MLB Baseball Betting for July 20, 2016
Full card for Wednesday with several daytime games. Check those start times!
MLB BASEBALL BETTING FOR JULY 20, 2016:
ATLANTA BRAVES AT CINCINNATI REDS:
Two of the worst teams in baseball go head to head at the Great American Ballpark on Wednesday afternoon. The Braves had a brief uptick before the All Star Break but that was a sign of false hope for their fans. The Braves’ boosters have been left to while away their Summer by second guessing trades and watching their minor league affiliates hoping that better days are ahead.
It’s hard to believe that the Braves have become this big of a dumpster fire so quickly. Even after their glory years ended they remained competitive until last season. The wheels completely fell off this year and there’s not much on the horizon to suggest improvement. Atlanta wants to divest some of their veterans but there’s a problem–none of the other teams in the league are showing much interest. Texas is reportedly interested in starting pitcher Julio Teheran but there’s little else going on. So the Braves keep losing and no one appears to have a plan to fix it. There’s been a little bit of interest in Lucas Harrell, Atlanta’s starter in this game. He’s looked decent in his three starts this season.
Cincinnati isn’t much better but their expectations have become much lower. The Reds have become synonymous with mediocrity and the team has had the same ‘Modus Operandi’ every season of late: start decently, fade badly, overreact and trade away prospects for overrated veterans and repeat the process the following year. The fact that there’s even talk about trading away Cincinnati’s starter for this game, Anthony Desclafani, is all you need to know about the sad refrain of the Reds’ personnel management.
One of Atlanta’s biggest issues this year (other than being generally lousy) has been their play against other losing teams. Atlanta is 8-20 -10.6 units against teams under .500 this season (all records pending Tuesday results). They’ve become a ‘measuring stick’ for opponents who don’t want to lose to such a bad team. The Reds are at least break even (15-15 +3.3 units) against losing teams this year.
BET CINCINNATI REDS -180 OVER ATLANTA BRAVES
NEW YORK METS AT CHICAGO CUBS:
Things are a bit better in Chicago this week with the Cubs winning 3 of 4 coming out of the All Star Break and still holding on to a significant lead in the NL Central. The local media is warning Theo Epstein to not get too overconfident but otherwise it’s all good at the moment. Jake Arrieta pitched well on 10 days rest last night but the most consistent pitcher for Chicago of late gets the start here today–Kyle Hendricks was the ‘glue’ that held it all together for the Cubs during their late June/early July downturn. Chicago has a 10-7 record in Henricks’ starts this season but he’s been very good at Wrigley Field where they’re 7-2 and Henricks has a 1.40 ERA and a 0.810 WHIP. He also has 51 strikeouts to just 8 walks on Chicago’s home field. He was a monster in his last three starts just when the Cubs needed him to be. Three starts, three wins with just 2 earned runs allowed for a 1.00 ERA and a 1.111 WHIP.
The Mets will start Bartolo Colon who has been solid this year but Chicago is looking to get some positive momentum going and wants ‘payback’ for the first 4 meetings of the season (all Mets’ wins). New York’s offense is putrid–only the Braves have a worse team batting average and only the Braves and Phillies have scored fewer runs.
TORONTO BLUE JAYS AT ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS:
Everything is going fairly well for the Toronto Blue Jays at the moment despite losing 2 of 3 to Oakland in their previous series. They’ve won 7 of 10 and are in good shape to make a run at the first place Baltimore Orioles. If the season ended today they’d make the playoffs as a wild card team and the offensive struggles of earlier this season have been left in the rear view mirror. The Jays will play the second of a strange two game road series with the Arizona Diamondbacks on Wednesday before returning home for a 9 game homestand that culminates in a three game series against the Baltimore Orioles on July 28, 29 and 30.
This is a perfect chance for the Jays to pick up a win before heading back to the Rogers Centre. The Diamondbacks have a winning record (23-20) and have turned a +8.6 profit on the road but have been downright miserable at home. At home, Arizona is 17-33 -22.2 units. Only Atlanta has a worse home record and only one team (Tampa Bay with 19) has won fewer than 20 home games. And here’s an odd (and likely meaningless) stat–Arizona is 1-13 -13.3 units on Wednesdays this year.
Toronto will start Marcus Stroman and they’re 9-10 when he takes the mound. They’ll face struggling lefthander Pat Corbin who has been awful at home this season. Arizona is 1-8 -8.7 units in his starts and he has a horrible 7.15 ERA and 1.649 WHIP. He pitched well in a win over Toronto earlier this year but that was at the Rogers Centre. Jays playing well right now and should take care of business here.
BET TORONTO BLUE JAYS -160 OVER ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS