three strikes

Strike 1: Under is 4-1 in Twins last five vs. National League Central.
Strike 2: Under is 5-1 in Cubs last six home games.
Strike 3: Over is 5-0 in Cubs last five interleague games vs. a right-handed starter.

 

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Boston (37-24) at Philadelphia (35-24)
The Red Sox will try to run their winning streak to five when they send Daisuke Matsuzaka (1-4, 7.33 ERA) to the mound at Citizens Bank Park against the Phillies and young left-hander Antonio Bastardo (2-0, 2.45).Boston overcame a blown save in the ninth inning and beat the Phillies 6-3 in 13 innings on Friday night in the series opener. The Red Sox have now won three straight over Philadelphia and 12 of the last 14 against the Phillies dating back to 2004.The Red Sox are 9-2 in their last 11 games overall and they have now won five straight on the highway. They?ve also dominated interleague play, currently on runs of 54-18 overall, 25-9 on the road and 36-17 against N.L. East foes. The Phillies are on several hot streaks as well, including 10-4 overall, 4-2 at home, 5-2 in interleague play, 40-18 against winning teams, 15-6 on Saturdays and 6-1 against right-handed pitching. Matsuzaka is just 1-2 in his last three outings with a 5.17 ERA and he?s got a 7.36 ERA this season on the highway. The Rangers knocked him around Sunday, scoring five runs on 10 hits in 5 2/3 innings of a 6-3 win at Fenway Park. The right-hander has allowed three runs or more in five of his six starts this season. Still, with Matsuzaka on the hill, the Sox are on runs of 32-12 overall, 5-1 on Saturdays, 4-1 as an underdog, 5-2 in interleague action and 12-5 in the second game of a series.Bastardo has been fantastic in his first two career starts, holding the Padres to one run on four hits in six innings in a 10-5 win on June 2 and then limiting the Dodgers to two runs in five innings of a 7-2 win on Sunday, both on the road. He?s got nine strikeouts and just two walks in his 11 innings.The Red Sox are on several ?under? runs, including 22-6-2 overall, 8-2-1 in interleague action, 8-2 on the road, 4-0 on Saturdays and 36-15-4 as in interleague underdog, and with Matsuzaka pitching, they are on ?under? streaks of 4-0 overall, 6-2 in interleague games and 11-5-2 in the second game of a series. Philadelphia has topped the total in seven on its last 10 Saturday games, but it is on ?under? runs of 14-5-1 overall, 6-1 at home, 5-0 against the A.L. East, 14-3-1 in interleague action and 8-3 against teams with a winning record. Finally, the over is 4-2 in the last six series clashes in Philadelphia and 6-3 in the last nine overall.
ATS ADVANTAGE: UNDER

N.Y. Mets (31-28) at N.Y. Yankees (35-26)
After an unbelievable loss in Game 1 of this edition of the Subway Series, the Mets send recently recalled Fernando Nieve (0-0, 0.00 ERA) to the mound for his first start of the season opposite Yankees veteran southpaw Andy Pettitte (6-2, 4.22).The Mets took the lead Friday night in the eighth inning off Mariano Rivera and appeared to have the game won when closer Francisco Rodriguez got Yankees? slugger Alex Rodriguez to pop up with two outs and two on. But Mets? second baseman Luis Castillo dropped the pop up in short right field, allowing both runners to score and the Yankees to escape with a 9-8 victory.The Mets have now lost seven of their last 10 and six of their last eight on the highway. Jerry Manuel?s club is 4-2 in its last six games in American League parks and 7-3 in its last 10 Saturday contests, but the Mets are just 1-4 in their last five against lefties and they?ve dropped four straight in the second game of a series.The Yankees are now on upticks of 13-4 at home, 20-9 overall and 56-22 when hosting National League squads, 9-2 against right-handed pitching, 19-9 in Game 2 of a series, 19-9 on Saturdays but just 2-4 in their last six interleague games.The Yankees have now won three of four in the Subway Series, and they are 8-2 in Pettitte?s last 10 starts against the Mets and 4-1 when he faces them in Yankee Stadium. Nieve hasn?t started a game since 2006 when he was with the Astros and his only action this season came a week ago when he pitched two scoreless innings out of the bullpen against the Nationals. He went 3-0 with a 3.70 ERA in four starts at Triple-A Buffalo. Pettitte is 3-1 at home and the Yankees have won five of his last six outings overall, including Monday when he held the Rays to three runs (two earned) on five hits in six innings of a 5-3 victory. He faced the Mets twice last season and gave up a combined five runs in 12 innings as the teams split the two games. The Yankees are 73-34 in Pettitte?s last 107 home starts, 76-34 when he?s a home favorite, 16-5 when he faces N.L. East teams and 4-0 in his last four Saturday starts.The Mets have topped the total in each of their last five as a ?dog, and gone over in six straight interleague road games against southpaws and seven of 11 as an interleague ?dog. Meanwhile the Yankees are on a plethora of ?under? runs, including 4-1-1 overall and 7-1 in interleague play, and with Pettitte on the hill, they are on ?under? streaks of 20-9-1 at home, 41-17-1 overall, 10-1-1 in interleague games and 8-1 against N.L. East teams.Finally, with last night?s high-scoring affair, the over has now hit in six straight Subway Series battles at Yankee Stadium, but the under is 5-1 in Pettitte?s last six starts against the Mets.

ATS ADVANTAGE: N.Y. YANKEES