Ballpark Figures – Week 18



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Streaky Teams (entering Monday)
Wins and Losses Streak Over/Under Streak
Boston 18-4 past 22 games overall Kansas City Under 5-2-2 past nine games
Colorado 16-4 past 20 games overall Milwaukee Over 4-1 past five games
Houston 0-4 past four games overall Minnesota Under 6-3 past nine games
Pittsburgh 13-3 past 16 games overall N.Y. Yankees Under 4-1-1 past six games
San Diego 2-12 past 14 games overall Pittsburgh Under 3-1-1 past five games

Bieber Fever
The Cleveland Indians have a strong pitching staff, including two-time Cy Young winner Corey Kluber, All-Star Trevor Bauer, fireballer Carlos Carrasco and up-and-comer Mike Clevinger. However, the city of Cleveland is starting to get Bieber Fever, but it's not the bubble gum pop singer that is the object of their affection. On the surface, Bieber's 4.80 ERA nad 1.44 WHIP isn't terribly impressive. However, those numbers are skewed dramatically from his most recent outing when he allowed seven earned runs while retiring just five batters against the Pirates on July 24. He entered that start 5-1 with a 3.53 ERA. He has registered 44 strikeouts over 45 innings across his eight appearances.

The Indians enter Monday's game at Target Field with an 8-2 record over their past 10 road games, and they're 4-1 in their past five on the road against teams with a winning overall mark. Better yet, they're 4-0 in Bieber's past four outings against American League Central foes, while going 4-0 in his past four against losing teams and 6-2 in his past eight outings overall. The Indians have built their huge division lead by picking on the weak, and many of those weaklings reside in the AL Central. They're 63-22 in their past 85 against losing sides, and 51-17 across their past 68 inside the division. Facing the Twinkies at Target will be a challenge, as Minnesota is 10-2 in their past 10 at home and 8-2 in the past 10 home games against a right-handed starting pitcher. However, the Twins have come up empty in 11 of their past 15 attempts against teams with a winning overall mark.



Looking Ahead

Monday, July 30
The Braves will welcome the Marlins to SunTrust Park for a new series, but Julio Teheran has had his issues against Miami this season. He is 0-1 with a 12.54 ERA across two outings vs. Miami, allowing 15 runs - 13 earned - and 14 hits with seven strikeouts over 9 1/3 innings while the Marlins are hitting .350 against him. Justin Bour has been particularly hard on him, going 7-for-17 (.412) with a double, a triple and a homer with five RBI and eight walks while posting a 1.365 OPS in hs career against Teheran. Derek Dietrich has launched a pair of homers with five RBI, posting a .296 (8-for-27) record with a .987 OPS. The good news for Teheran is that he is up against Wei-Yin Chen. Miami has won just twice over Chen's past nine on the road, and they're 1-6 in his past seven against the NL East. The 'over' has dominated in his series, going 5-0 in Teheran's past five at home against the Marlins, and 8-2 in his past 10 overall against them. The over is also a perfect 6-0 in Chen's past six starts against the Braves.

The Astros and Mariners will square off in a key AL West series, with Seattle lurking just four games behind Houston for first place. The M's received an unexpected gift from the cellar-dwelling Texas Rangers, who became the first team this season to sweep the Astros over the weekend. The Astros turn to Gerrit Cole to stop the slide. Houston is 17-4 over Cole's past 21 outings, and they're a perfect 7-0 in his past seven while working on five days of rest. The Astros are also 5-0 over his past five road starts against a team with a winning overall record, 9-2 in his past 11 on the road and 6-1 in his past seven against AL West foes.

The Brewers and Dodgers do battle in a potential postseason preview. The Brewers will use RHP Freddy Peralta against RHP Kenta Maeda. Milwaukee heads into the game with a stellar 20-8 mark in their past 28 attempts against NL West clubs, while posting an impressive 5-2 mark in the past seven overall. They haven't been terribly impressive on the road, however, going 3-7 in their past 10 against right-handed starting pitchers, while posting just four win in their past 14 on the road. They're also 3-9 in the past 12 road outings vs. RHP. L.A. is finally living up to expectations after a bumpy start, going 6-1 in their past seven at home, 5-1 in the past six against NL Central clubs and 6-0 in their past six at home vs. RHP.

Weather Report
It's the summer in Georgia, so you can expect scattered thunderstorms to pop up with the daytime heating most every day. Monday will be no exception, as there is a 40 percent or greater chance of t-storms from 7pm-9pm ET, tapering off as the evening goes on. Expect to see the tarp at least once on Monday in the ATL. That's the only weather concern on an abbreviated night of action in MLB.

Tuesday, July 31
The Giants head south to battle the Padres on Tuesday afternoon. San Fran enters the week with an ugly 2-6 mark over their past eight road outings, while going just 3-8 in the past 11 road starts against a left-handed starting pitcher. Rookie Dereck Rodriguez has been the stopper for the Giants lately, however, as San Francisco is 6-1 over his past seven outings, including a perfect 4-0 in his past four on four days of rest. The Padres have managed just three victories in their past 11 against a team with a losing overall record. San Diego is also a dismal 1-10 in the past 11 at home vs. RHP, and 0-4 in their past four overall against righties. They have posted victories in just three of their past 17 at Petco Park, while going 1-5 in Clayton Richard's past six overall. San Francisco has won four of the past five in this series, but they're just 1-5 in the past six trips to San Diego.

Two red-hot clubs meet in the Steel City when the Cubs and Pirates tangle on the banks of the Allegheny River. Chicago has won each of the past six on the road when Jon Lester starts, while going 52-22 over his past 74 starts overall. In addition, Chicago is 23-4 in his past 27 starts in Game 1 of a new series. They're also 5-1 in his past six against winning teams. The Bucs will not be pushovers, however, as they have won 13 of their past 16 and 12 of the past 14 against NL Central opponents. Pittsburgh has won eight in a row at home against teams with an overall record, too, while going 10-1 in their past 11 overall against winnings sides. Jameson Taillon hasn't been terribly dominant, however, as the Bucs are just 3-7 over his past 10 against winning teams, and 1-4 over his past five starts at PNC.

The Blue Jays take on the A's in Oakland, and Toronto hasn't been particularly good on the road this season. They're just 8-17 in the past 25 road outings while going just 4-11 in the past 15 contests against AL West foes. They have won just once in the past five against winning teams, while going 1-4 in Sam Gaviglio's past five assignments away from home. The A's have been on fire lately, going 27-10 in their past 37 overall, while winning eight of the past 10 at home. They're also 11-2 in the past 13 at home against losing teams, and they're 13-6 in the past 19 against AL East foes. Oakland has had success with Trevor Cahill on the mound, too, going 6-2 in his past eight against teams with a losing overall mark.

Weather Report
The O's and Yankees will dodge the raindrops in the middle innings and on, as the weather forecast calls for a 40 percent of thunderstorms from 8pm ET through the overnight. The weather pulls out of Washington D.C. by the middle innings, so the Mets and Nationals could be delayed, but they'll definitely get their game in. When they do play, there will be a jetstream blowing 10-13 mph from home plate to left field.

The Cubs and Pirates will also face a pretty strong possibility of thunderstorms, with the weather clearing around 11pm ET. Since these are divisional foes, and a make-up game is easier to schedule, if the weather gets to be too much a postponement wouldn't be a surprise. Mother Nature is about the only thing that can cool these two clubs off.

In Motown, the Reds and Tigers are also staring a potential delay or postponement in the face. The rain chances are over 50 percent through 11pm ET. They'll also battle those summertime popcorn storms in Atlanta again, with chances over 40 percent all day long. Everyone else will be dry, but the Jays and A's face a 12-15 mph wind current from home plate to the right-center field power alley.