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Friday’s Diamond Notes

VegasInsider Staff
VegasInsider Staff Sports Betting Expert
6 minute read
Editor's Note: Kevin Rogers is putting together a terrific MLB season at +3,051 units and is currently on a 33-6 guarantee run. He is locked and loaded with a trio of Friday night games. Click to win!

Hottest team: Twins (8-1 last nine)

Minnesota and Houston each have the most wins in baseball heading into Friday’s action with 33 victories apiece. It should be no surprise that the Astros are in this discussion, but the Twins have been by the far biggest shock this season with the fast start. Minnesota finished off a 6-1 road swing at Seattle and Los Angeles, capped off by an eight-home run effort in Thursday’s 16-7 trampling of the Angels. The Twins topped the seven-run mark in five of those wins, while Minnesota last lost a series in late April at Houston.

The White Sox invade Target Field tonight following back-to-back heavy underdog wins at Houston as Chicago and Minnesota are meeting for the first time this season. Jose Berrios has been knocked around the last two starts for the Twins by allowing 20 hits and nine runs in 10.1 innings of work. However, the Twins are 8-2 in Berrios’ 10 starts this season, while Minnesota won all five of his starts against Chicago in 2018.

Coldest team: Tigers (0-9 last nine)

Meanwhile, Detroit is sinking towards the bottom of the AL Central after getting swept in three consecutive home series. The Tigers dropped three straight each to the Astros, Athletics, and Marlins, while Miami shocked Detroit on Thursday afternoon with a go-ahead grand slam in the ninth inning in a 5-2 win. The Tigers have won five games in May, while their last victory came at Minnesota on May 12 as a +155 underdog.

Detroit is a heavy underdog tonight as the Tigers travel to Citi Field for an interleague series with the suddenly-hot Mets. New York has won four in a row and sends out Noah Syndergaard, who opened as a -260 favorite. Left-hander Gregory Soto takes the mound for Detroit, as he is winless in two starts, while allowing four hits and three earned runs in four innings in his last appearance against Oakland last Sunday, a game that was suspended in the seventh inning due to rain.

Hottest pitcher: Griffin Canning, Angels (2-1, 3.80 ERA)

The Halos are thrilled the Twins are out of town as Minnesota swept Los Angeles, while the Angels try to halt a four-game skid. Canning is coming off his best start of his rookie season as the former UCLA standout tossed seven scoreless innings and scattered three hits in a 6-3 victory over the Royals last Saturday. The Angels have won three of Canning’s four starts this season, while the UNDER has hit three times. The Rangers head to Anaheim for the weekend as Texas tries to improve on a 4-12 record in series openers this season with one of those victories coming at Angel Stadium back in April.

Coldest pitcher: Mike Foltynewicz, Braves (0-3, 6.91 ERA)

Foltynewicz was one of the pitchers that helped lead Atlanta to an NL East title last season, but the right-hander has not found the magic of 2018. Through five starts, the Braves are 0-5 when Foltynewicz takes the mound, including a 14-3 setback to the Cardinals 10 days ago at SunTrust Park. In that loss, Foltynewicz allowed three first inning runs, while giving up a season-high eight runs in less than five innings of work. The only saving grace for Foltynewicz is he tossed five scoreless innings and yielded one hit in his last outing at Busch Stadium last July in a 6-5 win as the Braves continue their road trip in St. Louis.

Biggest OVER run: Yankees (5-0 last five)

In spite of playing without sluggers Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton, the Bronx Bombers are smashing the ball of late by scoring 47 runs in the past five games. New York knocked out 13 home runs in the four-game sweep of Baltimore, while easily obliterating the total in three of the past five games. The Yankees travel to Kansas City for the weekend as New York scored 22 runs in the final three wins when the Royals were in town last month. Chad Green is making his second start of the season for New York as he allowed two runs in 1.2 innings of a 13-5 win over the Rays last weekend.

Biggest UNDER run: Diamondbacks (5-1 last six)

Arizona has hit the skids following a promising start by losing 12 of the past 17 games. The D-backs were swept by the Padres this week, while scoring a total five runs in the three losses. Arizona hasn’t won low-scoring games of late by posting 7, 11, and 9 runs in its past three victories. The pitching hasn’t been bad, as Arizona has given up three runs or less in five of the seven games, while hitting the UNDER in four straight road contests. The D-backs travel to San Francisco tonight as Robbie Ray has fared well on the road this season by owning a 3.21 ERA, while yielding two runs in four innings against the Giants last Sunday.

Matchup to watch: Red Sox vs. Astros

The rematch of the 2018 ALCS takes place for the second straight weekend after Houston captured two of three games at Fenway Park last week. The Astros won the first two contests before the Red Sox edged Houston in the Sunday finale, 4-3 as Boston erased an early 3-1 deficit to cash as a nearly -200 favorite.

Boston is coming off its fourth consecutive road series victory after grabbing three of four at Toronto, while crushing the Blue Jays on Thursday, 8-2. Chris Sale has rebounded from a tough start to the season as Boston is 3-1 in his past four trips to the mound since an 0-6 start. Sale has picked up double-digit strikeouts in four consecutive starts, including 10 K’s against Houston in 5.1 innings last Sunday although the southpaw recorded a no-decision.

The Astros stumbled the last two nights in a pair of home losses to the White Sox, while getting shut out by Chicago on Thursday, 4-0 as a -185 favorite. Wade Miley has not lost a decision since April 17, while Houston is 5-1 in his past six trips to the mound with the only loss coming to Sale and Boston last Sunday. Houston is 4-0 in Miley’s four home starts this season, as the Astros try to improve on a 5-2 mark in seven series openers at Minute Maid Park.

Betcha didn’t know: The race for last place in the NL East is starting to get interesting as Miami is riding a six-game winning streak The Marlins swept the Mets and Tigers in back-to-back series to reach 16-31 on the season, only three wins shy of the Nationals. Washington’s season has gone off the tracks even before Memorial Day as the Nationals were swept by the Mets, while entering tonight owning a dreadful 2-14 record in series openers. Miami took two of three from Washington earlier this season at Marlins Park as the Nats haven’t won a series opener at home in 2019.

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

Kevin Rogers can be followed on Twitter at virogers.

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