Saturday MLB Insider Report - 6/23

[Jeff Grant]

Friday MLB Recap

• Chicago Cubs are the second-worst team in the majors, dropping six of their last nine games
• Orioles SP Jason Hammel has gone 19 straight innings without giving up an earned run
• Detroit missed a chance to move back to .500 for the first time since being 18-18 on May 15
• The Pirates have won 15 of their last 19 home games
• Pittsburgh SP A.J. Burnett is 5-0 at home this season with a 1.11 ERA
• The Pirates have won 10 of their last 12 games against AL teams, allowing an average of less than three runs over that time
• Braves closer Craig Kimbrel has 21 saves in 22 chances this season
• Atlanta is 7-1 in its last eight road games
• Minnesota's pitching staff has allowed a major league-leading 95 home runs (65 by starters)
• The Twins are 8-8 in interleague play (Reds, 6-7)
• Toronto had supported SP Ricky Romero with an average of 9.16 runs per game entering Friday, which was third in the majors
• Miami has lost five straight and 14 of 16, coming off a franchise record 21 wins in May
• Blue Jays OF Jose Bautista has 11 home runs in his last 18 games
• Rangers SP Roy Oswalt threw 81 of his 110 pitches for strikes
• Texas is a major-league best 13-3 in interleague play
• Colorado is now 1-12 in interleague play
• Indians SP Ubaldo Jimenez improved to 4-0 with a 1.88 ERA in six career starts against the Astros
• Cleveland closer Chris Perez leads the majors with 23 saves
• The Brewers recorded their fourth shutout, while the White Sox failed to score for the seventh time
• St. Louis matched a season high with 17 hits
• Kansas City relievers lead the majors with 268.1 innings pitched this season
• Dodgers SP Chad Billingsley hasn't gone longer than seven innings since his season debut
• The Giants had lost the last nine games Tim Lincecum had started until Friday night
• Seattle has allowed 39 runs on the first four games of its current road trip
• The Mariners lost for just the seventh time in 22 games at Petco Park

[Jeff Grant]

Toronto Blue Jays at Miami Marlins (Betting Odds - Matchup)
-Miami has been outscored 113-41 during a 2-14 stretch, with the pitching staff compiling an MLB-worst 6.89 ERA
-Marlins SP Josh Johnson has posted a 2.18 ERA in his last three starts
-Johnson is 6-1 with a 1.86 ERA in his last nine interleague starts, and has won both of his career meetings with Toronto
-Blue Jays SP Brett Cecil was 0-4 with an 8.44 ERA in six interleague starts before earning a 6-2 win over Philadelphia on Sunday
-Toronto 3B Brett Lawrie is hitting .333 with three home runs since moving to the leadoff spot 16 games ago
-No duo has more home runs than the 45 Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion have hit this season
-The Blue Jays are 14-12 in day games (14-10 over), while the Marlins are 11-11 (13-9 over)
-The UNDER is 10-5 in umpire Jeff Nelson’s 15 assignments behind home plate (8.00 rpg)


St. Louis Cardinals at Kansas City Royals (Betting Odds - Matchup)

-Cardinals OF Carlos Beltran is 8 for 19 in four games against the Royals this season
-St. Louis SP Adam Wainwright is 1-1 with a 2.75 ERA over his last three starts, allowing one run over seven innings against Kansas City last Sunday
-Royals SP Luis Mendoza has a 3.57 ERA in three career interleague starts, all coming this season
-Entering Friday’s contest, Kansas City’s pitchers posted a 3.32 ERA in their last 39 games, fifth-best mark in the majors over that span
-The Cardinals are 13-13 in day games (15-11 over), while the Royals are 11-12 (12-10 over)
-The Cardinals are 5-0 on the road when the total is 9 to 9.5 (4-1 under), while the Royals are 4-9 in that situation (7-6 under)

Played Carlos Beltran (-120) to have more total bases than Alex Gordon

[Le_Donk]

thanks man
keep it coming

[Jeff Grant]

Other MLB Items (Part I)


-Pittsburgh is 9-2 on Saturdays this season, including a 6-0 mark at home
-The Pirates are 13-9 in day games this season (6-5 at PNC Park)
-Pittsburgh’s 15-4 home record since May 12 is the best such record in the majors over that span
-The Pirates have won 10 of their last 12 interleague games, outscoring opponents by a 77-42 margin
-Rank first in the majors with a 2.29 ERA at home
-SP Brad Lincoln has allowed all 16 of his earned runs on the road this year, allowing just one unearned run in 9.1 innings in six relief appearances at PNC Park
-Lincoln is 0-3 with a 6.26 ERA in seven appearances (five starts) in interleague play


-Detroit has compiled an 80-44 record in interleague play since 2006
-1B Prince Fielder is hitting .341 with six home runs and 29 RBI over his last 36 games
-3B Miguel Cabrera is batting .331 with seven HRs and 33 RBI over his last 40 games
-Bullpen has a 1.92 ERA over its last 33 games
-Tigers SP Max Scherzer is 6-5 with a 3.74 ERA in 13 previous interleague starts
-Scherzer is making his fourth appearance (third start) at PNC Park, going 0-1 with a 6.08 ERA


-Cardinals OF Matt Holliday is batting .529 with two HRs and 6 RBI against the Royals this season
-St. Louis is 6-7 in a stretch of playing 15-straight games against AL opponents, while going 123-110 all-time in interleague play
-SP Adam Wainwright is 5-4 with a 3.24 ERA in 16 career appearances (10 starts) in interleague play