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

[Udog]

MLB
Weather Report

Friday, May 21

[Udog]

951NY METS -952 MIAMI
MIAMI is 143-113 SU (38 Units) in home games vs. a starting pitcher with good control (less than 1.75 BB's/start) since 1996.

953MILWAUKEE -954 CINCINNATI
CINCINNATI is 6-20 SU (-17.6 Units) vs. an overused bullpen that pitches more than 3.2 innings per game in the current season.

955PITTSBURGH -956 ATLANTA
ATLANTA is 4-19 SU (-14.4 Units) in home games vs. teams whose hitters strike out 7 or more times/game in the current season.

957CHICAGO CUBS -958 ST LOUIS
ST LOUIS are 15-5 SU (12.3 Units) vs. NL teams allowing 4.5 or more runs/game on the season in the current season.

959ARIZONA -960 COLORADO
COLORADO is 11-0 SU (11.6 Units) in home games vs. terrible speed teams - averaging 0.35 or less SB's/game in the current season.

961LA DODGERS -962 SAN FRANCISCO
SAN FRANCISCO is 15-1 SU (13.9 Units) as an underdog of +100 to +150 in the current season.

963CHI WHITE SOX -964 NY YANKEES
NY YANKEES are 31-11 SU (23.7 Units) vs. teams outscoring opp by 1 or more runs/game on the season in the last 3 seasons.

965MINNESOTA -966 CLEVELAND
MINNESOTA is 7-27 SU (-24.5 Units) vs. an overused bullpen that pitches more than 3.2 innings per game in the current season.

967TAMPA BAY -968 TORONTO
TAMPA BAY is 19-9 SU (10.5 Units) vs. a team with a good bullpen whose WHIP is 1.350 or better in the current season.

969HOUSTON -970 TEXAS
HOUSTON is 9-1 SU (9 Units) vs. an AL starting pitcher whose ERA is 3.40 or better over the last 2 seasons.

[Udog]

MLB
Dunkel

Friday, May 21

[Udog]

MLB
Armadillo's Write-Up

Friday, May 21

NL games
Milwaukee (21-22) @ Cincinnati (19-23)
— Houser is 1-2, 4.80 in his last three starts.
— Milwaukee is 4-4 in his starts.
— over 4-3-1
— allowed run in first inning: 4-8
— record in first 5 innings: 3-5
— He is 0-2, 5.64 in seven games (4 starts) vs Cincinnati.

— Brewers lost 12 of their last 16 games.
— Milwaukee is 2-7 in its last nine road games.
— under 7-3-2 last 12 games.
— scored run in first inning: 10-43
— record in first 5 innings: 16-17-10

— Hoffman is 0-2, 7.91 in his last five starts.
— Reds are 4-4 in his starts.
— over 7-0-1
— allowed run in first inning: 1-8
— you’re reading ***************.com
— record in first 5 innings: 2-5-1
— He is 0-0, 2.70 in two starts vs Milwaukee.

— Cincinnati is 2-6 in its last eight games.
— Reds are 3-10 in last 13 home games.
— Over 19-8-3 last 30 games
— scored run in first inning: 9-42
— record in first 5 innings: 13-22-7

Mets (20-17) @ Miami (20-23)
— Mets haven’t named a starter.

— Mets lost four of their last six games.
— Mets are 6-6 in their last 12 road games.
— Over 7-5 last 12 road games.
— scored run in first inning: 5-37
— record in first 5 innings: 17-16-4

— Holloway is 0-2, 8.10 in two starts (6.2 IP).
— Marlins are 0-2 in his starts
— under 2-0
— allowed run in first inning: 1-2
— record in first 5 innings: 0-2
— He hasn’t pitched against the Mets.

— Marlins won three of their last four games.
— Miami is 5-2 in their last seven home tilts.
— under 11-4-2 in their last 17 games
— scored run in first inning: 13-43
— record in first 5 innings: 17-18-8

Pittsburgh (18-25) @ Atlanta (19-24)
— TAnderson is 3-1, 2.92 in his last six starts.
— Pirates are 5-3 in his starts.
— under 6-2
— allowed run in first inning: 2-8
— record in first 5 innings: 4-2-2
— He is 1-0, 6.75 in two starts vs Atlanta.

— Pirates lost 14 of their last 20 games.
— Pittsburgh lost six of its last nine road games.
— under 5-3 last eight games
— scored run in first inning: 10-43
— record in first 5 innings: 14-21-8

— IAnderson is 3-1, 2.43 in his last five starts.
— Braves are 6-2 in his starts.
— under 4-1 last five
— allowed run in first inning: 2-8
— record in first 5 innings: 3-4-1
— He hasn’t pitched against Pittsburgh.

— Braves lost seven of their last ten games overall.
— Atlanta is 3-8 in its last 11 home games.
— Over is 16-8 in their home games.
— scored run in first inning: 14-44
— record in first 5 innings: 21-17-6

Cubs (22-21) @ St Louis (25-18)
— Hendricks is 2-2, 5.70 in his last four starts.
— Cubs are 3-5 in his starts.
— over 6-2
— allowed run in first inning: 4-8
— record in first 5 innings: 3-4-1
— He is 9-3, 2.88 in 20 starts vs St Louis.

— Cubs won five of their last seven games.
— Chicago is 6-12 on the road.
— Under is 8-4 in their last 12 games.
— scored run in first inning: 14-43
— record in first 5 innings: 19-18-6

— Martinez is 3-0, 3.10 in his last three starts.
— Cardinals are 3-4 in his starts.
— over 4-3
— allowed run in first inning: 3-7
— record in first 5 innings: 3-4
— He is 4-5, 4.69 in 36 games (16 starts) vs Chicago.

— Cardinals lost four of their last seven games.
— St Louis is 8-2 in its last ten home games.
— Under 10-4-1 last 15 home games.
— scored run in first inning: 15-43
— record in first 5 innings: 21-15-7

Arizona (18-27) @ Colorado (15-29)
— Frankoff allowed two runs in 4.2 IP in his first ‘21 start.
— Arizona is 1-0 in his starts
— over 1-0
— allowed run in first inning: 1-1
— record in first 5 innings: 1-0
— He allowed two runs in two IP, in a relief stint vs Colorado

— Arizona lost 15 of its last 19 games- they scored 6 runs in last five games.
— Arizona lost its last ten road games.
— under 6-2 last eight road games
— scored run in first inning: 8-45
— record in first 5 innings: 20-21-4

— Marquez is 1-3, 6.75 in his last five starts.
— Colorado is 4-5 in his starts.
— over 6-3
— allowed run in first inning: 2-9
— record in first 5 innings: 4-4-1
— He is 4-5, 4.26 in 17 starts vs Arizona.

— Colorado lost its last five games.
— Rockies are 9-6 in last 15 home games.
— over 9-2-1 last 12 home games.
— scored run in first inning: 15-44
— record in first 5 innings: 16-20-8

Dodgers (26-18) @ San Francisco (28-16)
— Bauer is 3-2, 1.94 in his last eight starts.
— Dodgers are 4-5 in his starts
— under 6-3
— allowed run in first inning: 1-9
— record in first 5 innings: 4-3-2
— He hasn’t pitched against San Francisco.

— Dodgers won eight of their last nine games.
— Dodgers are 2-8 in last 10 road games.
— under 5-1 last six games
— scored run in first inning: 10-44
— record in first 5 innings: 22-16-6

— Ex-Dodger Wood is 5-0, 1,75 in his six starts.
— Giants are 5-1 in his starts.
— over 3-3
— allowed run in first inning: 1-6
— record in first 5 innings: 4-0-2
— He is 2-0, 1.93 in five games (3 starts) vs Los Angeles.

— Giants are 12-5 in their last 17 games.
— Giants are 14-4 at home.
— Under is 7-3 in their last ten games.
— scored run in first inning: 13-44
— record in first 5 innings: 26-11-7

AL games
White Sox (26-16) @ Bronx (25-19)
— Rodon is 5-1, 1.72 in six starts
— Chicago is 5-1 in his starts.
— under 4-2
— allowed run in first inning: 1-6
— record in first 5 innings: 5-1
— He is 3-3, 5.34 in six starts vs New York.

— Chicago is 14-7 in its last 21 games.
— White Sox are 9-3 in last 12 road games.
— under 5-3 last eight games.
— scored run in first inning: 14-42
— record in first 5 innings: 28-6-8

— Montgomery is 1-0, 5.11 in his last five starts.
— New York is 5-3 in his starts.
— under 5-3
— allowed run in first inning: 3-8
— record in first 5 innings: 2-5-1
— He is 2-0, 2.77 in two starts vs Chicago.

— New York won six of its last eight games.
— New York is 7-2 in its last nine home games.
— under 5-2 last seven home games
— scored run in first inning: 10-44
— record in first 5 innings: 19-16-9

Minnesota (15-28) @ Cleveland (23-18)
— Twins played twinbill in Anaheim yesterday; they haven’t named starter for this game.

— Twins lost 26 of their last 36 games.
— Minnesota is 3-12 in last 12 road games.
— over 17-5 last 22 games
— scores run in first inning: 16-43
— record in first 5 innings: 15-19-9

— McKenzie is 1-2, 6.29 in six starts.
— Indians are 2-4 in his starts.
— over 3-1 last four
— allowed run in first inning: 1-6
— record in first 5 innings: 3-3
— He gave up 5 runs in 4.1 IP, in his one start vs Minnesota.

— Cleveland lost four of its last six games.
— Indians are 6-2 in their last eight home games.
— over 4-2 last six games
— scores run in first inning: 10-41
— record in first 5 innings: 13-21-7

Tampa Bay (26-19) @ Toronto (23-19)
— Glasnow is 2-1, 2.70 in his last four starts.
— Rays are 6-3 in his starts.
— over 4-2 last six
— allowed run in first inning: 3-9
— record in first 5 innings: 4-3-2
— He is 0-3, 6.44 in seven starts vs Toronto.

— Tampa Bay won its last seven games.
— Rays are 13-3 in last 16 road games.
— Nine of last 12 road games went over
— scored run in first inning: 11-45
— record in first 5 innings: 17-17-11

— Bullpen game

— Toronto is 15-9 in its last 24 games.
— Toronto is 6-3 in last nine home games.
— over 14-7 last 21 games
— scored run in first inning: 14-42
— record in first 5 innings: 16-20-6

Houston (26-18) @ Texas (19-27)
— Ivey is making his first MLB start.
— He allowed six runs in 6.1 IP, in two AAA starts.
— In 2019, he was 4-0, 1.57 in 11 games (8 starts) at AA level.

— Astros won 12 of their last 15 games.
— Astros lost four of last seven road games.
— over 12-5 last 17 games
— scored run in first inning: 16-44
— record in first 5 innings: 24-13-7

— Gibson is 3-0, 1.67 in his last eight starts.
— Texas is 5-4 in his starts.
— under 5-1 last six
— allowed run in first inning: 4-9
— record in first 5 innings: 3-3-3
— He is 4-2, 2.59 in ten starts vs Houston.

— Texas lost nine of its last ten games.
— Texas got shut out the last two days.
— under 15-8 at home.
— scored run in first inning: 12-46
— record in first 5 innings: 15-22-9

Detroit (17-26) @ Kansas City (20-22)
— Urena is 1-1, 3.90 in his last five starts.
— Detroit is 3-5 in his starts.
— under 5-2 last seven
— allowed run in first inning: 4-8
— record in first 5 innings: 0-6-2
— He hasn’t pitched against Kansas City.

— Detroit won eight of its last ten games.
— Detroit is 4-7 in its last 11 road games.
— over 6-3-1 last ten road games
— scored run in first inning: 8-43
— record in first 5 innings: 5-0 last five road games

— Minor is 1-1, 5.82 in his last four starts.
— Kansas City is 5-3 in his starts.
— under 4-4
— allowed run in first inning: 2-6
— record in first 5 innings: 4-3-1
— He is 2-2, 4.54 in 10 games (4 starts) vs Detroit.

— Royals lost 13 of their last 17 games overall.
— Royals lost seven of their last nine home games.
— six of last eight games stayed under
— scores run in first inning: 9-42
— record in first 5 innings: 16-19-7

Oakland (26-19) @ Angels (19-25)
— Kaprielian allowed one run in five IP (85 PT) in his first MLB start.
— A’s are 1-0 in his starts.
— under 1-0
— allowed run in first inning: 1-1
— record in first 5 innings: 1-0
— He hasn’t pitched against the Angels.

— A’s are 7-5 in their last 12 games.
— Oakland is 5-2 in its last seven road games.
— Under is 9-3-1 in their last 13 road games.
— scored run in first inning: 13-45
— record in first 5 innings: 18-17-10

— Quintana is 0-3, 9.24 in seven starts.
— Angels are 3-4 in his starts.
— over 5-2
— allowed run in first inning: 1-7
— record in first 5 innings: 2-5
— He is 2-0, 2.95 in six starts vs Oakland.

— Halos are 6-13 in last 19 games overall.
— Angels are 4-9 in their last 13 home games.
— over 10-3 last 13 home games
— scored run in first inning: 12-44
— record in first 5 innings: 18-24-3

Interleague games
Baltimore (17-26) @ Washington (17-23)
— Lopez is 0-2, 5.31 in his last five starts.
— Orioles are 3-5 in his starts.
— under 6-2
— allowed run in first inning: 1-8
— record in first 5 innings: 1-5-2
— He allowed 4 runs in 9 IP, in three relief stints vs Washington.

— Orioles lost 12 of their last 16 games.
— Baltimore is 11-8 on the road, 6-18 at home.
— over is 7-0 in their last seven games.
— scored run in first inning: 12-43
— record in first 5 innings: 16-19-8

— Strasburg comes off IL here; his last start was April 13.
— He is 0-1, 7.20 in two starts.
— Washington is 0-2 in his starts.
— under 1-1
— allowed run in first inning: 1-2
— record in first 5 innings: 0-1-1
— He is 1-1, 5.48 in five starts vs Baltimore.

— Washington lost 11 of its last 16 games.
— Nationals are 1-5 in last six home games.
— under 13-6 last 19 games
— scored run in first inning: 10-40
— record in first 5 innings: 13-17-10

Boston (27-18) @ Philadelphia (22-22)
— Perez is 1-1, 2.42 in his last four starts.
— Red Sox are 4-4 in his starts.
— under 5-2 last seven
— allowed run in first inning: 3-8
— record in first 5 innings: 2-3-3
— He is 1-0, 3.98 in four games (3 starts) vs Philly.

— Boston is 5-5 in its last ten games.
— Red Sox won five of its last seven road games.
— under 7-3-1 last 11 games
— scored run in first inning: 14-45
— record in first 5 innings: 21-15-9

— Nola is 0-2, 6.75 in his last two starts.
— Phillies are 5-4 in his starts
— under 5-3-1
— allowed run in first inning: 3-6
— record in first 5 innings: 4-4-1
— He is 1-0, 1.64 in three starts vs Boston.

— Phillies lost five of their last seven games.
— Phillies are 14-8 at home, 8-14 on road.
— over 7-5 last 12 home games.
— scored run in first inning: 18-44
— record in first 5 innings: 14-20-10

Seattle (21-23) @ San Diego (27-17)
— Flexen is 3-0, 3.52 in his last four starts.
— Seattle is 6-1 in his starts.
— over 5-2
— allowed run in first inning: 3-7
— record in first 5 innings: 4-2-1
— He allowed 4 runs in three IP, in one start vs San Diego.

— Seattle is 6-11 in its last 17 games.
— Seattle is 2-8 in its last ten road games.
— over 6-4-2 last 12 games
— scored run in first inning: 13-44
— record in first 5 innings: 17-22-5

— Paddack is 0-2, 5.71 in his last four starts (17.1 IP).
— Padres are 4-3 in his starts.— over 4-3
— allowed run in first inning: 1-7
— record in first 5 innings: 3-4
— He is 2-1, 3.00 in three starts vs Seattle.

— Padres are 14-5 in their last 19 games.
— San Diego is 10-2 in its last 12 home games.
— over 8-4 last 12 games
— scored run in first inning: 12-44
— record in first 5 innings: 18-19-7

[Udog]

MLB

Friday, May 21

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Trend Report
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Baltimore @ Washington
Baltimore
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Baltimore's last 5 games
Baltimore is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games when playing Washington
Washington
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Washington's last 5 games at home
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Washington's last 7 games when playing Baltimore

Chi White Sox @ NY Yankees
Chi White Sox
Chi White Sox is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games when playing on the road against NY Yankees
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Chi White Sox's last 6 games when playing on the road against NY Yankees
NY Yankees
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of NY Yankees's last 6 games when playing at home against Chi White Sox
NY Yankees is 7-2 SU in its last 9 games at home

Boston @ Philadelphia
Boston
Boston is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games when playing Philadelphia
Boston is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Philadelphia
Philadelphia
The total has gone UNDER in 8 of Philadelphia's last 10 games
The total has gone UNDER in 10 of Philadelphia's last 13 games when playing Boston

Milwaukee @ Cincinnati
Milwaukee
The total has gone UNDER in 10 of Milwaukee's last 14 games when playing on the road against Cincinnati
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Milwaukee's last 7 games when playing Cincinnati
Cincinnati
Cincinnati is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games when playing Milwaukee
Cincinnati is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing Milwaukee

Minnesota @ Cleveland
Minnesota
The total has gone OVER in 8 of Minnesota's last 9 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Minnesota's last 7 games
Cleveland
Cleveland is 6-1 ATS in its last 7 games when playing at home against Minnesota
Cleveland is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Minnesota

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

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

Tampa Bay @ Toronto
Tampa Bay
Tampa Bay is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games
Tampa Bay is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
Toronto
Toronto is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games when playing at home against Tampa Bay
Toronto is 9-4 ATS in its last 13 games at home

Houston @ Texas
Houston
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Houston's last 5 games
Houston is 8-1 SU in its last 9 games
Texas
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Texas's last 5 games when playing Houston
Texas is 8-2 ATS in its last 10 games when playing at home against Houston

Detroit @ Kansas City
Detroit
The total has gone UNDER in 9 of Detroit's last 10 games when playing Kansas City
Detroit is 7-1 ATS in its last 8 games when playing on the road against Kansas City
Kansas City
The total has gone UNDER in 9 of Kansas City's last 10 games when playing Detroit
Kansas City is 6-1 ATS in its last 7 games

Chi Cubs @ St. Louis
Chi Cubs
Chi Cubs is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games
Chi Cubs is 6-1 ATS in its last 7 games on the road
St. Louis
St. Louis is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of St. Louis's last 6 games when playing Chi Cubs

Arizona @ Colorado
Arizona
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Arizona's last 6 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Arizona's last 5 games
Colorado
Colorado is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games at home
The total has gone OVER in 9 of Colorado's last 12 games at home

Oakland @ LA Angels
Oakland
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Oakland's last 5 games
Oakland is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games on the road
LA Angels
The total has gone OVER in 5 of LA Angels's last 6 games
LA Angels is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games when playing at home against Oakland

LA Dodgers @ San Francisco
LA Dodgers
LA Dodgers is 8-1 SU in its last 9 games
LA Dodgers is 7-1 SU in its last 8 games when playing on the road against San Francisco
San Francisco
San Francisco is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games
San Francisco is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games

Seattle @ San Diego
Seattle
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Seattle's last 6 games when playing on the road against San Diego
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Seattle's last 5 games on the road
San Diego
San Diego is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
San Diego is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home


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[Udog]

Diamond Trends for Friday May 21
Vince Akins

SU Play ON Trend of the Day
Matchup: Chicago White Sox at N.Y. Yankees (7:05 p.m. ET)

-- The White Sox are 10-0 SU since Jul 31, 2020 after a game as a road favorite in which they scored in at most two separate innings.

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

-- The Pirates are 0-9 SU since Jul 02, 2018 as a dog after they scored first lat game before trailing and coming back to win.

OU Trend of the Day
Matchup: Minnesota at Cleveland (7:10 p.m. ET)

-- The Indians are 11-0 OU (2.73 ppg) since Aug 30, 2020 off a road game in which they struck out at least ten times.

Starter-Based Trend of the Day
Matchup: Boston at Philadelphia (7:05 p.m. ET)

-- The Phillies are 13-0 SU since Jun 05, 2016 when Aaron Nola starts as a home favorite of -140 or greater when they lost in his last start.

Trends are verified using Sports Data Query Language (SDQL)

[Udog]

Saturday’s 6-pack
Odds on random college football games this fall:
Sept 4— LSU (-2) @ UCLA
Sept 11— Iowa @ Iowa State (-7)
Sept 18— Auburn @ Penn State (-3.5)
Sept 25— Louisville @ Florida State (-3)
Oct 2— Michigan @ Wisconsin (-7)
Oct 9— Oklahoma (-9) vs Texas

Quote of the Day
“I might try to play 36, 45 holes in a day and try to focus on each shot so that when I go out and play 18, it doesn’t feel like it’s that much. I might try to elongate the time that I end up meditating, but I’m trying to use my mind like a muscle and just expand it because as I’ve gotten older it’s been more difficult for me to maintain a sharp focus, a good visualization and see the shot.”
Phil Mickelson

Saturday’s quiz
Which NBA team did Dick Vitale coach?

Friday’s quiz
Nine years after he retired as a player, Hall of Famer Ted Williams took over as manager of the Washington Senators.

Thursday’s quiz
Steph Curry’s dad Dell Curry played 16 years in NBA; he played college ball at Virginia Tech.

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

Saturday’s Den: Clearing out a cluttered mind……..

13) Dodgers 2, Giants 1— Trevor Bauer gets big road win, but in top of 6th inning, he hit what looked like a line drive single to RF with two on and two out, which would’ve broken the game open. Instead, SF rightfielder Mike Yastrzemski fielded the ball on one hop, threw him out at first base- end of rally. You don’t see that very often.

12) Tampa Bay 9, Toronto 7 (12)— Francisco Mejía hit a grand slam in the 12th inning as the Rays won their 8th game in a row; Toronto walked Joey Wendle intentionally to pitch to Mejia.

11) Texas 7, Houston 5 (10)— Rookie Adolis García sent most of the 30,445 fans home happy with a walk-off homer, his 12th homer this season. Texas blew a 4-1 lead in 8th inning, but they win for only second time in their last 11 games.

10) Rockies 7, Diamondbacks 1— Arizona has lost its last 11 road games.

9) Reds 9, Brewers 4— Jesse Winker went 4-4, scored four runs, hit three solo homers.

8) Mets 6, Marlins 5 (12)- Rookie Khalil Lee hit a tie-breaking RBI double in the 12th inning, his first major league hit. Mets put Pete Alonso (hand) on the IL before the game.

7) Memphis 117, Golden State 112, OT
— Grizzlies led by 13 at the half.
— Ja Morant scored 35 for Memphis.
— Warriors wore jerseys that said “Oakland”; the logo at midcourt said “Oakland”; if they want to be Oakland so bad, why did they build their new arena in San Francisco?
— Grizzlies move on to play Utah in the playoffs.

6) There is a new pro basketball league in Africa; there are 12 teams in it, representing seven countries. Some of the games are shown on NBA TV, in early-morning hours.

5) Whatever happened to Yoenis Cespedes? He didn’t play at all in 2019 because of a leg injury, then opted out of last season after only eight games. Is he retired?

He’ll be 36 in October; if he is healthy, he could still help a team, but haven’t heard his name much at all lately. Maybe next year, if NL teams can have the DH, he will re-surface.

4) I had forgotten that when Brett Favre won his only Super Bowl with the Packers, his backup that year was Jim McMahon, who won a Super Bowl with the ’85 Bears, 11 years earlier.

3) Pitcher Tyler Ivey made his MLB debut with Houston Friday; he is the 19,998th player in major league history.

2) Tampa Bay/Milwaukee made a trade Friday:
— Rays get P’s J.P. Feyereisen, Drew Rasmussen
— Brewers get SS Willie Adames, P Trevor Richards

1) Braves 20, Pirates 1— Atlanta is first team ever with 7+ homers and two grand slams in the same game.

[Udog]

MLB
Weather Report

Saturday, May 22

[Udog]

901ARIZONA -902 COLORADO
COLORADO is 11-0 SU (11.6 Units) in home games vs. terrible speed teams - averaging 0.35 or less SB's/game in the current season.

903MILWAUKEE -904 CINCINNATI
CINCINNATI is 6-20 SU (-17.6 Units) vs. an overused bullpen that pitches more than 3.2 innings per game in the current season.

905PITTSBURGH -906 ATLANTA
ATLANTA is 4-20 SU (-15.4 Units) in home games vs. teams whose hitters strike out 7 or more times/game in the current season.

907NY METS -908 MIAMI
MIAMI is 119-88 SU (22.2 Units) in home games in day games since 1996.

909LA DODGERS -910 SAN FRANCISCO
SAN FRANCISCO is 15-3 SU (13.2 Units) vs. a starting pitcher whose strikes out 5 or more batters per start in the current season.

911CHICAGO CUBS -912 ST LOUIS
ST LOUIS are 51-50 SU (-4 Units) when the money line is -100 to -150 in the last 3 seasons.

913CHI WHITE SOX -914 NY YANKEES
NY YANKEES are 31-11 SU (23.7 Units) vs. teams outscoring opp by 1 or more runs/game on the season in the last 3 seasons.

915HOUSTON -916 TEXAS
TEXAS are 11-25 SU (-16.5 Units) when playing with a day off in the last 3 seasons.

917DETROIT -918 KANSAS CITY
DETROIT is 2-10 SU (-11.2 Units) in road games vs. teams averaging 2.75 or less extra base hits per game in the current season.

919MINNESOTA -920 CLEVELAND
MINNESOTA is 3-19 SU (-17.3 Units) vs. good fielding teams - averaging <=0.6 errors/game in the current season.

[Udog]

MLB
Dunkel

Saturday, May 22

[Udog]

MLB
Armadillo's Write-Up

Saturday, May 22

NL games
Milwaukee (21-23) @ Cincinnati (20-23)
— Anderson is 0-2, 9.00 in his last three starts (7 IP).
— Milwaukee is 3-3 in his starts.
— under 3-2-1
— allowed run in first inning: 2-6
— record in first 5 innings: 3-3
— He is 4-2, 4.34 in seven starts vs Cincinnati.

— Brewers lost 13 of their last 17 games.
— Milwaukee is 2-8 in its last ten road games.
— under 7-4-2 last 13 games.
— scored run in first inning: 10-44
— record in first 5 innings: 16-18-10

— Gray is 0-3, 4.25 in six starts.
— Reds are 3-3 in his starts.
— over 4-2
— allowed run in first inning: 1-6
— you’re reading ***************.com
— record in first 5 innings: 0-4-2
— He is 3-2, 2.49 in nine starts vs Milwaukee.

— Cincinnati is 3-6 in its last nine games.
— Reds are 4-10 in last 14 home games.
— Over 20-8-3 last 31 games
— scored run in first inning: 10-43
— record in first 5 innings: 14-22-7

Mets (21-17) @ Miami (20-24)
— Mets haven’t named a starter.

— Mets lost four of their last seven games.
— Mets are 7-6 in their last 13 road games.
— Over 8-5 last 13 road games.
— scored run in first inning: 6-38
— record in first 5 innings: 18-16-4

— Lopez is 1-2, 2.97 in his last six starts.
— Marlins are 3-6 in his starts
— under 4-1-1 last six
— allowed run in first inning: 1-9
— record in first 5 innings: 2-3-4
— He is 2-2, 5.27 in five starts against the Mets.

— Marlins won three of their last five games.
— Miami is 5-3 in their last eight home tilts.
— under 11-5-2 in their last 18 games
— scored run in first inning: 13-44
— record in first 5 innings: 17-19-8

Pittsburgh (18-26) @ Atlanta (20-24)
— Keller is 1-3, 7.16 in his last four starts.
— Pirates are 3-5 in his starts.
— under 4-4
— allowed run in first inning: 4-8
— record in first 5 innings: 2-4-2
— He gave up 6 runs in three IP, in his one start vs Atlanta.

— Pirates lost 15 of their last 21 games.
— Pittsburgh lost seven of its last ten road games.
— over 3-0 last three games
— scored run in first inning: 10-44
— record in first 5 innings: 14-22-8

— Wilson is 1-2, 6.00 in four starts.
— Braves are 1-3 in his starts.
— under 2-2
— allowed run in first inning: 2-4
— record in first 5 innings: 2-2
— He threw five shutout innings in his one start vs Pittsburgh.

— Braves lost seven of their last 11 games overall.
— Atlanta is 4-8 in its last 12 home games.
— Over is 17-8 in their home games.
— scored run in first inning: 15-45
— record in first 5 innings: 22-17-6

Cubs (23-21) @ St Louis (25-19)
— Alzolay is 2-1, 4.09 in his last four starts.
— Cubs are 3-4 in his starts.
— over 4-3
— allowed run in first inning: 1-7
— record in first 5 innings: 3-2-2
— He is 0-1, 2.35 in two starts vs St Louis.

— Cubs won six of their last eight games.
— Chicago is 7-12 on the road.
— Under is 8-5 in their last 13 games.
— scored run in first inning: 15-44
— record in first 5 innings: 20-18-6

— Mikolas is making his first ’21 start.
— He is 31-24, 3.82 in 101 games (74 starts)- he last pitched in 2019.
— Mikolas is 3-2, 1.57 in 10 games (8 starts) vs Chicago.

— Cardinals lost five of their last eight games.
— St Louis is 8-3 in its last 11 home games.
— Under 10-5-1 last 16 home games.
— scored run in first inning: 15-44
— record in first 5 innings: 21-16-7

Arizona (18-28) @ Colorado (16-29)
— Bumgarner is 4-1, 1.32 in his last six starts.
— Arizona is 4-5 in his starts
— over 5-4
— allowed run in first inning: 4-9
— record in first 5 innings: 5-3-1
— He is 1-1, 5.40 in two starts vs Colorado this season.

— Arizona lost 16 of its last 20 games- they scored 7 runs in last six games.
— Arizona lost its last 11 road games.
— under 7-2 last nine road games
— scored run in first inning: 8-46
— record in first 5 innings: 20-22-4

— Senzatela is 0-3, 5.64 in his last six starts.
— Colorado is 1-7 in his starts.
— under 5-3
— allowed run in first inning: 2-8
— record in first 5 innings: 1-5-2
— He is 3-6, 5.45 in 15 games (11 starts) vs Arizona.

— Colorado lost five of its last six games.
— Rockies are 10-6 in last 16 home games.
— over 9-3-1 last 13 home games.
— scored run in first inning: 16-45
— record in first 5 innings: 17-20-8

Dodgers (27-18) @ San Francisco (28-17)
— Buehler is 2-0, 2.98 in eight starts.
— Dodgers are 5-3 in his starts
— over 5-3
— allowed run in first inning: 2-6
— record in first 5 innings: 1-4-3
— He is 4-0, 3.00 in 7 games (5 starts) vs San Francisco.

— Dodgers won nine of their last ten games.
— Dodgers are 3-8 in last 11 road games.
— under 6-1 last seven games
— scored run in first inning: 10-45
— record in first 5 innings: 23-16-6

— Bullpen game for the Giants.

— Giants are 12-6 in their last 18 games.
— Giants are 14-5 at home.
— Under is 8-3 in their last 11 games.
— scored run in first inning: 13-45
— record in first 5 innings: 26-12-7

AL games
White Sox (26-17) @ Bronx (26-19)
— Cease is 2-0, 1.52 in his last four starts
— Chicago won his last five starts.
— over 5-2-1
— allowed run in first inning: 2-8
— record in first 5 innings: 4-1-3
— He hasn’t pitched against New York.

— Chicago is 14-8 in its last 22 games.
— White Sox are 9-4 in last 13 road games.
— under 6-3 last nine games.
— scored run in first inning: 14-43
— record in first 5 innings: 28-6-9

— Cole is 2-1, 1.71 in five home starts.
— New York is 5-4 in his starts.
— under 5-4
— allowed run in first inning: 1-9
— record in first 5 innings: 6-1-2
— He is 1-1, 6.00 in two starts vs Chicago.

— New York won seven of its last nine games.
— Their last three games were all 0-0 after 5th inning.
— New York is 8-2 in its last ten home games.
— under 6-2 last eight home games
— scored run in first inning: 10-45
— record in first 5 innings: 19-16-10

Minnesota (16-28) @ Cleveland (23-19)
— Maeda is 1-1, 7.83 in his last five starts.
— Indians are 2-6 in his starts.
— over 4-1 last five
— allowed run in first inning: 1-8
— record in first 5 innings: 2-3-3
— He is 3-1, 1.90 in four starts vs Cleveland

— Twins lost 26 of their last 37 games.
— Minnesota is 4-12 in last 16 road games.
— over 18-5 last 23 games
— scores run in first inning: 16-44
— record in first 5 innings: 16-19-9

— Bieber is 1-1, 4.67 in his last three starts.
— Indians are 6-3 in his starts.
— under 6-3
— allowed run in first inning: 2-9
— record in first 5 innings: 3-5-1
— He is 5-1, 3.51 in ten starts vs Minnesota.

— Cleveland lost five of its last seven games.
— Indians are 6-3 in their last nine home games.
— over 5-2 last seven games
— scores run in first inning: 10-42
— record in first 5 innings: 13-22-7

Tampa Bay (27-19) @ Toronto (23-20)
— McClanahan is 1-0, 4.67 in four starts (17.1 IP).
— Rays are 3-1 in his starts.
— over 2-2
— allowed run in first inning: 0-4
— record in first 5 innings: 2-0-2
— He hasn’t pitched against Toronto.

— Tampa Bay won its last eight games.
— Rays are 14-3 in last 17 road games.
— 10 of last 13 road games went over
— scored run in first inning: 11-46
— record in first 5 innings: 17-18-11

— Ray is 2-0, 4.44 in his last four starts.
— Toronto won his last four starts.
— under 4-3
— allowed run in first inning: 2-7
— record in first 5 innings: 3-2-2
— He is 0-1, 4.50 in three starts vs Tampa Bay.

— Toronto is 15-10 in its last 25 games.
— Toronto is 6-4 in last ten home games.
— over 15-7 last 22 games
— scored run in first inning: 15-43
— record in first 5 innings: 17-20-6

Houston (26-19) @ Texas (20-27)
— McCullers is 1-0, 1.64 in his last five starts.
— Houston won his last four starts.
— under 4-4
— allowed run in first inning: 1-8
— record in first 5 innings: 3-4-1
— He is 1-4, 3.73 in ten starts vs Texas.

— Astros won 12 of their last 16 games.
— Astros lost five of last eight road games.
— over 13-5 last 18 games
— scored run in first inning: 16-45
— record in first 5 innings: 24-14-7

— Lyles is 1-1, 4.95 in his last four starts.
— Texas is 5-4 in his starts.
— under 3-0 last three
— allowed run in first inning: 4-9
— record in first 5 innings: 4-5
— He is 1-1, 3.47 in five games (3 starts) vs Houston.

— Texas lost nine of its last 11 games.
— Texas lost three of last four home games.
— under 15-9 at home.
— scored run in first inning: 12-47
— record in first 5 innings: 16-22-9

Detroit (18-26) @ Kansas City (20-23)
— Boyd is 0-3, 3.86 in his last four starts.
— Detroit is 3-5 in his starts.
— under 5-3
— allowed run in first inning: 0-8
— record in first 5 innings: 4-4
— He is 7-10, 5.43 in 24 starts vs Kansas City.

— Detroit won nine of its last 11 games.
— Detroit is 5-7 in its last 12 road games.
— over 7-3-1 last 11 road games
— scored run in first inning: 8-44
— record in first 5 innings: 6-0 last six road games

— Singer is 0-1, 5.40 in his last four starts.
— Kansas City is 2-6 in his starts.
— over 3-1 last four starts
— allowed run in first inning: 0-8
— record in first 5 innings: 2-5-1
— He is 3-0, 2.54 in five starts vs Detroit.

— Royals lost 14 of their last 18 games overall.
— Royals lost eight of their last ten home games.
— six of last nine games stayed under
— scores run in first inning: 9-43
— record in first 5 innings: 16-20-7

Oakland (27-19) @ Angels (19-26)
— Bassitt is 2-0, 3.41 in his last six starts.
— A’s are 6-3 in his starts.
— under 5-4
— allowed run in first inning: 3-9
— record in first 5 innings: 4-2-3
— He is 3-3, 5.15 in nine games (7 starts) against the Angels.

— A’s are 8-5 in their last 13 games.
— Oakland is 6-2 in its last eight road games.
— Under is 9-4-1 in their last 14 road games.
— scored run in first inning: 13-46
— record in first 5 innings: 18-17-11

— Bundy is 0-5, 7.18 in his last six starts.
— Angels are 2-6 in his starts.
— under 6-2
— allowed run in first inning: 2-8
— record in first 5 innings: 1-6-1
— He is 4-1, 3.45 in 8 games (seven starts) vs Oakland.

— Halos are 6-14 in last 20 games overall.
— Angels are 4-10 in their last 14 home games.
— over 11-3 last 14 home games
— scored run in first inning: 12-45
— record in first 5 innings: 18-24-4

Interleague games
Baltimore (17-27) @ Washington (18-23)
— Zimmerman is 0-3, 6.50 in his last four starts.
— Orioles are 1-5 in his starts.
— under 3-3
— allowed run in first inning: 3-6
— record in first 5 innings: 2-2-2
— He hasn’t pitched against Washington.

— Orioles lost 13 of their last 17 games.
— Baltimore is 11-9 on the road, 6-18 at home.
— over is 7-1 in their last eight games.
— scored run in first inning: 12-44
— record in first 5 innings: 16-20-8

— Lester is 0-2, 3.80 in four starts.
— Washington is 1-3 in his starts.
— under 3-1
— allowed run in first inning: 2-4
— record in first 5 innings: 1-2-1
— He is 15-4, 2.78 in 27 starts vs Baltimore.

— Washington lost 11 of its last 17 games.
— Nationals are 2-5 in last seven home games.
— under 14-6 last 20 games
— scored run in first inning: 10-41
— record in first 5 innings: 14-17-10

Boston (28-18) @ Philadelphia (22-23)
— Eovaldi is 0-0, 6.46 in his last three starts.
— Red Sox are 5-4 in his starts.
— over 5-4
— allowed run in first inning: 2-9
— record in first 5 innings: 5-2-2
— He is 3-4, 3.36 in ten starts vs Philly.

— Boston is 6-5 in its last 11 games.
— Red Sox won six of its last eight road games.
— under 7-4-1 last 12 games
— scored run in first inning: 15-46
— record in first 5 innings: 22-15-9

— Howard is making his first ‘21 start.
— He was 1-2, 5.92 in six starts as a rookie LY.
— He hasn’t pitched against Boston.

— Phillies lost six of their last eight games.
— Phillies are 14-9 at home, 8-14 on road.
— over 8-5 last 13 home games.
— scored run in first inning: 18-45
— record in first 5 innings: 14-21-10

Seattle (21-24) @ San Diego (28-17)
— Sheffield is 0-2, 7.71 in three road starts.
— Seattle is 4-3 in his starts.
— under 4-2-1
— allowed run in first inning: 1-7
— record in first 5 innings: 4-3
— He allowed one run in six IP, in his one start vs San Diego.

— Seattle is 6-12 in its last 18 games.
— Seattle is 2-9 in its last 11 road games.
— over 7-4-2 last 13 games
— scored run in first inning: 14-45
— record in first 5 innings: 17-23-5

— Weathers is 2-1, 1.37 in nine games (4 starts)
— Padres are 3-1 in his starts.
— over 3-1
— allowed run in first inning: 1-4
— record in first 5 innings: 4-0
— He hasn’t pitched against Seattle.

— Padres are 15-5 in their last 20 games.
— San Diego is 11-2 in its last 13 home games.
— over 9-4 last 13 games
— scored run in first inning: 13-45
— record in first 5 innings: 19-19-7

Saturday’s umpires
Az-Col: Over is 5-0 in Merzel games.
Mil-Cin: Home side won six of last seven Kulpa games.
NY-Mia: Under is 5-1 in last six Marquez games.
Pitt-Atl: Under is 7-1 in Holbrook games.
Chi-StL: Over is 4-1 in last five Cuzzi games.
LA-SF: Favorites are 5-1 in DeJesus games.

Chi-NY: Underdogs are 5-2 in Tichenor games.
Hst-Tex: Under is 6-3 in Eddings games.
Det-KC: Home side won last five LBarrett games.
Minn-Clev: Home side won five of last six Hamari games.
TB-Tor: Under is 11-6 in last 17 Hickox games.
A’s-LAA: Under is 5-1 in Wolcott games.

Balt-Wsh: Under is 9-6 in last 15 Tumpane games.
Bos-Phil: Last three Barry games went over the total.
Sea-SD: Over is 7-3 in TBarrett games.

[Udog]

MLB

Saturday, May 22

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Trend Report
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Chi White Sox @ NY Yankees
Chi White Sox
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Chi White Sox's last 7 games when playing on the road against NY Yankees
Chi White Sox is 5-2 SU in its last 7 games on the road
NY Yankees
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of NY Yankees's last 7 games when playing at home against Chi White Sox
NY Yankees is 8-2 SU in its last 10 games at home

Arizona @ Colorado
Arizona
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Arizona's last 7 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Arizona's last 6 games
Colorado
Colorado is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games at home
Colorado is 7-2 ATS in its last 9 games

Baltimore @ Washington
Baltimore
The total has gone OVER in 7 of Baltimore's last 8 games
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Baltimore's last 6 games on the road
Washington
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Washington's last 5 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Washington's last 8 games when playing at home against Baltimore

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

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

Minnesota @ Cleveland
Minnesota
The total has gone OVER in 9 of Minnesota's last 10 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 7 of Minnesota's last 8 games
Cleveland
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Cleveland's last 6 games when playing Minnesota
Cleveland is 6-2 ATS in its last 8 games when playing at home against Minnesota

NY Mets @ Miami
NY Mets
NY Mets is 6-1 ATS in its last 7 games when playing on the road against Miami
NY Mets is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games when playing on the road against Miami
Miami
Miami is 6-1 ATS in its last 7 games when playing NY Mets
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Miami's last 6 games when playing at home against NY Mets

Detroit @ Kansas City
Detroit
Detroit is 8-1 ATS in its last 9 games when playing on the road against Kansas City
Detroit is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games on the road
Kansas City
The total has gone UNDER in 14 of Kansas City's last 17 games when playing Detroit
Kansas City is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games

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

LA Dodgers @ San Francisco
LA Dodgers
LA Dodgers is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
LA Dodgers is 8-1 SU in its last 9 games when playing on the road against San Francisco
San Francisco
San Francisco is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games
San Francisco is 6-1 ATS in its last 7 games at home

Boston @ Philadelphia
Boston
Boston is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Philadelphia
Boston is 6-1 ATS in its last 7 games when playing Philadelphia
Philadelphia
The total has gone UNDER in 8 of Philadelphia's last 11 games
The total has gone UNDER in 10 of Philadelphia's last 14 games when playing Boston

Chi Cubs @ St. Louis
Chi Cubs
Chi Cubs is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games
Chi Cubs is 7-1 ATS in its last 8 games on the road
St. Louis
The total has gone OVER in 5 of St. Louis's last 6 games
St. Louis is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games at home

Tampa Bay @ Toronto
Tampa Bay
Tampa Bay is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games
Tampa Bay is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
Toronto
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Toronto's last 5 games
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Toronto's last 5 games at home

Seattle @ San Diego
Seattle
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Seattle's last 7 games when playing on the road against San Diego
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Seattle's last 6 games on the road
San Diego
San Diego is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
San Diego is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home

Oakland @ LA Angels
Oakland
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Oakland's last 5 games
Oakland is 6-1 ATS in its last 7 games on the road
LA Angels
The total has gone OVER in 6 of LA Angels's last 7 games
The total has gone OVER in 5 of LA Angels's last 6 games at home


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

[Udog]

Diamond Trends for Saturday May 22
Vince Akins

SU Play ON Trend of the Day
Matchup: Minnesota at Cleveland (4:10 p.m. ET)

-- The Twins are 13-0 SU since Oct 02, 2016 past the first game of a series on the road after they shut out their opponent last game.

SU Play AGAINST Trend of the Day
Matchup: Arizona at Colorado (3:10 p.m. ET)

-- The Rockies are 0-13 SU since Aug 14, 2020 as a dog after they scored in at least four separate innings last game.

OU Trend of the Day
Matchup: N.Y. Mets at Miami (4:10 p.m. ET)

-- The Marlins are 0-8-3 OU (-2.55 ppg) since Apr 18, 2021 past the first game of a series after they used 5+ pitchers last game.

Starter-Based Trend of the Day
Matchup: Minnesota at Cleveland (4:10 p.m. ET)

-- The Indians are 9-0 SU since Sep 04, 2019 when Shane Bieber starts when they scored less than 3 runs in his last start.

Trends are verified using Sports Data Query Language (SDQL)

[Udog]

Sunday’s 6-pack
Odds on random college football games this fall:
Sept 4— Penn State @ Wisconsin (-3.5)
Sept 11— Stanford @ USC (-10)
Sept 18— Alabama @ Florida (-11)
Sept 25— West Virginia @ Oklahoma (-17)
Oct 2— Nevada @ Boise State (-6)
Oct 9— Georgia (-4) vs Auburn

Quote of the Day
“If it was a nobody, they would put him in health and safety protocols. Ain’t no (bleep)ing way LeBron James is going to be sit out because of health and safety protocols.”
Charles Barkley

Sunday’s quiz
What famous actor plays the losing attorney in A Few Good Men?

Saturday’s quiz
Dick Vitale was 34-60 as coach of the Detroit Pistons, from 1978-80.

Friday’s quiz
Nine years after he retired as a player, Hall of Famer Ted Williams took over as manager of the Washington Senators.

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

Sunday’s Den: Wrapping up a sports Saturday

13) Next wave of change in major league baseball figures to be some losing teams ditching their over-educated “executives” and bringing back old school baseball people to put together rosters and lineups. Overachieving teams either do something different, or they do things better.

Some of these cruddy teams are playing badly for one simple reason; they have bad players, or players who aren’t ready to be major leaguers yet.

Seattle insists on batting their big prospect Jarred Kelenic leadoff; problem is, he is hitting .139, Drop him down in the order, take some pressure off him, maybe score more runs.

12) Indians 5, Twins 3 (10):
— Cesar Hernandez walked it off with a home run.
— Minnesota is now 0-8 in extra innings.

11) I don’t have numbers on this, but seems to me that base umpires are calling more and more strikes on check swing appeals. The end of the bat always looks like it goes too far, even if the batter’s hands don’t commit to the swing.

10) Dwight Gooden’s son is a sophomore in high school who is rising up the recruiters’ charts as a pass rusher; the kid is 6-foot-6, and he is getting recruiting attention from several top 20 teams.

At first, Dylan Gooden wanted to be a WR, but his dad talked some sense to him, he switched to defense and now he figures to be a highly sought after recruit.

9) Bucks 109, Heat 107, OT:
— Miami took 50 3-pointers, 49 2-point shots.
— Milwaukee was +13 on the boards.
— Miami’s bench outscored the Bucks’ subs, 39-15.

8) Mavericks 113, Clippers 103:
— Dallas made 17 of 36 shots on the arc.
— Clippers’ five starters were a combined minus-70.
— Luka Doncic scored 31 points, had a triple-double.

7) Nets 104, Celtics 93:
— Brooklyn outscored Celtics 57-40 in second half.
— Blake Griffin played 20:00, didn’t take a shot from floor, was 1-2 on foul line.
— Jayson Tatum was 6-20 from the floor; not good enough.

6) Trailblazers 123, Nuggets 109:
— Blazers played only eight guys, not a lot.
— Carmelp Anthony scored 18 points in 22:00 off the bench.
— Funny how Portland’s star G’s went to Weber State/Lehigh.

5) When the Braves led Atlanta 20-1 the other night. Ronald Acuna wanted to take an at-bat left-handed, but manager Brian Snitker wouldn’t let him do it. Javier Baez has done this a couple of times, when hitting against a position player who was pitching in a blowout.

4) Modern baseball: Mets-Miami were scoreless after four innings; Joey Lucchesi had mowed the Marlins down on 43 pitches, allowing only one baserunner, but the Mets took him out after the 4th inning.

Lucchesi has started 61 big league games, he’s a capable big leaguer, I don’t care what the pencil pushers say— he faced only 12 batters by the way.

3) Rockies 7, Arizona 6— Diamondbacks have lost 12 in a row on the road.

2) Nationals 12, Orioles 9— Baltimore scored five runs in top of the first, but were trailing by the 4th inning- except for John Means, their pitching is terrible.

1) Cubs played St Louis on FOX last night; they had Anthony Rizzo miked, which irritates the hell out of me. Is it that difficult to concentrate on your job instead of yukking it up for the cameras? Not like Rizzo is killing the ball this year; little more focus wouldn’t hurt, and if that makes me the miserable old guy sitting on my porch, then so be it.

[Udog]

MLB
Weather Report

Sunday, May 23