After a terrific weekend of baseball, not much has changed at the top of the standings. Despite losing in a thrilling 14 inning game to the Brewers, the Nationals are still at the top of the NL Wild Card race, Minnesota is still holding off Cleveland for the division lead, and Baltimore still sucks. We’ll take a closer look at these three teams with more odds, from Bovada.
The Nationals (-1.5 +125 RL, -132 ML) visit the Pirates (+1.5 -145 RL, +112 ML) after an exciting, drama filled weekend. Joe Ross (3-3, 5.91 ERA) takes the mound against Pittsburgh’s Trevor Williams (5-5, 5.25). This looks like a perfect matchup for the Nats, as they’ve been on a roll and Ross has been hot, whereas Williams has been a lot more shakey. Pick the Nationals and the over (O/U 9.5).
The Twins (-1.5 -115 RL, -125 ML), battling to keep Cleveland off their heels, host the White Sox (+1.5 -105 RL, +185 ML). Kyle Gibson (11-5, 4.28 ERA) gets the start for the Twins, and he’s given the ChiSox fits this year. He faces Ivan Nova (8-9, 4.51 ERA), who has been very good lately. This looks like a close one, so pick the Twins for just the moneyline here, and but the under heavily (O/U 9.5).
Finally, lets take a look at the hopeless Baltimore Orioles (-1.5 +140 RL, -128), who are favored for once as they host the Royals (+1.5 -160 RL, +108). Being 46 games behind .500, it’s not often you would expect the Orioles to win one, but the bookkeepers expect John Means (8-8, 3.76 ERA) will have a better start than Jorge Lopez (1-7, 6.51), who was shelled in his last outing. Both of these teams suck, but I’m going to buck the odds here and pick the Royals based on Lopez previous outings against Baltimore. Pick them with the over (O/U 10.0).
Let’s keep an eye on this Cardinals/Brewers series too. If the Brewers win game one, I’ll take a hard look at game 2.
Tonin’s record yesterday: 5-4
Tonin’s record this season: 71-56
