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Weekend Road Warriors
Last week the look at road teams for the weekend proved to work out quite well as the Golden State Warriors were able to close the NBA Finals out on the road in Game 4, while the Milwaukee Brewers took two of three from the Phillies.
Others like Seattle, Cleveland, and the L.A. Angels who were briefly touched on all won their respective series' as well last weekend as backing those quality MLB teams away from home turned out to go quite well.
This weekend it's a heavy focus on the MLB again as we’ve got some strong teams wearing their visiting colors again, including some rematches from a weekend ago. Milwaukee hosts Philadelphia this time around, as Cleveland is also hosting their opponent from last week, the Minnesota Twins.
Of those two, I'd be more inclined to look at Philly to get some measure of revenge over Milwaukee rather than backing the Twins in Cleveland, but there are actually a couple other series I want to look at here.
Washington Nationals Head North of the Border For a Three-Game Set with Toronto
Toronto has one of the worst records in all of baseball since the middle of April and after getting swept by the Rays this week, they head home to host a very good Washington Nationals team.
Giving the Nationals another hitter in their lineup with the DH isn't ideal for the Blue Jays, but when you've also got to face the likes of Gio Gonzalez, Max Scherzer, and Tanner Roark, this weekend could get ugly for Toronto fans.
Toronto does counter with two of their bigger names in Aaron Sanchez and Marco Estrada, but neither guy have even been close to the level of expectations they had for themselves (as well as the fanbase's expectations for them), and I expect the Blue Jays to find themselves on the wrong end of yet another series when all is said and done here.
The Red Sox are in the Pacific Northwest in a Possible Playoff Preview
Boston begins a four-game set with the smoking hot Seattle Mariners this week in what could end up being a playoff preview. These two teams enter the weekend atop their respective divisions, but in very tight races with division rivals from New York and Houston respectively.
With how well both sides have played through 2.5 months of the year so far, squaring off in a four-game set against one another is a nice litmus test for both organizations at this stage of the season.
Boston has opened as a -130 road favorite for the opener tonight, and it will be interesting to see how their priced the rest of the weekend. Right off the top I think this series is a prime candidate for a 2-2 split, but figuring out how that split happens is why they play the games.
I wouldn't shy away from backing Boston here though if the price is right – they'll likely be road 'dogs Friday vs James Paxton, and quite possibly underdogs for the final two games as well – so that's where I'll be leaning in this series.
The Giants and Dodgers Renew Acquaintances Out in L.A.
San Francisco isn't what I'd call a great team to back on the road, but assuming that they'll be sizable underdogs in at least two of their three games with the Dodgers this weekend, they are worth some consideration.
L.A. has played some great baseball over the past month to climb back into the race in the NL West, but they are still the 2nd worst team in terms of betting units lost this year at -$1864 on $100 bets each game. Only the very bad Baltimore Orioles have lost more units than the Dodgers have, and now that they are playing better baseball, those inflated lines start to show up again.
At 14-24 SU on the road (pending Thursday's afternoon game in Miami), the Giants aren't the best money-earners as visitors, but they tend to put their best foot forward in games against L.A, and do have Madison Bumgarner scheduled to go on Saturday.
San Francisco has also already taken six of the first 10 meetings with L.A this year, (2-2 SU in L.A.), so asking them to win once, and maybe even twice this weekend isn't totally out of the question.
L.A. is going with Ross Stripling and Alex Wood for Games 1 and 2 so it's not like it's the best of the best of L.A.'s rotation that San Francisco will be up against, and if the price is right, backing the Giants is another option I'll be looking at.
Last week the look at road teams for the weekend proved to work out quite well as the Golden State Warriors were able to close the NBA Finals out on the road in Game 4, while the Milwaukee Brewers took two of three from the Phillies.
Others like Seattle, Cleveland, and the L.A. Angels who were briefly touched on all won their respective series' as well last weekend as backing those quality MLB teams away from home turned out to go quite well.
This weekend it's a heavy focus on the MLB again as we’ve got some strong teams wearing their visiting colors again, including some rematches from a weekend ago. Milwaukee hosts Philadelphia this time around, as Cleveland is also hosting their opponent from last week, the Minnesota Twins.
Of those two, I'd be more inclined to look at Philly to get some measure of revenge over Milwaukee rather than backing the Twins in Cleveland, but there are actually a couple other series I want to look at here.
Washington Nationals Head North of the Border For a Three-Game Set with Toronto
Toronto has one of the worst records in all of baseball since the middle of April and after getting swept by the Rays this week, they head home to host a very good Washington Nationals team.
Giving the Nationals another hitter in their lineup with the DH isn't ideal for the Blue Jays, but when you've also got to face the likes of Gio Gonzalez, Max Scherzer, and Tanner Roark, this weekend could get ugly for Toronto fans.
Toronto does counter with two of their bigger names in Aaron Sanchez and Marco Estrada, but neither guy have even been close to the level of expectations they had for themselves (as well as the fanbase's expectations for them), and I expect the Blue Jays to find themselves on the wrong end of yet another series when all is said and done here.
The Red Sox are in the Pacific Northwest in a Possible Playoff Preview
Boston begins a four-game set with the smoking hot Seattle Mariners this week in what could end up being a playoff preview. These two teams enter the weekend atop their respective divisions, but in very tight races with division rivals from New York and Houston respectively.
With how well both sides have played through 2.5 months of the year so far, squaring off in a four-game set against one another is a nice litmus test for both organizations at this stage of the season.
Boston has opened as a -130 road favorite for the opener tonight, and it will be interesting to see how their priced the rest of the weekend. Right off the top I think this series is a prime candidate for a 2-2 split, but figuring out how that split happens is why they play the games.
I wouldn't shy away from backing Boston here though if the price is right – they'll likely be road 'dogs Friday vs James Paxton, and quite possibly underdogs for the final two games as well – so that's where I'll be leaning in this series.
The Giants and Dodgers Renew Acquaintances Out in L.A.
San Francisco isn't what I'd call a great team to back on the road, but assuming that they'll be sizable underdogs in at least two of their three games with the Dodgers this weekend, they are worth some consideration.
L.A. has played some great baseball over the past month to climb back into the race in the NL West, but they are still the 2nd worst team in terms of betting units lost this year at -$1864 on $100 bets each game. Only the very bad Baltimore Orioles have lost more units than the Dodgers have, and now that they are playing better baseball, those inflated lines start to show up again.
At 14-24 SU on the road (pending Thursday's afternoon game in Miami), the Giants aren't the best money-earners as visitors, but they tend to put their best foot forward in games against L.A, and do have Madison Bumgarner scheduled to go on Saturday.
San Francisco has also already taken six of the first 10 meetings with L.A this year, (2-2 SU in L.A.), so asking them to win once, and maybe even twice this weekend isn't totally out of the question.
L.A. is going with Ross Stripling and Alex Wood for Games 1 and 2 so it's not like it's the best of the best of L.A.'s rotation that San Francisco will be up against, and if the price is right, backing the Giants is another option I'll be looking at.
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