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Alex Cobb has been absolute lights out since the start of July. He has not allowed more than 2 runs in 9 straight starts and have not lost since June 26th! Must ride this guy hard until he disappoints. His counterpart Bucholz has not been so lucky as he owns a 5.77 season ERA with a 1.50 WHIP.
ANGELS ML + ATHLETICS/ANGELS OVER 7.5 +236 *2*
Angels are red hot with wins in 5 straight and 6 of 7. With Shoemaker on the mound, we love the Angels to win this game – however we do expect the Athletics to score a few runs as they are the best offense in the bigs. Kazmir’s last start came against the Angels and it was a disaster giving up 7 ER over 3 innings with 10 hits.
ASTROS ML + RANGERS/ASTROS OVER 8 +203 *2*
Really like Keuchel at home against the Rangers who are just 29-42 on the road this season. Martinez has had his struggles this season, allowing 4+ ER in 6 of his past 9 starts. Over their last 5 games both the Rangers and Astros are seeing 8.4+ runs. Plenty of reasons to think this parlay has a strong chance of hitting!
ORIOLES ML + TWINS/ORIOLES – UNDER 8 +226 *2*
The Minnesota Twins have lost six of their last seven, while the Baltimore Orioles have won five of their last six games and are 22 games above a .500 record. Pitching for the Twins have been the issue, allowing 4 or more runs in 7 of 9, and today doesn’t look any better sending Ricky Nolasco to the hill who is 5-9 with a 5.62 ERA. Meanwhile the Orioles pitching staff has allowed three or less runs in 10 of their last 13 games. Starting today is Wei-Yin Chen, who is 13-4 with a 3.76 ERA, the Orioles are 4-0 in Chens last 4 home starts and 7-2 in Chens last 9 starts overall. The Twins are 0-4 in Nolascos last 4 road starts.
Welcome back, Hyun-jin Ryu. The timing for baseball’s road warrior to come off the disabled list couldn’t have been better because the Dodgers are on the verge of being swept at San Diego for the first time since 2010.
After a bullpen session Wednesday, Ryu showed no signs of aggravation from a strained glute muscle that has kept him out of the starting rotation since Aug. 14. While he’s been gone the Dodgers have tried to make the best of things behind the likes of Roberto Hernandez and Kevin Correia, but today they are looking at losing three straight.
Meanwhile, the Giants have won five straight, as they have made easy work of the NL Central-leading Brewers the past two nights. What looked to be a cake-walk for the Dodgers in the NL West is now getting a little dicey, as the Giants trail them by 2.5 games.
The Padres come into this afternoon's game on a four-game win streak (19-7 in last 26 at home) and have won the last three in extra-innings. Prior to taking the first two in this series, the Padres had lost nine of 13 from the bullies up north. They’ve been pitching well, not making mistakes, and while they’re still not hitting, they’ve brought the Dodgers down to their level. With runners in scoring position during the first two games, the Dodgers went 1-for-15. Ouch!
Ryu might not be able to help out the Dodgers' bats, but he can do his best to limit runs. He has a great situation working for him today: In four starts against the Padres, he’s 3-0 with a 0.71 ERA. He’s also going for a major-league best 10th road victory of the season.
Ryu comes in as a -140 favorite over Eric Stults with a total set at 7 runs. Generally, siding with a pitcher coming off the DL is not a good practice, but because Ryu’s injury didn’t involve his arm, there’s less skepticism here.
In addition to siding with the Dodgers, this game has UNDER written all over it. The Dodgers have gone 10-4-1 to the UNDER in their past 15 road games while the Padres have gone 13-4-1 to the UNDER in Stults' last 18 starts.
Shoemaker taking over
I do like the Angels to complete the sweep of the A's behind Matt Shoemaker, who has evolved into the Angels’ best pitcher, but I‘m personally not betting it because that series has busted me up all season, just like the Yankees-Red Sox. Shoemaker's rise into a dominant pitcher couldn’t have come at a better time after the Angels lost Garrett Richards for the season. Just when quite a few talking heads were writing off the Angels’ chances when Richards went down, they have gone 8-3 since the injury and are on the verge of sweeping the A’s. Shoemaker has won his past three starts and hasn’t allowed a run in his past two.
Royal June repeat
Remember when the Royals won 10 straight in June to briefly take over first place in the AL Central, only to lose their next four and seven of nine? Well, we might be seeing something similar as we head toward September. The Royals are currently on a three-game losing streak, which has brought the Tigers back into a first-place tie. After winning 24 of 30, the Royals now have lost five of seven.
The Indians have been doing the damage lately to Kansas City and have won 13 of their past 18 games overall to pull themselves only 3.5-games back behind the Tigers and Royals. Tonight Cleveland goes for a sweep in Kansas City. One team can taste the thrill of victory and has momentum building; the other is just trying not to lose and repeat what happened in June. The Indians roll makes them a live dog tonight at +156.
Sunday selections:
Pirates (Liriano) -120 vs. Reds
Pirates/Reds UNDER 6.5 (-105)
Cubs (Wood) +160 at Cardinals
Dodgers (Ryu) -140 at Padres
Dodgers/Padres UNDER 7 (-105)
Tigers (Porcello) -119 at White Sox
Indians (House) +156 at Royals
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