The Bum's Saturday's MLB Best Bets !

[StarDust Bum]

Sheets Looks to Rebound Against Dodgers

The Atlanta Braves hope starting pitcher Ben Sheets can get back on track and regain his status as the staff ace with a good performance against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Saturday. The two National League playoff contenders will meet at Turner Field at 7:10 p.m. (ET). Make sure to check the Don Best MLB odds screen for the latest baseball lines.

Sheets (4-2, 2.13 ERA) has gone 1-2 in his last three starts following a 3-0 start with the Braves, and Atlanta fans have to be a bit concerned about him leading their team down the stretch considering his past injury history. He is coming off his worst start of the year last Sunday on the road against the New York Mets, surrendering five runs (four earned) and eight hits in six innings with one walk and five strikeouts. Sheets has also struggled during his career against the Dodgers, going 3-6 in 10 starts with a 3.78 ERA.

LA will counter with big righty Aaron Harang (8-7, 3.76), who has performed much better away from home this season. He is 6-3 in 13 road starts with a solid 3.68 ERA and ended a personal two-game skid with a victory at Pittsburgh on Monday. Harang allowed two runs and five hits to the Pirates in six innings of work with three walks and four strikeouts. He had given up 10 runs and 15 hits in 11 innings over his previous two starts, losing both at home.

Both teams find themselves in the thick of the NL playoff race heading into the weekend, as the Dodgers are fighting with the San Francisco Giants for the NL West division title, and the Braves are among the leaders for one of the two Wild Card spots with roughly one-quarter of the season to go.

The road team had won four of the previous six meetings heading into Friday’s series opener, with each team taking two of three. Atlanta had won three of four at home prior to Friday while Los Angeles was 4-1 in its past five and will be playing the ninth game of a 10-game road trip. The Dodgers had seen their previous four games all go ‘over’ the total going into the series while the ‘under’ had cashed in four straight for the Braves. The winner had scored four runs or less in four of the past five meetings.

The weather in Atlanta on Saturday is expected to be warm with a high temperature of 85 degrees under partly cloudy skies and a low of 66.

[StarDust Bum]

MLB
Armadillo's Write-Up

Saturday, August 18

Hot pitchers
-- Cueto is 6-1, 2.87 in his last seven starts. Samardzija is 3-2, 2.11 in his last six starts.
-- Stults won his last two starts, allowing one run in 13 IP.
-- Corbin is 2-1, 2.22 in his last four starts.
-- Niese is 2-1, 2.57 in his last three starts.
-- Hamels won his last two starts, both CG shutouts. Fiers is 4-1, 1.11 in his last six starts at Miller Park.
-- Chatwood is 2-0, 1.64 in his last couple starts. Eovaldi is 1-1, 2.70 in his last two starts.

-- Villanueva is 4-2, 2.76 in his last seven starts.
-- Phelps is 1-1, 2.50 in four starts (18 IP).
-- Johnson won his first start, allowing two runs in six IP.
-- Peavy is 2-1, 2.83 in his last four starts.
-- Colon is 3-1, 2.39 in his last four starts.
-- Cobb is 3-0, 1.29 in his last three starts.
-- Vargas is 6-1, 2.01 in his last nine starts. Diamond is 2-1, 2.67 in his last four starts.

Cold pitchers
-- Raley is 0-2, 9.00 in two starts for the Cubs. Redmond is 8-9, 3.54 in his 22 AAA starts; this is his 4th year in AAA, but first MLB game.
-- Zito is 1-2, 7.06 in his last four starts.
-- Lyles is 0-5, 7.74 in his last eight starts.
-- Jackson is 2-3, 3.79 in his last six starts.
-- Harang is 1-2, 6.35 in his last three starts. Sheets is 1-2, 4.50 in last three.
-- Bedard has a 7.72 RA in his last three starts. Lynn is 1-1, 6.55 in his last four starts.

-- Oswalt has 7.01 RA in six starts, last of which was July 30.
-- Lester is 1-2, 4.05 in his last four starts.
-- Porcello is 2-2, 6.66 in his last four starts.
-- BChen is 1-4, 7.60 in his last nine starts.
-- Kluber is 0-1, 9.88 in three starts for Cleveland.
-- Wilson is 0-5, 5.54 in his last eight starts.

Hot Teams
-- Nationals won 13 of their last 16 games.
-- Braves won 18 of their last 23 games. Dodgers won six of their last nine.
-- Reds won six of their last seven games.
-- Cardinals won 10 of their last 14 home games.
-- Milwaukee won its last seven home games.
-- Arizona is 8-7 in its last fifteen road games.
-- Colorado won four of its last five games.
-- Giants won six of their last eight road games.

-- Detroit won 11 of its last 13 home games. Orioles won nine of their last thirteen games.
-- Bronx both won eight of its last ten games.
-- White Sox won eight of their last 11 road games. Royals are 11-6 in their last seventeen games.
-- Tampa Bay won 14 of its last 19 games.
-- Mariners won five of their last six games.

Cold Teams
-- Cubs lost 13 of their last 16 games.
-- Pirates lost seven of their last eleven games.
-- Miami lost 20 of its last 30 games.
-- Mets lost eight of their last eleven games.
-- Phillies are 4-7 in their last 11 road games.
-- Astros lost 13 of their last 17 games overall.
-- Padres lost five of their last six games.

-- Red Sox lost eleven of their last sixteen games.
-- Rangers are 6-9 in their last fifteen road games. Blue Jays lost 15 of their last 19 games.
-- Oakland is 7-9 in its last sixteen games, but won last two. Indians lost 15 of their last 19.
-- Angels lost 11 of their last 16 games.
-- Twins lost seven of their last eight games.

Totals
-- Eight of Mets' last ten games went over the total.
-- Over is 6-3-2 in Cincinnati's last eleven home games
-- Over is 12-5-1 in last eightteen Dodger road games.
-- Five of last six Houston games went over the total.
-- Over is 6-0-1 in last seven Milwaukee games.
-- Nine of last eleven Pirate games went over the total.
-- Over is 7-2-2 in last eleven games at Coors Field.
-- Five of last seven San Diego games stayed under total.

-- Under is 14-7-1 in last twenty-two Texas games.
-- Under is 9-3-1 in last thirteen Baltimore road games.
-- Under is 21-9 in Boston's last 30 road games.
-- 11 of White Sox' last 15 road games stayed under.
-- 10 of last 13 Cleveland road games went over.
-- 20 of last 27 Tampa Bay games stayed under total.
-- Under is 11-5-2 in last eighteen games at Safeco Field.

Umpires
-- Chi-Cin-- Five of last six Schrieber games stayed under total. Favorites won 11 of last 15 Everitt games.
-- SF-SD-- Under is 12-5-2 in last nineteen Marquez games.
-- Az-Hst-- Seven of last nine Nauert games went over total.
-- NY-Wsh-- Home side won 13 of last 16 Hudson games.
-- Phil-Mil-- Over is 11-5-1 in last seventeen Randazzo games.
-- LA-Atl-- Ten of last twelve Winters games stayed under.
-- Pitt-StL-- Six of last eight Reynolds games stayed under.
-- Mia-Col-- Favorites won six of last seven Layne games.

-- Tex-Tor-- Under is 13-7-1in last twenty-one Nelson games.
-- Bos-NY-- Over is 8-4 in last 12 Barry games; faves won last seven.
-- Blt-Det-- Under is 11-2-1 in Kellogg's last fourteen games.
-- Chi-KC-- Over is 5-2-1 in last eight Bucknor games.
-- Cle-A's-- Last five Holbrook games stayed under the total.
-- TB-LA-- Nine of last eleven Porter games went over total.
-- Min-Sea-- Over is 4-1-1 in last six Reyburn games.

[StarDust Bum]

MLB

Saturday, August 18

Game Score Status Pick Amount

Texas 0 Bot 0 Toronto +125 500
Toronto 0 Over 9 500

Chi. Cubs - 1:10 PM ET Chi. Cubs +190 500
Cincinnati - Under 7.5 500

Boston - 4:05 PM ET Boston +110 500
NY Yankees - Under 9.5 500

Pittsburgh - 4:05 PM ET St. Louis -185 500
St. Louis - Under 8.5 500

Baltimore - 7:05 PM ET Baltimore +170 500
Detroit - Under 9.5 500

NY Mets - 7:05 PM ET Washington -160 500
Washington - Over 8 500

Arizona - 7:05 PM ET Houston +160 500
Houston - Over 8 500

LA Dodgers - 7:10 PM ET LA Dodgers +130 500
Atlanta - Over 8 500

Philadelphia - 7:10 PM ET Philadelphia -120 500
Milwaukee - Over 7.5 500

Chi. White Sox - 7:10 PM ET Chi. White Sox -170 500
Kansas City - Over 8 500

Chi. Cubs - 7:10 PM ET Chi. Cubs +185 500
Cincinnati - Over 9 500

Miami - 8:10 PM ET Miami +120 500
Colorado - Under 11 500

San Francisco - 8:35 PM ET San Francisco -110 500
San Diego - Over 7.5 500

Tampa Bay - 9:05 PM ET Tampa Bay +140 500
LA Angels - Over 8 500

Cleveland - 9:05 PM ET Oakland -180 500
Oakland - Over 7.5 500

Minnesota - 9:10 PM ET Minnesota +110 500
Seattle - Under 7 500