Announcement

**Udog** · 10-06-2015, 08:16 AM

Armadillo: Tuesday's six-pack

Six of the more interesting college football games this weekend......

-- Washington @ USC (-16.5)-- I'm hesitant to give the Huskies this many points.

-- Oklahoma (-16.5) vs Texas- Only a masochist would bet the Longhorns now.

-- Arkansas @ Alabama (-16.5)-- Both teams won on road last week.

-- Georgia (-3) @ Tennessee-- Dawgs try to bounce back after Alabama debacle.

-- Georgia Tech @ Clemson (-7.5)-- Tigers had emotional win last week.

-- TCU (-8.5) @ Kansas State-- Snyder is 10-4 in last 14 games as home dog.

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

13) Greetings from America's favorite city; flight to Las Vegas took a little longer Monday. We were on the plane for 90 minutes before the flight took off- repairs had to be made, and the rain was pouring down when we landed, but now I'm here, things are going well. They are making lot of improvements to Westgate Hotel; good place to stay if you're coming here. Sportsbook is being remodeled now.

12) Seahawks 13, Lions 10-- Kam Chancellor single-handedly saved day by stripping Calvin Johnson of the ball just before he scored the winning TD for Detroit. If I own the Seahawks, Chancellor gets his $1M in fines back after that play-- saved the game and prevented Seattle from falling to 1-3.

Matthew Stafford lost his last 18 road games against teams who finished that season over .500- Lions are already 0-3 on road this season.

11) NFL home favorites of 6+ points are 6-9-1 vs spread this season.

10) Dolphins fired coach Joe Philbin and hired TE coach Dan Campbell as interim coach-- he played for Bill Parcells and Sean Payton and talked big in his introductory press conference. Coach Philbin is a quiet man who worked hard-- he tried to let his coaching do his talking for him, but he didn't win enough games to stick around.

9) 12 of 32 NFL kickers are in their first year with their current team.

8) Get well soon, CC Sabathia; he checked into a rehab facility this week, as he begins to battle alcoholism. We forget that athletes are people too, with everyday problems of their own. Granted most of their problems are better than our problems, but they're also out in the public eye, which ain't always easy......

7) In Max Scherzer's no-hitter Saturday, there were no walks and 35 strikeouts in the game; I'm pretty sure I've never seen that in a major league boxscore before. Sure it was a meaningless game and the nightcap of a doubleheader, but wow....

6) Washington booted Matt Williams and his coaches; they should've done it after they got swept in that series in Citi Field in early August, maybe the team could've righted itself. Former Padre manager Bud Black is mentioned as a replacement.

Cincinnati is bringing Bryan (Bleepin') Price back as manager next year; no idea why.

5) San Diego won't retain Black's replacement, interim skipper Pat Murphy, as its new fulltime manager; Padres' GM AJ Preller may have gone to an Ivy League school, but he's been a nitwit in his first year as GM in San Diego.

4) Ichiro Suzuki pitched an inning for the Marlins Sunday; there had always been rumors that he wanted to pitch an inning before he retired. Ichiro is popular with his teammates and they enjoyed seeing him toe the slab- he was the 27th position player to pitch in the major leagues this season.

3) Funny how Dan Haren threatened to retire in spring training, because he wanted to pitch for a west coast team, but the Dodgers had traded him to Miami. $10M speaks very loudly; Haren pitched, he got traded to the Cubs and now he is in the playoffs, in what he says is his last big league season.

Like I said, being displaced for six months for $10M was a problem for Haren, but a problem 99% of us would love to have.

2) I'm not trying to be mean; this is a serious question-- if you owned an NFL team worth almost a billion dollars, would you hire Jim Caldwell to be the coach?

1) Albany-area college hoop teams have interesting season openers; Siena starts with couple of probable losses, at Duke, at Wisconsin. UAlbany opens at Kentucky; key to those three games is making sure the checks they get clear at the bank, because those games are scheduled to balance the budget, not the win-loss column.

**Udog** · 10-06-2015, 08:17 AM

MLB
Dunkel

Wild Card Games

Houston @ NY Yankees

Game 931-932
October 6, 2015 @ 8:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Houston
(Keuchel) 16.090
NY Yankees
(Tanaka) 17.527
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
NY Yankees
by 1 1/2
8
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Houston
-115
7
Dunkel Pick:
NY Yankees
(-105); Over

Chicago Cubs @ Pittsburgh

Game 933-934
October 7, 2015 @ 8:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Chicago Cubs
(Arrieta) 16.654
Pittsburgh
(Cole) 12.885
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Chicago Cubs
by 4
5
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Chicago Cubs
-130
5 1/2
Dunkel Pick:
Chicago Cubs
(-130); Under

**Udog** · 10-06-2015, 08:17 AM

MLB
Long Sheet

Tuesday, October 6

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HOUSTON (86 - 76) at NY YANKEES (87 - 75) - 8:05 PM
DALLAS KEUCHEL (L) vs. MASAHIRO TANAKA (R)
Top Trends for this game.
HOUSTON is 9-17 (-10.5 Units) against the money line on the road with a money line of -100 to -125 this season.
HOUSTON is 33-48 (-18.1 Units) against the money line in road games this season.
HOUSTON is 33-42 (-11.7 Units) against the money line in road games in games played on a grass field this season.
HOUSTON is 21-31 (-12.3 Units) against the money line in road games in night games this season.
HOUSTON is 17-25 (-10.7 Units) against the money line in road games after a loss this season.
NY YANKEES are 32-20 (+12.7 Units) against the money line when the total is 7 or less over the last 2 seasons.
NY YANKEES are 39-31 (+7.0 Units) against the money line when playing against a team with a winning record this season.
HOUSTON is 63-64 (+10.3 Units) against the money line when playing against a team with a winning record over the last 2 seasons.
KEUCHEL is 40-22 (+20.3 Units) against the money line in all games over the last 2 seasons. (Team's Record)
KEUCHEL is 39-20 (+20.5 Units) against the money line in games played on a grass field over the last 2 seasons. (Team's Record)
KEUCHEL is 27-13 (+15.8 Units) against the money line in night games over the last 2 seasons. (Team's Record)
KEUCHEL is 24-12 (+15.3 Units) against the money line after a loss over the last 2 seasons. (Team's Record)
KEUCHEL is 16-6 (+12.6 Units) against the money line when playing against a team with a winning record over the last 2 seasons. (Team's Record)
NY YANKEES are 18-29 (-18.4 Units) against the money line when playing on Tuesday over the last 2 seasons.
NY YANKEES are 35-37 (-17.6 Units) against the money line in home games after a loss over the last 2 seasons.

Head-to-Head Series History
HOUSTON is 4-3 (+1.2 Units) against NY YANKEES this season
4 of 7 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL this season . (Under=+0.8 Units)

DALLAS KEUCHEL vs. NY YANKEES since 1997
KEUCHEL is 2-1 when starting against NY YANKEES with an ERA of 1.13 and a WHIP of 0.708.
His team's record is 2-1 (+1.0 units) in these starts. The OVER is 1-2. (-1.2 units)

MASAHIRO TANAKA vs. HOUSTON since 1997
TANAKA is 0-0 when starting against HOUSTON with an ERA of 10.80 and a WHIP of 1.800.
His team's record is 1-0 (+1.0 units) in these starts. The OVER is 1-0. (+1.0 units)

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Wednesday, October 7

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CHICAGO CUBS (97 - 65) at PITTSBURGH (98 - 64) - 8:05 PM
JAKE ARRIETA (R) vs. GERRIT COLE (R)
Top Trends for this game.
PITTSBURGH is 98-64 (+21.5 Units) against the money line in all games this season.
PITTSBURGH is 42-26 (+13.0 Units) against the money line when the total is 7 or less this season.
PITTSBURGH is 53-28 (+14.4 Units) against the money line in home games this season.
PITTSBURGH is 98-64 (+21.5 Units) against the money line in games played on a grass field this season.
PITTSBURGH is 132-92 (+23.7 Units) against the money line in night games over the last 2 seasons.
PITTSBURGH is 78-48 (+21.7 Units) against the money line against right-handed starters this season.
PITTSBURGH is 62-34 (+20.5 Units) against the money line after a win this season.
PITTSBURGH is 46-33 (+11.7 Units) against the money line when playing against a team with a winning record this season.
PITTSBURGH is 28-16 (+13.0 Units) against the money line when playing against a team with a winning record in the second half of the season this season.
COLE is 23-9 (+10.4 Units) against the money line in all games this season. (Team's Record)
COLE is 21-5 (+13.0 Units) against the money line in home games over the last 2 seasons. (Team's Record)
COLE is 23-9 (+10.4 Units) against the money line in games played on a grass field this season. (Team's Record)
COLE is 20-5 (+12.4 Units) against the money line after a win over the last 2 seasons. (Team's Record)
COLE is 15-3 (+12.1 Units) against the money line when playing against a team with a winning record this season. (Team's Record)
CHICAGO CUBS are 97-65 (+16.9 Units) against the money line in all games this season.
CHICAGO CUBS are 37-24 (+9.0 Units) against the money line when the total is 7 or less this season.
CHICAGO CUBS are 19-9 (+8.6 Units) against the money line on the road with a money line of -100 to -125 this season.
CHICAGO CUBS are 13-3 (+9.2 Units) against the money line as a road favorite of -125 to -150 this season.
CHICAGO CUBS are 48-33 (+13.7 Units) against the money line in road games this season.
CHICAGO CUBS are 21-9 (+13.1 Units) against the money line on the road when the total is 7 or less this season.
CHICAGO CUBS are 46-30 (+10.8 Units) against the money line against division opponents this season.
CHICAGO CUBS are 97-65 (+16.9 Units) against the money line in games played on a grass field this season.
CHICAGO CUBS are 59-35 (+19.0 Units) against the money line in night games this season.
CHICAGO CUBS are 77-51 (+12.8 Units) against the money line against right-handed starters this season.
CHICAGO CUBS are 58-37 (+12.4 Units) against the money line after a win this season.
CHICAGO CUBS are 25-10 (+13.8 Units) against the money line after 3 or more consecutive wins this season.
CHICAGO CUBS are 43-30 (+12.1 Units) against the money line when playing against a team with a winning record this season.
ARRIETA is 25-8 (+13.6 Units) against the money line in all games this season. (Team's Record)
ARRIETA is 18-4 (+12.2 Units) against the money line when the total is 7 or less this season. (Team's Record)
ARRIETA is 16-2 (+14.1 Units) against the money line in road games this season. (Team's Record)
ARRIETA is 12-1 (+11.1 Units) against the money line on the road when the total is 7 or less this season. (Team's Record)
ARRIETA is 25-8 (+13.6 Units) against the money line in games played on a grass field this season. (Team's Record)
ARRIETA is 16-3 (+12.2 Units) against the money line in night games this season. (Team's Record)
ARRIETA is 10-1 (+9.1 Units) against the money line in road games after a win this season. (Team's Record)
ARRIETA is 7-0 (+10.3 Units) against the money line in road games after 3 or more consecutive wins since 1997. (Team's Record)
ARRIETA is 24-12 (+12.7 Units) against the money line when playing against a team with a winning record over the last 2 seasons. (Team's Record)
ARRIETA is 14-5 (+10.0 Units) against the money line when playing against a team with a winning record in the second half of the season over the last 2 seasons. (Team's Record)
PITTSBURGH is 34-42 (-16.6 Units) against the money line against division opponents this season.

Head-to-Head Series History
CHICAGO CUBS is 11-8 (+2.7 Units) against PITTSBURGH this season
10 of 17 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL this season . (Under=+2.5 Units)

JAKE ARRIETA vs. PITTSBURGH since 1997
ARRIETA is 6-1 when starting against PITTSBURGH with an ERA of 1.68 and a WHIP of 0.831.
His team's record is 8-1 (+7.7 units) in these starts. The OVER is 2-6. (-4.3 units)

GERRIT COLE vs. CHICAGO CUBS since 1997
COLE is 7-1 when starting against CHICAGO CUBS with an ERA of 2.88 and a WHIP of 1.101.
His team's record is 8-1 (+7.0 units) in these starts. The OVER is 6-3. (+3.2 units)

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**Udog** · 10-06-2015, 08:18 AM

MLB
Armadillo's Write-Up

Tuesday, October 6

National League
Houston @ Bronx
Keuchel is 3-0, 1.74 in his last six starts (over 6-2 last eight). Astros are 23-10 when Keuchel starts this season.

Tanaka is 1-1, 2.42 in his last four starts (under 3-1). Bronx is 15-9 in his starts this season.

Astros are in playoffs for first time since losing the '05 World Series; Bronx is in for first time since '12- they got bad news yesterday with Sabathia leaving team due to personal issues. Houston won three of last four games with Bronx, four of last six played here- under is 6-3 in last nine series games.

**Udog** · 10-06-2015, 08:20 AM

MLB

Tuesday, October 6

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Trend Report
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8:08 PM
HOUSTON vs. NY YANKEES
The total has gone OVER in 8 of Houston's last 11 games when playing on the road against NY Yankees
Houston is 4-2 SU in their last 6 games when playing on the road against NY Yankees
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of NY Yankees's last 9 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 8 of NY Yankees's last 12 games

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**Udog** · 10-06-2015, 08:24 AM

MLB

Tuesday, October 6

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Game of the Day: Astros at Yankees
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The first game of the Major League Baseball postseason has Dallas Keuchel and the Astros heading into Yankee Stadium to take on Masahiro Tanaka and the Bronx Bombers.

Houston Astros at New York Yankees (-102, 7.0)

The New York Yankees backed into homefield advantage in the American League wild-card game and have to hope that a pitching staff that struggled mightily over the final weeks can put it together for one game. The Houston Astros, who visit New York for the AL wild-card game on Tuesday, squandered a chance to earn homefield advantage in the contest with a loss on Sunday but have things lined up to start their ace against the Yankees.

Cy Young Award front-runner Dallas Keuchel will get the nod for the Astros, who waited until the final day of the season to figure out their place in the postseason and are returning to playoff baseball for the first time since representing the National League in the 2005 World Series. New York returns to the postseason following a two-year absence but comes in having lost three straight and six of their last seven. Wins in any of those games would have made the final weekend anticlimactic, but the Yankees instead surrendered a total of 46 runs in six losses to the Boston Red Sox and Baltimore Orioles – two teams with nothing left for which to play by that point. New York will start Masahiro Tanaka, who has made one start since Sept. 18 while dealing with a hamstring strain, on Tuesday but figures to have most of their starters available out of the bullpen.

TV: 8 p.m. ET, ESPN

LINE HISTORY: The Yankees opened as very slight +104 home dogs, but the odds have almost moved to dead eve, with the Yankees now at -102.

INJURY REPORT:

Astros - CF C. Gomez (questionable Tuesday, ribs).

Yankees - SP C. Sabathia (out for season, personal), 2B S. Drew (out for season, concussion), SP N. Eovaldi (out for season, elbow), 1B (out for season, shin).

WEATHER REPORT: It should be a perfect night for baseball in the Bronx with clear skies and temperatures in the mid 60's at gametime. There will be a very slight three mile per hour wind blowing out to right center field.

PITCHING MATCHUP: Astros LH Dallas Keuchel (20-8, 2.48 ERA) vs. Yankees RH Masahiro Tanaka (12-7, 3.51)

One reason a loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks on Sunday was so crushing is that it meant Keuchel, who is 15-0 with a 1.46 ERA at home, would have to make the start on the road. The All-Star is 5-8 with a 3.77 ERA on the road in 2015 but won at Arizona on Friday and will be making Tuesday’s start on three days’ rest for the first time in his career. Keuchel struck out nine and scattered three hits in seven scoreless frames at New York on Aug. 25 and is 2-1 with a 1.13 ERA in three career starts against the Yankees.

Tanaka tuned up on Wednesday against Boston and was reached for four runs on five hits and a walk in five innings without factoring in the decision. The Japan native will be appearing in his first postseason since joining the Yankees and will try to keep the ball in the park after yielding 25 home runs in 154 total innings. Tanaka made his lone career start against Houston on June 27 and was ripped for six runs on seven hits – three homers – in five innings.

TRENDS:

* Astros are 3-8 in Keuchel's last 11 road starts.
* Yankees are 1-4 in Tanaka's last five home starts.
* Under is 4-0 in Tanaka's last our starts versus a team with a winning record.
* Under is 12-4 in the last 16 meetings.

CONSENSUS: The public is almost split right down the middle, with 52.36 percent of wagers backing the Astros.

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**Udog** · 10-06-2015, 10:11 AM

MLB

Tuesday, October 6

Cardinals' Molina will try to play with splint

St. Louis Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina apparently will try to play in the postseason with a splint protecting his injured left thumb.

The team announced Monday that Molina had his thumb examined again on Monday by a hand specialist and was told that damage still exists in the ligament in his left thumb.

However, the Cardinals also announced that Molina will have a splint built for the thumb that will try to allow him to both hit and catch.

Molina will test his playing abilities with the splint over the next few days, hoping that he will be available to play when the Cardinals start their playoff series on Friday against the wild-card game winner.

"We are still optimistic that Yadier will be on our postseason roster," general manager John Mozeliak said in a statement released by the team.

Molina, who has not played since Sept. 20, is hitting .270 with four homers this season. He has won the National League Gold Glove for catchers each of the past seven seasons.

**Udog** · 10-06-2015, 10:15 AM

MLB

Tuesday, October 6

Astros, Yanks seek turnaround in wild-card game

The Houston Astros and New York Yankees, two teams that stumbled into the playoffs, will square off in the American League wild-card game Tuesday at Yankee Stadium.

The Astros held a 5 1/2-game lead in the AL West as late as Aug. 27. However, they went 15-19 the rest of the way, ceding the division title to the Texas Rangers.

After winning three in a row last week to get into position to seal a wild-card berth, the Astros lost 5-3 to the Arizona Diamondbacks on Sunday when a win would have secured home-field advantage for the one-game showdown with the Yankees.

New York, meanwhile, lost six of seven games in the final week of the regular season, including dropping three in a row to the Orioles in Baltimore over the weekend.

Compounding their problems is the fact that their ace and scheduled wild-card starting pitcher, right-hander Masahiro Tanaka, made just one start in the season's final two weeks because of a right hamstring strain. After a 12-day break, Tanaka returned for an unconvincing five-inning outing against the Boston Red Sox on Wednesday. He allowed four runs in a no-decision.

The Astros counter with the AL Cy Young Award front-runner, Dallas Keuchel. The left-hander finished 20-8 with a 2.48 ERA, topping the league in wins, innings pitched (232) and walks-plus-hits-per-inning-pitched ratio (1.02). Keuchel finished second in ERA and fifth in strikeouts (216).

"It's going to be like any other start," Keuchel said of the wild-card game. "It's going to be fun."

Perhaps the Astros' lone concern about Keuchel for Tuesday is that he won't be pitching in Houston, where he went 15-0 with a 1.46 ERA. On the road, he was a mediocre 5-8 with a 3.77 ERA.

The winner of the AL wild-card game advances to meet the AL Central champion Royals in a best-of-five AL Division Series that begins Thursday in Kansas City. Last year, the Royals rallied from a late four-run deficit to beat the Oakland A's in the AL wild-card game, then advanced all the way to Game 7 of the World Series before falling to the San Francisco Giants.

The Astros are in the postseason for the first time since making the 2005 World Series, while the Yankees are returning to the playoffs after a two-year absence.

"It all starts over (now)," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "It does. Regular season doesn't matter now. It comes down to Tuesday."

**Udog** · 10-06-2015, 01:10 PM

MLB

Tuesday, October 6

Keuchel has dominated the Yankees this season

Houston Astros starter Dallas Keuchel gets the call in tonight's American League Wild Card game and to say he matches up against the Yankees well is an understatement.

The Astros' Cy Young candidate has give up zero earned runs in 16.0 innings pitched against the Yanks (one home start, one road) with a 0.625 WHIP, while striking out 21.

The Astros are currently slight -108 road favorites.

**Udog** · 10-06-2015, 02:31 PM

MLB
Short Sheet

Wild Card Games

Tuesday - Oct, 6

Houston at NY Yankees, 8:05 PM EDT
Houston: 7-16 SU in road games after 2 or more consecutive unders
New York: 20-9 SU after scoring 4 runs or less 3 straight games

Wednesday - Oct, 7

Chicago Cubs at Pittsburgh, 8:05 PM EDT
Chicago: 40-17 SU as a favorite of -125 to -175
Pittsburgh: 34-42 SU against division opponents

Announcement

Tuesday's MLB Trends and Indexes - 10/6

Tuesday's MLB Trends and Indexes - 10/6

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