Da Bum's 2021 Major League Baseball Transactions, News, Notes, Picks Etc. !!

[Udog]

MLB
Dunkel

Saturday, May 8

[Udog]

Diamond Trends for Saturday May 8
Vince Akins

ATS Play ON Trend of the Day
Matchup: San Diego at San Francisco (4:05 p.m. ET)

-- The Padres are 9-0 SU since Aug 28, 2020 on the road after they lost where they never led.

ATS Play AGAINST Trend of the Day
Matchup: Philadelphia at Atlanta (7:20 p.m. ET)

-- The Phillies are 0-9 SU since May 26, 2019 past the first game of a series as a road dog after they scored 6+ runs last game.

OU Play Trend of the Day
Matchup: Philadelphia at Atlanta (7:20 p.m. ET)

-- The Braves are 10-0 OU (3.25 ppg) since Sep 19, 2019 as a home 140+ favorite after they scored in at most two separate innings last game.

Starter-Based Trend of the Day
Matchup: Tampa Bay at Oakland (4:05 p.m. ET)

-- The Athletics are 0-8 SU since Jun 14, 2018 when Frankie Montas starts as a dog when they won in his last start.

Trends are verified using Sports Data Query Language (SDQL)

[Udog]

Sunday’s 6-pack
Leaders in RBI:
31— JD Martinez, Bos
28— Randal Grichuk, Tor
27— Trey Mancini, Balt
26— Shohei Ohtani, LAA
25— Baez, Aguilar, Devers, Walsh, YGurriel, Lowe
24— Haniger

Americans who have died from COVID-19: 580,076
PLEASE wear a mask (over your nose/mouth) when you go out.

Quote of the Day
“He really believes — and if he believes I believe — he’s got game left. I’ll be very interested to see if a club sees the fit because they’ll get a very determined Albert.”
Tony La Russa, talking about Albert Pujols

Sunday’s quiz
A’s moved from Kansas City to Oakland in 1968; where did they call home, before they played in Kansas City?

Saturday’s quiz
Russell Westbrook played his college basketball at UCLA.

Friday’s quiz
Lou Piniella was manager of the Cincinnati Reds, last time they won a World Series.

**************************

Sunday’s Den: Random stuff about baseball……..

— Dodgers 14, Angels 11:
Dodgers led 13-0 in the top of the 6th; after seven innings, it was 14-11, but the Angels didn’t get a baserunner in the last two innings, as they fall to 14-18.

— No major league team has ever won a game after trailing by 13+ runs; three teams have won after trailing by 12 runs— those games were in 1911, 1925, and 2001, a Mariners-Indians game in Cleveland.

— Speaking of Cleveland, there have been five no-hitters already this season; Zach Plesac of the Indians was the losing pitcher in two of them.

— To me, the 7-inning no-hitter thrown by Madison Bumgarner counts, since the game was scheduled for seven innings, and he didn’t allow any hits. Put an asterisk next to it in the record book, but its a freakin’ no-hitter.

— Dodgers lost seven of their last nine games; they scored 16-14 runs in the two wins.

— Saturday was May 8th, the 53rd anniversary of the perfect game Catfish Hunter threw in Oakland, the A’s first season there. I was 8 years old back then, in third grade; remember waking up the next morning and seeing a note about the perfect game next to my lunch.

My third grade teacher was probably confused as to why this skinny kid with glasses was babbling about a baseball game 3,000 miles away all day long.

— The perfect game was against Minnesota; Rod Carew, Tony Oliva, Harmon Killebrew. Some good bats in that lineup. He struck out 11 guys in a game that was scoreless after six innings; Catfish also drove in three of Oakland’s four runs that night. The DH was still five years away.

— Crowd was 6,298 that night; some things never change.

— Rick Monday was the A’s CF that night; 53 years later, he is the Dodgers’ radio announcer.

— You may wonder how I became an A’s fan; or maybe you don’t wonder why, but I’m going to explain it anyway.

I got baseball cards as gifts when I was a kid; I loved baseball cards, and I’d read all of them, front and back. Rookie cards had four prospects from the same team on them; their minor league stats were on the back.

Growing up in upstate New York, 15o miles north of New York City, there weren’t many fans of out-of-town teams here back then. No internet, no ESPN, just newspapers and once a week, the Sporting News.

When I was five, I’m reading thru my baseball cards, and one card had four guys on it, but one of the guys didn’t have any minor league stats on the back— he had been shot in a hunting accident and never played minor league ball. They also spelled his name wrong on the card.

Walked into the living room and announced to my dad, “This guy is my favorite player, and this is my favorite team” Jim Hunter of the Kansas City A’s; what were the odds that this guy with no minor league stats would become a Hall of Famer?

At that point, my dad just looked at me like, “You’re a weird kid” He had grown up in Brooklyn, was a huge Brooklyn Dodger fan and then had converted to the Mets. I learned very early never to mention the Los Angeles Dodgers; he wasn’t fond of the O’Malley family, who had bolted out of Brooklyn with the Dodgers, taking them west.

So anyway, baseball has always been a big part of my life; with that in mind, here are some ideas I have about baseball’s future.

— Geographic realignment: Baseball needs more rivalry games, so we re-align geographically.

— Expansion— To make up the money baseball lost last year, they’re going to add two teams, lets say Nashville and Montreal. Eight teams in a division, four divisions.

Division A: both New York teams, Red Sox, Phillies, Orioles, Nationals, Montreal, Toronto

Division B: both Chicago teams, Reds, Indians, Tigers, Brewers, Twins, Pirates

Division C: Braves, Astros, Royals, Marlins, Nashville, Cardinals, Rays, Rangers

Division D: Diamondbacks, Rockies, Mariners and the five California teams.

— Travel costs would be less, attendance would go up because of more rivalry games

— They could have two All-Star games, pitting the four divisions against each other. More TV money, that usually makes the owners say yes to an idea.

— As far as changes to the actual rules:
a) get rid of 7-inning doubleheaders. Bad idea.

b) I’ve softened on the extra inning rule; I don’t care either way, as long as the players like it. My preference would be back to the old way of extra innings, but either way would be fine.
c) Universal DH for everyone is a must. No one wants to see pitchers bat.
d) Ban shifts; two infielders on each side of the infield.
e) All four infielders should be on the infield dirt, not in the outfield.

This would create more line drive hits, more action. Action is a good thing.

— I’d suggest a salary cap, but I don’t want to get too crazy. Have a nice day.

[Udog]

MLB
Weather Report

Sunday, May 9

[Udog]

951MILWAUKEE -952 MIAMI
MILWAUKEE is 14-31 SU (-21.3 Units) vs. an NL team with an on base percentage .315 or worse over the last 2 seasons.

953ARIZONA -954 NY METS
ARIZONA is 12-0 SU (12.8 Units) vs. terrible speed teams - averaging 0.35 or less SB's/game in the current season.

955COLORADO -956 ST LOUIS
COLORADO is 3-11 SU (-12.6 Units) in road games vs. teams whose hitters strike out 7 or more times/game in the current season.

957PITTSBURGH -958 CHICAGO CUBS
PITTSBURGH is 50-63 SU (-29 Units) vs. NL teams scoring 4.5 or more runs/game on the season in the last 3 seasons.

959SAN DIEGO -960 SAN FRANCISCO
SAN DIEGO is 27-39 SU (-24.1 Units) in road games vs. an NL team with an on base percentage .325 or worse in the last 3 seasons.

961PHILADELPHIA -962 ATLANTA
PHILADELPHIA is 4-14 SU (-11.4 Units) after having won 6 or 7 of their last 8 games in the last 3 seasons.

963BOSTON -964 BALTIMORE
BOSTON is 10-0 SU (10.3 Units) in road games vs. poor baserunning teams - averaging 0.5 or less SB's/game in the current season.

965MINNESOTA -966 DETROIT
DETROIT is 3-14 SU (-15.4 Units) vs. an AL team with an on base percentage .320 or worse in the current season.

967CHI WHITE SOX -968 KANSAS CITY
CHI WHITE SOX is 12-1 SU (10.9 Units) in road games against left-handed starters over the last 2 seasons.

969TORONTO -970 HOUSTON
TORONTO is 10-18 SU (-14.9 Units) in road games vs. an AL team with a team batting average of .260 or worse over the last 2 seasons.

[Udog]

MLB
Dunkel

Sunday, May 9

[Udog]

MLB
Armadillo's Write-Up

Sunday, May 9

NL games
Pittsburgh (13-19) @ Cubs (17-16)
— Anderson is 2-1, 2.35 in his last four starts.
— Pirates are 3-3 in his starts.
— under 6-0
— allowed run in first inning: 1-6
— record in first 5 innings: 3-1-2
— He is 2-2, 4.45 in five starts vs Chicago.

— Pirates lost eight of their last nine games.
— Pittsburgh is 4-6 in their last ten road tilts.
— under 8-1-1 last ten road games
— scored run in first inning: 7-32
— record in first 5 innings: 12-15-5

— Hendricks is 2-2, 7.40 in his last four starts.
— Cubs are 2-4 in his starts.
— over 5-1
— allowed run in first inning: 3-6
— record in first 5 innings: 2-3-1
— He is 6-9, 3.18 in 20 starts vs Pittsburgh.

— Cubs won their last five games.
— Chicago is 13-7 at home.
— Over is 8-4 in their last 12 games.
— scored run in first inning: 12-33
— record in first 5 innings: 13-15-5

Arizona (15-18) @ Mets (15-13)
— RSmith is 0-1, 4.80 in three starts.
— Arizona is 1-2 in his starts
— over 3-0
— allowed run in first inning: 1-3
— record in first 5 innings: 1-2
— He hasn’t pitched against New York.

— Arizona lost six of its last seven games.
— Arizona is 2-6 in its last eight road games.
— over 11-5-1 last 17 games
— scored run in first inning: 5-33
— record in first 5 innings: 16-15-2

— deGrom is 2-2, 1.29 in five starts.
— He missed his last start with lat soreness.
— Mets are somehow 2-3 in his starts.
— under 3-1-1
— allowed run in first inning: 0-5
— record in first 5 innings: 2-3
— He is 3-0, 1.63 in four starts vs Arizona.

— Mets are 6-2 in their last eight games.
— Mets are 8-4 at home.
— Under 9-5-1 last fifteen games.
— scored run in first inning: 5-28
— record in first 5 innings: 13-13-2

Milwaukee (18-16) @ Miami (15-17)
— Lauer is 1-1, 4.91 in two starts.
— Milwaukee is 1-1 in his starts.
— under 1-1
— allowed run in first inning: 1-2
— record in first 5 innings: 1-2
— He is 0-2, 9.82 in two starts vs Miami.

— Brewers lost six of their last seven games.
— Milwaukee lost five of their last six road games.
— under 11-6-1 on road.
— scored run in first inning: 9-34
— record in first 5 innings: 14-14-6

— Alcantara is 1-1, 3.00 in his last three starts.
— Miami is 4-1 in his last five starts.
— over 4-0 last four starts
— allowed run in first inning: 1-7
— record in first 5 innings: 4-2-1
— He is 2-0, 3.18 in four games (2 starts) vs Milwaukee.

— Marlins won five of their last six home games.
— Miami is 8-8 at home.
— under 6-4-3 last 13 home games
— scored run in first inning: 12-32
— record in first 5 innings: 12-13-7

Philadelphia (18-16) @ Atlanta (16-17)
— Nola is 3-0, 2.57 in his last four starts.
— Phillies are 5-2 in his starts
— over 2-0-1 last three starts
— allowed run in first inning: 2-7
— record in first 5 innings: 4-2-1
— He is 11-6, 3.03 in 21 starts vs Atlanta.

— Phillies won five of their last six games.
— Phillies are 5-10 on the road.
— under 6-4 last ten road games.
— scored run in first inning: 14-34
— record in first 5 innings: 13-12-9

— Ynoa is 2-0, 0.73 in his last two starts.
— Braves are 3-2 in his starts.
— under 3-2
— allowed run in first inning: 1-5
— record in first 5 innings: 3-1-1
— He is 0-0, 2.45 in four games (1 start) vs Philly.

— Braves won four of their last five games.
— Atlanta is 8-8 at home.
— Under is 4-2 in their last six games.
— scored run in first inning: 10-33
— record in first 5 innings: 14-14-5

Colorado (12-21) @ St Louis (20-14)
— Marquez is 0-2, 11.81 in his last three starts.
— Colorado is 3-4 in his starts.
— over 5-2
— allowed run in first inning: 2-7
— record in first 5 innings: 3-3-1
— He is 2-0, 2.66 in four starts vs St Louis.

— Colorado is 3-7 in its last ten games.
— Rockies are 2-13 on the road.
— over 10-2 last 12 games.
— scored run in first inning: 10-33
— record in first 5 innings: 12-16-5

— Wainwright is 1-1, 3.32 in his last three starts.
— Cardinals are 2-4 in his starts.
— under 4-1 last five starts
— allowed run in first inning: 0-6
— record in first 5 innings: 1-3-2
— He is 10-1, 1.56 in 15 games (11 starts) vs Colorado.

— Cardinals won 12 of their last 16 games.
— St Louis is 9-4 in its last 13 home games.
— Under 8-3-1 last 12 home games.
— scored run in first inning: 11-34
— record in first 5 innings: 17-12-5

San Diego (18-16) @ San Francisco (20-13)
— Bullpen game for San Diego.

— Padres lost four of last six games.
— San Diego is 5-4 in its last nine road games.
— over 6-1 last seven road games
— scored run in first inning: 9-34
— record in first 5 innings: 11-18-5

— Cueto is 2-0, 1.86 in three starts, last of which was April 14.
— Giants are 3-0 in his starts.
— under 2-1
— allowed run in first inning: 0-3
— record in first 5 innings: 1-1-1
— He is 8-6, 3.71 in 18 starts vs San Diego.

— Giants won four of their last six games.
— Giants are 12-3 at home.
— Over is 11-2-1 in their last 14 games.
— scored run in first inning: 8-33
— record in first 5 innings: 19-10-4

AL games
Boston (21-13) @ Baltimore (15-18)
— Pivetta is 2-0, 2.81 in his last three starts.
— Red Sox are 5-1 in his starts.
— over 5-1
— allowed run in first inning: 1-6
— record in first 5 innings: 5-0-1
— He is 4-0, 3.28 in four starts vs Baltimore.

— Boston won four of its last five games.
— Red Sox are 11-4 on the road.
— over 5-2 last seven games
— scored run in first inning: 9-34
— record in first 5 innings: 16-12-6

— Kremer is 0-2, 6.43 in five starts.
— Orioles are 3-2 in his starts.
— under 3-0 last three starts
— allowed run in first inning: 0-5
— record in first 5 innings: 1-4
— He gave up 7 runs in 2.2 IP, in his one start vs Boston.

— Orioles lost four of their last six games.
— Baltimore is 11-6 on the road, 4-12 at home.
— under is 14-5 in their last 19 games.
— scored run in first inning: 8-33
— record in first 5 innings: 12-15-6

Minnesota (12-20) @ Detroit (10-24)
— Maeda is 2-2, 5.97 in six starts.
— Twins are 2-4 in his starts.
— under 4-1 last five starts
— allowed run in first inning: 1-6
— record in first 5 innings: 2-2-2
— He is 2-2, 4.50 in five starts vs Detroit.

— Twins lost 18 of their last 25 games.
— Minnesota is 2-7 in last nine road games.
— over 9-2 last 11 games
— scores run in first inning: 13-32
— record in first 5 innings: 14-11-7

— Boyd is 1-4, 2.55 in six starts.
— Detroit is 1-5 in his starts.
— under 4-2 in his starts
— allowed run in first inning: 0-6
— record in first 5 innings: 3-3
— He is 8-8, 4.56 in 22 starts vs Minnesota.

— Detroit lost 18 of its last 22 games.
— Detroit is 3-8 in its last 11 home games.
— under 10-5 at home
— scored run in first inning: 6-34
— record in first 5 innings: 2-16-3 last 21 games

Seattle (18-16) @ Texas (17-18)
— Sheffield is 2-1, 3.91 in his last four starts.
— Seattle is 3-2 in his starts.
— under 4-0-1
— allowed run in first inning: 1-5
— record in first 5 innings: 3-2
— He is 1-0, 2.81 in three games (2 starts) vs Texas.

— Seattle is 3-4 in its last seven games.
— Seattle is 2-5 in its last seven road games.
— under 4-2 last six games
— scored run in first inning: 8-34
— record in first 5 innings: 13-17-4

— Dunning is 0-2, 8.10 in his last three starts.
— Rangers are 1-5 in his starts.
— over 3-3
— allowed run in first inning: 2-6
— record in first 5 innings: 2-3-1
— He hasn’t pitched against Seattle.

— Texas won seven of its last ten games.
— Texas is 6-4 in its last ten home games.
— under 7-5 last 12 games.
— scored run in first inning: 9-35
— record in first 5 innings: 12-18-5

White Sox (18-13) @ Kansas City (16-16)
— Giolito is 0-3, 6.30 in his last four starts.
— Chicago is 1-5 in his starts.
— under 4-2
— allowed run in first inning: 2-6
— record in first 5 innings: 3-2-1
— He is 7-2, 2.88 in 13 starts vs Kansas City.

— Chicago is 6-4 in its last ten games.
— White Sox are 8-4 in last 12 road games.
— under 3-1-1 last five games.
— scored run in first inning: 9-31
— record in first 5 innings: 21-4-6

— Minor is 1-1, 6.00 in his last four starts.
— Royals are 4-2 in his starts.
— over 3-3
— allowed run in first inning: 2-6
— record in first 5 innings: 3-2-1
— He is 0-2, 2.78 in eight games (3 starts) vs Chicago.

— Royals lost their last seven games.
— Royals are 8-11 at home.
— eight of last ten games went over
— scores run in first inning: 5-32
— record in first 5 innings: 14-13-5

Toronto (17-15) @ Houston (17-16)
— Pearson is making his 2021 debut.
— He was 1-0, 6.00 in five games (4 starts) last year.
— He hasn’t pitched against Houston.

— Toronto is 9-5 in its last 14 games.
— Toronto is 6-4 in last ten road games.
— over 9-2 last 11 games
— scored run in first inning: 10-32
— record in first 5 innings: 13-15-4

— Greinke is 0-0, 5.40 in his last three starts.
— Astros are 5-2 in his starts.
— over 3-0 last three
— allowed run in first inning: 1-7
— record in first 5 innings: 2-3-2
— He is 4-4, 4.04 in 12 games (10 starts) vs Toronto

— Astros lost four of their last six games.
— Astros are 6-4 in last ten home games.
— over 6-2 last eight games
— scored run in first inning: 8-33
— record in first 5 innings: 14-13-6

Tampa Bay (18-17) @ Oakland (21-14)
— McClanahan is 0-0, 2.25 in his two starts (8 IP).
— Rays are 1-1 in his starts.
— over 1-1
— allowed run in first inning: 0-2
— record in first 5 innings: 1-0-1
— He gave up two runs in four IP, in one start vs Oakland.

— Tampa Bay won five of its last seven games.
— Rays are 9-3 in last 12 road games.
— nine of last 15 games stayed under
— scored run in first inning: 9-35
— record in first 5 innings: 12-14-9

— Irvin is 3-1, 1.42 in his last four starts.
— A’s are 3-3 in his starts.
— under 5-0 last five
— allowed run in first inning: 1-6
— record in first 5 innings: 3-3
— He allowed two runs in six IP, in his one start vs Tampa Bay.

— A’s are 8-7 in their last 15 games.
— Oakland won 13 of its last 17 home games.
— Over is 6-2 in their last eight games.
— scored run in first inning: 10-35
— record in first 5 innings: 14-13-8

Interleague games
Washington (13-16) @ Bronx (17-16)
— Ross is 2-2, 4.81 in five starts (4 good starts, 1 really bad one).
— Washington is 2-3 in his starts.
— under 3-1-1
— allowed run in first inning: 0-5
— record in first 5 innings: 2-2-1
— He hasn’t pitched against New York.

— Washington lost four of its last five games.
— Nationals are 5-8 on the road.
— under 6-2 last eight games
— scored run in first inning: 7-29
— record in first 5 innings: 7-13-9

— German is 2-0, 3.00 in his last three starts.
— New York is 3-2 in his starts.
— under 3-2
— allowed run in first inning: 3-5
— record in first 5 innings: 1-2-2
— He hasn’t pitched against Washington.

— New York won 12 of its last 18 games.
— New York is 8-3 in its last 11 home games.
— under 12-7 last 19 games
— scored run in first inning: 5-33
— record in first 5 innings: 15-12-6

Cincinnati (15-16) @ Cleveland (18-14)
— Mahle is 0-0, 3.78 in his last three starts.
— Reds are 4-2 in his starts.
— over 5-1
— allowed run in first inning: 1-6
— you’re reading ***************.com
— record in first 5 innings: 4-2
— He is 0-2, 5.84 in three starts vs Cleveland.

— Cincinnati is 6-4 in its last ten games.
— Reds are 5-9 on road.
— Over 12-5-2 last 19 games
— scored run in first inning: 8-31
— record in first 5 innings: 12-14-5

— Bullpen game for Cleveland.

— Cleveland won 10 of its last 13 games.
— Indians are 8-7 at home.
— over 12-5-1 last 18 games
— scores run in first inning: 7-32
— record in first 5 innings: 10-17-5

Dodgers (18-16) @ Angels (14-18)
— Bauer is 1-1, 2.59 in his last four starts.
— Dodgers are 3-4 in his starts.
— under 4-3
— allowed run in first inning: 1-7
— record in first 5 innings: 3-2-2
— He is 4-0, 2.70 in five starts against the Angels.

— Dodgers lost 14 of their last 19 games.
— Dodgers are 3-9 in last 12 road games.
— over 13-2 last fifteen games
— scored run in first inning: 9-34
— record in first 5 innings: 15-13-6

— Quintana is 0-3, 11.65 in five starts.
— Angels are 1-4 in his starts.
— over 4-1
— allowed run in first inning: 1-4
— record in first 5 innings: 1-5
— He is 1-1, 2.01 in five starts against the Dodgers.

— Halos lost seven of last nine games overall.
— Angels are 8-8 at home.
— over 12-5 last 17 games
— scored run in first inning: 8-32
— record in first 5 innings: 15-15-2

[Udog]

MLB

Sunday, May 9

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

Boston @ Baltimore
Boston
Boston is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games when playing Baltimore
Boston is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing Baltimore
Baltimore
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Baltimore's last 6 games when playing Boston
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Baltimore's last 6 games at home

Washington @ NY Yankees
Washington
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Washington's last 6 games
Washington is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games when playing NY Yankees
NY Yankees
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of NY Yankees's last 9 games when playing Washington
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of NY Yankees's last 9 games when playing at home against Washington

Cincinnati @ Cleveland
Cincinnati
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Cincinnati's last 5 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Cincinnati's last 6 games when playing Cleveland
Cleveland
Cleveland is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games
Cleveland is 9-2 ATS in its last 11 games when playing Cincinnati

Minnesota @ Detroit
Minnesota
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Minnesota's last 6 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 9 of Minnesota's last 11 games
Detroit
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Detroit's last 5 games
Detroit is 7-2 ATS in its last 9 games when playing at home against Minnesota

Milwaukee @ Miami
Milwaukee
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Milwaukee's last 5 games when playing Miami
Milwaukee is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games when playing on the road against Miami
Miami
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Miami's last 5 games when playing Milwaukee
Miami is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games when playing Milwaukee

Arizona @ NY Mets
Arizona
Arizona is 8-4 ATS in its last 12 games on the road
Arizona is 12-6 ATS in its last 18 games
NY Mets
NY Mets is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Arizona
NY Mets is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing Arizona

Toronto @ Houston
Toronto
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Toronto's last 6 games when playing on the road against Houston
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Toronto's last 6 games on the road
Houston
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Houston's last 6 games
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Houston's last 6 games when playing at home against Toronto

Chi White Sox @ Kansas City
Chi White Sox
Chi White Sox is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Kansas City
Chi White Sox is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Kansas City
Kansas City
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Kansas City's last 6 games when playing Chi White Sox
The total has gone OVER in 8 of Kansas City's last 10 games

Colorado @ St. Louis
Colorado
The total has gone OVER in 7 of Colorado's last 8 games
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Colorado's last 5 games on the road
St. Louis
St. Louis is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Colorado
St. Louis is 8-2 SU in its last 10 games when playing Colorado

Pittsburgh @ Chi Cubs
Pittsburgh
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Pittsburgh's last 5 games
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Pittsburgh's last 5 games on the road
Chi Cubs
Chi Cubs is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home
Chi Cubs is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games

Seattle @ Texas
Seattle
Seattle is 8-1 ATS in its last 9 games when playing Texas
Seattle is 8-1 SU in its last 9 games when playing Texas
Texas
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Texas's last 6 games when playing at home against Seattle
Texas is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games

San Diego @ San Francisco
San Diego
The total has gone OVER in 6 of San Diego's last 7 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 6 of San Diego's last 7 games when playing on the road against San Francisco
San Francisco
The total has gone OVER in 5 of San Francisco's last 5 games
The total has gone OVER in 5 of San Francisco's last 5 games at home

LA Dodgers @ LA Angels
LA Dodgers
The total has gone OVER in 5 of LA Dodgers's last 5 games
The total has gone OVER in 5 of LA Dodgers's last 5 games when playing on the road against LA Angels
LA Angels
The total has gone OVER in 5 of LA Angels's last 5 games when playing at home against LA Dodgers
The total has gone OVER in 7 of LA Angels's last 8 games when playing LA Dodgers

Tampa Bay @ Oakland
Tampa Bay
Tampa Bay is 11-1 ATS in its last 12 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Tampa Bay's last 7 games when playing Oakland
Oakland
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Oakland's last 7 games when playing Tampa Bay
Oakland is 13-4 SU in its last 17 games at home

Philadelphia @ Atlanta
Philadelphia
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Philadelphia's last 5 games when playing on the road against Atlanta
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Philadelphia's last 5 games when playing Atlanta
Atlanta
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Atlanta's last 5 games when playing Philadelphia
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Atlanta's last 5 games when playing at home against Philadelphia


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

[Udog]

Diamond Trends for Sunday May 9
Vince Akins

ATS Play ON Trend of the Day
Matchup: Tampa Bay at Oakland (4:05 p.m. ET)

-- The Rays are 11-0 SU since Jun 30, 2010 in the last game of a series as a road dog when they are off two losses in which they never led.

ATS Play AGAINST Trend of the Day
Matchup: Chicago White Sox at Kansas City (2:10 p.m. ET)

-- The White Sox are 0-10 SU since Sep 20, 2020 in the last game of a series after they hit at least one home run last game.

OU Play Trend of the Day
Matchup: Colorado at St. Louis (2:15 p.m. ET)

-- The Rockies are 10-0 OU (3.35 ppg) since Apr 17, 2021 past the first game of a series after their bullpen allowed multiple runs last game.

Starter-Based Trend of the Day
Matchup: Washington at N.Y. Yankees (1:05 p.m. ET)

-- The Nationals are 0-9 OU (-2.56 ppg) since Jul 26, 2015 when Joe Ross starts on the road when they scored less than 3 runs in his last start.

Trends are verified using Sports Data Query Language (SDQL)

[Udog]

Monday’s 6-pack
Leaders in OPS (on-base %age plus slugging %age):
1.021— Mike Trout, LAA
1.075— JD Martinez, Bos
1.047— Kris Bryant, Cubs
1.044— Jesse Winker, Cin
1.040— Ronald Acuna, Atl
1.033— Yordan Ventura, Hst

Americans who have died from COVID-19: 580,076
PLEASE wear a mask (over your nose/mouth) when you go out.

Quote of the Day
“It’s tough to get over the line, especially if you haven’t done it in a while. It’s such a funny week, knowing my game was pretty good and then having my neck lock up on the range and sitting here Sunday night with the trophy. Just glad I got through it.’’
Rory McIlroy, who won his first PGA Tour event in 18 months this weekend

Monday’s quiz
Which NBA team has gone the longest since they last made the playoffs?

Sunday’s quiz
A’s moved from Kansas City to Oakland in 1968; before they played in Kansas City, they played in Philadelphia, moving to KC in 1955.

Saturday’s quiz
Russell Westbrook played his college basketball at UCLA.

***************************

Monday’s Den: Thinking about no-hitters, and other stuff

There have been five no-hitters this season, which is a lot for May 10:

1) April 9: Joe Musgrove 3-0 @ Texas
— He threw 112 pitches, didn’t walk anyone, struck out 10.
— He got 15 whiffs on 53 swings
— Since then, he is 0-4, 5.63 in five starts.

2) April 14: Carlos Rodon 8-0 vs Cleveland
— He threw 114 pitches, didn’t walk anyone, struck out 7.
— He got 19 whiffs on 53 swings
— Since then, 3-0, 1.59 in three starts.

3) April 25: Madison Bumgarner 7-0 @ Atlanta
— This was a 7-inning game; he didn’t allow a hit, which makes it a “no-hitter”
— He threw 98 pitches, didn’t walk anyone, struck out 7.
— He got 10 whiffs on 53 swings
— Since then, he is 1-0, 1.64 in two starts.

To prove that I am fair-minded, I’m defending Bumgarner’s 7-inning no-hitter, even though his resurgence came 10 days after I cut him off my fantasy team. ��

4) May 5: John Means 6-0 @ Seattle.

— He threw 113 pitches, didn’t walk anyone, struck out 12.
— He got 26 whiffs on 64 swings
— This was his most recent start.
— This was also his first career complete game.

5) May 7: Wade Miley 3-0 @ Cleveland
— He threw 114 pitches, didn’t walk anyone, struck out 8.
— He got 9 whiffs on 49 swings
— This was his most recent start.

6) Four of the five no-hitters were thrown by lefties.

7) In two of the five no-hitters, Cleveland’s Zach Plesac was the losing pitcher.

Elsewhere, away from the no-hitter related world……..
8) Cincinnati Reds are 15-16, even though they’re 8-2 in games where the winning run scored from the 7th inning on.

9) Arizona Diamondbacks just had an 0-6 road trip, where they went 7-62 with runners in scoring position. Hitting in the clutch is important in baseball.

10) Since the DH came into the American League in 1973, the record for most home runs hit by a pitcher is 24, held by Carlos Zambrano, who was 132-91 as a big league pitcher, mostly for the Cubs. He had a .238 career batting average.

11) White Sox have won their last ten games at division rival Kansas City; maybe they should put fountains behind the outfield fence in their home stadium, the way they have them in Kansas City.

12) Was watching an old highlight clip of Willie Mays on the Giants game Sunday, forgot that they had artificial turf at Candlestick Park in the early 70’s, probably because the 49ers also played there. Not sure why they needed AstroTurf in good weather, but they had it.

One year at Comiskey Park in Chicago, the infield was AstroTurf and the outfield was natural grass, which wasn’t that bad an idea, but it didn’t last long.

13) Umpire stats are returning to the baseball page this Wednesday; we note trends for each umpire when he is behind the plate, for all games except series openers, because we don’t know who the umpires are for each series until they play a game game.

[Udog]

MLB
Weather Report

Monday, May 10

[Udog]

901CINCINNATI -902 PITTSBURGH
CINCINNATI is 4-15 SU (-13.5 Units) vs. an overused bullpen that pitches more than 3.2 innings per game in the current season.

903SAN DIEGO -904 COLORADO
SAN DIEGO is 27-40 SU (-25.1 Units) in road games vs. an NL team with an on base percentage .325 or worse in the last 3 seasons.

905MIAMI -906 ARIZONA
ARIZONA is 46-34 SU (17.8 Units) in home games vs. good defensive catchers - allowing 0.5 or less SB's/game in the last 3 seasons.

907BOSTON -908 BALTIMORE
BOSTON is 11-0 SU (11.4 Units) in road games vs. poor baserunning teams - averaging 0.5 or less SB's/game in the current season.

909LA ANGELS -910 HOUSTON
HOUSTON is 12-31 SU (-20.8 Units) vs. a team with a bad bullpen whose ERA is 4.70 or worse over the last 2 seasons.

909LA ANGELS -910 HOUSTON
DUSTY BAKER is 12-31 SU (-22.1 Units) vs. a team with a bad bullpen whose ERA is 4.70 or worse (Coach of HOUSTON)

911TEXAS -912 SAN FRANCISCO
SAN FRANCISCO is 12-2 SU (10.8 Units) vs. a starting pitcher whose strikes out 5 or more batters per start in the current season.




MLB
Dunkel

Monday, May 10






MLB
Armadillo's Write-Up

Monday, May 10

NL games
Cincinnati (15-16) @ Pittsburgh (14-19)
— Mahle is 0-0, 3.78 in his last three starts.
— Reds are 4-2 in his starts.
— over 5-1
— allowed run in first inning: 1-6
— you’re reading ***************.com
— record in first 5 innings: 4-2
— He is 1-3, 3.90 in six starts vs Pittsburgh.

— Cincinnati is 6-4 in its last ten games.
— Reds are 5-9 on road.
— Over 12-5-2 last 19 games
— scored run in first inning: 8-31
— record in first 5 innings: 12-14-5

— Keller is 1-1, 4.15 in his last three starts.
— Pirates are 3-3 in his starts.
— under 3-3
— allowed run in first inning: 4-6
— record in first 5 innings: 2-3-1
— He is 0-1, 6.92 in eight starts vs Cincinnati.

— Pirates lost eight of their last ten games.
— Pittsburgh lost its last four home games.
— under 5-1 last six games
— scored run in first inning: 8-33
— record in first 5 innings: 13-15-5

San Diego (19-16) @ Colorado (12-22)
— Lamet threw four scoreless IP in his two brief starts (4 IP).
— Padres are 0-2 in his starts.
— under 2-0
— allowed run in first inning: 0-2
— record in first 5 innings: 1-1
— He is 0-2, 3.18 in four starts vs Colorado.

— Padres lost four of their last seven games.
— San Diego is 6-4 in its last nine road games.
— over 7-1 last eight road games
— scored run in first inning: 9-35
— record in first 5 innings: 12-18-5

— Gray is 3-1, 3.65 in his last four starts.
— Colorado is 4-3 in his starts.
— under 4-3
— allowed run in first inning: 2-7
— record in first 5 innings: 4-2-1
— He is 10-4, 2.98 in 20 starts vs San Diego.

— Colorado is 3-8 in its last 11 games.
— Rockies are 10-3 in their last 13 home games.
— over 6-0 last six home games.
— scored run in first inning: 10-34
— record in first 5 innings: 12-17-5

Miami (15-18) @ Arizona (15-19)
— Miami hasn’t named a starter yet.

— Marlins won four of their last six games.
— Miami is 1-4 in their last five road tilts.
— under 4-1-2 in their last seven games
— scored run in first inning: 12-33
— record in first 5 innings: 12-14-7

— Weaver is 0-3, 9.00 in his last four starts.
— Arizona is 3-3 in his starts
— under 3-2-1
— allowed run in first inning: 1-6
— record in first 5 innings: 1-4-1
— He is 0-2, 5.54 in four games (2 starts) vs Miami.

— Arizona lost seven of its last eight games.
— Arizona is 4-2 in its last six home games.
— over 4-1 last five home games
— scored run in first inning: 5-34
— record in first 5 innings: 16-16-2

AL games
Boston (22-13) @ Baltimore (15-19)
— Perez is 0-2, 5.30 in his last four starts.
— Red Sox are 3-3 in his starts.
— over 3-3
— allowed run in first inning: 3-6
— record in first 5 innings: 1-3-2
— He is 4-6, 5.27 in 12 starts vs Baltimore.

— Boston won five of its last six games.
— Red Sox are 12-4 on the road.
— over 5-3 last eight games
— scored run in first inning: 9-35
— record in first 5 innings: 16-13-6

— Lopez is 0-1, 4.26 in his last three starts.
— Orioles are 2-4 in his starts.
— under 5-1 in his starts
— allowed run in first inning: 0-6
— record in first 5 innings: 1-4-1
— He allowed 14 runs in 10 IP in three games (1 start) vs Boston.

— Orioles lost five of their last seven games.
— Baltimore is 11-6 on the road, 4-13 at home.
— under is 15-5 in their last 20 games.
— scored run in first inning: 9-34
— record in first 5 innings: 13-15-6

Angels (15-18) @ Houston (18-16)
— Angels haven’t named a starter yet.

— Halos lost seven of last ten games overall.
— Angels split their last eight road games.
— over 12-6 last 18 games
— scored run in first inning: 8-33
— record in first 5 innings: 16-15-2

— Garcia is 0-2, 3.86 in four starts.
— Astros are 0-4 in his starts; they scored 6 runs in his last three.
— under 3-1
— allowed run in first inning: 0-4
— record in first 5 innings: 1-1-2
— He is 0-1, 3.86 in three games (1 start) against the Angels.

— Astros lost four of their last seven games.
— Astros are 7-4 in last 11 home games.
— over 7-2 last nine games
— scored run in first inning: 8-34
— record in first 5 innings: 15-13-6

Interleague games
Texas (18-18) @ San Francisco (20-14)
— Gibson is 3-0, 1.54 in his last six starts.
— Rangers are 5-2 in his starts.
— under 3-1 last four starts
— allowed run in first inning: 3-7
— record in first 5 innings: 3-2-2
— He allowed five runs in five IP, in one start vs San Francisco.

— Texas won eight of its last 11 games.
— Texas won its last three road games.
— over 7-4 last 11 road games.
— scored run in first inning: 9-36
— record in first 5 innings: 13-18-5

— Wood is 3-0, 1.96 in his four starts.
— Giants are 3-1 in his starts.
— over 3-1
— allowed run in first inning: 1-4
— record in first 5 innings: 4-0
— He is 1-0, 0.64 in two starts vs Texas.

— Giants won four of their last seven games.
— Giants are 12-4 at home.
— Over is 12-2-1 in their last 15 games.
— scored run in first inning: 8-34
— record in first 5 innings: 19-11-4




MLB

Monday, May 10

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Trend Report
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Cincinnati @ Pittsburgh
Cincinnati
Cincinnati is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing Pittsburgh
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Cincinnati's last 5 games when playing on the road against Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Pittsburgh's last 5 games when playing at home against Cincinnati
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Pittsburgh's last 7 games

Boston @ Baltimore
Boston
Boston is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing Baltimore
Boston is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Baltimore
Baltimore
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Baltimore's last 7 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Baltimore's last 6 games

LA Angels @ Houston
LA Angels
The total has gone OVER in 11 of LA Angels's last 12 games when playing on the road against Houston
The total has gone OVER in 12 of LA Angels's last 14 games when playing Houston
Houston
The total has gone OVER in 11 of Houston's last 12 games when playing at home against LA Angels
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Houston's last 7 games

San Diego @ Colorado
San Diego
San Diego is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing Colorado
The total has gone OVER in 7 of San Diego's last 8 games on the road
Colorado
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Colorado's last 5 games at home
The total has gone OVER in 12 of Colorado's last 15 games when playing at home against San Diego

Miami @ Arizona
Miami
Miami is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games when playing Arizona
Miami is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing Arizona
Arizona
Arizona is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games when playing at home against Miami
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Arizona's last 5 games at home

Texas @ San Francisco
Texas
Texas is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games on the road
Texas is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games
San Francisco
The total has gone OVER in 5 of San Francisco's last 5 games
The total has gone OVER in 5 of San Francisco's last 5 games at home


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

[Udog]

Diamond Trends for Monday May 10
Vince Akins

ATS Play ON Trend of the Day
Matchup: Texas at San Francisco (9:45 p.m. ET)

-- The Giants are 10-0 SU since Apr. 26, 2004 as a 140+ favorite off a game as the undefdog when their opponent's starter has an ERA of less than 2.5 on the season.

ATS Play AGAINST Trend of the Day
Matchup: Texas at San Francisco (9:45 p.m. ET)

-- The Rangers are 0-14 SU since Sept. 28, 2017 in the first game of a series with no rest off a home game in which they hit multple home runs.

OU Play Trend of the Day
Matchup: San Diego at Colorado (8:40 p.m. ET)

-- The Rockies are 10-0-1 OU (4.86 ppg) since Aug. 24, 2018 in the first game of a series with no rest at home after they had more strikeouts than hits.

Starter-Based Trend of the Day
Matchup: Cincinnati at Pittsburgh (6:35 p.m. ET)

-- The Reds are 0-6 SY since Apr. 21, 2019 when Tyler Mahle starts after he gave up no walks in his last start.

Trends are verified using Sports Data Query Language (SDQL)

[Udog]

Tuesday’s 6-pack
Thru Sunday’s games, most profitable baseball teams to bet on ($100/game):
+$784- Red Sox
+$724- Rangers
+$686- Mariners
Least profitable teams to bet on ($100/game):
-$1,142- Twins
-$808- Tigers
-$773- Rockies

Americans who have died from COVID-19: 581,756
PLEASE wear a mask (over your nose/mouth) when you go out.

Quote of the Day
“Everyone thinks I’m a hypochondriac. It makes me sick.”
Felix Unger

Tuesday’s quiz
Willie Mays had his 90th birthday last week; what number did he wear for the majority of his Hall of Fame career?

Monday’s quiz
Sacramento is NBA team that has gone longest since they last made playoffs, 14 years.

************************************************** ***

Tuesday’s Den: Nobody asked me, but……..

— I’m sitting here in the middle of the night, about to turn the TV off and listen to music while I put this together, and what do I find but a spring football league on FS1.

It is called the Spring League, and it has eight teams in it. I think they played in the Alamodome in San Antonio last year- this game was at Rice Stadium in Houston, which once hosted a Super Bowl (Dolphins over Vikings maybe???)

FS1 had their best college football announcers calling the game, so I watched for a while.

— Watched some of this last year; there are guys in it who have played in the NFL, including QB Ryan Mallett, who hasn’t played pro football since 2017. He started eight games for Texans/Ravens in 2014-15, then kind of went away. Now he is trying to make a comeback.

— There was a kicker from the CFL with a very long name who kicked four field goals, including a 59-yarder; hard to believe he won’t get an invite to an NFL camp. You make 59-yard field goals and it doesn’t matter if you’re in the California Penal League, the NFL will find you.

— Kevin Gilbride was coaching one of the teams; the guy will be 70 in August, he hasn’t been in the NFL since 2013, but he’s still out there coaching, trying to get guys to the next level.

— One of the teams is called the Jousters, which is a tremendous nickname. Good logo, too.

— So the Jousters give up a 65-yard TD pass, but the receiver has to be a show-off and drops the ball right at the goal line, it was really hard to tell if he had crossed the line or not, they review the play and say it was a touchdown.

This is a pet peeve of mine; you’re playing in front of no fans, except on TV, busting your butt to make it to an NFL camp- after you make a great play to score a touchdown, you do something STUPID to risk that touchdown not counting.

Coaches who lose get fired; teams that fumble on the 1-yard line lose.

Anyway, sounds like The Spring League will be on the next few weeks, which is good.

— I’ve never had coffee, ever; am I the only person who has never had it?

My parents drank it, but to me, coffee grounds looked like mud, and why would you drink something that came from mud?

I worked for the Division of Criminal Justice in Albany for 34 years; had a boss once who always and I mean always, had a coffee mug in his hand. It was like it was permanently attached to his hand. He was a good guy, let us be us, but damn he drank a lot of coffee.

— I’m a big believer that they should re-do how basketball assists are measured.

If a pass leads to a 3-point basket, it should be 1.5 assists, since 3 points is more than 2.

If a pass leads to free throws, it should be 0.5 assists for every foul shot made; those points count just as much as baskets made.

I used to keep track of assist opportunities, how many assists guys would have had if all the shots had been made— some guys create easier shots with their passes.

5) Warriors 119, Jazz 116— Here is Golden State’s record, based on Steph Curry’s scoring:
— 8-2 if he scores 40+
— 16-9 if he scores 35+. He had 36 in this game.
— 10-14 if he scores less than 30
— 5-8 if he scores less than 25.

4) Only once in their last 13 games has the Padres’ starting pitcher finished the 6th inning; their bullpen is going to be worn out by August, unless they trade for new guys.

3) In their last 19 games, Dodgers are 0-6 in games where the winning run scores from the 7th inning on- they’ve lost 15 of last 20 games overall.

2) Celtics’ star Jaylen Brown tore a ligament in his wrist, is out for the year.

1) Las Vegas Raiders’ backup QB Marcus Mariota is from Hawai’i; he went to St Louis HS, where his backup was Ka’ai Tom, who last night played leftfield and batted 3rd for the Pirates.

Pretty good high school team, with two major league athletes on it.

[Udog]

MLB
Weather Report

Tuesday, May 11