MLB Tue, Sep 6, 2005
MLB betting: Week in preview
Matt Fargo
We are officially in the final full month of the regular season and not a whole lot changed from last week. The Angels reclaimed the lead in the American League West, but they are only up by one game. Both wild card races are still up for grabs as 1 1/2 games separate New York, Oakland and Cleveland in the American League, while three games separate the top five teams in the National League.
Series of the Week - Boston Red Sox at New York Yankees
Any series in the National League East could qualify for the best series this week but there is no doubt the Red Sox/Yankees takes center stage this upcoming weekend. Only 2 1/2 separate these heavy hitters and while both teams have gone 7-3 over their last 10 games, the edge goes to New York since it will be playing at home. The Yankees hold a slim 7-6 series lead heading into the final two sets of the season with Boston and New York is 10-1 in its last 11 home games. Even though the Yankees are 20 games over .500 at home, they are dead even in the money as the high prices have killed the profits.
Boston has been awesome at home this year, but playing on the road is a different story. The Red Sox are a game under .500 on the road and backers are down over 8.4 units on the season. Pitching continues to hurt Boston as it has allowed six or more runs in nine of its last 12 games. That is a problem against the New York bats that came back to life in the final two games at Oakland. New York gets to host Tampa Bay to tune up, while Boston stays at home to play a tough series against the Angels prior to traveling to New York.
Best schedule – Houston Astros
The Astros are playing all of their games on the road this week, but that might not be a bad thing. Houston travels to Philadelphia for a three-game series and while the Phillies have been a tough team at home this season, Houston has won the last nine meetings, including all three this season. Brandon Backe returns from the DL and will follow Andy Pettitte and Roy Oswalt. Taking two of three in Philadelphia is a definite possibility if Pettitte and Oswalt come through despite the 7.8 units they`ve combined to drop on the road this season.
The weekend series is at Milwaukee and that is what gives Houston the edge over everyone else for best possible schedule. While the rest of the teams in the playoff race are beating up on each other, the Astros can beat up the Brewers, who they have defeated six of nine times this year. Milwaukee has dropped 14 of its last 22 games at home and while Houston was 5-7, and dropped 4.05 units in August on the road, it will look to duplicate a very successful July away from home.
Worst schedule – New York Mets
The Mets began a three-game series in Atlanta on Monday that should help us shed some light in the congested National League wild card standings. Or maybe not, since it doesn’t look like any team is going to run away or back down. The Mets have dropped seven of the last nine meetings to the Braves this season and five of the six games played in Atlanta going back to last season. New York has averaged just 2.7 runs per game at Turner Field this season and the under is 6-2-1 in the last nine meetings played there.
If that isn’t bad enough, the Mets conclude the week with a four-game set at St. Louis. This is just the second series of the season between these two teams with St. Louis grabbing two of the three games played in New York back in May. The Mets have been superb at home this season but sit 10 games under .500 on the road, down 9.1 units, and they will have to work some magic to come out of this road trip on the plus side. The good news is that Pedro Martinez will be going twice for New York.
Who’s hot?San Francisco Giants
The Giants have won five straight games and seven of their last eight to move into second place in the NL West. They now trail San Diego by just 5 1/2 games and following sets against Los Angeles and Chicago, they host the Padres beginning next week. The Giants have shown a small profit on the road this season after a horrendous start. San Francisco has won 19 of 33 away from home since the end of June and it is three games over .500 within its division on the season for a profit of 3.9 units.
Pitching has been the key as San Francisco owns a 2.50 ERA over its last 10 games with the under coming though in seven of its last nine contests. Noah Lowry will face Carlos Zambrano in the first game against the Cubs on Thursday and he has been the hottest pitcher in the National League, going 6-0 with a 1.19 ERA since the beginning of August with a profit of 7.7 units. Jason Schmidt, who gets the call Wednesday in the finale at Los Angeles, has pitched well enough for the Giants to go 6-0 in his last six starts.
Who’s not? Detroit Tigers
The Tigers continue their second half swoon as they have now lost six straight games after getting shutout on Monday. Going back further, Detroit has dropped 10 of 12 games and what once was a profitable season has turned into a 8.7-unit deficit. The Tigers have two more games at home against the Indians before traveling to Cleveland for a one-game makeup and then coming back home for a series with the Royals. That type of travel, albeit close proximity, can wear out a team.
Detroit has struggled on offense, scoring three runs or less in five straight games and seven of its last 12 games. Surprisingly, only four of those games have gone under. That`s because the pitching has been just as bad, allowing six runs or more in nine of those games. This is a tough team to get a read on as far as totals go but even with Kansas City coming to town, I don’t except a whole lot of success over the weekend.
Five Starter stats of the week
Daniel Cabrera is 0-4 with a 7.85 ERA in six career starts against Toronto on Tuesday.
Eric Milton is 3-0 with a 2.48 ERA in four career starts against Milwaukee on Wednesday.
Tom Glavine is 1-8 with a 7.85 ERA in 10 starts against his former team the Braves, on Wednesday.
Vicente Padilla is 0-4 with a 5.13 ERA in four career starts against the Astros Wednesday.
Chris Carpenter is 0-2 with a 7.20 ERA in two career starts against the Mets Thursday.
MLB betting: Week in preview
Matt Fargo
We are officially in the final full month of the regular season and not a whole lot changed from last week. The Angels reclaimed the lead in the American League West, but they are only up by one game. Both wild card races are still up for grabs as 1 1/2 games separate New York, Oakland and Cleveland in the American League, while three games separate the top five teams in the National League.
Series of the Week - Boston Red Sox at New York Yankees
Any series in the National League East could qualify for the best series this week but there is no doubt the Red Sox/Yankees takes center stage this upcoming weekend. Only 2 1/2 separate these heavy hitters and while both teams have gone 7-3 over their last 10 games, the edge goes to New York since it will be playing at home. The Yankees hold a slim 7-6 series lead heading into the final two sets of the season with Boston and New York is 10-1 in its last 11 home games. Even though the Yankees are 20 games over .500 at home, they are dead even in the money as the high prices have killed the profits.
Boston has been awesome at home this year, but playing on the road is a different story. The Red Sox are a game under .500 on the road and backers are down over 8.4 units on the season. Pitching continues to hurt Boston as it has allowed six or more runs in nine of its last 12 games. That is a problem against the New York bats that came back to life in the final two games at Oakland. New York gets to host Tampa Bay to tune up, while Boston stays at home to play a tough series against the Angels prior to traveling to New York.
Best schedule – Houston Astros
The Astros are playing all of their games on the road this week, but that might not be a bad thing. Houston travels to Philadelphia for a three-game series and while the Phillies have been a tough team at home this season, Houston has won the last nine meetings, including all three this season. Brandon Backe returns from the DL and will follow Andy Pettitte and Roy Oswalt. Taking two of three in Philadelphia is a definite possibility if Pettitte and Oswalt come through despite the 7.8 units they`ve combined to drop on the road this season.
The weekend series is at Milwaukee and that is what gives Houston the edge over everyone else for best possible schedule. While the rest of the teams in the playoff race are beating up on each other, the Astros can beat up the Brewers, who they have defeated six of nine times this year. Milwaukee has dropped 14 of its last 22 games at home and while Houston was 5-7, and dropped 4.05 units in August on the road, it will look to duplicate a very successful July away from home.
Worst schedule – New York Mets
The Mets began a three-game series in Atlanta on Monday that should help us shed some light in the congested National League wild card standings. Or maybe not, since it doesn’t look like any team is going to run away or back down. The Mets have dropped seven of the last nine meetings to the Braves this season and five of the six games played in Atlanta going back to last season. New York has averaged just 2.7 runs per game at Turner Field this season and the under is 6-2-1 in the last nine meetings played there.
If that isn’t bad enough, the Mets conclude the week with a four-game set at St. Louis. This is just the second series of the season between these two teams with St. Louis grabbing two of the three games played in New York back in May. The Mets have been superb at home this season but sit 10 games under .500 on the road, down 9.1 units, and they will have to work some magic to come out of this road trip on the plus side. The good news is that Pedro Martinez will be going twice for New York.
Who’s hot?San Francisco Giants
The Giants have won five straight games and seven of their last eight to move into second place in the NL West. They now trail San Diego by just 5 1/2 games and following sets against Los Angeles and Chicago, they host the Padres beginning next week. The Giants have shown a small profit on the road this season after a horrendous start. San Francisco has won 19 of 33 away from home since the end of June and it is three games over .500 within its division on the season for a profit of 3.9 units.
Pitching has been the key as San Francisco owns a 2.50 ERA over its last 10 games with the under coming though in seven of its last nine contests. Noah Lowry will face Carlos Zambrano in the first game against the Cubs on Thursday and he has been the hottest pitcher in the National League, going 6-0 with a 1.19 ERA since the beginning of August with a profit of 7.7 units. Jason Schmidt, who gets the call Wednesday in the finale at Los Angeles, has pitched well enough for the Giants to go 6-0 in his last six starts.
Who’s not? Detroit Tigers
The Tigers continue their second half swoon as they have now lost six straight games after getting shutout on Monday. Going back further, Detroit has dropped 10 of 12 games and what once was a profitable season has turned into a 8.7-unit deficit. The Tigers have two more games at home against the Indians before traveling to Cleveland for a one-game makeup and then coming back home for a series with the Royals. That type of travel, albeit close proximity, can wear out a team.
Detroit has struggled on offense, scoring three runs or less in five straight games and seven of its last 12 games. Surprisingly, only four of those games have gone under. That`s because the pitching has been just as bad, allowing six runs or more in nine of those games. This is a tough team to get a read on as far as totals go but even with Kansas City coming to town, I don’t except a whole lot of success over the weekend.
Five Starter stats of the week
Daniel Cabrera is 0-4 with a 7.85 ERA in six career starts against Toronto on Tuesday.
Eric Milton is 3-0 with a 2.48 ERA in four career starts against Milwaukee on Wednesday.
Tom Glavine is 1-8 with a 7.85 ERA in 10 starts against his former team the Braves, on Wednesday.
Vicente Padilla is 0-4 with a 5.13 ERA in four career starts against the Astros Wednesday.
Chris Carpenter is 0-2 with a 7.20 ERA in two career starts against the Mets Thursday.
