Wednesday’s Diamond Notes

Hottest team: Mariners (6-2 last eight)

Seattle rallied past Oakland in 10 innings to snap the Athletics’ four-game winning streak on Tuesday. The Mariners picked up their fourth straight victory thanks to Guillermo Heredia’s RBI double in the 10th inning, as Seattle remains two games behind Houston for the top spot in the AL West. Seattle improved to 5-2 this season against Oakland, while beating the A’s in the series opener for the third time in three tries.

Marco Gonzales heads to the mound for the Mariners tonight, as the southpaw is winless in his last two starts, both coming against the Tigers. In Gonzales’ lone start against Oakland this season, the left-hander was knocked around for four runs in 3.1 innings, but the Mariners managed to pick up a 10-8 victory on April 14.

Coldest team: Diamondbacks (1-12 last 13)

Arizona just can’t break out of this category, while continuing to struggle breaking onto the scoreboard consistently. The D-backs’ offense woes were apparent again in Tuesday’s 1-0 loss to the Brewers as Arizona has scored a total of three runs in the last 35 innings. Ten times during this 13-game stretch the D-backs have plated two runs or less, which included their lone victory against the Brewers on May 15.

Can Arizona avoid its second straight sweep today? The D-backs send out Zack (not Greinke) Godley, who looks to pick up a win for the first time in three starts. Godley wasn’t bad in his last outing against the Mets by allowing three runs (one earned) in six innings of a 3-1 loss last Friday. Arizona hasn’t had much luck when trying to avoid a sweep this season by going 0-2 in this situation.

Hottest pitcher: Justin Verlander, Astros (5-2, 1.05 ERA)

Amazingly, Houston has won only one of Verlander’s last four starts, but the former Cy Young winner and Most Valuable Player has allowed two earned runs in this stretch. The Astros scored a total of one run in three losses when Verlander took the mound, while pushing across two runs in a 2-0 victory over the Angels in his past appearance. Verlander has delivered nine of quality 10 starts this season, but two of Houston’s losses have come with him listed as a favorite of -250 or higher as he is in that range today against the Giants.

Coldest pitcher: Homer Bailey, Reds (1-6, 6.11 ERA)

Cincinnati has struggled to win when Bailey takes the mound this season by posting a dreadful 1-9 record. Bailey and the Reds are winless in six starts at Great American Ballpark, while getting knocked around by the Cubs his last time out for 10 hits and six runs in 4.2 innings of an 8-1 loss. Bailey has allowed at least five earned runs in three straight home starts, while giving up five runs in his last outing against the Pirates on April 5 at PNC Park in a 5-2 defeat.

Biggest OVER run: Yankees (6-2 last eight)

The Rangers tripped up the Yankees on Tuesday, 6-4 after New York captured the high-scoring opener of this series on Monday. The Bronx Bombers scored 28 runs in their previous three games prior to getting held in check last night, as six is the magic number for this team. When the Yankees plate six runs or more this season, New York owns a remarkable 21-1 mark. Will the Yankees score at least six runs tonight against Doug Fister? The Texas right-hander is coming off a scoreless outing against the White Sox, while the Rangers have hit the UNDER in each of Fister’s last three starts.

Biggest UNDER run: White Sox (8-1 last nine)

The Orioles grabbed a 3-2 victory in the opener of this series before the White Sox turned the tables for a 3-2 win on Tuesday. Chicago erased a 2-0 deficit by scoring three runs in the eighth inning off the Baltimore bullpen, as the Sox have allowed three runs or less in six of the past seven games. Dylan Covey makes his second start for Chicago as the right-hander was tagged for four runs in six innings at Kansas City in his last outing, but the game stayed UNDER the high total of 10 in a 5-2 loss.

Matchup to watch: Red Sox vs. Rays

Boston remains atop the AL East race after beating Tampa Bay on Tuesday, 4-2, coupled with New York’s loss at Texas. The Red Sox improved to 8-3 this season against the Rays, while winning in four straight visits to Tropicana Field. In those four wins, the Sox have allowed five runs, as Chris Sale tossed 7.2 innings to improve to 5-1 on the season.

Another southpaw takes the mound tonight as David Price faces his former team for the fourth time this season. In the first two outings, Price didn’t allow a run in a pair of one-run victories. However, the Rays solved Price at Fenway Park on April 28 by knocking around the left-hander for six runs in 5.2 innings of a 12-6 blowout as +180 underdogs. Price is fresh off a complete game victory over the Orioles in his last outing by striking out eight in a 6-2 win.

Chris Archer counters for Tampa Bay, who has lost two straight since a six-game winning streak. Archer ended a three-start winless streak by beating the Angels in his last outing by tossing 6.2 scoreless innings in a 7-1 victory. The right-hander is facing the Red Sox for the first time since opening day as the Rays erased a 4-0 deficit to beat Boston, 6-4 as Archer allowed four earned runs in six innings of work.

Betcha didn’t know: The Braves and Phillies wrap up their series at Citizens Bank Park tonight after Atlanta knocked off Philadelphia on Tuesday, 3-1. Atlanta seeks its 30th victory of the season but also is trying to improve to 13-1 in Game 3’s of a series, which is by far the top record in this situation in Major League baseball.

Biggest public favorite: Astros (-260) vs. Giants

Biggest public underdog: White Sox (+115) vs. Orioles

Biggest line move: Braves (+130 to +115) at Phillies

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

Kevin Rogers can be followed on Twitter at virogers.