Monday's Twin Bill
I always figured that Sunday was supposed to be the day of rest for everyone. That doesn?t come into play with Major League Baseball as there were 15 games on the schedule. Instead, 26 of the 30 big league clubs will take a much needed day off on Monday. So we?ve two tilts on slate to quench our betting thirst. Let?s break ?em down.
Brewers at Indians ? 7:05 p.m. EDT
The casual fan doesn?t know too much about Dave Bush (3-3, 4.58 ERA), but bettors have been able to cash in on him a lot this season. Milwaukee came away victorious in Bush?s first six starts of the season for a tidy profit of $660.
Bush?s last four starts, however, have left the gambling public wanting as the Brewers are 1-3. Normally you?d pin some blame on the pitcher, but he?s been putting in his usual five or six innings of work in for each start. Instead it has been Milwaukee?s offense that has been the culprit recently, only scoring around 3.8 runs per game during its recent 1-5 slump.
Ryan Braun has hit fairly well during the skid, batting .375 with three home runs and eight runs batted in. Prince Fielder, on the other hand, might need to stop with this vegan nonsense to get back on track. Fielder is hitting .217 with one RBI and seven strikeouts in his last six games.
Cleveland will turn the ball over to Carl Pavano (6-5, 5.40 ERA) on Monday. At the start of the season, Pavano looked like the professional masseuse he became in his tenure with the Yankees?going 0-4 with a 9.50 ERA in April. He became another hurler altogether in May by posting a 5-1 mark and ERA of 3.66.
Pavano will no doubt be looking to get back on track this Monday. He got tagged for three homers and nine earned runs in just 4.2 innings at home against the Royals on June 10.
This will be the first time that Cleveland?s starter will have ever faced off against the Brewers during his career. Bush is 0-1 with a 3.00 ERA in three career starts versus the Indians.
Despite Pavano?s lack of history against Milwaukee, the Tribe are listed as $1.25 home favorites with a total of 9 ?.
The Brew Crew pulled off a three-game sweep against Cleveland at Miller Park back in 2006, with the ?under? going 2-1. Milwaukee has played extremely well in Progressive Field over the years as evidenced by a 4-2 record in its last two trips there. The ?under? is 4-2 in that time.
Angels at Giants ? 10:15 p.m. EDT
The Angels didn?t look like a team that could contend for much after dropping two of three in Tampa Bay at the end of last week. Yet the sportsbooks have installed Los Angeles as a $1.20 road ?chalk? with a total of 8 ?.
That line probably has something to do with how LA is dismantling the Padres over the weekend. The Halos have swept this series by a total score of 26-7. A big part of that onslaught was outfielder Torii Hunter, who has hit four homers and seven RBI. The team has a .417 batting average against San Diego in their most recent series.
Los Angeles will send John Lackey (1-2, 6.61 ERA) out to get this series started. Lackey has yet to find his groove this season, giving up 15 earned runs on 28 hits over his last three starts. He only lasted just five innings and allowed eight earned runs at Tropicana Field on June 10.
San Francisco looks like it?s beginning to roll after winning five of its last six games. A big reason for the recent upswing is how well the pitching staff is performing?or more specifically, how much longer they?re staying in games.
Tim Lincecum tossed a complete game shutout on June 12 and Randy Johnson picked up win No. 301 after pitching seven innings the following night. Over the last five games, the Giants? starters have averaged at least 6.2 innings. That means you have a happy and rested bullpen closing out ballgames.
The Giants? closer Brian Wilson has benefitted a great deal from quality setup work this season as he?s saved eight straight games. And he didn?t pitch more than 1.1 innings in any of those opportunities.
San Fran will look to get another good outing out of Barry Zito (3-6, 4.09 ERA) on Monday night. The former Cy Young Award winner has lasted only five innings in his past two starts, but Zito gave up five earned runs in both games combined. That helped him pick up his first two start win streak since August 18 and 23 of last season.
Will Zito be able to win three-in-a-row for the first time Late May, Mid-June of 2007? The betting shops aren?t buying into it as they?ve made the Angels $1.20 road favorites with a total of 8 ?.
Bettors shouldn?t be so quick to back the Halos in this spot despite the low number on the faves. San Francisco has posted a 9-3 record at home against the Angels since 1999. Plus, Zito has a 12-9 record with a 3.55 ERA in 28 career starts against Los Angeles.
The ?under? has been a quality bet as it is 8-3-1 in the last 12 games played in San Francisco
I always figured that Sunday was supposed to be the day of rest for everyone. That doesn?t come into play with Major League Baseball as there were 15 games on the schedule. Instead, 26 of the 30 big league clubs will take a much needed day off on Monday. So we?ve two tilts on slate to quench our betting thirst. Let?s break ?em down.
Brewers at Indians ? 7:05 p.m. EDT
The casual fan doesn?t know too much about Dave Bush (3-3, 4.58 ERA), but bettors have been able to cash in on him a lot this season. Milwaukee came away victorious in Bush?s first six starts of the season for a tidy profit of $660.
Bush?s last four starts, however, have left the gambling public wanting as the Brewers are 1-3. Normally you?d pin some blame on the pitcher, but he?s been putting in his usual five or six innings of work in for each start. Instead it has been Milwaukee?s offense that has been the culprit recently, only scoring around 3.8 runs per game during its recent 1-5 slump.
Ryan Braun has hit fairly well during the skid, batting .375 with three home runs and eight runs batted in. Prince Fielder, on the other hand, might need to stop with this vegan nonsense to get back on track. Fielder is hitting .217 with one RBI and seven strikeouts in his last six games.
Cleveland will turn the ball over to Carl Pavano (6-5, 5.40 ERA) on Monday. At the start of the season, Pavano looked like the professional masseuse he became in his tenure with the Yankees?going 0-4 with a 9.50 ERA in April. He became another hurler altogether in May by posting a 5-1 mark and ERA of 3.66.
Pavano will no doubt be looking to get back on track this Monday. He got tagged for three homers and nine earned runs in just 4.2 innings at home against the Royals on June 10.
This will be the first time that Cleveland?s starter will have ever faced off against the Brewers during his career. Bush is 0-1 with a 3.00 ERA in three career starts versus the Indians.
Despite Pavano?s lack of history against Milwaukee, the Tribe are listed as $1.25 home favorites with a total of 9 ?.
The Brew Crew pulled off a three-game sweep against Cleveland at Miller Park back in 2006, with the ?under? going 2-1. Milwaukee has played extremely well in Progressive Field over the years as evidenced by a 4-2 record in its last two trips there. The ?under? is 4-2 in that time.
Angels at Giants ? 10:15 p.m. EDT
The Angels didn?t look like a team that could contend for much after dropping two of three in Tampa Bay at the end of last week. Yet the sportsbooks have installed Los Angeles as a $1.20 road ?chalk? with a total of 8 ?.
That line probably has something to do with how LA is dismantling the Padres over the weekend. The Halos have swept this series by a total score of 26-7. A big part of that onslaught was outfielder Torii Hunter, who has hit four homers and seven RBI. The team has a .417 batting average against San Diego in their most recent series.
Los Angeles will send John Lackey (1-2, 6.61 ERA) out to get this series started. Lackey has yet to find his groove this season, giving up 15 earned runs on 28 hits over his last three starts. He only lasted just five innings and allowed eight earned runs at Tropicana Field on June 10.
San Francisco looks like it?s beginning to roll after winning five of its last six games. A big reason for the recent upswing is how well the pitching staff is performing?or more specifically, how much longer they?re staying in games.
Tim Lincecum tossed a complete game shutout on June 12 and Randy Johnson picked up win No. 301 after pitching seven innings the following night. Over the last five games, the Giants? starters have averaged at least 6.2 innings. That means you have a happy and rested bullpen closing out ballgames.
The Giants? closer Brian Wilson has benefitted a great deal from quality setup work this season as he?s saved eight straight games. And he didn?t pitch more than 1.1 innings in any of those opportunities.
San Fran will look to get another good outing out of Barry Zito (3-6, 4.09 ERA) on Monday night. The former Cy Young Award winner has lasted only five innings in his past two starts, but Zito gave up five earned runs in both games combined. That helped him pick up his first two start win streak since August 18 and 23 of last season.
Will Zito be able to win three-in-a-row for the first time Late May, Mid-June of 2007? The betting shops aren?t buying into it as they?ve made the Angels $1.20 road favorites with a total of 8 ?.
Bettors shouldn?t be so quick to back the Halos in this spot despite the low number on the faves. San Francisco has posted a 9-3 record at home against the Angels since 1999. Plus, Zito has a 12-9 record with a 3.55 ERA in 28 career starts against Los Angeles.
The ?under? has been a quality bet as it is 8-3-1 in the last 12 games played in San Francisco
