Saturday’s 6-pack
Major league leaders in batting average (minimum 30 AB’s):
.429— Yermin Mercedes, CWS
.408— Brandon Nimmo, NYM
.394— Ronald Acuna Jr, Atl
.393— Mike Trout, LAA
.382— Jesse Winker, Cin
.381— Vladimir Guerrero Jr, Tor
Americans who have died from COVID-19: 570,987
PLEASE wear a mask (over your nose/mouth) when you go out.
Quote of the Day
“I get frustrated. I feel like there are a lot of people in the draft [where] some guys get a pass and some guys don’t. Certainly people have taken shots at Justin.”
Ohio State coach Ryan Day, talking about Justin Fields’ draft status with the media
Saturday’s quiz
In the history of major league baseball, who has pitched in the most games?
Hint: He was a reliever; not in the Hall of Fame, no longer active
Friday’s quiz
Mark Grace led the major leagues in hits from 1990-99.
Thursday’s quiz
When the Cubs won the World Series in 2016, they beat Cleveland.
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Saturday’s Den: Clearing out a cluttered mind…….
— Got my first vaccine shot Friday morning. Allow me to preach for a few minutes:
Left my house at 9:15am; walked back in the house at 10:17am.
Drove to a ****, walked into the clearly marked area; military people were all over to guide me to the right place.
Gave the people my information, waited on line for a few minutes, got my shot, sat in a waiting area for 15 minutes and decompressed, then I went home.
Second shot is in three weeks; very simple process. Very well-organized site.
I encourage EVERYONE to get vaccinated, so our lives can get back to normal.
— One of the amusing things about being old(ER) is how young people sometimes talk to me.
I gave the guy my phone number to put in the computer; “Is that a landline or a cellphone?”
“Sir, do you have E. MAIL?” Like it is a foreign language or something.
Oy.
— Over the last four seasons, Jacob deGrom has 33 no-decisions in 80 starts; his ERA in those 33 no-decisions is 1.74, which is pretty remarkable.
— Los Angeles Dodger pinch hitters are 0-18 this season, with two walks.
— Dodgers’ SS Corey Seager is 11-20 against Colorado this season.
Corey Seager is 1-21 against San Diego this season.
— Dodgers have been favored to win their last 99 games, the longest-such streak in the last five years.
— Friday night. Tampa Bay P Tyler Glasnow became the first big league pitcher since 1902 (1902!!!) to give up 4+ runs in the first inning of a game, while also striking out four batters in that same inning.
— Thursday night, Seattle Mariners scored 7 runs on 3 hits; they’re the first team since 1994 to score 7+ runs on 3 or fewer hits.
— Houston Astros’ SS Carlos Correa is a free agent this winter; he’s already turned down a deal worth $125M over five years, figured he’ll make more than that in free agency.
Here’s the thing: Correa has played more than 110 games in a season ONCE in his career, and that was way back in 2016. One of the best abilities is availability; Correa has been productive in playoff games, but if you want to bank $30M a year, you need to be productive most every day.
— Kansas City Chiefs/Baltimore Ravens made a trade Friday:
Chiefs get:
— Pro Bowl tackle Orlando Brown
— A 2021 2nd-round pick (# 58)
— A 2022 6th-round pick.
Ravens get:
— KC’s 2021 1st-round pick (#31 overall),
— KC’s 3rd-round pick (#94)
— KC’s 4th-round pick (#136)
— A 2022 5th-round pick
— Memphis 130, Portland 128— These teams are playing each other three times in six days, which is very weird scheduling by the NBA.
— Random trivia: actor George Clooney is the nephew of the famous singer Rosemary Clooney; apparently, I’m the only person in America who didn’t know this.
— When I was a kid, people were always saying how you should aspire to be a doctor or a lawyer, jobs where you make a lot of money. Sound advice.
If I was advising a young person, I’d tell him to become a beer distributor; you still make a lot of money, and you ain’t ever going to run out of customers. Plus, it doesn’t require graduate school.
When I was a kid, two guys in my neighborhood drove Cadillacs:
— Mr Reilly, who owned two funeral homes
— Mr Oliver, the beer distributor
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Good Rance! Looking forward to Stardust Bum Returning with his Picks!Leave a comment:
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Diamond Trends for Friday April 23
Vince Akins
SU Play ON Trend of the Day
Matchup: Washington ay N.Y. Mets (7:10 p.m. ET)
-- The Nationals are 11-0 SU since Jun 12, 2011 on the road when they are off two straight one-run wins.
SU Play AGAINST Trend of the Day
Matchup: Pittsburgh at Minnesota (8:10 p.m. ET)
-- The Pirates are 0-9 SU since Jun 02, 2019 when they are one game below 500.
OU Trend of the Day
Matchup: Seattle at Boston (7:10 p.m. ET)
-- The Red Sox are 11-0 OU (3.86 ppg) since Aug 12, 2020 at home after they allowed 5+ walks last game.
Starter-Based Trend of the Day
Matchup: Miami at San Francisco (9:45 p.m. ET)
-- The Marlins are 0-10 OU (-3.50 ppg) since Sep 13, 2018 when Sandy Alcantara starts in the regular season after he had a WHIP of less than 1.00 in his last start.
Trends are verified using Sports Data Query Language (SDQL)Leave a comment:
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MLB
Friday, April 23
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Trend Report
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Milwaukee @ Chi Cubs
Milwaukee
Milwaukee is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games on the road
Milwaukee is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games on the road
Chi Cubs
Chi Cubs is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games
Chi Cubs is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games
Oakland @ Baltimore
Oakland
Oakland is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing Baltimore
Oakland is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
Baltimore
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Baltimore's last 7 games when playing Oakland
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Baltimore's last 7 games
Seattle @ Boston
Seattle
Seattle is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games on the road
Seattle is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games
Boston
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Boston's last 5 games when playing Seattle
Boston is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games when playing at home against Seattle
NY Yankees @ Cleveland
NY Yankees
The total has gone OVER in 5 of NY Yankees's last 5 games when playing Cleveland
The total has gone OVER in 5 of NY Yankees's last 5 games when playing on the road against Cleveland
Cleveland
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Cleveland's last 5 games when playing at home against NY Yankees
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Cleveland's last 5 games when playing NY Yankees
Kansas City @ Detroit
Kansas City
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Kansas City's last 5 games when playing on the road against Detroit
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Kansas City's last 5 games on the road
Detroit
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Detroit's last 5 games when playing at home against Kansas City
The total has gone UNDER in 8 of Detroit's last 9 games when playing Kansas City
Washington @ NY Mets
Washington
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Washington's last 6 games when playing NY Mets
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Washington's last 6 games
NY Mets
The total has gone OVER in 5 of NY Mets's last 6 games when playing Washington
The total has gone OVER in 4 of NY Mets's last 5 games when playing at home against Washington
Toronto @ Tampa Bay
Toronto
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Toronto's last 5 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Toronto's last 5 games
Tampa Bay
Tampa Bay is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games
Tampa Bay is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games
Arizona @ Atlanta
Arizona
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Arizona's last 7 games when playing on the road against Atlanta
Arizona is 6-1 ATS in its last 7 games on the road
Atlanta
The total has gone OVER in 9 of Atlanta's last 10 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Atlanta's last 7 games when playing at home against Arizona
Texas @ Chi White Sox
Texas
Texas is 7-1 ATS in its last 8 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Texas's last 6 games when playing on the road against Chi White Sox
Chi White Sox
Chi White Sox is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games when playing at home against Texas
Chi White Sox is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games when playing at home against Texas
LA Angels @ Houston
LA Angels
The total has gone OVER in 5 of LA Angels's last 5 games when playing on the road against Houston
The total has gone OVER in 10 of LA Angels's last 11 games when playing Houston
Houston
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Houston's last 5 games when playing at home against LA Angels
The total has gone OVER in 10 of Houston's last 11 games when playing LA Angels
Pittsburgh @ Minnesota
Pittsburgh
The total has gone OVER in 7 of Pittsburgh's last 10 games when playing Minnesota
The total has gone OVER in 7 of Pittsburgh's last 10 games when playing on the road against Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games when playing Pittsburgh
Minnesota is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Pittsburgh
Cincinnati @ St. Louis
Cincinnati
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Cincinnati's last 6 games
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Cincinnati's last 5 games when playing St. Louis
St. Louis
St. Louis is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games
The total has gone OVER in 4 of St. Louis's last 5 games when playing Cincinnati
Philadelphia @ Colorado
Philadelphia
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Philadelphia's last 5 games when playing on the road against Colorado
Philadelphia is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games at home
Colorado is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games
Miami @ San Francisco
Miami
The total has gone UNDER in 8 of Miami's last 9 games when playing San Francisco
Miami is 6-1 ATS in its last 7 games on the road
San Francisco
San Francisco is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games
The total has gone UNDER in 8 of San Francisco's last 9 games when playing Miami
San Diego @ LA Dodgers
San Diego
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of San Diego's last 5 games
San Diego is 7-2 ATS in its last 9 games on the road
LA Dodgers
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of LA Dodgers's last 5 games
LA Dodgers is 7-1 SU in its last 8 games at home
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MLB
Armadillo's Write-Up
Friday, April 23
NL games
Milwaukee (11-7) @ Cubs (9-9)
— Anderson is 2-1, 3.18 in his first three starts.
— Milwaukee is 2-1 in his starts.
— over 1-1-1
— allowed run in first inning: 0-3
— record in first 5 innings: 2-1
— He is 1-2, 3.55 in five starts vs Chicago.
— Brewers won 10 of their last 14 games.
— Milwaukee is 7-2 on road.
— under 7-2 on road.
— scored run in first inning: 6-18
— record in first 5 innings: 9-6-3
— Hendricks is 0-2, 6.92 in three starts.
— Cubs are 0-3 in his starts.
— over 2-1
— allowed run in first inning: 2-3
— record in first 5 innings: 0-2-1
— He is 9-6, 2.72 in 24 starts vs Milwaukee.
— Cubs won four of their last five games.
— Chicago is 7-5 at home.
— 12 of last 17 games stayed under the total.
— scored run in first inning: 5-18
— record in first 5 innings: 8-9-1
Washington (7-9) @ Mets (7-7)
— Fedde is 1-1, 6.35 in his three starts.
— Nationals are 2-1 in his starts.
— under 2-1
— allowed run in first inning: 1-3
— record in first 5 innings: 1-1-1
— He is 0-1, 5.19 in 8 games (3 starts) vs New York.
— Washington won four of its last six games.
— Nationals are 2-4 on the road.
— under 10-4 last 14 games
— scored run in first inning: 4-16
— record in first 5 innings: 3-7-6
— deGrom is 1-1, 1.80 in his first three starts.
— Mets are 1-2 in his starts.
— over 1-1-1
— allowed run in first inning: 0-3
— record in first 5 innings: 1-2
— He is 8-4, 2.61 in 20 starts vs Washington.
— Mets lost four of their last five games.
— Mets are 4-1 at home.
— Under 4-1 at home.
— scored run in first inning: 3-14
— record in first 5 innings: 7-7
Arizona (9-10) @ Atlanta (8-10)
— Weaver is 1-1, 3.78 in three starts.
— Arizona is 2-1 in his starts
— under 2-1
— allowed run in first inning: 0-3
— record in first 5 innings: 1-2
— He is 1-1, 4.86 in three starts vs Atlanta.
— Arizona won its last four games.
— Arizona is 7-7 on the road.
— over 4-0 last four games
— scored run in first inning: 4-19
— record in first 5 innings: 9-9-1
— Wright allowed two runs in 4.1 IP (78 PT) in his first start.
— Braves are 1-0 in his starts.
— under 1-0
— allowed run in first inning: 0-1
— record in first 5 innings: 1-0
— He gave up a run in one inning in relief vs Arizona.
— Braves won four of their last six games.
— Atlanta is 3-4 at home.
— Over is 6-1 in their home games.
— scored run in first inning: 7-18
— record in first 5 innings: 6-7-5
Cincinnati (9-9) @ St Louis (8-10)
— Gray allowed two runs in 4.1 IP in his first start (71 PT).
— Reds are 1-0 in his starts.
— under 1-0
— allowed run in first inning: 0-1
— you’re reading ***************.com
— record in first 5 innings: 0-1
— He is 1-2, 3.86 in five starts vs St Louis.
— Cincinnati lost four in row, 8 of its last 11 games.
— Reds are 7-5 at home, 2-4 on road.
— Over 5-1 last six games
— scored run in first inning: 5-18
— record in first 5 innings: 9-8-1
— Kim allowed three runs in three IP in his first start (68 PT).
— Cardinals won his first start, 9-4.
— over 1-0
— allowed run in first inning: 1-1
— record in first 5 innings: 1-0
— He threw 11 shutout innings in two starts vs Cincinnati LY.
— Cardinals lost eight of their last 11 games.
— St Louis is 2-4 at home.
— Under 3-1 last four games.
— scored run in first inning: 3-18
— record in first 5 innings: 5-10-3
Philadelphia (9-9) @ Colorado (6-12)
— Velasquez is making his first ’21 start.
— He is 28-35, 4.74 in 134 MLB games (106 starts)
— He is 2-1, 4.97 in seven starts vs Colorado, 1-1, 5.31 in four starts at Coors Field.
— Phillies lost eight of their last 12 games.
— Phillies are 1-5 on road.
— 10 of last 15 games went over.
— scored run in first inning: 6-18
— record in first 5 innings: 7-9-2
— Marquez is 1-1, 3.57 in four starts.
— Colorado is 2-2 in his starts.
— over 3-1
— allowed run in first inning: 1-4
— record in first 5 innings: 2-2
— He is 2-1, 3.38 in four starts vs Philly.
— Colorado won three of its last four games.
— Rockies are 6-5 at home.
— Under 10-3-1 last 14 games.
— scored run in first inning: 5-18
— record in first 5 innings: 9-7-2
Miami (8-10) @ San Francisco (12-7)
— Alcantra is 0-1, 3.65 in his first four starts.
— Marlins are 2-2 in his starts.
— under 3-1
— allowed run in first inning: 1-4
— record in first 5 innings: 2-1-1
— He is 0-1, 2.70 in four games (3 starts) vs San Francisco.
— Marlins won seven of their last 11 games.
— Miami is 4-3 on the road.
— under 4-2 last six games
— scored run in first inning: 5-18
— record in first 5 innings: 7-6-5
— Webb is 0-1, 5.65 in his first three starts.
— Giants are 2-1 in his starts.
— under 2-1
— allowed run in first inning: 0-3
— record in first 5 innings: 0-2-1
— He hasn’t pitched against Miami.
— Giants are 9-4 in their last 13 games.
— Giants are 6-1 at home.
— 13 of last 17 games stayed under
— scored run in first inning: 3-19
— record in first 5 innings: 8-8-3
San Diego (11-10) @ Dodgers (14-5)
— Darvish is 1-1, 1.35 in his last three starts.
— Padres are 3-1 in his starts.
— over 2-2
— allowed run in first inning: 1-4
— record in first 5 innings: 0-2-2
— Darvish is 0-1, 1.29 in two starts vs LA.
— Padres lost six of their last nine games.
— San Diego is 6-2 on the road.
— 14 of last 19 games stayed under
— scored run in first inning: 5-21
— record in first 5 innings: 7-12-2
— Kershaw is 2-0, 0.47 in his last three starts.
— Dodgers won three of his first four starts.
— under 3-1
— allowed run in first inning: 1-4
— record in first 5 innings: 3-1
— He is 22-7, 1.99 in 41 starts vs San Diego.
— Dodgers lost three of their last four games.
— Dodgers are 6-1 at home.
— under 11-3 last 14 games
— scored run in first inning: 5-19
— record in first 5 innings: 11-6-2
AL games
Oakland (12-7) @ Baltimore (8-10)
— Irvin is 1-12, 4.60 in his first three starts.
— A’s lost two of his three starts.
— under 2-1
— allowed run in first inning: 1-3
— record in first 5 innings: 1-2
— He hasn’t pitched against Baltimore.
— A’s won their last 11 games.
— All seven of their losses are by 4+ runs.
— Oakland won its last four road games.
— Seven of last 11 games went over.
— scored run in first inning: 5-19
— record in first 5 innings: 8-8-3
— Lopez is 1-2, 9.00 in three starts.
— Orioles are 1-2 in his starts.
— under 2-1
— allowed run in first inning: 0-3
— record in first 5 innings: 1-2
— He is 0-1, 8.22 in 2 games (1 start) vs Oakland.
— Orioles lost 10 of their last 15 games.
— Baltimore is 7-4 on the road, 1-6 at home.
— over is 4-2-1 in their home games.
— scored run in first inning: 5-18
— record in first 5 innings: 7-7-4
Kansas City (10-7) @ Detroit (7-12)
— Minor is 1-1, 5.17 in three starts.
— Royals are 2-1 in his starts.
— under 2-1
— allowed run in first inning: 2-3
— record in first 5 innings: 0-2-1
— He is 1-2, 4.82 in 9 games (3 starts) vs Detroit.
— Royals are 10-7 in their first 16 games.
— Royals are 2-2 on the road.
— 10 of last 14 games under
— scores run in first inning: 3-17
— record in first 5 innings: 6-8-3
— Mize is 1-1, 3.38 in three starts.
— Detroit is 2-1 in his starts.
— under 3-0
— allowed run in first inning: 1-3
— record in first 5 innings: 2-1
— He hasn’t pitched against Kansas City.
— Detroit lost nine of its last 13 games.
— Detroit is 4-5 at home.
— under 6-3 at home
— scored run in first inning: 3-9 at home
— record in first 5 innings: 6-2-1 at home
Bronx (7-11) @ Cleveland (8-9)
— Montgomery is 1-1, 4.08 in three starts.
— Bronx is 2-1 in his starts.
— over 2-1
— allowed run in first inning: 0-3
— record in first 5 innings: 0-3
— He is 0-1, 5.00 in two starts vs Cleveland.
— New York lost nine of its last 13 games.
— New York is 3-4 on the road.
— under 3-1 last four games
— scored run in first inning: 1-18
— record in first 5 innings: 6-9-3
— Allen is 1-2, 6.00 in three starts.
— Indians are 1-2 when he starts.
— under 2-1
— allowed run in first inning: 1-3
— record in first 5 innings: 1-2
— He hasn’t pitched against New York.
— Cleveland lost five of their last seven games.
— Indians are 4-3 at home.
— under 11-6
— scores run in first inning: 4-17
— record in first 5 innings: 5-10-2
Seattle (12-7) @ Boston (12-8)
— Kikuchi is 0-0, 4.74 in three starts.
— Seattle is 2-1 in his starts.
— over 2-1
— allowed run in first inning: 0-3
— record in first 5 innings: 1-1-1
— He allowed 3 runs (2 earned) in six IP, in his one start vs Boston.
— Seattle won six of its last eight games.
— Seattle is 6-2 on the road.
— under 5-2-1 last eight games
— scored run in first inning: 3-19
— record in first 5 innings: 6-11-2
— Perez is 0-1, 5.93 in three starts.
— Red Sox are 2-1 in his starts.
— under 2-1
— allowed run in first inning: 1-3
— record in first 5 innings: 0-2-1
— He is 8-5, 3.42 in 23 games (21 starts) vs Seattle.
— Boston won 12 of its last 17 games.
— Red Sox are 6-4 in last ten home games.
— under 4-2 last six games
— scored run in first inning: 4-20
— record in first 5 innings: 7-9-4
Toronto (8-10) @ Tampa Bay (10-9)
— Matz is 3-0, 1.47 in his first three starts.
— Toronto is 3-0 in his starts.
— under 2-1
— allowed run in first inning: 0-3
— record in first 5 innings: 3-0
— He is 0-1, 2.45 in 2 games (1 start) vs Tampa Bay.
— Toronto lost four of its last six games.
— Toronto is 5-7 on the road.
— under 13-5
— scored run in first inning: 6-18
— record in first 5 innings: 6-10-2
— Glasnow is 2-0, 0.74 in his first four starts.
— Rays are 3-1 in his starts.
— over 2-2
— allowed run in first inning: 1-4
— record in first 5 innings: 2-0-2
— He is 0-2, 6.17 in six starts vs Toronto.
— Tampa Bay won five of its last six games.
— Rays are 3-4 at home.
— 13 of last 18 games went over
— scored run in first inning: 5-19
— record in first 5 innings: 9-5-5
Texas (9-10) @ White Sox (9-9)
— Dunning is 1-0, 0.60 in his first three starts (15 IP).
— Texas is 1-2 in his starts.
— under 2-1
— allowed run in first inning: 1-3
— record in first 5 innings: 2-0-1
— He hasn’t pitched against the White Sox.
— Texas won six of its last nine games.
— Texas won five of its last six road games.
— under 10-6 last 16 games
— scored run in first inning: 4-19
— record in first 5 innings: 10-7-2
— Cease is 0-0, 3.86 in his first three starts (14 IP).
— Chicago is 0-3 in his starts.
— over 2-1
— allowed run in first inning: 1-3
— record in first 5 innings: 0-1-2
— He gave up three runs in six IP in his one start vs Texas.
— Chicago won three of its last four games.
— White Sox are 3-3 at home.
— under 5-1 at home.
— scored run in first inning: 6-18
— record in first 5 innings: 12-2-4
Angels (9-8) @ Houston (8-10)
— Heaney is 1-0, 1.54 in his last two starts.
— Angels are 2-1 in his starts.
— over 2-1
— allowed run in first inning: 0-3
— record in first 5 innings: 2-1
— He is 3-3, 3.28 in nine starts vs Houston.
— Halos are 3-6 in last nine games overall.
— Angels lost four of last five road games.
— over 4-1 last five games
— scored run in first inning: 4-17
— record in first 5 innings: 7-8-2
— Grienke is 2-1, 2.81 in four starts.
— Astros are 3-1 in his starts.
— under 1-1
— allowed run in first inning: 1-4
— record in first 5 innings: 2-1-1
— He is 6-5, 3.99 in 16 starts against the Angels.
— Astros lost nine of their last 11 games.
— Astros are 2-5 at home.
— over 3-2 last five home games
— scored run in first inning: 3-18
— record in first 5 innings: 8-7-3
Interleague games
Pittsburgh (9-10) @ Minnesota (6-11)
— Brubaker is 2-0, 1.76 in three starts.
— Pirates are 2-1 in his starts.
— under 3-0
— allowed run in first inning: 0-3
— record in first 5 innings: 2-0-1
— He hasn’t pitched against Minnesota.
— Pirates won seven of their last 11 games.
— Pittsburgh is 4-7 on the road.
— under 6-4-1 last 11 road games
— scored run in first inning: 5-19
— record in first 5 innings: 8-8-3
— Happ is 0-0, 3.24 in two starts.
— Twins are 0-2 in his starts.
— under 2-0
— allowed run in first inning: 0-2
— record in first 5 innings: 0-1-1
— He is 4-3, 2.95 in 10 starts vs Pittsburgh.
— Twins lost nine of their last ten games.
— Minnesota is 2-5 at home.
— over 3-1 last four games
— scores run in first inning: 7-17
— record in first 5 innings: 6-7-4
— Twins didn’t score a run in either game yesterday.Leave a comment:
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951MILWAUKEE -952 CHICAGO CUBS
CHICAGO CUBS are 34-29 SU (2.1 Units) in home games against division opponents in the last 3 seasons.
953WASHINGTON -954 NY METS
WASHINGTON is 5-15 SU (-16.8 Units) in road games vs. a team with a bad bullpen whose ERA is 4.70 or worse over the last 2 seasons.
955ARIZONA -956 ATLANTA
ATLANTA is 35-49 SU (-18.9 Units) after 3 or more consecutive road games in the last 3 seasons.
957CINCINNATI -958 ST LOUIS
ST LOUIS are 257-231 SU (61 Units) in home games vs. teams outscoring opp by 0.5 or more runs/game on the season since 1996.
959PHILADELPHIA -960 COLORADO
COLORADO is 677-718 SU (42 Units) in home games with a team slugging percentage .400 or worse on the season (NL) since 1996.
961MIAMI -962 SAN FRANCISCO
MIAMI is 15-2 SU (12.4 Units) in road games vs teams who strand 6.9 or less runners on base per game over the last 2 seasons.
963SAN DIEGO -964 LA DODGERS
LA DODGERS are 28-15 SU (14.7 Units) vs. good defensive catchers - allowing 0.5 or less SB's/game over the last 2 seasons.
965OAKLAND -966 BALTIMORE
BALTIMORE is 2-10 SU (-9.5 Units) vs. an AL team with an on base percentage .330 or worse in the current season.
967SEATTLE -968 BOSTON
BOSTON is 14-2 SU (12.9 Units) vs. an AL team with a team batting average of .265 or worse in the current season.
969NY YANKEES -970 CLEVELAND
CLEVELAND is 24-7 SU (17.6 Units) vs. AL teams scoring 3.9 or less runs/game on the season in the last 3 seasons.Leave a comment:
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Friday’s 6-pack
Major league leaders in run differential:
+37— Dodgers
+24— Milwaukee
+23— Boston
+17— Cincinnati
+14— White Sox
+10— Toronto, San Francisco
Americans who have died from COVID-19: 569,438
PLEASE wear a mask (over your nose/mouth) when you go out.
Quote of the Day
“Every GOAT I’ve trained is driven more by failure than success. They wouldn’t trade their failures for anything.”
Tom House
Friday’s quiz
Who led the major leagues in hits from 1990-99?
Hint: He isn’t a Hall of Famer.
Thursday’s quiz
When the Cubs won the World Series in 2016, they beat Cleveland.
Wednesday’s quiz
Peyton Manning was the first pick of the 1998 NFL Draft; Ryan Leaf was the #2 pick.
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Friday’s Den: Random stuff with the weekend here…….
13) Cleveland pitcher Aaron Civale is on my fantasy baseball team; turned the Indians’ game on last night to watch him pitch against New York, thought he got squeezed by the home plate umpire in the first inning. Strike zone seemed to widen some when Cleveland batted.
I can be paranoid now and then, so checked at the boxscore to see who the home plate umpire was; as long as I didn’t see one name, it would be no big deal. But then I saw it……..
Sure enough, Will Bleepin’ Little was umpiring home plate; Cleveland wasn’t going to win.
12) Since the start of the 2015 season, Bronx Bombers are 12-1 when Little calls balls/strikes in their games; in the one loss, the last out was a fly ball to the fence that would’ve won the game.
Back in 2017, I was sitting at a bar having lunch, watching the A’s play in the Bronx; they lost 3-2, the only game A’s 2B Jed Lowrie has ever been thrown out of, that’s how bad Little was.
Sure enough, Indians lost 6-3 last night, though Civale did OK. Little shouldn’t be allowed to ump behind the plate when the Bronx Bombers are playing.
11) The new thing in baseball is having players who can play several positions; it helps if guys get hurt and makes teams more flexible, but I’m thinking it also hurts a team’s defense— if a guy is playing several positions, he has to practice lot of different throws, hard to excel at any one of the positions.
Watching lot of games every night, between the shifts putting fielders in unusual places, and guys playing several positions, think infield defense has suffered some so far this season.
10) St Louis Cardinals scored 44 runs in Jack Flaherty’s first four starts, winning all four.
Cardinals scored 7 runs in Carlos Martinez’s first four starts, losing all four.
9) Giants 3, Marlins 0— This is a genuinely weird stat; Giants’ backup C Curt Casali started this game, and for his 5th straight start, the Giants threw a shutout.
8) Arizona 14, Cincinnati 11 (10):
— Game was 2-1 Arizona after the 5th inning.
— David Peralta was 5-6 with seven RBI for Arizona.
— Cincinnati hit six home runs and still lost.
7) Padres 3, Dodgers 2— San Diego 2B Jake Cronenworth made two great defensive plays to help save this game, starting an 8th inning double play after fielding a vicious smash hit by Sheldon Neuse. He doesn’t field the ball, and the Dodgers tie the game, at least.
6) Blake Snell has started four games for San Diego, but pitched a total of only 15.1 innings; that isn’t enough, especially with Dinelson Lamet now out with another arm injury. In four starts, Snell hasn’t gotten an out after the 5th inning.
Aces on a pitching staff have to give the bullpens a breather, or else the bullpens will get worn out as the summer goes on.
5) College football teams will have to try 2-point conversions after TD’s in the second overtime period of games rather than the third, according to a change approved Thursday by the NCAA.
If the game is still tied after the second OT, then they’ll do 2-point conversion shootouts, kind of the way the NHL does their shootouts.
4) If the NBA regular season ended today, the Knicks would have home court edge in the first round of the playoffs— didn’t see that coming.
3) Baseball injuries:
— Cubs put OF Joc Pederson (wrist) on IL
— Padres put P Dinelson Lamet (arm) on IL
— Giants put SS Donovan Solano (calf) on IL
— Marlins put 3B Brian Anderson (oblique) on IL.
2) I’m not fond of mock drafts; there are too many of them. I’m interesting in what a guy like Mel Kiper or Daniel Jeremiah on NFL Network, but when the same person does four of them, then throws in a bunch of trades, they’re just making stuff up for clickbait.
It becomes a waste of time.
Plus I root for the Rams, who haven’t made a first round pick since 2016, so it doesn’t matter as much to me as it does to other fans.
1) NL East standings:
7-7: Mets
9-9: Phillies
8-10: Marlins, Braves
7-9: Nationals
Going to be an interesting summer in that division.Leave a comment:
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Diamond Trends for Thursday April 22
Vince Akins
ATS Play ON Trend of the Day
Matchup: N.Y. Yankees at Cleveland (6:10 p.m. ET)
-- The Indians are 11-0 SU since Aug 11, 2016 at home off a game as a dog in which they allowed 1 or fewer walks.
ATS Play AGAINST Trend of the Day
Matchup: Pittsburgh at Detroit (1:10 p.m. ET)
-- The Pirates are 0-10 SU since Sep 13, 2019 on the road when their opponent's starter has an ERA of higher than 4.00 on the season.
OU Play OVER Trend of the Day
Matchup: Seattle at Boston (7:10 p.m. ET)
-- The Red Sox are 10-0 OU (4.20 ppg) since Aug 12, 2020 at home after they allowed 5+ walks last game.
OU Play UNDER Trend of the Day
Matchup: San Diego at L.A. Dodgers (10:10 p.m. ET)
-- The Dodgers are 0-9 OU (-2.94 ppg) since May 10, 2018 when Walker Buehler starts at home when they won his last three starts.
Trends are verified using Sports Data Query Language (SDQL)Leave a comment:
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MLB
Thursday, April 22
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Trend Report
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Arizona @ Cincinnati
Arizona
Arizona is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games when playing Cincinnati
Arizona is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Cincinnati
Cincinnati
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Cincinnati's last 7 games at home
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Cincinnati's last 5 games when playing Arizona
Pittsburgh @ Detroit
Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh is 7-1 SU in its last 8 games when playing on the road against Detroit
The total has gone OVER in 11 of Pittsburgh's last 14 games when playing on the road against Detroit
Detroit
Detroit is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing Pittsburgh
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Detroit's last 5 games
NY Yankees @ Cleveland
NY Yankees
The total has gone OVER in 7 of NY Yankees's last 8 games when playing Cleveland
NY Yankees is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing Cleveland
Cleveland
The total has gone OVER in 7 of Cleveland's last 8 games when playing NY Yankees
Cleveland is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games when playing NY Yankees
Seattle @ Boston
Seattle
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Seattle's last 5 games when playing Boston
Seattle is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games
Boston
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Boston's last 5 games when playing Seattle
Boston is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games when playing at home against Seattle
NY Mets @ Chi Cubs
NY Mets
The total has gone OVER in 9 of NY Mets's last 11 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of NY Mets's last 6 games when playing Chi Cubs
Chi Cubs
Chi Cubs is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games when playing NY Mets
Chi Cubs is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing NY Mets
LA Angels @ Houston
LA Angels
The total has gone OVER in 5 of LA Angels's last 5 games when playing on the road against Houston
The total has gone OVER in 9 of LA Angels's last 10 games when playing Houston
Houston
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Houston's last 5 games when playing at home against LA Angels
The total has gone OVER in 9 of Houston's last 10 games when playing LA Angels
Miami @ San Francisco
Miami
Miami is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games on the road
Miami is 8-1 ATS 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
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of San Francisco's last 8 games when playing Miami
San Diego @ LA Dodgers
San Diego
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of San Diego's last 5 games
San Diego is 6-2 ATS in its last 8 games on the road
LA Dodgers
LA Dodgers is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games at home
LA Dodgers is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home
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MLB
Armadillo's Write-Up
Thursday, April 22
NL games
Arizona (8-10) @ Cincinnati (9-8)
— Widener is 1-0, 2.12 in three starts.
— Arizona is 1-2 in his starts
— under 2-1
— allowed run in first inning: 0-3
— record in first 5 innings: 1-1-1
— He allowed four runs (3 earned) in five IP, in his one start vs Cincinnati.
— Arizona won its last four games.
— Arizona is 6-7 on the road.
— over 3-0 last three games
— scored run in first inning: 4-18
— record in first 5 innings: 8-9-1
— Hoffman is 2-1, 2.93 in three starts.
— Reds are 2-1 in his starts.
— over 3-0
— allowed run in first inning: 0-3
— you’re reading ***************.com
— record in first 5 innings: 2-1
— He is 1-4, 9.29 in 11 games (6 starts) vs Arizona.
— Cincinnati lost seven of its last ten games.
— Reds are 7-4 at home, 2-4 on road.
— Over 9-1-1 at home
— scored run in first inning: 4-17
— record in first 5 innings: 9-7-1
Mets (7-6) @ Cubs (8-9)
— Lucchesi allowed 3 runs in 3 IP (55 PT) in his first ‘21 start.
— Mets lost his first start, 7-2.
— over 1-0
— allowed run in first inning: 0-1
— record in first 5 innings: 0-1
— He is 0-1, 7.20 in two starts vs Chicago.
— Mets won five of their last eight games.
— Mets are 3-5 on the road.
— Under 8-1-1 last ten games.
— scored run in first inning: 3-13
— record in first 5 innings: 7-6
— Williams is 2-1, 5.02 in three starts.
— Cubs won two of his three starts.
— under 2-1
— allowed run in first inning: 0-3
— record in first 5 innings: 2-1
— He is 3-1, 2.08 in four starts vs New York.
— Cubs won three of their last four games.
— Chicago is 6-5 at home.
— 11 of last 16 games stayed under the total.
— scored run in first inning: 5-17
— record in first 5 innings: 7-9-1
Miami (8-9) @ San Francisco (11-7)
— Castano allowed one run in five IP (74 PT) in his first ‘21 start.
— Marlins are 1-0 in his starts.
— under 1-0
— allowed run in first inning: 0-1
— record in first 5 innings: 0-1-1
— He allowed one run in five IP in his one start vs San Francisco.
— Marlins won seven of their last ten games.
— Miami is 4-2 on the road.
— 0ver 5-3 last eight games
— scored run in first inning: 5-17
— record in first 5 innings: 7-5-5
— Sanchez is 0-1, 2.45 in his first three starts.
— Giants are 0-3 in his starts, scoring 7 runs.
— under 2-1
— allowed run in first inning: 1-3
— record in first 5 innings: 0-2-1
— He is 0-0, 6.00 in two starts vs Miami.
— Giants are 8-4 in their last 12 games.
— Giants are 5-1 at home.
— 12 of last 16 games stayed under
— scored run in first inning: 2-18
— record in first 5 innings: 7-8-3
San Diego (10-10) @ Dodgers (14-4)
— Weathers blanked LA for 3.2 IP (79 PT) in his first ‘21 start.
— Padres lost his first start 11-6
— over 1-0
— allowed run in first inning: 0-1
— record in first 5 innings: 0-1
— He blanked LA for 3.2 IP (79 PT) in his one start against the Dodgers.
— Padres lost six of their last eight games.
— San Diego is 5-7 at home.
— 13 of last 18 games stayed under
— scored run in first inning: 5-19
— record in first 5 innings: 6-11-2
— Buehler is 1-0, 2.00 in his three starts.
— Dodgers won his first three starts.
— over 2-1
— allowed run in first inning: 0-3
— record in first 5 innings: 0-2-1
— He is 4-0, 1.62 in six starts vs San Diego.
— Dodgers won 14 of their last 17 games.
— Dodgers are 6-0 at home.
— under 10-3 last 13 games
— scored run in first inning: 5-18
— record in first 5 innings: 11-5-2
AL games
Bronx (6-11) @ Cleveland (8-8)
— Montgomery is 1-1, 4.08 in three starts.
— Bronx is 2-1 in his starts.
— over 2-1
— allowed run in first inning: 0-3
— record in first 5 innings: 0-3
— He is 0-1, 5.00 in two starts vs Cleveland.
— New York lost nine of its last 12 games.
— New York is 2-4 on the road.
— under 3-0 last three games
— scored run in first inning: 1-17
— record in first 5 innings: 6-9-2
— Civale is 3-0, 2.18 in three starts.
— Indians are 3-0 when he starts.
— over 2-1
— allowed run in first inning: 2-3
— record in first 5 innings: 1-2
— He gave up 3 runs (2 earned) in 6 IP, in his one start vs NY.
— Cleveland lost four of their last six games.
— Indians are 4-2 at home.
— under 11-5
— scores run in first inning: 3-16
— record in first 5 innings: 5-10-1
Seattle (11-7) @ Boston (12-7)
— Dunn is 1-0, 3.72 in two starts.
— Seattle is 2-0 in his starts.
— over 1-1
— allowed run in first inning: 0-2
— record in first 5 innings: 1-1
— He hasn’t pitched against Boston.
— Seattle won five of its last seven games.
— Seattle is 5-2 on the road.
— under 5-1-1 last seven games
— scored run in first inning: 3-18
— record in first 5 innings: 6-10-2
— Pivetta is 2-0, 3.68 in three starts.
— Red Sox are 3-0 in his starts.
— over 3-0
— allowed run in first inning: 1-3
— record in first 5 innings: 2-0-1
— He hasn’t pitched against Seattle.
— Boston won 12 of its last 16 games.
— Red Sox are 6-3 in last nine home games.
— under 4-1 last five games
— scored run in first inning: 4-19
— record in first 5 innings: 6-9-4
Angels (9-7) @ Houston (7-10)
— Cobb is 1-0, 3.37 in his first two starts.
— Angels are 2-0 in his starts, scoring 15 runs.
— over 1-1
— allowed run in first inning: 0-2
— record in first 5 innings: 1-0-1
— He is 1-2, 7.63 in three starts vs Houston.
— Angels lost three of last four road games.
— Halos are 3-5 in last eight games overall.
— over 3-1 last four games
— scored run in first inning: 4-16
— record in first 5 innings: 7-7-2
— Javier is 1-0, 2.16 in two starts.
— Astros are 2-0 in his starts.
— over 1-1
— allowed run in first inning: 0-2
— record in first 5 innings: 2-0
— He allowed 3 runs in 5.2 IP in his one start against the Angels.
— Astros lost nine of their last ten games.
— Astros are 1-5 at home.
— over 3-1 last four home games
— scored run in first inning: 3-17
— record in first 5 innings: 7-7-3
Interleague games
Pittsburgh (8-10) @ Detroit (7-11)
— Brubaker is 2-0, 1.76 in three starts.
— Pirates are 2-1 in his starts.
— under 3-0
— allowed run in first inning: 0-3
— record in first 5 innings: 2-0-1
— He hasn’t pitched against Detroit.
— Pirates won six of their last ten games.
— Pittsburgh is 3-7 on the road.
— over 7-5-1 last 13 games
— scored run in first inning: 3-17
— record in first 5 innings: 8-7-2
— Urena is 0-3, 6.14 in three starts.
— He allowed six runs in three IP in his one home outing.
— under 2-1
— allowed run in first inning: 1-3
— record in first 5 innings: 0-3
— He is 1-3, 8.18 in seven games (3 starts) vs Pittsburgh
— Detroit lost eight of its last 12 games.
— Detroit is 4-4 at home.
— under 5-3 at home
— scored run in first inning: 3-8 at home
— record in first 5 innings: 6-2 at homeLeave a comment:
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901ARIZONA -902 CINCINNATI
CINCINNATI is 268-244 SU (36.9 Units) in home games vs. a starting pitcher whose gives up 5.5 or less hits/start since 1996.
903NY METS -904 CHICAGO CUBS
NY METS are 1-11 SU (-11.3 Units) vs. teams outscored by opp by 0.5 or more runs/game on the season over the last 2 seasons.
903NY METS -904 CHICAGO CUBS
LUIS ROJAS is 1-11 SU (-11.1 Units) vs. teams outscored by opp by 0.5 or more runs/game on the season (Coach of NY METS)
905MIAMI -906 SAN FRANCISCO
MIAMI is 15-2 SU (12.4 Units) in road games vs teams who strand 6.9 or less runners on base per game over the last 2 seasons.
907SAN DIEGO -908 LA DODGERS
LA DODGERS are 28-15 SU (14.7 Units) vs. good defensive catchers - allowing 0.5 or less SB's/game over the last 2 seasons.
909NY YANKEES -910 CLEVELAND
CLEVELAND is 24-7 SU (17.6 Units) vs. AL teams scoring 3.9 or less runs/game on the season in the last 3 seasons.
911SEATTLE -912 BOSTON
BOSTON is 14-1 SU (13.9 Units) vs. an AL team with a team batting average of .265 or worse in the current season.
913LA ANGELS -914 HOUSTON
HOUSTON is 30-46 SU (-21.9 Units) vs. an overused bullpen that pitches more than 3.2 innings per game over the last 2 seasons.
913LA ANGELS -914 HOUSTON
DUSTY BAKER is 30-46 SU (-20.6 Units) vs. an overused bullpen that pitches more than 3.2 innings per game (Coach of HOUSTON)
915PITTSBURGH -916 DETROIT
DETROIT is 20-44 SU (-28.4 Units) in home games after having lost 4 or 5 of their last 6 games in the last 3 seasons.Leave a comment:
Leave a comment: