Saturday Interleague Report
If you have paid attention up to this point today the underdogs are barking early in Interleague play. I wanted to investigate some of the later games and see what stood out has potential plays.
As I was looking over the games tonight research pointed to plenty of high scoring affairs. I wanted to break a few down with my thoughts.
Atlanta / Baltimore Over 9.5 +100
This game should have gone over last night but fell just short and Baltimore left plenty of base runners on. Hill starts for Baltimore and his ERA is over 7 in his last three starts and the Braves hit left-handed pitchers very well. They hit 16 points higher overall against lefties as opposed to right-handed hurlers. Chuck Meriwether is the umpire for tonight?s game and he has shown to have a small strike zone when he calls a game. This makes the pitchers throw strikes and work with a smaller zone. The over is 6-0 in the last six games he has worked and could make it tough on Rich Hill since he has allowed 16 walks compared to just 22 Ks this year. Over is 11-4 in Braves last 15 games vs. a left-handed starter and this game will soar over the total tonight.
Pittsburgh -113
The oddsmakers have mad the Pirates a small favorite at home against the Tigers tonight. The Pirates will ask Zach Duke to try and get the job done and that is not good news for the Tigers. On the road the Tigers are hitting .233 against southpaws. Galarraga will start for the Tigers and he has struggled on the road sporting a 1-3 record and surrendering 21 earned runs in that time frame. He does not go deep and this will allow the Tiger bullpen to come in and they had an ERA over 5 in the last three outings. Tigers are 0-7 in Galarragas last 7 starts as a road underdog and will lose to the home team tonight.
Red Sox +121
The Red Sox could have folded last night after allowing the late home run to Howard but they were calm and cool and still got the win. Tonight they look to steal another game on the road and have a four game winning streak going into the game tonight. Philly has played great on the road but struggled at home. Tonight the Phillies start Bastardo and he may be in for a rough outing because the Red Sox hit left-handers nicely on the road at .268. The difference in this game will be the strong bullpen play of the Red Sox.
Texas / Dodgers over 9.5 -105
Last night the Ranger pitching shut down the excellent offense of the Dodgers but tonight both teams will have plenty of hits. Randy Wolf will get the nod for the Dodgers and the Rangers carve up left-handed pitching at home. Wolf has given up 11 earned in his last two games and has had trouble getting the location down and that will be something the Rangers can take advantage of. Adrian Johnson is the umpire for this game and the average score for games worked is 10.85. The over has cashed in 6 out of the in games that he has officiated this year. Over is 18-5-5 in Johnson?s last 28 games behind home plate and the over is 11-5-1 in Rangers last 17 interleague home games vs. a left-handed starter.
Padres +191
When taking a big dog I like to have more reasons than normal to justify such a play, and this is even more so when that team is on the road. This is more a play against Angel pitching than it is for the Padres. Joe Saunders has been very bad lately. He has an ERA of 6.50 in his last three starts and the Angels have lost everyone one of them. He has only pitched out of the sixth inning once in his last five starts. This means the bullpen will come in and this is a bad sign for Angel backers. In the last 29 innings pitched they have an ERA over 8 and a WHIP of 1.74, this will not change tonight. The Padres have the edge in pitching and will pull the upset. Marty Foster is working the game and the Padres are 7-3 in their last 10 games with Foster behind home plate, anything will help!
~Matt
If you have paid attention up to this point today the underdogs are barking early in Interleague play. I wanted to investigate some of the later games and see what stood out has potential plays.
As I was looking over the games tonight research pointed to plenty of high scoring affairs. I wanted to break a few down with my thoughts.
Atlanta / Baltimore Over 9.5 +100
This game should have gone over last night but fell just short and Baltimore left plenty of base runners on. Hill starts for Baltimore and his ERA is over 7 in his last three starts and the Braves hit left-handed pitchers very well. They hit 16 points higher overall against lefties as opposed to right-handed hurlers. Chuck Meriwether is the umpire for tonight?s game and he has shown to have a small strike zone when he calls a game. This makes the pitchers throw strikes and work with a smaller zone. The over is 6-0 in the last six games he has worked and could make it tough on Rich Hill since he has allowed 16 walks compared to just 22 Ks this year. Over is 11-4 in Braves last 15 games vs. a left-handed starter and this game will soar over the total tonight.
Pittsburgh -113
The oddsmakers have mad the Pirates a small favorite at home against the Tigers tonight. The Pirates will ask Zach Duke to try and get the job done and that is not good news for the Tigers. On the road the Tigers are hitting .233 against southpaws. Galarraga will start for the Tigers and he has struggled on the road sporting a 1-3 record and surrendering 21 earned runs in that time frame. He does not go deep and this will allow the Tiger bullpen to come in and they had an ERA over 5 in the last three outings. Tigers are 0-7 in Galarragas last 7 starts as a road underdog and will lose to the home team tonight.
Red Sox +121
The Red Sox could have folded last night after allowing the late home run to Howard but they were calm and cool and still got the win. Tonight they look to steal another game on the road and have a four game winning streak going into the game tonight. Philly has played great on the road but struggled at home. Tonight the Phillies start Bastardo and he may be in for a rough outing because the Red Sox hit left-handers nicely on the road at .268. The difference in this game will be the strong bullpen play of the Red Sox.
Texas / Dodgers over 9.5 -105
Last night the Ranger pitching shut down the excellent offense of the Dodgers but tonight both teams will have plenty of hits. Randy Wolf will get the nod for the Dodgers and the Rangers carve up left-handed pitching at home. Wolf has given up 11 earned in his last two games and has had trouble getting the location down and that will be something the Rangers can take advantage of. Adrian Johnson is the umpire for this game and the average score for games worked is 10.85. The over has cashed in 6 out of the in games that he has officiated this year. Over is 18-5-5 in Johnson?s last 28 games behind home plate and the over is 11-5-1 in Rangers last 17 interleague home games vs. a left-handed starter.
Padres +191
When taking a big dog I like to have more reasons than normal to justify such a play, and this is even more so when that team is on the road. This is more a play against Angel pitching than it is for the Padres. Joe Saunders has been very bad lately. He has an ERA of 6.50 in his last three starts and the Angels have lost everyone one of them. He has only pitched out of the sixth inning once in his last five starts. This means the bullpen will come in and this is a bad sign for Angel backers. In the last 29 innings pitched they have an ERA over 8 and a WHIP of 1.74, this will not change tonight. The Padres have the edge in pitching and will pull the upset. Marty Foster is working the game and the Padres are 7-3 in their last 10 games with Foster behind home plate, anything will help!
~Matt
