Monday MLB Insider Report - 6/18

[Jeff Grant]

Sunday MLB Recap
-Cincinnati outscored the New York Mets, 14-5, in earning a three-game road sweep
-Pittsburgh scored nine runs for the second straight games after totaling 13 runs during a four-game losing streak
-The Pirates won a series for only the second time in their last 21 road interleague matchups
-The Rockies have lost 10 of their last 11 games, while outfielder Carlos Gonzalez was scratched with a sore right hamstring
-The Phillies are in last place in the NL East division, losing 12 of their last 15 games
-The Yankees lead the majors with 99 home runs
-Nationals 3B Ryan Zimmerman went 1 for 13 in the three-game series against the Yankees, with his average dropping to .229
-New York has swept three consecutive series of three games or more for the first time since 1998
-Baltimore is 9-3 in interleague series play, with wins over Washington, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Atlanta
-Twins close Matt Capps missed Sunday due to right shoulder soreness, but should be ready to go on Tuesday
-Astros first baseman Carlos Lee went 2 for 4 with two RBIs in his first game back from the 15-day disabled list
-Rangers OF Josh Hamilton returned to the team, but remained out of the lineup due to recovering from an intestinal virus
-Angels 1B Albert Pujols has nine HRs and 26 RBIs since May 15
-Los Angeles has won 12 of its last 13 interleague series
-San Francisco had not lost a road series since dropping two of three games to the Dodgers on May 7-9
-White Sox DH Adam Dunn leads the majors with 23 HRs, but has also struck out a major league-leading 104 times
-Red Sox 1B Adrian Gonzalez was out of the starting lineup for the first time this season

[Jeff Grant]

Atlanta Braves at New York Yankees (Betting Odds - Matchup)
-New York 2B Robinson Cano is hitting .381 with four HRs in his last 12 games
-The Yankees pitching staff has compiled a 1.88 ERA and 81 strikeouts over 86 innings over the team’s nine-game win streak
-Braves 2B Dan Uggla is batting .095 with no RBIs in his last seven games, but still leads the club with 11 HRs and 41 RBIs
-New York leads the majors with 99 home runs
-Yankees SP CC Sabathia is 21-8 with a 3.49 ERA in 43 career interleague starts, including a 9-2 mark and 2.94 ERA in his last 13 outings
-The Braves are 0-9 when playing on Monday this season
-The Yankees are 14-7 versus left-handed starters (12-9 over)

Read an SBR Forum preview of this series opener

Cincinnati Reds at Cleveland Indians (Betting Odds - Matchup)
-Cincinnati outscored Cleveland 24-9 in sweeping a three-game series at the Great American Ball Park last week
-Reds 2B Brandon Phillips is batting .419 with 10 RBIs over his current seven-game hit streak, while 1B Joey Votto is batting .500 with 19 runs scored in hitting safely in 21 of his last 22 games
-Cincinnati SP at Mat Latos is 5-0 with a 3.73 ERA in his last 10 starts, with the club winning eight times in that span
-The all-time head-to-head series is tied at 39-39 since interleague play started in 1997
-Latos is 5-2 with a 3.49 ERA in nine career games against AL opponents
-Indians SP Derek Lowe has lost four of his last five starts, going 1-4 with a 7.27 ERA in that span
-The Reds are 4-7 on the road with a money line of -100 to -125 (8-3 under)
-The Indians are 4-3 as a home underdog of +100 to +125 (4-3 under)

Read an SBR Forum article about this in-state rivalry

Baltimore Orioles at New York Mets (Betting Odds - Matchup)
-Mets SP R.A. Dickey is 8-0 in his last 10 outings, while winning five consecutive starts, posting an 0.23 ERA over that most recent span
-Baltimore has won seven of eight to improve to 9-3 in interleague play
-The Mets have dropped a season-worst four in a row at Citi Field, and nine of 13 overall
-New York’s offense has hit .178 with 27 strikeouts over its recent losing streak
-New York has taken five of seven from Baltimore, including a three-game road sweep from June 11-13, 2010
-In six career games (three starts) versus the Orioles, Dickey is 1-2 with a 4.07 ERA, picking up a 5-1 win on June 11, 2010 in his last effort
-The Orioles are 7-5 as a road underdog of +150 to +175 this season (8-4 under)
-The Mets are 7-9 in June this season, but 41-28 during the month since 2010

Check out an SBR Forum article for more information regarding the total in this contest

[Jeff Grant]

Kansas City Royals at Houston Astros (Betting Odds - Matchup)
-Kansas City has won seven of its last 10 games against Houston, including four of six in the Lone Star State
-Royals SP Jonathan Sanchez is 1-1 with a 1.29 ERA in two starts at Minute Maid Park
-The Astros finished 3-6 on their recent completed nine-game road trip
-Houston SP J.A. Happ has lost his last four starts (7.17 ERA), failing to complete five innings in the last two efforts
-The Astros have lost 16 of their last 21 games overall
-Houston has been struck out at least 10 times in 12 of 15 games in June
-In seven of Happ’s last eight starts, the Astros have scored two runs or less
-Happ owns a 1-2 record and 5.27 ERA in seven career interleague starts
-The Royals are 7-10 against left-handed starters (13-3 under), while the Astros are 9-9 in that situation (11-6 over)


Toronto Blue Jays at Milwaukee Brewers (Betting Odds - Matchup)
-Toronto has lost 10 straight games in Milwaukee, with the last victory coming in 1996
-Blue Jays OF Colby Rasmus is batting .356 with seven HRs in 15 games batting second this year
-Brewers SP Randy Wolf is 1-0 with a 1.42 ERA in two career starts versus the Blue Jays, but hasn’t faced them since 2000
-Blue Jays SP Henderson Alvarez is 0-4 with a 5.50 ERA in six starts since May 10
-Since moving to the leadoff spot, Toronto 3B Brett Lawrie is hitting .306 in 49 at-bats
-Brewers OF Ryan Braun has a 22-game hitting streak in interleague play
-The Blue Jays are 8-5 on the road with a money line of -100 to -125
-The Brewers are 21-27 versus right-handed starters this season


Chicago Cubs at Chicago White Sox (Betting Odds - Matchup)
-Chicago Cubs have dropped 24 of their last 31 games, while going 3-9 against AL opponents this year
-White Sox SP Zach Stewart allowed two homers and four runs in one inning of relief against the Cubs on May 19
-Cubs SP Matt Garza is 0-4 with a 5.26 ERA in his last seven starts, with the club dropping each of those efforts.
-Garza is 1-4 with a 5.17 ERA in seven career starts against the White Sox
-The White Sox are a major league-best 56-28 in interleague play since 2008
-White Sox starting rotation is 31-21 with a 2.91 ERA all-time in interleague play
-Stewart is 0-1 with a 12.46 ERA in five career games (one start) versus AL opponents
-The Cubs are 1-10 as a road underdog of +100 to +125 (7-4 under)
-The White Sox are 8-16 at home when the total is 8 to 8.5 (14-9 over)

2012 NBA Finals statistic to keep a watchful eye on