[Jeff Grant]

Early Saturday Items (Betting Odds - Matchups)
-Yankees SP Andy Pettitte is 7-3 with a 3.07 ERA in his last 14 interleague starts
-Red Sox SP Jon Lester is making his second career start against the Cubs, earning a win at Fenway Park on May 20, 2011, allowing five runs and 12 hits over six innings
-White Sox SP Philip Humber didn’t factor into the decision in his only career start against the Dodgers on May 20, 2011, giving up two runs and five hits over seven innings
-Indians SP Ubaldo Jimenez has gone 3-1 with a 2.31 ERA in six career starts versus the Pirates, posting quality outings in five of those efforts
-Royals SP Bruce Chen is 1-3 with a 5.24 ERA in nine career games (three starts) versus the Cardinals
-Angels SP Ervin Santana is 11-7 with a 4.17 ERA in 24 interleague starts
-Mariners SP Kevin Millwood is 5-4 with a 4.07 ERA in 10 career starts versus the Giants, but his last outing came on June 21, 2009
-Rays SP James Shields is 10-8 with a 4.24 ERA in 24 career appearances (23 starts) in interleague play
-Rangers SP Justin Grimm will be making his MLB debut, posting an 8-3 record and 1.87 ERA in 13 starts at Double-A Frisco (lowest ERA in the Texas League)
-Cubs SP Jeff Samardzija has allowed three or fewer runs in eight of his last nine outings
-Dodgers SP Chad Billingsley is 7-5 with a 3.81 ERA in 18 career interleague games (16 starts)
-Marlins SP Anibal Sanchez will be making back-to-back starts against the same team for the fifth time in his career, going 2-1 with a 3.57 ERA in the four previous instances
-Pirates SP A.J. Burnett is 3-6 with a 4.55 ERA in 10 career starts against the Indians
-Athletics SP Ross Ohlendorf has gone 1-4 with a 5.84 ERA in 13 interleague games (seven starts)
-Cardinals SP Joe Kelly will be making his second MLB start, posting a 2-5 record and 2.86 ERA in 12 starts at Triple-A Memphis

[Jeff Grant]

Friday MLB Recap
-Cubs SP Ryan Dempster has thrown 22 consecutive scoreless innings
-Indians SP Justin Masterson has received two or fewer runs of support in 11 of his 14 starts this season
-Pittsburgh is 3-19 in AL ballparks the last three years
-Philadelphia has committed 13 errors in its last nine games
-Tampa Bay has won eight straight against Miami, its longest win streak ever against an NL opponent
-Rangers SP Yu Darvish is 6-0 with a 3.15 ERA in six starts at Rangers Ballpark
-Texas has won 12 of its last 16 games in the interleague series against Houston
-Brewers OF Ryan Braun has at least one hit in his last 20 interleague games, batting .408 over that stretch
-Diamondbacks SP Trevor Cahill has never allowed more than three earned runs in 10 career starts against the Angels
-The Angels opened a nine-game homestand possessing the majors’ best interleague record since 2007 (68-32)
-Oakland’s 36 runs are its most over a four-game stretch since 2004
-San Diego has used 12 different starting pitchers this year
-Cardinals OF Carlos Beltran is batting .467 during a current eight-game hitting streak
-Giants closer Santiago Casilla has 18 saves in 19 chances
-White Sox OF Adam Dunn has homered seven times in 74 at-bats against lefties this year (0 HR, 94 ABs in 2011 in that situation)

[Jeff Grant]

New York Yankees at Washington Nationals (Betting Odds - Matchup)
-Washington’s starting staff leads the majors with a 3.01 ERA
-The Yankees have scored six or more runs in 10 of their last 20 games, while leading the majors with 97 home runs this season
-SP Jordan Zimmerman’s 1.82 ERA in nine interleague starts since 2009 is the fifth-best in the majors over that span, but he’s never faced the Yankees
-Zimmerman has received just 3.42 runs of support in his starts
-New York is 45-20 in June over the last two-plus years, including an 11-2 mark this year, outscoring opponents by a 68-32 margin
-Yankees bullpen is second in the AL with a 2.71 ERA (Orioles, 2.38)
-SP Andy Pettitte owns the second-most career wins (37) in June among active pitchers
-Pettitte has allowed four earned runs in three starts with umpire Tim Timmons behind home plate (22.1 IP)

Philadelphia Phillies at Toronto Blue Jays (Betting Odds - Matchup)
-Toronto has scored three runs or fewer in seven of its last eight games
-Blue Jays SP Ricky Romero enjoys one of baseball’s highest run-support averages (7.54), while Phillies SP Cliff Lee ranks much lower (2.55)
-Lee is 17-5 with a 3.26 ERA in 31 career interleague starts
-Over the last 26 games (10-16 record), Philadelphia’s starting staff has gone 7-13 with a 5.30 ERA
-The Phillies entered Friday’s series opener averaging an MLB-best 5.12 runs per game on the road
-The Blue Jays are 12-11 in day games (Phillies, 7-13)
-The OVER is 9-5 in umpire Paul Schrieber’s 14 assignments behind home plate (10.57 average)
-Toronto is 12th in the majors in hitting .252 in day games (Phillies, .245, 17th)

Pick: Toronto Blue Jays -107 First Five Innings

[a4u2fear]

Do you bet based on any of the above?

[scottsins]

Do you bet based on any of the above?

When theres a pick, he posts "Pick...". So far, blue jays 1st 5 innings has been posted as a play.

[Jeff Grant]

Milwaukee Brewers at Minnesota Twins (Betting Odds - Matchup)
-Twins 3B Trevor Plouffe leads the majors with 13 HRs since May 16
-Minnesota SP Liam Hendriks went 5-0 with a 1.94 ERA in seven starts since being sent down to the minors on May 2, but is 0-4 in eight career big-league starts
-Milwaukee had lost 14 of its last 19 on the road in this series heading into Friday
-Twins closer Matt Capps is 0-3 with a 4.09 ERA in 11 non-save opportunities
-Each of the Brewers last four games have been decided in the last at bat
-Milwaukee’s starting staff is 3-1 with a 2.25 ERA over its last nine games
-The Brewers are 8-17 in day games (Twins, 9-12), ranking 25th in the league in batting .234 (Twins, .263, 7th)


Slight lean to the Twins due to their home success against NL opponents, but the line offers little value to backers, while weather could be an issue in this game


Kansas City Royals at St. Louis Cardinals (Betting Odds - Matchup)
-St. Louis has scored just 14 runs in its last seven home games, but their home batting average of .289 is tied for the best in the majors
-The Cardinals also lead all teams with a .280 daytime batting average (Royals, .273, 4th)
-Kansas City pitching staff has a 2.13 ERA during its four-game losing streak
-The Cardinals and Royals have split 28 all-time regular-season meetings in St. Louis
-Royals SP Bruce Chen is 4-9 with a 3.72 ERA in 27 interleague games (17 starts)
-Chen is 1-2 with a 7.13 ERA in four daytime starts
-Cardinals SP Joe Kelly posted a 2-5 record and 2.86 ERA in 12 starts at Triple-A Memphis
-St. Louis is 3-7 as a home favorite of -125 to -150 (7-3 over), while Kansas City is 5-8 as a road underdog of +100 to +125 (7-6 over)


Can’t pull the trigger on the OVER due to the Cardinals falling short of the total in all eight games with a total of 9 to 9.5

[Jeff Grant]

When theres a pick, he posts "Pick...". So far, blue jays 1st 5 innings has been posted as a play.

In Hoc brother - thanks for supplying the response

Pick: Cleveland Indians -130

-Key factor in handicapping Saturday's game at Progressive Field is finding out which offense draws the most amount of walks, as Burnett and Jimenez are known to throw a lot of pitches, plus the bullpen matchup is virtually even
-The Indians are third in the league in this category, while the Pirates rank DEAD LAST

I could write a lot more on this game, but that's a key stat that many will not examine

[JJJ]

any leans on the late games Jeff