Weekend Watch

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Streaky Teams (entering play Friday)
Wins and Losses Streak Over/Under Streak
Baltimore 2-14 past 16 games overall Arizona Over 6-1-1 past eight games
Houston 8-0 past eight games overall Kansas City Under 7-1 past eight games
Kansas City 1-9 past 10 games overall L.A. Dodgers Over 9-2 past 11 games
L.A. Dodgers 9-2 past 11 games overall St. Louis Under 4-0 past four games
N.Y. Mets 1-11 past 12 games overall San Diego Under 7-1 past eight games

Definitely Below Average
The Philadelphia Phillies enter play on Friday with a 35-31 record, just four games back of the first-place Atlanta Braves in the National League East. The two teams have taken much different routes to their success, as the Braves are among the better offensive teams in the league, while the Phillies are languishing near the bottom of the batting average rankings, well below the league average of .245, and NL average of .243. Surprisingly, the Phillies are still ranked 22nd in runs scored with 280 through 66 games, or their 4.24 runs per game are not that far off from the league average of 4.33 runs per contest. The Phillies rank a respectable 12th in ERA at 3.76, and eighth overall in the NL. The pitching is what's keeping them around.

Team Batting Average - Best/Worst
Team Average Team Average
Houston .264 N.Y. Mets .225
Boston .263 Baltimore .226
San Francisco .261 Arizona .226
Atlanta .260 Texas .229
Seattle .260 Philadelphia .231




Looking Ahead

Saturday, June 16
The Tampa Bay Rays and New York Yankees continue their series in the Bronx, playing Game 3 at 1:05 p.m. ET. The Rays entered play on Friday with just one win over their past 10 tries against teams with a winning record, and they're 0-6 in their past six road contests against right-handed starting pitching. For whatever reason, though, the third game of a series has agreed with Tampa, as they're 8-1 in the past nine during the third game of a series. For the Yankees, they have defended their home turf successfully in 43 of the past 56 games at Yankee Stadium. They really back Luis Severino well at home, too, as New York is 21-5 over his past 26 assignments at the stadium. They're also an impressive 7-1 over his past eight against AL East foes, 7-0 in his past seven home starts against a team with a losing record and 11-1 in his past 12 overall against teams with a losing overall mark.

The Twins and Indians square off at Progressive Field with youngster Fernando Romero meeting Carlos Carrasco. The Twins entered play on Friday with an 0-4 mark over their past four road games against a team with a winning overall record, while going 2-8 in the past 10 on the road and 1-4 in the past five on the road vs. RHP. The Indians have been steaming along with Cookie on the hill, going 10-1 over his past 11 starts at Progressive Field against a team with a losing overall record. They're also 19-7 in his past 26 overall at home, while going 35-16 in his past 51 overall. The Indians are also 23-8 in Carrasco's past 31 against the AL Central. If you're a total player, the 'under' is 5-1 in the past six meetings in Cleveland, and 12-5 in the past 17 meetings overall.

Madison Bumgarner will toe the slab for the Giants at Dodger Stadium, and road outings for MadBum haven't went very well. The Giants are 1-7 over his past eight outings, and 1-4 in his past five against winning teams. They're also just 2-8 in his past 10 assignments on the road while going 1-10 in the past 11 tries vs. NL West foes. San Francisco has also had their problems with southpaws, going 0-5 in the past five vs. LHP and 0-4 in his past four road games against lefties. Dodger Blue has been red hot lately, going 4-0 in their past four against NL West opponents, and 7-0 in their past seven against a starter with a WHIP of 1.30 or more. The Dodgers have handled their business against lefties, too, coming out on top in 50 of their past 66.

In the lone late game, the Mets and Diamondbacks tangle in a battle of southpaws. The Mets are 5-2 in their past seven on the road against lefties, but they're 0-5 in the past five against southpaws. They're also 3-7 in Steven Matz's past 10 road outings, and 1-6 in his past seven against the NL West. On the flip side, Arizona is rolling along with five wins in the past six vs. LHP, and they're 10-4 in Patrick Corbin's past 14 at home. They're also an impressive 36-15 in the past 51 at home vs. LHP.

Weather Report
The weather in Kansas City will clear up as the afternoon progresses, but there is a 30 percent chance of a thunderstorm at first pitch. When the game does get underway there will be winds from 14-17 mph blowing out from home plate to the left-center field power alley.

Winds will also be the case in Arlington, although the winds will blow in from right-center field to home plate at 12-15 mph to aid the pitchers and 'under' bettors. It will be a hot wind, too, with temperatures in the Metroplex hovering around 100 degrees.

It won't be quite as warm in Oakland, with temperatures struggling to reach 70. The winds will be blowing out to the opposite direction, too, going from 13-16 mph from home plate to the right-center field power alley.

Sunday, June 17
The Yankees host the Rays on Sunday. LHP CC Sabathia is on the bump for his first matchup against Tampa Bay this season. He is 4-0 with a 3.45 ERA across nine starts against the Rays with 45 strikeouts over 47.0 innings since the start of the 2015 season. Tampa is batting .260 against him during the stretch. The last time Tampa beat him was May 4, 2014. However, the current Rays with a history against Sabathia are 15-for-47 (.319) with a double, a triple and two homers with an .830 OPS, including 1B C.J. Cron 3-for-7 (.429) with a homer and two RBI, OF Carlos Gomez going 5-for-16 (.313) with a solo home run and SS Adeiny Hechavarria 4-for-10 (.400) with a double, a triple and an RBI.

'Big Game' James Shields and the White Sox host the Tigers, and the winds will be howling out to left-center field (see below). Shields is looking to carry over the momentum from a strong outing last time out against the Indians. He is 0-1 with a 4.50 ERA over two starts against the Tigers this season. Since the start of the 2015 season he is 2-3 with a 5.36 ERA across eight starts against the Tigers.

RHP Daniel Mengden of the A's will face the Angels on Sunday, and the current collection of Angels have a .304 average (14-for-46) with six doubles, a triple, a homer and 10 RBI against him. The good news is that Mengden will be facing the Halos in the sun. He is 3-3 with a 2.63 ERA in seven day starts with the opposition hitting just .193 agaisnt him, while he is 3-3 with a 5.68 ERA and .299 opponent batting average in seven starts at night. Andrew Heaney is the complete opposite, going 0-1 with a 9.00 ERA in his only starts during the day, while posting a 3-4 record, 3.22 ERA and .220 opponent batting average in 10 starts at night.

The Cubs and Cardinals will battle in St. Louis on Sunday Night Baseball. LHP Jose Quintana will look to maintain his mastery under the lights. He has a 5.79 ERA across seven night starts with a .270 opponent batting average over 37 1/3 innings, while posting a 2.18 ERA with a .183 opponent batting average over 33 innings in six outings at night. The Cubs enter play on Friday with just one win in five tries against the Cardinals this season, while going 16-9 in 25 games against the rest of the NL Central Division. The Cardinals, on the other hand, are a combined 22-12 in 34 games against division foes this season. St. Louis counters with RHP Jack Flaherty, who is 2-0 with a 1.32 ERA in two dating outings and 1-2 with a 3.66 ERA in six night contests.

Weather Report
The series finale between the Padres and Braves at SunTrust Park could be interrupted by those regular pop-up thunderstorms in the Southeast. The thunderstorm chances from 2-5pm ET will be around 40 percent, so the tarpaulin might come out or they could be playing under sunshine and 90-degree weather.

At Guaranteed Rate Field in Chicago the wins be be humming from 12-15 mph from home plate to the left-field foul pole for the AL Central battle between the Tigers and White Sox, and summer has arrived in the Midwest. The temperatures will be in the mid-90's, and the heat index will be flirting with triple digits. The same holds true for the Astros-Royals finale, with wind blowing out 14-17 mph to the left-center field power alley with temperatures in the mid-90's.

In Oakland, the wind will be blowing out from 11-14 mph to the right-center field power alley with temperatures in the upper 60's.