Diamond Trends – Tuesday

Hottest team: Mets (8-1 overall, 6-0 last six)

Although New York doesn’t currently own the longest winning streak in the league (we’ll get to Boston later), the Mets pulled off an impressive road sweep of the Nationals this past weekend. New York avoided a letdown in Monday’s 4-2 victory at Miami as -215 favorites, led by Noah Syndergaard’s six innings of work. The Mets have yielded two runs or less in five of the last six games, while improving to 5-0 as a favorite this season.

Jacob deGrom heads to the mound for the Mets in Game 2, as the right-hander seeks his third victory of the season after beating the Cardinals and Nationals. Last season, deGrom was winless in a pair of outings against Miami, while the Mets have not beaten the Marlins with the righty on the hill since July 2016.

Coldest team: Reds (2-7 overall, 1-4 road)

Cincinnati’s pitching continues to struggle as the Reds have allowed at least four runs in seven of the past eight games. The Reds fell short in Monday’s 6-5 defeat at Philadelphia, while dropping to 1-3 in series openers this season. After nine games last season, Cincinnati owned a 7-2 record, which included a 5-1 mark away from Great American Ballpark. This season, the Reds are 1-4 on the highway with the only win coming on Saturday at Pittsburgh, 7-4 after erasing a 4-0 deficit.

Right-hander Homer Bailey put together a solid performance in his season debut against Washington by giving up four hits and one earned run in six innings of a 2-0 home defeat. However, things went backwards in his last outing at Pittsburgh by yielding five runs and seven hits in 4.2 innings of a 5-2 defeat.

Hottest pitcher: Patrick Corbin, Diamondbacks (2-0, 1.38 ERA)

Arizona continued its scorching start by edging San Francisco on Monday, 2-1 at AT&T Park. Corbin has defeated a pair of division rivals through his first two starts, beating the Rockies and Dodgers at home. In his last outing, the southpaw silenced the Los Angeles bats by striking out 12 batters and allowing only one hit in seven scoreless innings of a 3-0 shutout. Corbin owns an impressive 20/2 strikeout to walk ratio, but the D-backs lost in two of his three starts against the Giants in 2017.

Coldest pitcher: Josh Tomlin, Indians (0-1, 24.00 ERA)

Cleveland is back at .500 following consecutive low-scoring wins against Kansas City and Detroit. The pitching staff has allowed four runs in four home games as Tomlin tries to get on track after getting lit up by the Angels on April 3. Los Angeles destroyed Cleveland that night, 13-2, highlighted by four home runs hit off the Cleveland right-hander, as Tomlin lasted three innings and allowed eight earned runs. Returning to the mound at Progressive Field will likely help Tomlin, as the Indians won five of his final six home starts last season, while yielding two earned runs or less in the five victories.

Biggest OVER run: Orioles (4-0 last four)

Baltimore surprised New York in the Bronx this past weekend by taking three of four from the Yankees. In the final three games, the Orioles cashed the OVER, while continuing that streak in Monday’s 7-1 loss to Toronto. The O’s have allowed seven runs or more in three straight games, while scoring six runs in four home contests. Andrew Cashner has hit the UNDER in both starts for Baltimore this season, while giving up one earned run in seven innings of a 3-1 win at Toronto last season as a member of Texas.

Biggest UNDER run: Astros (5-0 last five)

Houston’s pitching continues to dominate the opposition by posting its second shutout in the last three games on Monday. Justin Verlander tossed seven scoreless innings in a 2-0 triumph at Minnesota on Monday, as the Astros have yielded two runs or less in five of the last eight games. Granted, the offense hasn’t done much since a hot start by scoring 11 runs in the past five contests. Dallas Keuchel heads to the mound tonight for Houston, cashing UNDERS in each of his two starts this season, while going UNDER the total in five of his past seven road outings since last August.

Matchup to watch: Yankees vs. Red Sox

Boston is red-hot after squandering a 4-0 lead in its season opening loss to Tampa Bay. The Red Sox have run off nine consecutive wins, but all nine victories have come against the Rays and Marlins. Boston rallied past Tampa Bay on Sunday, 8-7, as the Red Sox scored six runs in the eighth inning to pull out the improbable victory.

The Yankees started the season with a pair of wins over the Blue Jays, but own a 3-5 record in the last eight games. Slugger Giancarlo Stanton posted an 0-for-7 outing in Sunday’s 8-7 extra innings loss to Baltimore, while striking out five times for the second time this season. The Yankees captured the season series last season with the Red Sox by going 11-8, including a 5-4 record at Fenway Park.

Chris Sale has allowed six hits and one earned run in 11 innings of work for Boston, but has picked up a pair of no-decisions through two starts. In five outings against New York last season, the Red Sox lost four times when Sale took the mound, including three defeats at Fenway Park. However, Sale struck out at least nine batters in four of those games, while tossing at least seven innings four times.

Luis Severino counters for New York, seeking his third victory after shutting down the Blue Jays and Rays. Severino has struck out 14 batters so far, while giving up one hit in 5.2 innings of his first start at Toronto. The Yankees captured three of four starts made by the New York right-hander last season, including two victories at Fenway Park.

Betcha didn’t know: The Braves were shut out by the Nationals last night, but hope to turn around their luck this evening. Right-hander Mike Foltynewicz has been solid against Washington since last season as the Braves own a 3-1 record in his past four starts versus the defending NL East champions. In the three wins, Atlanta cashed as a +215, +155, and +185 underdog, including a 7-1 home win last Wednesday. Tonight, the Braves opened as a +200 ‘dog opposite Washington right-hander Stephen Strasburg.

Biggest public favorite: Nationals (-220) vs. Braves

Biggest public underdog: Rangers (+130) vs. Angels

Biggest line move: ardinals (-150 to -170) vs. Brewers

You can reach Kevin Rogers via e-mail at rogers@vegasinsider.com

Kevin Rogers can be followed on Twitter at virogers.