Sign In $
MLB

Friday’s Diamond Notes

VegasInsider Staff
VegasInsider Staff Sports Betting Expert
6 minute read
Hottest team: Padres (7-2 last nine)

San Diego is currently the best last place team in baseball at 29-35, while sitting only 4 ½ games out of first place in the National League West. The Padres won seven of the final nine contests on its 10-game homestand, including three victories over the Marlins. San Diego heads to the east coast to face Miami for a three-game weekend set, but the Padres have lost 11 of their last 12 series openers.

The Padres have taken care of their business at home recently by winning 10 of the last 14 games at Petco Park, while not losing a home series since early May. However, San Diego needs to get its road record on track as the Padres are 2-4 in their last six away from Petco Park since winning three straight games at Pittsburgh in late May. In Friday’s opener at Miami, Eric Lauer takes the mound for the Padres, looking for not only his first road win of the season, but also a better outing against the Marlins after allowing five runs in 2.1 innings of a 7-2 loss to the Fish on May 28.

Coldest team: Phillies (3-7 last 10)

Philadelphia returns to Citizens Bank Park after stumbling on its 10-game road trip against Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Chicago. Granted, the competition was tough, but after splitting a four-game series with the Dodgers, the Phillies scratched across one run in a three-game sweep at the hands of the Giants. The Phillies rebounded with a 6-1 blowout of the Cubs on Tuesday as nearly +200 underdogs, but lost on a walk-off grand slam on Wednesday, then dropped a 4-3 decision in the rubber match at Wrigley Field.

The Phillies travel back to the City of Brotherly Love to welcome in another solid opponent, the NL Central-leading Brewers. Vince Velasquez is winless in his last three starts for Philadelphia in spite of allowing four earned runs and striking out 24 batters in 16.1 innings of work. Milwaukee is looking to end a three-game slide as the Brewers have scored only four runs in their last 27 innings.

Hottest pitcher: Frankie Montas, Athletics (2-0, 0.64 ERA)

Only two starts into his Oakland tenure, Montas has dominated by yielding 10 hits and one run in 14 innings of work as the A’s have knocked off the Diamondbacks and Royals. The Dominican-born right-hander tossed eight innings in a 16-0 shutout of Kansas City last Friday as he squares off with the Royals again tonight. Oakland looks to improves on a 4-9 record in its past 13 home contests, as Montas is the only A’s starter currently on a two-game winning streak.

Coldest pitcher: Matt Harvey, Reds (1-4, 5.79 ERA)

It’s been a rough season for the former Mets’ standout, who was dealt to Cincinnati in May after failing to win a start in four outings. Harvey wasn’t terrible when he initially took the mound for the Reds, allowing four earned runs in 14 innings as Cincinnati posted a 3-0 record. However, the Dark Knight has gone backwards of late by getting tagged for nine runs in his last 10.1 innings of work in road losses at Colorado and San Diego. Harvey and the Reds host the Cardinals, as St. Louis has put together a perfect 7-0 record against its division rivals this season.

Biggest OVER run: Rockies (7-0-1 last eight)

Colorado returns home after failing to pull off the road sweep of Cincinnati after Thursday’s 7-5 walk-off loss in 13 innings. The Rockies’ offense continues to perform well by averaging 6.8 runs over the last 10 games, but the pitching has allowed an average of 8.0 runs in the past seven contests. Colorado hosts Arizona in a critical NL West showdown this weekend as right-hander German Marquez takes the mound in the opener. Marquez has struggled at Coors Field this season by compiling a 7.22 ERA, but the Rockies are 6-1 to the UNDER in his past seven starts against the Diamondbacks.

Biggest UNDER run: Mets (12-6 last 18)

This homestand (and recent month) has been an absolute disaster for the Mets following a promising start. Through six games against the Cubs and Orioles at Citi Field, the Mets have plated a total of seven runs, while losing all six contests. The pitching has been alright over the last three games by yielding five runs, but there is no update on when the offense will get going. Guess who’s coming to town tonight? The big, bad Yankees for three games as Masahiro Tanaka takes the mound opposite Mets’ ace Jacob deGrom. Tanaka has received nearly seven runs of support during his starts this season, while the Yankees have won each of his last seven outings. deGrom has seen the UNDER cash in seven of his last eight starts, but the Mets have scored three runs or less in six of his previous seven outings.

Matchup to watch: Braves vs. Dodgers

Atlanta remains on the west coast after dropping two of three games to streaking San Diego as the Braves travel to Los Angeles. The Dodgers are back at Chavez Ravine following a solid 5-1 road swing at Colorado and Pittsburgh, while scoring at least five runs in all six contests. Los Angeles enters this weekend right in the thick of the NL West race at 31-31, recovering from a 16-26 hole on May 16.

Walker Buehler heads to the mound for the Dodgers in the opener as Los Angeles has five of eight starts made by the right-hander this season. Buehler has been especially effective at Dodger Stadium by compiling a 1.44 home ERA, but the Dodgers have scored two runs or less in three of his four home outings. Los Angeles needs to pick things up at home by going 7-11 in its past 18 home contests dating back to late April.

Brandon McCarthy counters for Atlanta, as the righty is fresh off a pair of no-decisions in home losses to the Mets and Nationals. The former Dodger has given up two earned runs or less in three of his last four outings, while the Braves have won four of McCarthy’s six starts away from SunTrust Park this season. Atlanta has done a nice job of bouncing back off a loss recently by winning five straight off a defeat. Last season, the Braves captured the first two meetings over the Dodgers as heavy underdogs prior to Los Angeles winning four of the final five matchups.

Betcha didn’t know: The Angels have caught fire of late by winning four straight games, as Los Angeles hits the road to face Minnesota. The Halos have had their issues in road series openers by losing four straight Game 1’s away from Anaheim, while scoring three runs or less in all four losses.

Biggest public favorite: Red Sox (-300) vs. White Sox

Biggest public underdog: Diamondbacks (+100) at Rockies

Biggest line move: Marlins (-130 to -140) vs. Padres

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

Kevin Rogers can be followed on Twitter at virogers.

Mlb News

VegasInsider Staff

VegasInsider Staff

More from VegasInsider Staff
•