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**StarDust Bum** · 06-21-2010, 06:34 PM

Monday's Tip Sheet

Interleague action continues this week with two more series on tap between the American and National League. The NL was hoping to reverse their bad luck against the AL this season and they started out well but all of the good fortune is now forgotten, especially after this past weekend.

The AL posted a 27-15 record from Friday to Sunday, which included four sweeps by the Red Sox, White Sox, Rangers and Mariners. The AL holds a 92-76 lead this year and it appears that the NL will now lose bragging rights for the seventh straight season.

Most of the clubs will be traveling tonight, but we still have three games on tap, including a pair on the West Coast.

Kansas City (29-42) at Washington (31-40)

The Royals and Nationals are both hoping to regain some confidence this week after getting swept over the weekend by the Braves and White Sox respectively. Kansas City was playing well against the NL recently too, capturing two of three from both the Reds and Astros, but its luck ran out against Atlanta. Even though they were swept by the best squad in the NL East, the Royals were in every game and the three setbacks only came by a combined six runs.

Washington hasn’t had any success against the AL, posting a 3-9 record this season. The club has dropped six straight and eight of nine and most of the blame can be pointed towards the offense. The team has posted three runs or less in seven of the eight losses, while posting nine in the lone win.

A pair of veterans will look to get their teams back on track tonight when the Royals’ Bruce Chen (3-1, 4.15 ERA) battles the Nats’ Livan Hernandez (5-4, 2.94 ERA). Washington has gone 6-1 at home when Hernandez takes the hill and the lone loss was a 2-0 setback to Colorado in late April.

The Nats have been made favorites (-150) for this affair, while the total is hovering at 9, which seems a little high when you delve into it further. First, the Nats aren’t hitting the ball well at all plus Hernandez has watched the ‘under’ go 11-1 in 13 appearances this season.

N.Y. Yankees (44-26) at Arizona (27-44)

The Yankees start a six-game road trip on the West Coast tonight with a quick stop against the Diamondbacks before wrapping up interleague play against the Dodgers over the weekend. New York has gone 7-5 versus the NL this season, which includes a 2-1 record over the Mets this past weekend. The Diamondbacks just finished a 1-5 road trip against Boston (0-3) and Detroit (1-2), losing all five decisions by two or more runs.

Arizona has been made a heavy home underdog (+160) for this affair against New York (-170) and even though the records don’t compare, the D-Backs do own a 17-16 record in the desert this season. And Yankees’ starter A.J. Burnett (6-5, 4.33 ERA) has dropped three straight decisions, plus New York’s offense has been slumping. The one-potent attack has been handcuffed to 13 runs over the last five games, which has resulted in five straight ‘under’ tickets.

The Diamondbacks will counter with Rodrigo Lopez (2-6, 4.70 ERA) and he’s looking to break out of a funk as well. Arizona has lost eight of his last 10 starts and five in a row. Unfortunately for this hurler, his offense has been held to four runs or less in eight of 14 appearances. Despite the inconsistent run support, oddsmakers still made the total 10 ½ runs for this game. Arizona leads the majors with a 48-25 ‘over’ record and that includes a 6-3 ‘over’ mark against AL opponents this season as well.

Since Arizona beat New York in seven games of the 2001 World Series, the Yankees have gotten some sort of revenge in interleague play by winning seven of the nine encounters, with the last meeting happening in 2007.

Cincinnati (37-34) at Oakland (34-37)

“The Reds are finally showing us who we thought they were,” explained VegasInsider.com handicapper Kevin Rogers. “Every season, you’ll see a team jump out of the gates, winning close games, receiving great pitching from no-name hurlers and then all of a sudden the bubble bursts and it blows up in a big way.”

One of those unknown pitchers for the Reds, Mike Leake (5-1, 3.02 ERA), will try to help his team get back on track tonight. Cincinnati has gone 9-4 in his 13 appearances but the Arizona State rookie is coming off two bad outings that watched him give up 10 earned runs, 20 hits and seven walks. Oakland’s offense doesn’t carry a lot of pop but the Reds can’t score lately anyway. Cincinnati put up one run in its three losses to the Mariners over the weekend and has mustered up 13 runs over the last seven.

The Athletics avoided a sweep to the Cardinals on Sunday with a 3-2 win, which concluded a dismal 2-7 road trip against NL squads. Fortunately, Oakland wraps up interleague play against the slumping Reds and the powerless Pirates at home this week. The A’s will try to get on track tonight behind lefthander Gio Gonzalez (6-5, 4.21), who’s been much better at home (4-2, 2.90 ERA) this season. For whatever reason, Cincinnati has been good at home (9-5) against southpaws but much worse on the road (2-6).

The total on this game opened at 8 and has dipped to 7 ½ runs at most books. The Reds have watched the ‘under’ cash in five straight after seeing the ‘over’ go 6-0 in the previous six. Leake has seen the ‘under’ go 8-4 but Gonzalez has been a good ‘over’ bet at 9-4, which includes a 6-1-1 run.

**StarDust Bum** · 06-21-2010, 06:34 PM

Diamond Trends - Monday
June 21, 2010

Editor's Note: Vince Akins' pro baseball selections can be purchased daily on VegasInsider.com. Click to win!
Reds at Athletics – The Reds are 0-9 since April 15, 2010 on the road when they are off a loss in which they never led for a net profit of $937 when playing against. The Reds are 0-8 since May 19, 2010 as an underdog vs. a team that has a worse record for a net profit of $800 when playing against. The Reds are 0-6 since April 15, 2010 on the road after a loss in which they had 6 or fewer hits for a net profit of $615 when playing against. The Athletics are 7-0 since August 05, 2009 at home within 20 cents of pick ‘em after a win in which they allowed 6 or fewer hits for a net profit of $735. The Athletics are 7-0 since August 31, 2009 when Gio Gonzalez starts as a favorite for a net profit of $700. The Athletics are 0-6 since May 30, 2010 when they are off a win in which they never trailed for a net profit of $625 when playing against.

Yankees at Diamondbacks – The Yankees are 8-0 since June 02, 2009 as a 140+ favorite after a win in which their starter pitched at least 8 innings for a net profit of $800. The Yankees are 7-0 since April 10, 2009 as a road 140+ favorite after a win and it is the first game of the series for a net profit of $700. . The Yankees are 6-0 since April 14, 2009 when A.J. Burnett starts after facing 25 or fewer hitters for a net profit of $610The Diamondbacks are 0-6 since April 16, 2010 when they are off a loss in which they held the lead and it is the first game of a series for a net profit of $600 when playing against. The Diamondbacks are 0-5 since May 26, 2010 when Rodrigo Lopez starts vs a team that has hit more grounders than fly balls season-to-date for a net profit of $500 when playing against.

Royals at Nationals – The Nationals are 0-7 since May 22, 2009 at home vs. a team that has lost at least their last three games and it is the first game of a series for a net profit of $710 when playing against. The Nationals are 6-0 since April 25, 2010 at home when they are off a loss in which they held the lead for a net profit of $735.

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