Weekend Watch

Saturday, Aug. 3

On Friday, Minnesota (-230) outlasted Kansas City in the opener with a 11-9 victory as a heavy home favorite. The 'over' (11) cashed in the top of the sixth inning. The Twins have watched the high side cash in three straight and four of their last five games. Also, the 'over' is on a 5-0 run from Minnesota. The setback for the Royals was their fourth straight. Pitching continues to be a problem for KC, who has allowed 54 runs in its last seven games and that's helped the 'over' go 6-1. 

The two teams will continue their series at Target Field in the Twin Cities on Saturday with LHP Danny Duffy and RHP Kyle Gibson battling in Game 2. Duffy has been simply so-so this season, going 5-5 with a 4.42 ERA and .334 opponent on-base percentage while posting 85 strikeouts across 95 2/3 innings in his 17 outings. Duffy allowed three earned runs, six hits and two walks with four strikeouts across eight innings in his most recent outing against the Twins at Kauffman Stadium back on June 22. He did serve up three solo homers in that outing, however.

The Twins counter with Gibson, who has posted 10 victories across his 14 decisions while whiffing 118 batters in 116 1/3 innings over his 21 starts and one relief appearance. He twirled eight scoreless innings with just two hits allowed and no walks with six strikeouts in a 2-0 victory back on June 14 at Target Field against the Royals, and Kansas City has posted a .213 opponent batting average in 12 2/3 innings over two starts by Gibson. He has posted a 6-1 record at home, too, with a collective .222 opponent batting average with only five homers allowed in 58 1/3 innings.

 The Cardinals and Athletics begin a two-game interleague series on Saturday after both clubs got a rare Friday off. Both of these clubs have been playing great baseball since the All-Star break with St. Louis going 14-6 while Oakland has produced a 12-7 mark. Those efforts have put the Cardinals into first place of the National League Central while the A's are now in the thick of the American League wild-card chase.  

For the opener, bettors will see the Cardinals RHP Dakota Hudson squaring off against the A's RHP Mike Fiers. The latter knows the Cardinals well from his days with the Cincinnati Reds, and Bailey probably wishes he could face anyone else. The righty is 0-4 with a 7.11 ERA with six homers and 14 walks allowed in 31 2/3 innings with a .321 opponent batting average against the Cards. Hudson has surprisingly been one of the most consistent hurlers for the Cards, posting 10 victories in 15 decisions while posting 86 strikeouts over 113 2/3 innings in 21 starts and one relief apperance. He doesn't have overwhelming stuff, and he is fairly hittable with a 1.54 WHIP and .276 opponent batting average. Hudson has served up 10 homers across 57 2/3 innings on the road, too.

St. Louis has gone 7-9 versus the AL this season in interleague matchups and that includes a 3-3 away record. Meanwhile, Oakland is 7-4 and that includes a 4-2 mark at home. These teams met at the end of June and Oakland swept a two-game series from the Cardinals, capturing 7-3 and 2-0 wins. 

Sunday, Aug. 4

The New York Mets rallied past Pittsburgh 7-5 on Saturday for a comeback victory as they scored six of their runs in the last three frames. The 'over' has now connected in the first two games of this series as the Pirates doubled-up New York 8-4 on Friday. Sunday's game will be the rubber match between the pair and the Mets hope to remain in the hunt for the National League wild-card hunt. 

Many talking heads expected the Mets to deal RHP Noah Syndergaard at the July 31 trade deadline, but he remains in blue and orange. He'll work in the Steel City against the Pittsburgh Pirates, who have yet to announce a starter. As far as Thor is concerned, he has actually been slightly more effective on the road this season, going 2-2 with a 3.78 ERA with just five homers allowed across 64 1/3 innings across 10 starts. He also enjoys pitching during the daytime, posting a 2.70 ERA with a sparkling .187 opponent batting average across 40 innings in six starts, including his only complete game. He hasn't faced the Pirates yet this season, Syndergaard is 1-0 with a 1.88 ERA with a .218 opponent batting average in two outings against the Bucs since the start of the 2016 campaign.

San Francisco and Colorado will also meet in a rubber match on Sunday, this contest taking place at Coors Field. The first two games in this series were decided by one run as the Rockies took a 5-4 decision on Friday before the Giants escaped with a 6-5 victory on Saturday. The opener went 'under' the total and last night's game pushed at 11 runs.