Ballpark Figures – Week 5

VegasInsider Staff Sports Betting Expert

10 minute read

New York Streakey
The New York Yankees were expected to run roughshod over the rest of the American League when they inked big bat Giancarlo Stanton to their lineup. While he has struggled at times, others have stepped up their game and they're also getting timely pitching. The Yankees have won nine games in a row, outscoring the opponent by a 64-18 margin during the impressive span. As such they're now No. 2 in the majors in run differential at plus-47, 12 behind the rival Boston Red Sox. They're nine-game winning streak has also reeled the Red Sox back in, closing the division lead to just two games.

No Help at Home
The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim have been a difficult team to figure out this season. The Halos are four games over .500 and just 2 1/2 games behind the defending World Champion Houston Astros. However, they're 5-10 at home and they lead the majors with an 11-2 mark on the road. They were just swept by the aforementioned Yankees, and they have dropped four in a row at home overall. The Halos should be able to get well at home as they kick off a series against the skidding Baltimore Orioles (8-20) starting on Monday night. The O's are 3-10 in 13 tries on the road this season and they're 29th in the majors with a minus-54 run differential, so something's gotta give.


Looking Ahead

Monday, April 30
The winds will be kicking up at Wrigley Field at a 13-16 mph clip, blowing out from home plate to left field. That's great news for 'over' bettors in the Rockies-Cubs game. The Rockies will be looking to get on track after being shut out in Miami of all places on Sunday. The 'over' is 4-1-1 in Kyle Freeland's past six starts on the road, while going 3-1-1 in his past five away starts against a team with a winning record. The 'under' has dominated for the Cubs, going 5-0 in their past five overall, and 4-0 in their past four at Wrigley Field. However, the over has hit in 10 of the past 11 home outings for Jon Lester, and 11-3 in their past 14 games overall.

Sonny Gray and the Yankees head from California to Texas to battle the Astros at Minute Maid Park in a rematch of the 2017 American League Championship Series. The Yankees roll in on a nine-game winning streak, and they're 4-0 in their past four road outings. They're also 6-0 in the past six against a right-handed starting pitcher, and they're 6-2 in their past eight against AL West foes. However, they're 4-9 in the past 13 on the road against a team with a winning road record, and they're 1-4 in their past five road starts by Sonny Gray. The Astros have ripped off five in a row against AL East clubs, and they're 37-14 in their past 51 vs. RHP. They're also 4-1 in Charlie Morton's past five outings against an AL East team and they're 9-4 in the past 13 against a team with a winning overall mark.

The Astros have good knowledge of Gray from his days with the Oakland A's. The red-hot Jose Altuve is 11-for-30 (.367) with a double, an RBI and a .767 OPS in his career. Brian McCann is also hitting .333 (4-for-12) with a double, a home run and three RBI in his career against the Yankees right-hander. All Astros aren't as good against Gray, however, as Carlos Correa is just 1-for-14 (.071) with three strikeouts in their brief encounters.

Zack Greinke will face his former team, the Dodgers, in a home start on Monday. L.A. limps in with just one win over his past six overall, while going 2-5 in their past seven against a team with a winning overall mark. The Dodgers roll out Ross Stripling, and they're just 2-5 in his past seven starts. The Snakes are 4-1 in their past five vs. RHP and 7-2 in their past nine home outings, while going 6-2 in the past eight overall. Arizona is also 15-2 in Greinke's past 17 home starts against a team with a losing record. Corey Seager has had success in his career against Greinke, going 6-for-14 (.429) with two homers and 1.508 OPS. Yasmani Grandal also has two homers in 30 career ABs vs. Greinke, while Cody Bellinger is 5-for-12 (.417) with a double and two solo homers.

Weather Report

The Royals and Red Sox are slated for a 7:05 p.m. ET first pitch, but there is a 40 percent chance of rain. It's possible the tarpaulin could be on the field when the game is slated to start, although the showers will move out of the area within an hour or so. There won't be any precipitation, but the winds will be whipping in the Twin Cities for the Blue Jays-Twins battle. The winds will be blowing from right field to left field at a 13-16 mph clip. Wind has been a story in San Francisco all weekend, and it will continue on Monday night. While they'll die down as the game goes on, the weather forecast calls for winds from 16-19 mph blowing out to the right-center field power alley. By the end of the game the winds should decrease to the 9-12 mph area.

Tuesday, May 1
The Nationals will be heavily favored at home against the Pirates, as Max Scherzer will be on the bump. It also doesn't help that the Pirates counter with the erratic Chad Kuhl. The Pirates enter the series 0-4 in their past four road games against a right-handed starter, and they're 1-4 in Kuhl's past five road starts against a team with a losing record. They're also 1-7 in Kuhl's past eight road starts overall. It's the total opposite for Scherzer and the Nats. While they enter the new week four games under .500, they're 9-2 in Scherzer's past 11 at home, including 6-0 in his past six at Nationals Park against teams with a winning overall record. They're also 6-2 in his past eight against NL Central foes while going 39-15 in his past 54 overall.

The Braves and Mets open a set on Tuesday at Citi Field after a scheduled day off for both. Atlanta has posted wins in four of their past five road games, and they're an impressive 11-3 in their past 14 overall against teams with a winning record. That will be put to the test with Sean Newcomb on the hill, however, as the Braves are just 2-9 in his past 11 tries against teams with an overall winning mark, while going 3-8 in his past 11 inside the division and 1-5 in his past six working on four days of rest. New York has cooled after their red-hot start, going 0-6 in their past six following a win. However, Noah Syndergaard has been hot, going 5-1 in his past six outings. They're also 5-2 in his past seven home starts.

Milwaukee and Cincinnati do battle on Tuesday night. The Brewers have been hot with Chase Anderson on the hill, going 5-1 in his past six on the road while going 8-3 in the past 11 games overall with Anderson on the bump. For the Reds, Homer Bailey looks to find some consistency. The Reds have dropped each of Bailey's past four starts at home while going 0-4 in his past four attempts against a winning team. Cincinnati is also 1-7 in Bailey's past eight assignments at home against a team with a winning record. Great American Ball Park hasn't been kind to them period, as they enter the week 3-15 over their pat 18 at GABP.

Many of Bailey's problems have to do with Ryan Braun. The outfielder is 16-for-47 (.340) with four doubles, four homers and nine RBI with a 1.073 OPS against the Reds' starter. Manny Pina doesn't have a lengthy history against the Cincinnati pitcher, but what little he has seen he has liked. Pina is 4-for-7 with two homers and four RBI in his career against the veteran.

Clayton Kershaw has four losses already this season, equaling his loss totals from the 2016 and 2017 seasons. Paul Goldschmidt will look to keep him down. While the left-handed slugger is just 11-for-49 (.224) against Kershaw, Goldie has two doubles, three homers and nine RBI against the three-time Cy Young Award winner.

Weather Report
On Tuesday, the winds will be kicking at Progressive Field for the Rangers and Indians. The wins will be blowing out to the right-center field power alley at 12-15 mph. Also in Ohio, the Brewers and Reds will be fighting winds blowing from right to left field at 10-13 mph at first pitch, decreasing as the game progresses. Wind will be an issue at Citi Field, too, as the Braves and Mets play the second game of their series. Winds will blow out to right-center field at 12-15 mph for the entire game.

In Detroit, it will be the complete opposites. Winds are blowing in from right field to home plate at 13-17 mph. For the Rockies-Cubs, winds will be howling from 16-20 mph to the left-center field power alley, and a line of thunderstorms is scheduled to roll in during the later innings, too. And, this is a recording, but winds will be kicking in Frisco again. There will be a stiff breeze from 14-17 mph blowing to straightaway center field, affecting the Padres and Giants.

Wednesday, May 2

Weather Report
The matinee action in Beantown will be affected by stiff winds blowing out to the right-center field power alley from 16-19 mph. Wind will also be the story in Cleveland for the series finale between the Rangers and Indians. Winds will also be blowing from 15-18 mph out to right-center. In Detroit, the winds will be blowing straight in from right field to home plate at 17-20 mph, so an 'under' result could be in the offing.

Wind will also be the story in St. Louis and Chicago. For White Sox-Cards, winds will be whipping from 15-18 mph to the left-center field power alley, while the ball will be sailing with a stiff wind at 16-19 mph blowing to straightaway center in Wrigley Field.

In Minnesota, there is a slight chance of rain which could potentially affect the start time of the Blue Jays-Twins finale. The forecast calls for a 40 percent chance of rain at first pitch, decreasing to 25 percent by 2pm CT.

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