Been on a nice little run lately, lost my last posted play on the Giants in a heartbreaking 1 run loss. For Wednesday I have 2 plays for you folks and they are both a total and a side in the Reds/A's game. First, let's talk about the Cincinnati Reds vs. Oakland A's pitching match up. We have Johnny Cueto going for the Reds and Vin Mazzaro for the A's. Cueto has decent numbers sporting a 6-2 record with a 4.30 ERA. Mazzaro has only 3 starts under his belt this year and they were not against any easy opponets that's for sure. He has had to face the Cardinals, Giants, and Angels and only one of those starts were at home. He has a 2-1 record with a 5.22 ERA. Vinny gives up home runs, let's just face the facts on this one. Guy has thrown 29 innings this season and have given up a whopping 7 Home Runs and 37 hits. That's over a hit an inning and a home run every 3rd inning. Out of those 7 home runs, 5 of them have came in day games. Mr. Cueto strung off 4 straight wins dating back to May 27th, but has only been able to muster out one win since then. He has a 5.1 ERA in his last 3 starts. He has given up 22 runs since that May 27th win. His last outing was a 1-0 loss but he was very impressive and just didn't get any run support. The umpire in today's game is Mr. Brian O'Nora. He has called the balls and strikes in 15 games this year. Home teams are a fantastic 11-4 in his games, his games average a nice total of 9.87 run per game. He is also generous to over backers as totals are 9-5 this year with him behind the plate, and to add on to that his games average 2.33 home runs per game (one of the highest I have seen this year If I'm not mistaken). And get this, in his last 3 games as the home plate umpire, teams have scored a TOTAL OF 46 RUNS. Yes, that is correct, 46 runs have been scored in the last 3 games he has umped. So play #1 for this afternoon IS:
Cincinnati Reds / Oakland A's Over 8 (-120)
Now for which team I like in this one. I like the A's to take this one folks. As stated above home teams are a very good bet when O'Nora is behind the plate. Athletics are 4-0 in their last 4 Wednesday games with O'Nora behind home plate.
Athletics are 6-2 in their last 8 games with O'Nora behind home plate, and the Home team is 22-8 in O'Noras last 30 games behind home plate! I also found out the Reds don't like to see this guy call their games. The Reds are 1-5 in their last 6 games with O'Nora behind home plate. A's are 8-3 in their last 11 against the Reds dating back to 2002, so they have had success against these guys. Reds don't fare well when them Vegas boys make them the favorites on the road against the AL. They are Reds are 1-6 in their last 7 interleague games as a favorite of -110 to -150. Today they have them listed as -120 for today's ball game, so good news for A's backers. I see it this way, both of these starting pitchers will probably not go past 6. The A's have the edge in the bullpen in this match up which may come up huge here. Reds Bullpen has been anything but spectacular as of late. In their last 3 they have pitched 22 innings sporting a 1.59 WHIP and a gigantic 5.16 ERA. They have given up 25 hits, 4 of those home runs, and 13 Earned Runs. YIKES. A's bullpen has been much sharper in their last 3. They have given up only 9 runs, 18 total hits, and 22 punch outs. They also sport a lower WHIP and ERA. So have patience with the A's today. As long as Johnny doesn't dominate and we get into that Reds Bullpen, we should be okay. But, I got a feeling the A's are gonna jump on these guys from the start.
Oakland A's +105
So there you have it the Over and the A's in today's afternoon battle. Fade or play, best of luck my friends. And as a lean in the other day game, I really like the Royals and may even add them to my card, but as of now it is just a lean. Nationals and Strasburg are over priced in that game and I might not be able to pass that value up on the Royals.
Cincinnati Reds / Oakland A's Over 8 (-120)
Now for which team I like in this one. I like the A's to take this one folks. As stated above home teams are a very good bet when O'Nora is behind the plate. Athletics are 4-0 in their last 4 Wednesday games with O'Nora behind home plate.
Athletics are 6-2 in their last 8 games with O'Nora behind home plate, and the Home team is 22-8 in O'Noras last 30 games behind home plate! I also found out the Reds don't like to see this guy call their games. The Reds are 1-5 in their last 6 games with O'Nora behind home plate. A's are 8-3 in their last 11 against the Reds dating back to 2002, so they have had success against these guys. Reds don't fare well when them Vegas boys make them the favorites on the road against the AL. They are Reds are 1-6 in their last 7 interleague games as a favorite of -110 to -150. Today they have them listed as -120 for today's ball game, so good news for A's backers. I see it this way, both of these starting pitchers will probably not go past 6. The A's have the edge in the bullpen in this match up which may come up huge here. Reds Bullpen has been anything but spectacular as of late. In their last 3 they have pitched 22 innings sporting a 1.59 WHIP and a gigantic 5.16 ERA. They have given up 25 hits, 4 of those home runs, and 13 Earned Runs. YIKES. A's bullpen has been much sharper in their last 3. They have given up only 9 runs, 18 total hits, and 22 punch outs. They also sport a lower WHIP and ERA. So have patience with the A's today. As long as Johnny doesn't dominate and we get into that Reds Bullpen, we should be okay. But, I got a feeling the A's are gonna jump on these guys from the start.
Oakland A's +105
So there you have it the Over and the A's in today's afternoon battle. Fade or play, best of luck my friends. And as a lean in the other day game, I really like the Royals and may even add them to my card, but as of now it is just a lean. Nationals and Strasburg are over priced in that game and I might not be able to pass that value up on the Royals.