The Bum's April Major League Baseball Trends-Stats-Notes Etc. !

[StarDust Bum]

MLB

Tuesday, April 7

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Trend Report
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7:10 PM
BALTIMORE vs. TAMPA BAY
Baltimore is 7-3 SU in its last 10 games when playing on the road against Tampa Bay
Baltimore is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games
Tampa Bay is 3-7 SU in its last 10 games when playing at home against Baltimore
Tampa Bay is 1-5 SU in its last 6 games

7:10 PM
ATLANTA vs. MIAMI
Atlanta is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Atlanta's last 7 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Miami's last 7 games at home
Miami is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games

8:05 PM
ST. LOUIS vs. CHI CUBS
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of St. Louis's last 5 games when playing on the road against Chi Cubs
The total has gone OVER in 4 of St. Louis's last 5 games
Chi Cubs are 2-4 SU in their last 6 games when playing St. Louis
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Chi Cubs's last 6 games

8:10 PM
COLORADO vs. MILWAUKEE
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Colorado's last 5 games
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Colorado's last 5 games on the road
Milwaukee is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 14 of Milwaukee's last 18 games

9:40 PM
SAN FRANCISCO vs. ARIZONA
The total has gone OVER in 9 of San Francisco's last 12 games
San Francisco is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games
Arizona is 1-5 SU in its last 6 games when playing at home against San Francisco
Arizona is 1-5 SU in its last 6 games at home

10:05 PM
TEXAS vs. OAKLAND
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Texas's last 7 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Texas's last 7 games when playing on the road against Oakland
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Oakland's last 7 games when playing at home against Texas
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Oakland's last 9 games when playing Texas

10:10 PM
SAN DIEGO vs. LA DODGERS
San Diego is 1-4 SU in their last 5 games when playing LA Dodgers
San Diego is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games
The total has gone OVER in 6 of LA Dodgers's last 7 games at home
The total has gone OVER in 4 of LA Dodgers's last 5 games when playing San Diego

10:10 PM
LA ANGELS vs. SEATTLE
The total has gone OVER in 10 of LA Angels's last 15 games on the road
LA Angels are 0-5 SU in their last 5 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Seattle's last 7 games at home
Seattle is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games

[StarDust Bum]

MLB

Tuesday, April 7


Giants' Peavy to miss Tuesday start, Vogelsong in

When the San Francisco Giants take on the Arizona Diamondbacks Tuesday, it's going to be Ryan Vogelsong getting the ball for the reigning champs, per Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle.

Jake Peavy was initially scheduled to make the start but said himself Monday that he's going to be skipped this time around. The veteran was roughed up in his final two Cactus League outings, allowing 13 runs over just 6 2/3 innings.

Vogelsong went 8-13 with a 4.00 ERA last season. Rubby De La Rosa will take the bump for the D-Backs.


Wind blowing in at Wrigley Field Tuesday

Wind will blow in from right field at roughly 15 miles per hour when the Chicago Cubs host the St. Louis Cardinals at Wrigley Field Tuesday evening.

Furthermore, forecasts are calling for a 45 percent possibility of showers as the game progresses.

The Cubs are priced at -120 while the total remains off the board.



MLB roundup: Red Sox rock Phils in opener

PHILADELPHIA -- Clay Buchholz combined with two relievers on a three-hit shutout, and the Boston Red Sox hit five home runs to batter the Philadelphia Phillies 8-0 in the season opener Monday afternoon.

Dustin Pedroia and Hanley Ramirez each hit two homers for Boston, with the second by Ramirez a ninth-inning grand slam off reliever Jake Diekman. Mookie Betts went deep of Phillies starter Cole Hamels (0-1).

Buchholz, making his first Opening Day start after going 8-11 with a 5.34 ERA in 2014, did not allow a hit until Ryan Howard doubled on an 0-2 pitch with two outs in the fourth. Philadelphia's Carlos Ruiz and Grady Sizemore also lashed back-to-back singles in the seventh, though Buchholz escaped the inning unscathed.

Red Sox relievers Junichi Tazawa and Tommy Layne each worked a scoreless inning in relief.

A's 8, Rangers 0

OAKLAND, Calif. -- Sonny Gray took a no-hitter into the eighth inning, and Ben Zobrist belted a two-run home run on his first swing for Oakland, helping the Athletics snap a 10-year losing streak on Opening Day.

Gray retired 21 of the first 23 batters he faced before Rangers left fielder Ryan Rua laced a two-strike single to right field to open the eighth. Playing with an entirely new cast behind him than in the 2014 opener with the exception of second baseman Eric Sogard, Gray was pulled with a 7-0 lead after he threw 98 pitches in eight innings. He allowed just the one hit and one walk while striking out three.

Stephen Vogt added a three-run, eighth-inning homer to boost Oakland's lead to 7-0.

Tigers 4, Twins 0

DETROIT -- David Price retired the first 13 batters he faced and fell one out shy of a complete-game five hitter, getting home run support from J.D. Martinez and Alex Avila in pacing Detroit to a victory over Minnesota.

Manager Brad Ausmus was booed when he came out to visit Price after the left-hander gave up a two-out single in the ninth, and he got booed again when he yanked the starter for closer Joe Nathan following an infield single by the Twins first baseman Joe Mauer.

Nathan got formers Tiger right fielder Torii Hunter to look at a called third strike to end the game and record the save.

Dodgers 6, Padres 3

LOS ANGELES -- Shortstop Jimmy Rollins hit a go-ahead three-run home run in the eighth inning, and Los Angeles rallied for a victory over San Diego.

Rollins, who was making his Dodgers debut, tagged reliever Shawn Kelly (0-1) by driving a pitch over the wall in right with one out in the eighth.

Dodgers reliever Joel Peralta (1-0) tossed a scoreless inning for the win. Chris Hatcher earned his first career save. First baseman Adrian Gonzalez also homered for Los Angeles.

Padres center fielder Matt Kemp, a former Dodger, went 2-for-4 and drove in all three San Diego runs.

Marlins 1, Braves 2

MIAMI -- Right fielder Nick Markakis drove in two runs, including the game-winner, as Atlanta defeated Miami.

Jason Grilli, Atlanta's new closer after Craig Kimbrel was traded Sunday, got the save, his first with the Braves. Grilli struck out Marlins right fielder Giancarlo Stanton and first baseman Michael Morse in a 1-2-3 ninth inning.

Atlanta pushed across the winning run in the sixth, breaking a 1-1 tie. Center fielder Eric Young Jr. led off with a double, advanced on a sacrifice bunt and scored on Markakis' ground out to second baseman Dee Gordon. The speedy Young slid under the tag of catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia.

Blue Jays 6, Yankees 1

NEW YORK -- Right-hander Drew Hutchison pitched six outstanding innings, and Toronto opened the season with a victory over New York.

Hutchison, the youngest Opening Day starter in franchise history, allowed a solo home run to left fielder Brett Gardner among three hits. After going 3-0 with a 1.80 ERA in four spring training appearances, the 24-year-old struck out three, walked two and threw 57 of 93 pitches for strikes.

Former Yankees catcher Russell Martin had a two-run single, and first baseman Edwin Encarnacion slugged a two-run home run for Toronto, which scored five times in the top of the third inning against right-hander Masahiro Tanaka (0-1). Blue Jays rookie second baseman Devon Travis added his first career home run.

Rockies 10, Brewers 0

MILWAUKEE -- Corey Dickerson and Nolan Arenado homered, and Kyle Kendrick threw seven shutout innings as Colorado cruised to an Opening Day victory over Milwaukee.

Kendrick, a veteran right-hander in his first season for Colorado, scattered seven hits struck out six without a walk. He even chipped in on offense, scoring a run and accounting for a pair of the Rockies' 16 hits on the day.

Colorado wasted no time getting to Brewers right-hander Kyle Lohse, who gave up three first-inning doubles and found himself in a 4-0 hole after left fielder Dickerson smacked a 1-2 slider into the picnic area in right.

Orioles 6, Rays 2

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Chris Tillman took a shutout into the seventh inning, and Baltimore hit three home runs on the way to a win over Tampa Bay in the season opener.

Alejandro De Aza scored as the first batter of the season, then added a two-run home run. Steve Pearce and Ryan Flaherty also went deep for the Orioles. Tillman lasted 6 2/3 innings, giving up one run on four hits.

It was a disappointing debut for new Rays manager Kevin Cash, whose team committed an error on its first fielding chance and didn't get a hit until the fourth inning. Tampa Bay got a solo home run by Evan Longoria.

Mets 3, Nationals 1

WASHINGTON -- Bartolo Colon allowed one run in six innings, and New York beat Washington Nationals on Opening Day.

Colon allowed just three hits while striking out eight. He outdueled Washington starter Max Scherzer, who did not allow a hit in the first five innings. However, the Mets scored three unearned runs off Scherzer, as Nationals shortstop Ian Desmond committed two errors.

Mets first baseman Lucas Duda struck a two-run single in the sixth with two outs to give his team a 2-1 lead on New York's first hit of the season.

Royals 10, White Sox 1

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Yordano Ventura limited Chicago to one run in six-plus innings before leaving with a cramping right thumb as Kansas City beat the White Sox. The Royals snapped a six-game Opening Day losing streak.

Ventura allowed four hits -- one a solo homer Jose Abreu to lead off the seventh -- walked one and struck out two. He went down in agony after throwing a strike to Adam LaRoche in the seventh. He will be evaluated later in the week, but the Royals do not believe the injury is serious.

The Royals' offense included a three-run home run by Alex Rios, who went 3-for-4 in his Kansas City debut.

Mariners 4, Angels 1

SEATTLE -- Felix Hernandez turned in yet another dominating Opening Day performance, leading Seattle past Los Angeles. Hernandez improved to 6-0 with a 1.49 ERA in eight career openers, all with the Mariners.

Hernandez allowed two hits and one run over seven innings while striking out 10, walking one and hitting a batter. It marked the third time the Venezuela native recorded at least 10 strikeouts in an Opening Day start.

The Angels took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first when center fielder Mike Trout, the reigning American League Most Valuable Player, hit a solo homer off Hernandez on the eighth pitch of the at-bat. In a matchup of two All-Stars, Hernandez went on to strike out Trout the next two times they faced.

Reds 5, Pirates 2

CINCINNATI -- Todd Frazier's tiebreaking, three-run home run in the eighth inning lifted Cincinnati past Pittsburgh on Opening Day. Right fielder Jay Bruce also homered for the Reds.

Cincinnati starter Johnny Cueto allowed just four hits in seven scoreless innings and fanned 10, a career high for Opening Day. Cueto was denied the victory when Pirates center fielder Andrew McCutcheon hit a two-run, game-tying homer in the eighth off right-hander Kevin Gregg.

However, with runners on first and third in the bottom of the eighth, Frazier crushed a 1-1 pitch from Pirates left-hander Tony Watson (0-1) and sent it sailing 432 feet to left field.

Astros 2, Indians 0

HOUSTON -- Dallas Keuchel worked seven shutout innings, and a revamped bullpen preserved his effort in Houston's win over Cleveland.

Keuchel allowed three hits and three walks while recording four strikeouts, including a critical whiff of Brandon Moss after Carlos Santana and Yan Gomes stroked consecutive singles to open the seventh inning. After he fanned Moss, Keuchel coaxed a pair of grounders back to the mound to strand Santana and Gomes, close the inning, and preserve his one-run lead.

Cleveland's Corey Kluber, the reigning American League Cy Young Award winner, gave up two runs on three hits and two walks with seven strikeouts in 7 1/3 innings. George Springer's sixth-inning single knocked in the first run, and Jake Marisnick's eighth-inning sacrifice fly capped the scoring.

Giants 5, Diamondbacks 4

PHOENIX -- Left-hander Madison Bumgarner gave up one run in seven innings, and center fielder Angel Pagan had three hits and two RBIs as San Francisco beat Arizona in the season opener for both teams.

Bumgarner, the 2014 World Series MVP, gave up six hits, struck out three and walked one in the first Opening Day start of his career.

Pagan had two doubles and a single, driving in runs in the third and fifth innings against Arizona right-hander Josh Collmenter (0-1). Giants second baseman Joe Panik had three hits and scored two runs, and shortstop Brandon Crawford had two hits and drove in two runs, helping the Giants take a 5-1 lead in the fifth.

[StarDust Bum]

MLB

Tuesday, April 7


Possibility of rain at Dodger Stadium Tuesday

Weather forecasts are calling for a 65 percent chance of rain before and during the early stages of Tuesday's game between the San Diego Padres and Los Angeles Dodgers.

The Dodgers are presently priced as -157 faves and oddsmakers have tabbed the game with a total of 6.5.

[StarDust Bum]

Armadillo: Wednesday's six-pack

I love college basketball, but here are six things I'd do to improve it.........

-- Let kids jump right from high school to the NBA; but if you go to college, you're there for at least two years. One-and-done doesn't help college ball or the NBA.

-- Reduce timeouts teams can call from five a game to two a game; there are eight TV timeouts imbedded in the game. There are WAY TOO MANY stoppages now.

-- I'd tell officials to allow continuation on drives to the basket; this is a quick way to increase scoring.

-- In a related item, get rid of flopping; when in doubt, its a block, not a charge, then teams will stop practicing drawing fake charges. Yes, some teams do this.

-- 30-second shot clock, which won't help much and an 8-second halfcourt line- that will force teams not to walk the ball up, and will encourage teams to press more.

**********


Armadillo: Wednesday's List of 13: Some mid-week thoughts.........

13) Pretty cool moment in Montreal Friday night, when Russell Matin's dad played O, Canada on the saxophone before the Jays-Reds exhibition game at Olympic Stadium. Martin grew up in Montreal; this is his first year with the Blue Jays.

12) Pretty un-cool stuff in South Carolina, where someone filmed a police officer gunning down a citizen running away from him after a routine traffic stop. Apparently the guy was running because he owes child support and didn't want to be arrested for that. The officer has been charged with murder.

I'm not posting a link to it here but it is all over TV today; it looks like a bad movie, but it is very real and very sad.

11) 34.2% of shots in college basketball this season were behind the arc, the highest percentage since 1987.

10) Rick Porcello (76-63, 4.30 in 180 starts for a good team) got $82.5M from the Red Sox, on a 4-year contract. Shouldn't they have just paid Jon Lester?

9) Related subject: average ticket to a game in Fenway Park this season will be $52.34, highest in major league baseball.

8) In the last 29 years, covering 116 major golf tournaments, only eight were won by someone not in the top 100 of the World Golf Rankings.

7) Baseball's All-Star Game is in a National Lague park the next four years, which is highly unusual; they alternated leagues for decades.

6) 15 of 25 players on the San Diego Padres weren't Padres last season.

5) Atlanta Braves are 61-33 in their last 94 games against the Marlins.

4) Chattanooga coach Will Wade is the new coach at VCU, where he used to be an assistant to Shaka Smart. Its funny how Chattanooga has to hire a new coach, only because Texas fired its coach and hired Smart from VCU.

3) Tennessee Titans coach Ken Whisenhunt grew up in Augusta and worked on the scoreboard at The Masters as a kid.

2) If you're Bo Ryan and you just lost a close national title game, it looks bad to bitch about the refs on national TV, even if you're right.

1) Just to make you (and me) feel worse about our bracket, ESPN's national contest was won by a little creep from Illinois who is in the sixth grade.

[StarDust Bum]

MLB
Dunkel

Wednesday, April 8

Colorado Rockies @ Milwaukee Brewers

Game 909-910
April 8, 2015 @ 8:10 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Colorado Rockies
(Butler) 15.051
Milwaukee Brewers
(Peralta) 14.103
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Colorado Rockies
by 1
10 1/2
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Milwaukee Brewers
-150
8 1/2
Dunkel Pick:
Colorado Rockies
(+130); Over

San Francisco Giants @ Arizona Diamondbacks

Game 911-912
April 8, 2015 @ 9:40 pm

Dunkel Rating:
San Francisco Gia
(Heston) 16.690
Arizona Diamondba
(Hellickson) 15.238
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
San Francisco Gia
by 1 1/2
9 1/2
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Arizona Diamondba
-130
9
Dunkel Pick:
San Francisco Gia
(+110); Over

San Diego Padres @ Los Angeles Dodgers

Game 913-914
April 8, 2015 @ 10:10 pm

Dunkel Rating:
San Diego Padres
(Cashner) 14.049
Los Angeles Dodge
(McCarthy) 16.497
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Los Angeles Dodge
by 2 1/2
6 1/2
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Los Angeles Dodge
-140
7
Dunkel Pick:
San Diego Padres
(-140); Under

Minnesota Twins @ Detroit Tigers

Game 915-916
April 8, 2015 @ 1:08 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Minnesota Twins
(Nolasco) 13.291
Detroit Tigers
(Sanchez) 16.269
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Detroit Tigers
by 3
8 1/2
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Detroit Tigers
-200
8
Dunkel Pick:
Detroit Tigers
(-200); Over

Toronto Blue Jays @ New York Yankees

Game 917-918
April 8, 2015 @ 7:05 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Toronto Blue Jays
(Dickey) 17.295
New York Yankees
(Pineda) 14.366
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Toronto Blue Jays
by 3
6 1/2
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
New York Yankees
-135
7 1/2
Dunkel Pick:
Toronto Blue Jays
(+115); Under

Baltimore Orioles @ Tampa Bay Rays

Game 919-920
April 8, 2015 @ 7:11 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Baltimore Orioles
(Gonzalez) 15.677
Tampa Bay Rays
(Odorizzi) 14.295
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Baltimore Orioles
by 1 1/2
6
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Tampa Bay Rays
-135
7
Dunkel Pick:
Baltimore Orioles
(+115); Under

Chicago White Sox @ Kansas City Royals

Game 921-922
April 8, 2015 @ 8:10 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Chicago White Sox
(Quintana) 14.691
Kansas City Royal
(Duffy) 18.237
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Kansas City Royal
by 3 1/2
7 1/2
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Kansas City Royal
-130
8
Dunkel Pick:
Kansas City Royal
(-130); Under

St. Louis Cardinals @ Chicago Cubs

Game 901-902
April 8, 2015 @ 2:20 pm

Dunkel Rating:
St. Louis Cardina
(Lynn) 15.407
Chicago Cubs
(Arrieta) 12.707
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
St. Louis Cardina
by 2 1/2
7 1/2
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Chicago Cubs
-110
No Run Total
Dunkel Pick:
St. Louis Cardina
(-110); N/A

Cleveland Indians @ Houston Astros

Game 923-924
April 8, 2015 @ 8:10 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Cleveland Indians
(Carrasco) 16.846
Houston Astros
(Feldman) 13.630
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Cleveland Indians
by 3
6
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Cleveland Indians
-145
8
Dunkel Pick:
Cleveland Indians
(-145); Under

New York Mets @ Washington Nationals

Game 903-904
April 8, 2015 @ 7:05 pm

Dunkel Rating:
New York Mets
(deGrom) 17.351
Washington Nation
(Strasburg) 16.224
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
New York Mets
by 1
5 1/2
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Washington Nation
-155
6 1/2
Dunkel Pick:
New York Mets
(+135); Under

Texas Rangers @ Oakland Athletics

Game 925-926
April 8, 2015 @ 10:05 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Texas Rangers
(Detwiler) 15.797
Oakland Athletics
(Kazmir) 14.809
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Texas Rangers
by 1
6
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Oakland Athletics
-170
7
Dunkel Pick:
Texas Rangers
(+150); Under

Atlanta Braves @ Miami Marlins

Game 905-906
April 8, 2015 @ 7:11 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Atlanta Braves
(Miller) 12.859
Miami Marlins
(Koehler) 15.963
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Miami Marlins
by 3
6 1/2
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Miami Marlins
-130
7 1/2
Dunkel Pick:
Miami Marlins
(-130); Under

Pittsburgh Pirates @ Cincinnati Reds

Game 907-908
April 8, 2015 @ 7:10 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Pittsburgh Pirate
(Cole) 15.238
Cincinnati Reds
(Leake) 13.312
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Pittsburgh Pirate
by 2
9
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Pittsburgh Pirate
-115
7
Dunkel Pick:
Pittsburgh Pirate
(-115); Over

[StarDust Bum]

MLB
Long Sheet

Wednesday, April 8

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ST LOUIS (1 - 0) at CHICAGO CUBS (0 - 1) - 2:20 PM
LANCE LYNN (R) vs. JAKE ARRIETA (R)
Top Trends for this game.
ST LOUIS is 14-29 (-18.0 Units) against the money line in road games after a win over the last 2 seasons.
ARRIETA is 16-7 (+11.6 Units) against the money line after a loss over the last 3 seasons. (Team's Record)
CHICAGO CUBS are 1387-1554 (-281.7 Units) against the money line in all games since 1997.
CHICAGO CUBS are 744-727 (-166.7 Units) against the money line in home games since 1997.
CHICAGO CUBS are 351-340 (-89.8 Units) against the money line in home games against division opponents since 1997.
CHICAGO CUBS are 743-787 (-148.6 Units) against the money line in day games since 1997.
CHICAGO CUBS are 1330-1467 (-256.5 Units) against the money line in games played on a grass field since 1997.
CHICAGO CUBS are 1016-1154 (-214.2 Units) against the money line against right-handed starters since 1997.

Head-to-Head Series History
ST LOUIS is 1-0 (+1.0 Units) against CHICAGO CUBS this season
1 of 1 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL this season . (Under=+1.0 Units)

LANCE LYNN vs. CHICAGO CUBS since 1997
LYNN is 6-3 when starting against CHICAGO CUBS with an ERA of 3.28 and a WHIP of 1.210.
His team's record is 7-3 (+2.4 units) in these starts. The OVER is 3-6. (-3.2 units)

JAKE ARRIETA vs. ST LOUIS since 1997
ARRIETA is 2-0 when starting against ST LOUIS with an ERA of 0.92 and a WHIP of 0.955.
His team's record is 3-2 (+1.5 units) in these starts. The OVER is 1-3. (-2.1 units)

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NY METS (1 - 0) at WASHINGTON (0 - 1) - 7:05 PM
JACOB DEGROM (R) vs. JORDAN ZIMMERMANN (R)
Top Trends for this game.
ZIMMERMANN is 25-8 (+15.3 Units) against the money line when the total is 7 or less over the last 3 seasons. (Team's Record)
ZIMMERMANN is 33-12 (+17.6 Units) against the money line in night games over the last 3 seasons. (Team's Record)
NY METS are 81-82 (+23.3 Units) against the money line in road games over the last 3 seasons.
NY METS are 81-82 (+23.3 Units) against the money line in road games in games played on a grass field over the last 3 seasons.

Head-to-Head Series History
NY METS is 1-0 (+1.6 Units) against WASHINGTON this season
1 of 1 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL this season . (Under=+1.0 Units)

JACOB DEGROM vs. WASHINGTON since 1997
DEGROM is 0-0 when starting against WASHINGTON with an ERA of 4.50 and a WHIP of 1.333.
His team's record is 0-1 (-1.0 units) in these starts. The UNDER is 0-1. (-1.2 units)

JORDAN ZIMMERMANN vs. NY METS since 1997
ZIMMERMANN is 7-5 when starting against NY METS with an ERA of 2.98 and a WHIP of 1.164.
His team's record is 14-6 (+6.1 units) in these starts. The OVER is 11-9. (+1.4 units)

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ATLANTA (2 - 0) at MIAMI (0 - 2) - 7:10 PM
SHELBY MILLER (R) vs. TOM KOEHLER (R)
Top Trends for this game.
ATLANTA is 81-83 (-15.0 Units) against the money line in all games over the last 2 seasons.
ATLANTA is 81-83 (-15.0 Units) against the money line in games played on a grass field over the last 2 seasons.
ATLANTA is 62-67 (-16.0 Units) against the money line against right-handed starters over the last 2 seasons.
MIAMI is 41-31 (+15.0 Units) against the money line at home when the total is 7 or less over the last 3 seasons.
ATLANTA is 19-8 (+12.1 Units) against the money line in April games over the last 2 seasons.
ATLANTA is 48-30 (+18.5 Units) against the money line in road games against division opponents over the last 3 seasons.

Head-to-Head Series History
ATLANTA is 2-0 (+2.7 Units) against MIAMI this season
1 of 2 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL this season . (Over=-0.2 Units, Under=-0.2 Units)

SHELBY MILLER vs. MIAMI since 1997
MILLER is 0-1 when starting against MIAMI with an ERA of 6.97 and a WHIP of 1.936.
His team's record is 0-2 (-2.6 units) in these starts. The UNDER is 0-2. (-2.4 units)

TOM KOEHLER vs. ATLANTA since 1997
KOEHLER is 0-2 when starting against ATLANTA with an ERA of 3.50 and a WHIP of 1.361.
His team's record is 1-5 (-3.3 units) in these starts. The OVER is 1-4. (-3.3 units)

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PITTSBURGH (0 - 1) at CINCINNATI (1 - 0) - 7:10 PM
GERRIT COLE (R) vs. MIKE LEAKE (R)
Top Trends for this game.
PITTSBURGH is 185-147 (+27.4 Units) against the money line in all games over the last 3 seasons.
PITTSBURGH is 65-44 (+16.1 Units) against the money line in night games over the last 2 seasons.
CINCINNATI is 43-63 (-20.7 Units) against the money line in night games over the last 2 seasons.
CINCINNATI is 354-380 (-96.5 Units) against the money line in home games after a win since 1997.

Head-to-Head Series History
CINCINNATI is 1-0 (+1.0 Units) against PITTSBURGH this season
0 of 0 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL this season . (Over=+0.0 Units)

GERRIT COLE vs. CINCINNATI since 1997
COLE is 0-1 when starting against CINCINNATI with an ERA of 4.15 and a WHIP of 1.231.
His team's record is 0-2 (-2.2 units) in these starts. The UNDER is 1-1. (-0.3 units)

MIKE LEAKE vs. PITTSBURGH since 1997
LEAKE is 6-3 when starting against PITTSBURGH with an ERA of 3.64 and a WHIP of 1.251.
His team's record is 8-12 (-5.9 units) in these starts. The OVER is 9-10. (-1.5 units)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

COLORADO (2 - 0) at MILWAUKEE (0 - 2) - 8:10 PM
EDDIE BUTLER (R) vs. WILY PERALTA (R)
Top Trends for this game.
COLORADO is 148-267 (-64.5 Units) against the money line as a road underdog of +125 to +150 since 1997.
COLORADO is 23-60 (-31.4 Units) against the money line in road games over the last 2 seasons.
COLORADO is 23-60 (-31.4 Units) against the money line in road games in games played on a grass field over the last 2 seasons.
COLORADO is 14-45 (-28.9 Units) against the money line in road games in night games over the last 2 seasons.
COLORADO is 45-73 (-27.2 Units) against the money line against right-handed starters over the last 2 seasons.
COLORADO is 16-41 (-19.7 Units) against the money line in road games after a win over the last 3 seasons.

Head-to-Head Series History
COLORADO is 2-0 (+2.6 Units) against MILWAUKEE this season
1 of 2 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL this season . (Over=-0.1 Units, Under=-0.2 Units)

EDDIE BUTLER vs. MILWAUKEE since 1997
No recent starts.

WILY PERALTA vs. COLORADO since 1997
PERALTA is 2-2 when starting against COLORADO with an ERA of 6.35 and a WHIP of 1.676.
His team's record is 2-2 (-0.4 units) in these starts. The OVER is 4-0. (+4.1 units)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

SAN FRANCISCO (1 - 1) at ARIZONA (1 - 1) - 9:40 PM
CHRIS HESTON (R) vs. JEREMY HELLICKSON (R)
Top Trends for this game.
SAN FRANCISCO is 101-80 (+17.0 Units) against the money line in all games over the last 2 seasons.
SAN FRANCISCO is 50-42 (+13.3 Units) against the money line in road games over the last 2 seasons.
SAN FRANCISCO is 202-180 (+37.5 Units) against the money line on the road when the total is 9 to 9.5 since 1997.
SAN FRANCISCO is 21-8 (+13.3 Units) against the money line when playing on Wednesday over the last 2 seasons.
SAN FRANCISCO is 101-80 (+17.0 Units) against the money line in games played on a grass field over the last 2 seasons.
SAN FRANCISCO is 1023-854 (+117.8 Units) against the money line in night games since 1997.
SAN FRANCISCO is 69-50 (+16.0 Units) against the money line against right-handed starters over the last 2 seasons.
SAN FRANCISCO is 368-368 (+40.9 Units) against the money line in road games after a loss since 1997.
ARIZONA is 65-99 (-31.7 Units) against the money line in all games over the last 2 seasons.
ARIZONA is 745-655 (-87.9 Units) against the money line in home games since 1997.
ARIZONA is 4-13 (-11.2 Units) against the money line in home games in April games over the last 2 seasons.
ARIZONA is 65-99 (-31.7 Units) against the money line in games played on a grass field over the last 2 seasons.
ARIZONA is 50-73 (-22.1 Units) against the money line against right-handed starters over the last 2 seasons.
ARIZONA is 23-41 (-19.2 Units) against the money line after a win over the last 2 seasons.

Head-to-Head Series History
ARIZONA is 1-1 (+0.0 Units) against SAN FRANCISCO this season
2 of 2 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL this season . (Over=+2.0 Units)

CHRIS HESTON vs. ARIZONA since 1997
No recent starts.

JEREMY HELLICKSON vs. SAN FRANCISCO since 1997
No recent starts.

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SAN DIEGO (1 - 1) at LA DODGERS (1 - 1) - 10:10 PM
ANDREW CASHNER (R) vs. BRANDON MCCARTHY (R)
Top Trends for this game.
SAN DIEGO is 8-24 (-15.2 Units) against the money line in road games after a win over the last 2 seasons.
LA DODGERS are 47-23 (+18.1 Units) against the money line after a loss over the last 2 seasons.
LA DODGERS are 10-15 (-13.3 Units) against the money line in home games when playing on Wednesday over the last 3 seasons.
MCCARTHY is 20-34 (-18.0 Units) against the money line in all games over the last 3 seasons. (Team's Record)
MCCARTHY is 10-19 (-14.2 Units) against the money line in home games over the last 3 seasons. (Team's Record)
MCCARTHY is 8-21 (-15.5 Units) against the money line in April games since 1997. (Team's Record)
MCCARTHY is 19-32 (-17.3 Units) against the money line in games played on a grass field over the last 3 seasons. (Team's Record)

Head-to-Head Series History
SAN DIEGO is 1-1 (+0.4 Units) against LA DODGERS this season
2 of 2 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL this season . (Over=+2.1 Units)

ANDREW CASHNER vs. LA DODGERS since 1997
CASHNER is 1-1 when starting against LA DODGERS with an ERA of 1.32 and a WHIP of 1.098.
His team's record is 3-3 (-0.5 units) in these starts. The OVER is 1-5. (-4.5 units)


BRANDON MCCARTHY vs. SAN DIEGO since 1997
MCCARTHY is 4-1 when starting against SAN DIEGO with an ERA of 2.43 and a WHIP of 0.959.
His team's record is 5-1 (+4.4 units) in these starts. The OVER is 2-4. (-2.1 units)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

MINNESOTA (0 - 1) at DETROIT (1 - 0) - 1:05 PM
RICKY NOLASCO (R) vs. ANIBAL SANCHEZ (R)
Top Trends for this game.
MINNESOTA is 83-77 (+21.3 Units) against the money line in road games when playing with a day off since 1997.
MINNESOTA is 305-311 (+34.9 Units) against the money line in road games against division opponents since 1997.
MINNESOTA is 35-35 (+16.5 Units) against the money line in road games in day games over the last 3 seasons.
NOLASCO is 69-59 (+25.9 Units) against the money line in road games since 1997. (Team's Record)
NOLASCO is 65-57 (+22.1 Units) against the money line in road games in games played on a grass field since 1997. (Team's Record)
DETROIT is 66-61 (-21.9 Units) against the money line in day games over the last 3 seasons.

Head-to-Head Series History
DETROIT is 1-0 (+1.0 Units) against MINNESOTA this season
1 of 1 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL this season . (Under=+1.0 Units)

RICKY NOLASCO vs. DETROIT since 1997
NOLASCO is 1-0 when starting against DETROIT with an ERA of 2.33 and a WHIP of 1.242.
His team's record is 2-1 (+1.7 units) in these starts. The OVER is 1-2. (-1.1 units)

ANIBAL SANCHEZ vs. MINNESOTA since 1997
SANCHEZ is 2-2 when starting against MINNESOTA with an ERA of 2.65 and a WHIP of 1.216.
His team's record is 4-5 (-4.1 units) in these starts. The UNDER is 4-3. (+0.7 units)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

TORONTO (1 - 0) at NY YANKEES (0 - 1) - 7:05 PM
R.A. DICKEY (R) vs. MICHAEL PINEDA (R)
There are no Top Trends with records of significance that apply to this game.

Head-to-Head Series History
TORONTO is 1-0 (+1.2 Units) against NY YANKEES this season
1 of 1 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL this season . (Under=+1.0 Units)

R.A. DICKEY vs. NY YANKEES since 1997
DICKEY is 4-3 when starting against NY YANKEES with an ERA of 3.00 and a WHIP of 1.079.
His team's record is 5-5 (+1.0 units) in these starts. The OVER is 1-8. (-7.3 units)

MICHAEL PINEDA vs. TORONTO since 1997
PINEDA is 1-2 when starting against TORONTO with an ERA of 4.11 and a WHIP of 1.239.
His team's record is 2-3 (-1.1 units) in these starts. The UNDER is 3-2. (+0.5 units)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

BALTIMORE (2 - 0) at TAMPA BAY (0 - 2) - 7:10 PM
MIGUEL GONZALEZ (R) vs. JAKE ODORIZZI (R)
Top Trends for this game.
TAMPA BAY is 556-640 (+12.4 Units) against the money line against division opponents since 1997.
BALTIMORE is 102-70 (+37.5 Units) against the money line in all games over the last 2 seasons.
BALTIMORE is 25-20 (+13.7 Units) against the money line as a road underdog of +125 to +150 over the last 3 seasons.
BALTIMORE is 50-37 (+23.5 Units) against the money line in road games over the last 2 seasons.
BALTIMORE is 50-29 (+23.2 Units) against the money line against division opponents over the last 2 seasons.
BALTIMORE is 74-39 (+40.3 Units) against the money line in night games over the last 2 seasons.
BALTIMORE is 79-50 (+33.3 Units) against the money line against right-handed starters over the last 2 seasons.
BALTIMORE is 57-43 (+16.8 Units) against the money line after a win over the last 2 seasons.
TAMPA BAY is 77-87 (-29.3 Units) against the money line in all games over the last 2 seasons.
TAMPA BAY is 36-47 (-28.6 Units) against the money line in home games over the last 2 seasons.
TAMPA BAY is 17-24 (-16.2 Units) against the money line at home when the total is 7 or less over the last 2 seasons.
TAMPA BAY is 10-18 (-13.5 Units) against the money line in April games over the last 2 seasons.
TAMPA BAY is 8-16 (-12.9 Units) against the money line when playing on Wednesday over the last 2 seasons.
TAMPA BAY is 36-47 (-28.6 Units) against the money line in games played in a dome over the last 2 seasons.
TAMPA BAY is 49-57 (-20.1 Units) against the money line in night games over the last 2 seasons.
TAMPA BAY is 40-52 (-29.3 Units) against the money line in games played on artificial turf over the last 2 seasons.
TAMPA BAY is 57-61 (-17.6 Units) against the money line against right-handed starters over the last 2 seasons.
TAMPA BAY is 39-46 (-15.6 Units) against the money line after a loss over the last 2 seasons.

Head-to-Head Series History
BALTIMORE is 2-0 (+2.2 Units) against TAMPA BAY this season
2 of 2 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL this season . (Over=+2.0 Units)

MIGUEL GONZALEZ vs. TAMPA BAY since 1997
GONZALEZ is 4-3 when starting against TAMPA BAY with an ERA of 4.03 and a WHIP of 1.558.
His team's record is 7-4 (+4.9 units) in these starts. The OVER is 6-5. (+1.0 units)

JAKE ODORIZZI vs. BALTIMORE since 1997
ODORIZZI is 0-2 when starting against BALTIMORE with an ERA of 6.52 and a WHIP of 1.811.
His team's record is 1-3 (-2.2 units) in these starts. The UNDER is 2-2. (-0.4 units)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

CHI WHITE SOX (0 - 1) at KANSAS CITY (1 - 0) - 8:10 PM
JOSE QUINTANA (L) vs. DANNY DUFFY (L)
Top Trends for this game.
KANSAS CITY is 101-77 (+12.2 Units) against the money line in all games over the last 2 seasons.
KANSAS CITY is 22-7 (+13.9 Units) against the money line at home with a money line of -100 to -125 over the last 2 seasons.
KANSAS CITY is 20-8 (+10.7 Units) against the money line when playing on Wednesday over the last 2 seasons.
KANSAS CITY is 17-5 (+11.8 Units) against the money line when playing with a day off over the last 2 seasons.
KANSAS CITY is 97-74 (+10.7 Units) against the money line in games played on a grass field over the last 2 seasons.
KANSAS CITY is 73-52 (+12.6 Units) against the money line in night games over the last 2 seasons.

Head-to-Head Series History
KANSAS CITY is 1-0 (+1.0 Units) against CHI WHITE SOX this season
1 of 1 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL this season . (Over=+1.1 Units)

JOSE QUINTANA vs. KANSAS CITY since 1997
QUINTANA is 0-6 when starting against KANSAS CITY with an ERA of 4.39 and a WHIP of 1.321.
His team's record is 3-9 (-6.6 units) in these starts. The UNDER is 8-4. (+3.1 units)

DANNY DUFFY vs. CHI WHITE SOX since 1997
DUFFY is 2-1 when starting against CHI WHITE SOX with an ERA of 3.24 and a WHIP of 1.200.
His team's record is 3-1 (+1.5 units) in these starts. The OVER is 3-1. (+2.1 units)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

CLEVELAND (0 - 1) at HOUSTON (1 - 0) - 8:10 PM
CARLOS CARRASCO (R) vs. SCOTT FELDMAN (R)
Top Trends for this game.
FELDMAN is 35-46 (-20.9 Units) against the money line in home games since 1997. (Team's Record)
FELDMAN is 35-46 (-20.9 Units) against the money line in home games in games played on a grass field since 1997. (Team's Record)
FELDMAN is 22-38 (-25.4 Units) against the money line in home games in night games since 1997. (Team's Record)
FELDMAN is 17-29 (-21.2 Units) against the money line in home games after a win since 1997. (Team's Record)

Head-to-Head Series History
HOUSTON is 1-0 (+1.0 Units) against CLEVELAND this season
1 of 1 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL this season . (Under=+1.0 Units)

CARLOS CARRASCO vs. HOUSTON since 1997
CARRASCO is 1-0 when starting against HOUSTON with an ERA of 0.60 and a WHIP of 0.467.
His team's record is 1-1 (-1.2 units) in these starts. The OVER is 0-2. (-2.1 units)

SCOTT FELDMAN vs. CLEVELAND since 1997
FELDMAN is 2-2 when starting against CLEVELAND with an ERA of 3.00 and a WHIP of 1.061.
His team's record is 2-3 (-1.6 units) in these starts. The OVER is 1-4. (-3.2 units)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

TEXAS (1 - 1) at OAKLAND (1 - 1) - 10:05 PM
ROSS DETWILER (L) vs. SCOTT KAZMIR (L)
Top Trends for this game.
TEXAS is 43-77 (-31.6 Units) against the money line in night games over the last 2 seasons.
KAZMIR is 21-4 (+14.4 Units) against the money line as a home favorite of -150 to -175 since 1997. (Team's Record)
TEXAS is 47-30 (+25.2 Units) against the money line in road games against division opponents over the last 3 seasons.
OAKLAND is 89-76 (-18.1 Units) against the money line in all games over the last 2 seasons.
OAKLAND is 20-29 (-16.7 Units) against the money line when the total is 7 or less over the last 2 seasons.
OAKLAND is 10-16 (-15.9 Units) against the money line in home games when playing on Wednesday over the last 3 seasons.
OAKLAND is 39-39 (-17.9 Units) against the money line against division opponents over the last 2 seasons.

Head-to-Head Series History
TEXAS is 1-1 (+0.5 Units) against OAKLAND this season
1 of 2 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL this season . (Over=+0.0 Units)

ROSS DETWILER vs. OAKLAND since 1997
No recent starts.

SCOTT KAZMIR vs. TEXAS since 1997
KAZMIR is 9-5 when starting against TEXAS with an ERA of 3.32 and a WHIP of 1.240.
His team's record is 12-6 (+4.3 units) in these starts. The OVER is 8-7. (+0.4 units)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

LA ANGELS (1 - 1) at SEATTLE (1 - 1) - 10:10 PM
MATT SHOEMAKER (R) vs. HISASHI IWAKUMA (R)
Top Trends for this game.
LA ANGELS are 8-22 (-15.0 Units) against the money line when the total is 7 or less over the last 3 seasons.
LA ANGELS are 4-20 (-14.6 Units) against the money line as a road underdog of +125 to +150 over the last 3 seasons.
LA ANGELS are 99-68 (+16.7 Units) against the money line in all games over the last 2 seasons.
LA ANGELS are 751-729 (+70.1 Units) against the money line in road games since 1997.
LA ANGELS are 630-613 (+63.9 Units) against the money line in road games in games played on a grass field since 1997.
LA ANGELS are 535-515 (+50.0 Units) against the money line in road games against right-handed starters since 1997.
LA ANGELS are 18-7 (+11.0 Units) against the money line after shutting out their opponent over the last 3 seasons.
SHOEMAKER is 16-5 (+10.4 Units) against the money line in all games over the last 2 seasons. (Team's Record)
SEATTLE is 78-86 (-27.5 Units) against the money line in home games over the last 3 seasons.
SEATTLE is 7-17 (-15.7 Units) against the money line in home games when playing on Wednesday over the last 3 seasons.
SEATTLE is 78-86 (-27.5 Units) against the money line in home games in games played on a grass field over the last 3 seasons.
SEATTLE is 29-32 (-14.3 Units) against the money line in home games in night games over the last 2 seasons.
SEATTLE is 24-30 (-16.1 Units) against the money line in home games against right-handed starters over the last 2 seasons.

Head-to-Head Series History
LA ANGELS is 1-1 (+0.1 Units) against SEATTLE this season
2 of 2 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL this season . (Under=+2.0 Units)

MATT SHOEMAKER vs. SEATTLE since 1997
SHOEMAKER is 2-0 when starting against SEATTLE with an ERA of 2.00 and a WHIP of 0.722.
His team's record is 3-0 (+3.0 units) in these starts. The OVER is 2-1. (+1.1 units)

HISASHI IWAKUMA vs. LA ANGELS since 1997
IWAKUMA is 6-1 when starting against LA ANGELS with an ERA of 2.89 and a WHIP of 0.982.
His team's record is 7-2 (+7.9 units) in these starts. The OVER is 4-4. (-0.3 units)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

BOSTON (1 - 0) at PHILADELPHIA (0 - 1) - 7:05 PM
RICK PORCELLO (R) vs. AARON HARANG (R)
Top Trends for this game.
BOSTON is 72-92 (-27.3 Units) against the money line in all games over the last 2 seasons.
BOSTON is 29-40 (-14.8 Units) against the money line when the total is 8 to 8.5 over the last 2 seasons.
BOSTON is 64-80 (-24.5 Units) against the money line in games played on a grass field over the last 2 seasons.
BOSTON is 51-66 (-20.2 Units) against the money line in night games over the last 2 seasons.
BOSTON is 49-64 (-17.9 Units) against the money line against right-handed starters over the last 2 seasons.
BOSTON is 30-43 (-18.0 Units) against the money line after a win over the last 2 seasons.
HARANG is 33-19 (+18.8 Units) against the money line when playing on Wednesday since 1997. (Team's Record)
PHILADELPHIA is 102-107 (-36.1 Units) against the money line in home games in April games since 1997.
PHILADELPHIA is 17-33 (-17.3 Units) against the money line when playing on Wednesday over the last 3 seasons.
PHILADELPHIA is 75-86 (-31.1 Units) against the money line in home games in an inter-league game since 1997.
HARANG is 55-69 (-23.9 Units) against the money line in home games in night games since 1997. (Team's Record)

Head-to-Head Series History
BOSTON is 1-0 (+1.0 Units) against PHILADELPHIA this season
1 of 1 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL this season . (Over=+1.0 Units)

RICK PORCELLO vs. PHILADELPHIA since 1997
PORCELLO is 1-0 when starting against PHILADELPHIA with an ERA of 4.50 and a WHIP of 1.500.
His team's record is 1-0 (+1.0 units) in these starts. The OVER is 1-0. (+1.1 units)

AARON HARANG vs. BOSTON since 1997
HARANG is 2-2 when starting against BOSTON with an ERA of 5.08 and a WHIP of 1.482.
His team's record is 2-3 (-0.8 units) in these starts. The UNDER is 3-2. (+0.5 units)

[StarDust Bum]

MLB
Armadillo's Write-Up

Wednesday, April 8

National League
Cardinals @ Cubs
Lynn is 0-2, 2.56 in his last six starts, four of which stayed under total.

Arrieta is 3-0, 1.27 in his last four starts; four of his last five went over.

St Louis won five of last seven games with Chicago; last four stayed under.

Mets @ Nationals
deGrom is 3-0, 1.85 in his last five starts; four of his last six went over.

Zimmerman is 7-0, 2.19 in his last ten starts; his last four stayed under.

Washington won eight of last 11 games with the Mets; four of last five in series stayed under the total.

Braves @ Marlins
Miller was 0-0, 4.58 in his last four St Louis starts; five of his last seven starts stayed under the total.

Koehler is 1-1, 3.98 in his last seven starts; three of last four went over.

Marlins lost three of last four games with Atlanta; under is 4-2-1 in last seven. Braves won first two games of this series, 2-1/12-2.

Pirates @ Reds
Cole is 4-0, 3.27 in his last five starts; his last three starts stayed under.

Leake is 0-2, 4.50 in his last three starts; four of his last five went over.

Reds won four of last five games with Pittsburgh; under is 5-1-1 in last seven series games.

Rockies @ Brewers
Butler is 1-1, 6.75 in three career starts, two of which were at Coors Field.

Peralta is 2-2, 2.14 in his last five starts, all of which stayed under.

Brewers lost last three series games, losing 10-0/5-2 in first two games of this series; over is 9-2-1 in last 12 series games.

Giants @ Diamondbacks
Rookie Heston is making second MLB start; he gave up three runs in four IP vs San Diego last September. He was 12-9, 3.38 in 28 AAA starts LY.

Hellickson was 0-4, 7.05 in his last eight starts for Tampa Bay; over was 6-0-1 in his last seven starts.

Giants won seven of last nine games with Arizona; four of last six in series went over the total.

Padres @ Dodgers
Cashner is 3-1, 3.10 in his last four starts; three of his last four road starts went over the total.

McCarthy is making first Dodger start; he was 2-1, 3.12 in his last four starts for Bronx. Eight of his last ten starts stayed under total.

Padres lost six of last nine games in LA; five of last six series games went over the total.

American League
Twins @ Tigers
Nolasco is 1-6, 5.34 in his last ten starts; over is 3-2-1 in his last six.

Sanchez is 2-2, 5.34 in his last five starts, four of which went over.

Minnesota won four of last seven games with Detroit; seven of last 11 series games went over the total.

Blue Jays @ Bronx
Dickey is 4-1, 2.48 in his last six starts; over in 6-4 his last ten starts.

Pineda is 2-1, 1.42 in his last three starts; three of his last four went over.

Toronto is 4-3 in its last seven games in the Bronx; five of last seven games in series stayed under total.

Orioles @ Rays
Gonzalez is 4-3, 1.81 in his last seven starts; eight of his last nine went under.

Odorizzi is 1-2, 8.10 in his last three starts, all of which went over total.

Baltimore is 6-3 in its last nine games with Tampa Bay; last three series games went over the total.

White Sox @ Royals
Quintana is 3-1, 3.12 in his last five starts.

Duffy is 1-1, 2.95 in his last five starts, but totalled just 21.1 IP; four of his last six starts stayed under.

Royals won eight of last ten games with Chicago; six of last seven went over the total.

Indians @ Astros
Carrasco is 5-3, 1.43 in his last ten starts, nine of which stayed under total.

Feldman is 2-3, 2.12 in his last seven starts, with last five staying under.

Cleveland won eight of last 11 games with Houston; ten of those 11 games stayed under the total.

Rangers @ A's
Detwiler has made 69 big league starts, but last one was in '13, when he was 2-7, 4.04 in 13 starts for Washington.

Kazmir is 1-2, 5.23 in his last five starts; over is 5-2-1 in his last eight.

Oakland lost six of last nine games with Texas; over is 6-3-1 in last ten series games.

Angels @ Mariners
Shoemaker is 6-0, 1.39 in his last eight starts; four of his last six went over.

Iwakuma is 1-3, 8.35 in his last four starts; over is 6-0-1 in his last seven.

Angels lost five of last six games with Seattle; six of last seven series games stayed under the total.

Interleague
Red Sox @ Phillies
Porcello is 0-5, 7.47 in his last six starts; under is 5-2-1 in his last eight.

Harang is 2-5, 4.25 in his last seven starts, with last three staying under.

Boston won five of its last seven games with the Phillies; five of last eight series games went over the total.

Umpires
obviously, these numbers go back to last year
StL-Chi-- Under is 4-1-3 in last eight Wegner games.
NY-Wsh-- Favorites won 13 of last 17 Timmons games.
Atl-Mia-- Under is 8-1-1 in last ten Guccione games.
Pitt-Cin-- Ump Holbrook didn't work LY; over was 35-30 in his '12-'13 games.
Col-Mil-- Underdog is 13-10 in last 23 Bucknor games.
SF-Az-- Six of last eight Drake games stayed under total.
SD-LA-- Five of last seven Dimuro games stayed under.

Minn-Det-- Underdogs won 13 of last 15 Danley games.
Tor-NYY-- Under is 13-1-1 in last fifteen Reynolds games.
Balt-TB-- Five of last seven Nauert games stayed under.
Chi-KC-- Favorites won 10 of last 11 Wendelstedt games.
Cle-Hst-- Four of last five Hernandez games stayed under.
Tex-A's-- Five of last six Wolf games stayed under total.
LAA-Sea-- Underdogs are 12-7 in last nineteen Knight games.

Bos-Phil-- Under is 14-5-1 in last 20 Randazzo games.

[StarDust Bum]

MLB

Wednesday, April 8

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Trend Report
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1:08 PM
MINNESOTA vs. DETROIT
Minnesota is 3-7 SU in its last 10 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Minnesota's last 6 games when playing on the road against Detroit
The total has gone OVER in 8 of Detroit's last 12 games when playing Minnesota
Detroit is 11-5 SU in its last 16 games at home

2:20 PM
ST. LOUIS vs. CHI CUBS
St. Louis is 1-4-1 SU in its last 6 games ,on the road
St. Louis is 1-3-1 SU in its last 5 games ,
Chi Cubs are 2-3-1 SU in their last 6 games ,at home
Chi Cubs are 2-4-1 SU in their last 7 games ,when playing at home against St. Louis

7:05 PM
NY METS vs. WASHINGTON
NY Mets are 5-20 SU in its last 25 games when playing Washington
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of NY Mets's last 5 games when playing Washington
Washington is 14-7 SU in its last 21 games
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Washington's last 5 games at home

7:05 PM
TORONTO vs. NY YANKEES
Toronto is 4-20 SU in their last 24 games when playing on the road against NY Yankees
Toronto is 2-6 SU in its last 8 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of NY Yankees's last 7 games when playing Toronto
The total has gone OVER in 5 of NY Yankees's last 7 games

7:05 PM
BOSTON vs. PHILADELPHIA
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Boston's last 6 games when playing on the road against Philadelphia
Boston is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Philadelphia
Philadelphia is 2-5 SU in its last 7 games when playing Boston
Philadelphia is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games at home

7:10 PM
ATLANTA vs. MIAMI
Atlanta is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games on the road
Atlanta is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games
The total has gone UNDER in 9 of Miami's last 12 games
Miami is 2-7 SU in its last 9 games at home

7:10 PM
BALTIMORE vs. TAMPA BAY
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Baltimore's last 6 games
Baltimore is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 7 of Tampa Bay's last 9 games
Tampa Bay is 1-6 SU in its last 7 games

7:10 PM
PITTSBURGH vs. CINCINNATI
Pittsburgh is 10-5 SU in its last 15 games on the road
Pittsburgh is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Cincinnati's last 7 games when playing Pittsburgh
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Cincinnati's last 9 games at home

8:10 PM
CLEVELAND vs. HOUSTON
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Cleveland's last 5 games when playing Houston
Cleveland is 11-3 SU in its last 14 games when playing Houston
Houston is 3-11 SU in its last 14 games when playing Cleveland
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Houston's last 7 games

8:10 PM
CHI WHITE SOX vs. KANSAS CITY
Chi White Sox are 1-4 SU in their last 5 games when playing on the road against Kansas City
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Chi White Sox's last 7 games when playing on the road against Kansas City
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Kansas City's last 7 games when playing Chi White Sox
Kansas City is 13-4 SU in its last 17 games

8:10 PM
COLORADO vs. MILWAUKEE
Colorado is 3-12 SU in its last 15 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Colorado's last 5 games on the road
Milwaukee is 1-5 SU in its last 6 games
The total has gone UNDER in 15 of Milwaukee's last 19 games

9:40 PM
SAN FRANCISCO vs. ARIZONA
San Francisco is 15-6 SU in its last 21 games
The total has gone OVER in 6 of San Francisco's last 7 games on the road
Arizona is 3-11 SU in its last 14 games
Arizona is 2-5 SU in its last 7 games at home

10:05 PM
TEXAS vs. OAKLAND
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Texas's last 5 games when playing on the road against Oakland
Texas is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Oakland
Oakland is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Texas
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Oakland's last 5 games when playing at home against Texas

10:10 PM
SAN DIEGO vs. LA DODGERS
San Diego is 1-4-1 SU in its last 6 games ,
San Diego is 1-4-1 SU in their last 6 games ,when playing LA Dodgers
LA Dodgers11-3-1 SU in their last 15 games when playing at home against San Diego
LA Dodgers4-1-1 SU in their last 6 games when playing San Diego

10:10 PM
LA ANGELS vs. SEATTLE
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of LA Angels's last 5 games on the road
LA Angels are 1-5 SU in their last 6 games on the road
Seattle is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games at home
Seattle is 4-1 SU in their last 5 games when playing at home against LA Angels

[StarDust Bum]

MLB

Wednesday, April 8

MLB roundup: Braves thump Marlins

MIAMI -- Atlanta Braves left-hander Alex Wood said his team's lengthy top of the first inning threw him off a bit when it was his turn to take the mound.

However, since the Braves scored seven runs in their half of the inning, Wood said he really didn't mind at all.

"That wasn't what I was expecting -- 40 or 45 minutes before I threw my first pitch," Wood said after Atlanta cruised past the Miami Marlins 12-2 Tuesday night at Marlins Park. "I got an AB (at-bat) before I threw my first pitch.

"But anytime they want to do that, I'm definitely all right with it."

First baseman Freddie Freeman and shortstop Andrelton Simmons each went 3-for-5 with two RBIs to lead Atlanta. Third baseman Chris Johnson also added two hits and two RBIs.

Right-handed starter Mat Latos, who made his Marlins debut, lasted just two-thirds of an inning, allowing six hits, two walks, one wild pitch and seven runs, all earned.

Mariners 2, Angels 0

SEATTLE -- Los Angeles left-hander C.J. Wilson kept Seattle's rebuilt lineup in check, while third baseman David Freese provided all the offense in the Angels' win at Safeco Field.

Wilson, pitching in an official game for the first time since being unable to make it through the first inning of his only postseason outing in October, held the Mariners to two hits over eight scoreless innings to give the Angels their first win of the season.

Wilson gave up a one-out single in the third inning before retiring the next 14 batters he faced. Closer Huston Street came on in the ninth and retired the side to earn his first save of the season.

Diamondbacks 7, Giants 6

PHOENIX -- Third baseman Jake Lamb and left fielder David Peralta hit three-run home runs to help Arizona right-hander Rubby De La Rosa win his shaky debut over San Francisco at Salt River Fields.

Peralta's homer gave the Diamondbacks a 4-2 lead in the third inning, and Lamb's homer off right-hander Ryan Vogelsong in the fifth inning broke a tie at 4. It was the first homer of the year for each.

De La Rosa gave up eight hits and six runs in 5 1/3 innings for his first NL victory since 2011, when he was with the Los Angeles Dodgers. He was obtained from Boston in the offseason.

Rangers 3, Athletics 1

OAKLAND -- Right-hander Colby Lewis pitched six strong innings, first baseman Prince Fielder drove in two runs and Texas won at O.co Coliseum.

Lewis continued his history of strong performances against the A's. Entering the game, Lewis was 8-4 with a 3.23 ERA for his career against Oakland. He was 6-3 with a 3.05 ERA in Oakland.

The Rangers avenged an 8-0 loss on Opening Day to Oakland.

Fielder went 2-for-3 and reached base in the first inning when he was hit by a pitch. Center fielder Leonys Martin and shortstop Elvis Andrus each had two hits.

Orioles 6, Rays 5

ST. PETERSBURG -- Steve Pearce went 2-for-4 with a home run to lift Baltimore past Tampa Bay at Tropicana Field.

Pearce has five home runs in his last 11 games against the Rays at Tropicana Field.

Orioles reliever Kevin Gausman gave up two runs in 2 1/3 innings to earn the win. Zach Britton pitched a perfect ninth for the save.

Rays starter Nathan Karns gave up six runs, five hits and four walks in 5 2/3 innings.

Rockies 5, Brewers 2

MILWAUKEE -- Right-hander Jordan Lyles worked six innings of two-run ball, and Colorado hit six doubles for the second consecutive day en route to the victory over Milwaukee at Miller Park.

Lyles (1-0) held the Brewers to five hits with a walk while striking out two. Three Colorado relievers threw one scoreless inning apiece, with LaTroy Hawkins earning his first save.

The Rockies' offense picked up where they left off Monday, belting out 12 hits. Catcher Nick Hundley accounted for three hits, while third baseman Nolan Arenado, second baseman DJ LeMahieu and shortstop Troy Tulowitzki finished with two apiece.

Cardinals-Cubs, postponed

CHICAGO -- The threat of rain and sub-freezing wind chills forced postponement of Tuesday's game at Wrigley Field.

The extra day between games might have been a blessing to help the Cubs resolve facilities issues that arose during Sunday's Opening Night.

Fan discomfort and limited restroom facilities resulting from Wrigley Field construction were exacerbated by breakdowns in two other restrooms during the game that caused extremely long lines and waits of up to 45 minutes. Some fans ended up using beer cups to relieve themselves.

A makeup date for Tuesday's postponement was not announced.

[StarDust Bum]

MLB

Wednesday, April 8


Road dogs perfect on the diamond Tuesday night

In just the second full day of the major league schedule road underdogs came to play, going a perfect 5-0 on Tuesday night.

Atlanta +125 at Miami, Colorado +110 at Milwaukee, Texas +143 at Oakland, the Los Angeles Angels +105 at Seattle and San Diego+138 at the Los Angeles Dodgers all came through for backers.

It is still early, but so far road dogs have been the best bet in baseball, cashing 64.7 percent of the time.

With a full slate of games Wednesday there will be another 11 road dogs in action to try and keep up the trend.


Wind, rain in the forecast at Kauffman Wednesday

According to weather forecasts, Kansas City's Kauffman Stadium could be in store for windy and rainy conditions when the Royals host the Chicago White Sox Wednesday.

Forecasts are calling for a 60 percent possibility of rain by game time with a 40-to-50 percent chance of rain throughout the evening. Furthermore, wind will blow out to left field at 14 miles per hour.


Pitchers wind at Wrigley Field Wednesday

There will be a 10 mile per hour pitchers wind gusting in from right field for Wednesday afternoon's meeting between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Chicago Cubs.

The run total for the game is currently at 7.0 with right-hander Lance Lynn getting the call for the Cardinals (-110), while the Cubs counter with righty Jake Arrieta.

There is also a 25 percent of rain around gametime.


Chance of rain, thunderstorms at Comerica Park

There is a 58 percent chance of rain and a chance of thunderstorms for Wednesday's matinee between the Minnesota Twins and the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park.

There will also be a seven mile per hour wind blowing out to right field at game time.

The Tigers are currently -200 home favorites with right-hander Anibal Sanchez expected to take the mound, while the Twins counter with righty Rick Nolasco.

[StarDust Bum]

MLB

Wednesday, April 8


MLB's top under ump calling balls and strikes in Detroit Wednesday

Major League Baseball's top under umpire over the last couple of seasons, Kerwin Danley, will be calling balls and strikes for Wednesday's matinee between the Minnesota Twins and Detroit Tigers.

The under is a remarkable 39-10-3 in the last 52 games Danley has been behind home plate, including going 20-6 in 2014.

The total for today's game in Detroit is currently at 8.0 runs. Ricky Nolasco (15-10-2 O/U in 27 starts in 2014) takes the mound for the Twins, while Detroit sends Anibal Sanchez (11-8-2 O/U in 21 starts in 2014) to the hill.


Threat of rain at Yankee Stadium Wednesday

There is a possible threat of rain at Yankee Stadium as forecasts are calling for a 40 percent chance of showers during the game between the New York Yankees and Toronto Blue Jays Wednesday.

There is a small 10 percent chance of rain in the early stages of the game, but that will increase as the game plays out.

[StarDust Bum]

MLB
Dunkel

Wednesday, April 8


Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim @ Seattle Mariners

Game 927-928
April 8, 2015 @ 10:11 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Los Angeles Angel
(Shoemaker) 15.799
Seattle Mariners
(Iwakuma) 14.609
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Los Angeles Angel
by 1
5 1/2
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Seattle Mariners
-140
7
Dunkel Pick:
Los Angeles Angel
(+120); Under

Boston Red Sox @ Philadelphia Phillies

Game 929-930
April 8, 2015 @ 7:06 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Boston Red Sox
(Porcello) 17.104
Philadelphia Phil
(Harang) 15.563
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Boston Red Sox
by 1 1/2
9
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Boston Red Sox
-150
8
Dunkel Pick:
Boston Red Sox
(-150); Over

[StarDust Bum]

Wednesday's Top Action

April 8, 2015


BOSTON RED SOX (1-0) at PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES (0-1)

First pitch: Wednesday, 7:05 p.m. ET
Sportsbook.ag Line and Total: Boston -135, Philadelphia +125, Total: 8

The Phillies look to rebound from the pounding they took from this Boston Red Sox group in the opener when they meet in Philadelphia on Wednesday.

The Red Sox come into this year off a poor 2014 season, but made a flurry of moves in the offseason in order to improve and it certainly paid off on Opening Day. In the game they won 8-0 over this Phillies team behind nine hits and one of their newer acquisitions, OF Hanley Ramirez, jacked two HRs (5 RBIs) as longtime Boston 2B Dustin Pedroia hit a pair of long balls himself. The other big offseason signing, 3B Pablo Sandoval, did not get in the groove early, going 0-for-5 with three strikeouts.

Philadelphia is in a transition phase and has shed a few of its bigger contracts in an effort to improve its future. If Monday’s contest was a foreshadowing of the season to come, the Phillies are in trouble as they managed a meager three hits as they went 0-for-3 with RISP. The 1-3 hitters were particularly poor, combining to go 0-for-12 with four strikeouts. The pitching matchup in this game will feature 26-year-old youngster RHP Rick Porcello (15-13, 3.43 ERA in 2014) and RHP Aaron Harang (12-12, 3.57 ERA in 2014); both making debuts with their new teams.

Neither team did well last year, finishing last in their respective divisions as Boston was a poor 37-44 (.457) when on the road as Philadelphia put up the same 37-44 record (.457) as the home team. The Red Sox win in the first game of this series upped their record to 3-2 against the Phillies over the past three seasons, outscoring them 30-12 in that time. Trends show us that Philadelphia is a mere 44-59 (.427) in home games against AL East opponents since 1997 as Boston is a poor 34-43 (.442) as a favorite of -110 or higher in the past two seasons. The injury report has closer Koji Uehara (Hamstring) on the 15-day DL for the Red Sox as the Phillies are still without OF Dominic Brown (Achillies) for a little longer.

Porcello was a tremendous starter in his time with the Tigers, putting together a career 76-63 record despite being just 26-years-old as he’s had double-digit wins in each of the past five seasons. He hit 200+ innings for the first time last year as he posted a career-best 3.43 ERA, but saw his strikeouts drop to a mere 5.7 K/9. With the fewer strikeouts came fewer walks, giving up just 1.8 BB/9 as he allowed a meager 0.79 homeruns per nine frames. Porcello has seen this opponent just once in his career when he grabbed a win behind six innings of three-run ball (7 hits) with three strikeouts. He hasn’t had much of a chance to face many of these National League opponents, but has seen OF Ben Revere 19 times, giving up seven hits (1 triple, 2 RBIs) and failing to strike him out.

Only one other player, OF Grady Sizemore, has double-digit at-bats against the righty and he is only 3-for-18 (.167) in that time with three strikeouts. The Sox bullpen was solid last year, going 21-27 (.438) with a 3.33 ERA (1.27 WHIP) as they successfully saved 36-of-54 (67%) games. Junichi Tazawa (0.00 ERA, 0 saves) will hold down the closers role until Uehara comes off the disabled list and he is coming off a solid 2014 campaign when he struck out better than a batter per inning and had a 2.86 ERA over 63.0 IP.

Harang really had an impressive bounce-back season in 2014 with the Braves, getting a career-best 3.57 ERA as he struck out over seven batters per nine innings for the second consecutive year. He didn’t allow many balls to leave the park during the season, with a mere 0.66 HR/9 as he also left a solid 74.8% of runners on base. It will be tough to imagine that he can repeat this type of performance once again as he eclipsed 200 innings for the first time since 2007 and has a career ERA of 4.21. Harang has gone 2-2 (2-3 team record) with a poor 5.08 ERA (1.48 WHIP) when facing the Red Sox and his team has lost each of his past two meetings with them.

OF Hanley Ramirez could continue an early surge as he’s gone 10-for-29 (.345) against the veteran with five homers and seven RBIs while DH David Ortiz (5-for-11, 3 doubles, 1 HR, six RBIs) has also been great when facing him. On the other hand, 3B Pablo Sandoval (5-for-26, 4 Ks) has not seen the ball well coming out of Harang’s hand. Philadelphia’s bullpen was decent last year, going 26-24 (.520) with a 3.64 ERA (1.28 WHIP) as they were 40-for-56 (.714) in save opportunities. Jonathan Papelbon (2.04 ERA, 39 saves) will be the closer for the Phillies for the fourth straight year and in his time here he is 106-for-121 (88%) in save chances.

SAN DIEGO PADRES (1-1) at LOS ANGELES DODGERS (1-1)

First pitch: Wednesday, 10:10 p.m. ET
Sportsbook.ag Line and Total: San Diego +120, Los Angeles -130, Total: 7

Division rivals, the San Diego Padres and Los Angeles Dodgers, finish off the first series of the new season on Wednesday night.

The Padres weere the busiest team in the offseason and have completely revamped their team in all areas of the game. They added names such as Matt Kemp, Wil Myers, James Shields and Justin Upton to their ballclub and most recently grabbed Craig Kimbrel just a day before the season began. The moves will certainly make this division more interesting and through the first two games you can already see a bitter rivalry brewing. These clubs split the first two contests of this series and San Diego is coming off a 7-3 win on Tuesday where they scored four ninth inning runs to earn the win.

The Dodgers ballclub also has a ton of new faces this year as they attempt to put together another great season and they opened the year with a solid 6-3 win behind a late three-run homer from newcomer Jimmy Rollins. They kept the game close until the very end on Tuesday, but committed three errors and had only five chances with RISP. The bottom of the order is typically not the best, but they were horrible for this group on Tuesday with the seven through nine hitters going hitless over 11 at-bats with five strikeouts. Getting the start for the visitors in this rubber-match will be RHP Andrew Cashner (5-7, 2.55 ERA in 2014) as he faces off against RHP Brandon McCarthy (10-15, 4.05 ERA in 2014) of the host team.

Los Angeles has dominated this series over the past few years, going 24-16 (.600) since the start of the 2013 campaign and are 4-2 in the past six games when at home. Some trends to watch include that McCarthy’s teams have gone 3-13 (.188) in the first half of the season since the start of past year as the Padres are 30-53 (.361) on the road in the same timeframe. The injury report has OF Melvin Upton Jr. (Foot) of the Padres and closer Kenley Jansen (Foot) of the Dodgers currently on the 15-day DL.

Cashner has made a tremendous transition to the starter’s role over the past few seasons and has had less than a 3.10 ERA in 45 starts in the past two years. He has seen his strikeout rate drop from double-digits to a mere 6.8 K/9 last year, but has managed to still be very effective with just 2.1 BB/9 and barely any balls leaving the park (0.51 HR/9 in 2014). He’s looked great in his six starts against the Dodgers, going 1-1 (3-3 team record) with a miniscule 1.32 ERA (1.10 WHIP) and has not given up more than two runs in any of those outings. Last year, he took them on three times, pitching 19 innings and giving up just four runs on 19 hits as he struck out 15 batters with three walks.

The only player on Los Angeles who has gone yard against Cashner is 1B Adrian Gonzalez who hasn’t done too well overall (6-for-22, 1 HR, 3 RBIs, 6 Ks) in the matchup while OF Carl Crawford (6-for-18, 2 doubles, 6 Ks) and C A.J. Ellis (5-for-10) have done well against him. So far the Padres bullpen has worked five innings and has allowed five runs (4 ER) on just four hits as they struck out seven batters. Making his debut on Tuesday was Craig Kimbrel (0.00 ERA, 0 saves) and he looked very comfortable with a perfect 1-2-3 inning in which he struck out the side in a non-save situation.

McCarthy hopes to build on a great 2014 season where his 4.05 ERA was masked with batters hitting an unsustainable .328 BABIP against him. He really showed up when he made a move to the Yankees in the second half, going 7-5 with a 2.89 ERA and struck out a ton; posting a career-best 7.9 K/9 on the year. The only problem that he faced was homers as he allowed the most (1.13 HR/9) since 2009 and that number should trend more towards his career mark of 1.03 HR/9 moving forward. McCarthy has been great in his time against the Padres with a 4-1 record (5-1 team record) and 2.43 ERA (0.96 WHIP). He did have one poor outing (6.2 IP, 5 ER, 4 Ks) against the Padres last year, but totaled 14 innings with a mere one run allowed on nine hits behind a 13:1 K/BB ratio in the other two.

No one on San Diego has done particularly well in their time against McCarthy with 1B Yonder Alonso (3-for-12, 1 doubles, 1 HR, 2 RBI) being the only player to leave the park as 2B Jedd Gyorko has been horrible, going hitless with five strikeouts in 14 at-bats. The Los Angeles’ bullpen has been on the mound for six innings through the first two contests and not done too well with six runs given up (3 ER) on 10 hits as they have a 6:1 K/BB ratio. Chris Hatcher (18.00 ERA, 1 save) was given the closer job until Jansen comes back and after getting a nice save in the season opener, was lit up for four runs (2 ER) on three hits before getting an out on Tuesday.

[StarDust Bum]

Armadillo: Thursday's six-pack

-- Bobby Hurley is rumored to be frontrunner for the Arizona State job, after Jeff Capel turned ASU down. Sun Devils aren't using a search firm, might just be using a Duke alumni magazine to find coaching candidates.

-- Hawai'i hired St Mary's assistant Eran Ganot, who used to be a Rainbow aide; that seeems to count more at Hawai'i than at most schools.

-- Utah gave hoop coach Larry Kystkowiak a $2.4M a year contract; he's turned the Utes'program around in four years, as they moved up to the Pac-12.

-- Eastern Kentucky hired Mnnesota assistant Dan McHale, who comes off a Pitino coaching tree; Richard's, not his father's.

-- Why are the Bue Jays opening on the road? They play in a damn dome!!!!

-- Throws on intentional walks shouldn't count on pitch counts, but they do.

**********

Armadillo: Thursday's List of 13: Nobody asked me, but.........

13) 75-year old Jack Nicklaus stole the show at the Masters' par-3 tournament with a hole-in-one, his first ever at Augusta.

12) When Hank Aaron hit his 715th homer on April 8, 1974, an obscure relief pitcher named Tom House caught the ball in the Atlanta bullpen. 41 years later, House is now an expert on throwing mechanics, working mostly with QBs in the NFL. House had been a pitching coach in Texas under Bobby Valentine, in the days when George W. Bush owned the ballclub.

11) Of the nine batters in Oakland's lineup Wednesday, Craig Gentry was the only one who played for the A's last season. Mark Canha, Tyler Ladendorf both hit triples in a 5-run third inning-- it was the first MLB hit for both guys.

10) UNLV loses freshman star Rashad Vaughn to the NBA Draft, raising the question of whether it is worth it to recruit high-caliber players like Vaughn, if they're just gong to bolt after one season. Spend lot of resources recruiting them, coaching them, but never reap the benefits of having a veteran player.

9) Reverse side of that is at Georgetown, where star D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera is said to have changed his mind and will play for the Hoyas next season. He's a very good player; his return makes Georgetown a top 25 team.

8) Louisville poached Cleveland State's best player; Trey Lewis, who scored 16.3 ppg for Vikings last season. This is what happens when bigtime coaches find their rosters a little short; they just raid a mid-major and take their best player. Not a lot of ethics when millions of dollars are at stake.

7) Chris Mullin got his first signee when Tarik Owens left Tennessee for the Red Storm; 6-10 sophomore didn't play all that much for the Vols this season but improved near the end of the year- St John's needs bodies- they're losing a lot from this year's team.

6) CBS newsman Bob Schieffer is retiring later this year; he has hosted Face the Nation on Sunday mornings since 1991.

5) Minnesota Twins are first AL team since 1977 (Seattle) to get shut out in first two games of a season; they haven't even had a guy on third base yet.

4) Apparently ESPN bought a stake in DraftKings, so expect a deluge of fantasy sports commercials. Tryng to figure out how that is legal but gambling on games isn't-- seems like the same thing.

3) Big Dawg reports that 115 guys were on the DL before this baseball season even started; thats 3.83 guys per team. Again, one guy was on the DL after he got hurt while sneezing.

2) I love my IPhone6, but I despise Auto Correct; please let me correct my own mistakes. Auto Correct causes more problems than it fixes.

1) NHL's best teams in shootouts: Chicago 9-3, St Louis and Colorado, both at 9-4. Worst teams in shootouts: Philly is 3-11, Detroit 4-10.

[StarDust Bum]

MLB
Dunkel

Thursday, April 9


New York Mets @ Washington Nationals

Game 953-954
April 9, 2015 @ 1:05 pm

Dunkel Rating:
New York Mets
(Harvey) 17.476
Washington Nation
(Strasburg) 16.309
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
New York Mets
by 1
4
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Washington Nation
-130
6
Dunkel Pick:
New York Mets
(+110); Under

San Francisco Giants @ San Diego Padres

Game 955-956
April 9, 2015 @ 6:40 pm

Dunkel Rating:
San Francisco Gia
(Hudson) 12.838
San Diego Padres
(Kennedy) 13.878
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
San Diego Padres
by 1
9
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
San Diego Padres
-135
7
Dunkel Pick:
San Diego Padres
(-135); Over

Minnesota Twins @ Detroit Tigers

Game 957-958
April 9, 2015 @ 1:08 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Minnesota Twins
(Gibson) 13.508
Detroit Tigers
(Greene) 16.113
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Detroit Tigers
by 2 1/2
7 1/2
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Detroit Tigers
-170
8 1/2
Dunkel Pick:
Detroit Tigers
(-170); Under

Chicago White Sox @ Kansas City Royals

Game 959-960
April 9, 2015 @ 2:10 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Chicago White Sox
(Danks) 14.854
Kansas City Royal
(Volquez) 15.684
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Kansas City Royal
by 1
9 1/2
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Kansas City Royal
-135
8 1/2
Dunkel Pick:
Kansas City Royal
(-135); Over

Cleveland Indians @ Houston Astros

Game 961-962
April 9, 2015 @ 2:10 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Cleveland Indians
(Bauer) 16.703
Houston Astros
(Wojciechowski) 13.622
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Cleveland Indians
by 3
6 1/2
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Cleveland Indians
-115
8 1/2
Dunkel Pick:
Cleveland Indians
(-115); Under

Texas Rangers @ Oakland Athletics

Game 963-964
April 9, 2015 @ 3:35 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Texas Rangers
(Martinez) 16.593
Oakland Athletics
(Graveman) 15.611
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Texas Rangers
by 1
6 1/2
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Oakland Athletics
-150
7 1/2
Dunkel Pick:
Texas Rangers
(+130); Under

Toronto Blue Jays @ New York Yankees

Game 965-966
April 9, 2015 @ 7:05 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Toronto Blue Jays
(Norris) 17.359
New York Yankees
(Sabathia) 16.202
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Toronto Blue Jays
by 1
6
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
New York Yankees
-125
7 1/2
Dunkel Pick:
Toronto Blue Jays
(+105); Under

Boston Red Sox @ Philadelphia Phillies

Game 967-968
April 9, 2015 @ 7:05 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Boston Red Sox
(Masterson) 15.037
Philadelphia Phil
(Buchanan) 14.226
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Boston Red Sox
by 1
9 1/2
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Boston Red Sox
-145
7 1/2
Dunkel Pick:
Boston Red Sox
(-145); Over

Pittsburgh Pirates @ Cincinnati Reds

Game 951-952
April 9, 2015 @ 12:35 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Pittsburgh Pirate
(Burnett) 13.676
Cincinnati Reds
(Desclafani) 15.977
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Cincinnati Reds
by 2 1/2
9
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Pittsburgh Pirate
-125
7 1/2
Dunkel Pick:
Cincinnati Reds
(+105); Over