MLB Baseball Betting for August 19, 2016
Full card of baseball action for Friday:
MLB BASEBALL BETTING FOR AUGUST 19, 2016:
MIAMI MARLINS AT PITTSBURGH PIRATES:
The Miami Marlins–and the rest of the NL East for that matter–need to start winning. They’ve lost 3 straight and 7 of their last 10 and are at risk of running out of time to make a run at the first place Washington Nationals. The Nationals aren’t doing great at the moment with a 5-5 record in their last ten games but they’re still 9 games up on Miami and 10.5 games up on the third place New York Mets. Miami just isn’t getting it done with a 5-11 -6.9 unit loss so far in the month of August. They’re fortunate that Washington is just treading water right now. The Marlins just can’t catch any breaks–for example, on Thursday their ace Jose Fernandez was very ineffective lasting only 4 innings.
Pittsburgh has really turned things around in the past 10 days winning 4 straight and 7 of 10. This leaves them just one game behind the second place St. Louis Cardinals in the NL Central. Neither team will be able to catch the first place Chicago Cubs who have recaptured their early season dominance. They’re both in the running for the wild card spot. In fact, so is Miami–they’re one and a half games back of the Pirates for the final wild card spot. The Pirates’ pitching has been mediocre at best but their offense is coming back–including former MVP Andrew McCutchen who has been in a serious slump for most of the season.
Pittsburgh will start right hander Gerrit Cole who isn’t having a stellar season. The Pirates offense has hung him out to dry on a number of occasions but his numbers are forgettable. The Pirates have won 8 of his 18 starts this season including 3 of 9 at home. He’s got a 3.25 ERA overall with a 1.329 WHIP, a 2.94 ERA at home with a 1.192 WHIP and a L3 ERA of 6.00 with a 1.800 WHIP. He’s got a technical edge here as the Marlins have lost a ton of money against right handed starters.
He’ll be opposed by righty Tom Koehler who has been mediocre on the season but has looked good in his most recent starts. For the year, the Bucs have lost 13 of his 24 starts including 8 of 13 at home. Koehler has put up a 3.86 ERA with a 1.391 WHIP overall, a 4.29 ERA with a 1.514 WHIP on the road and a very impressive last three ERA of 1.89 with a 0.947 WHIP. Of course given the Marlins’ current luck he’ll pitch a gem and the offense will fail to provide any support.
Pirates have won five of the last six against the Marlins at PNC Park. Not thrilled with the price though Cole has been decent at home.
BET PITTSBURGH PIRATES -160 OVER MIAMI MARLINS
ST. LOUIS CARDINALS AT PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES:
You’ve got to give a lot of credit to the Philadelphia Phillies. They really don’t have anything to play for at this point but they refuse to quit on the year. They even have an outside chance of finishing over .500 which would be phenomenal given their horrible run prior to the All Star Break. They don’t have to worry about finishing in last place in the NL East since the Atlanta Braves have that wrapped up at 44-77. The Phillies are 4 games behind the third place New York Mets and 6.5 games back of the second place Miami Marlins. They’re even 8 games out of the second wild card spot. They and the Washington Nationals are the only teams in the division with a winning record in their last ten games.
All of the pressure is on the Cardinals here as they try to hold off the Pittsburgh Pirates in the NL Wildcard standings. Right now the Cards have a one game lead over Pittsburgh for the second wild card spot. It’s especially important in their division since no one is going to catch the Chicago Cubs who lead the second place Cards by 13games. The wild card will be the only chance the other NL Central teams will have to make the playoffs.
At one point, Adam Wainwright was one of the Cards’ most reliable starters but not this season. He’s getting pounded. Somehow the Cards have won 15 of his 24 starts including 7 of 12 on the road. He’s looked awful in his last two starts–8 innings pitched, 13 earned runs. All told for his last three games he’s got a 10.38 ERA and a 2.154 WHIP. His overall ERA is 4.72 with a 6.72 road ERA.
Philadelphia will start left hander Adam Morgan and they’ve lost 10 of Morgan’s 13 starts this season including 5 of 7 at home. Morgan has a 6.85 ERA overall ERA and a 7.15 home ERA with a 8.31 ERA in his last three assignments. The Cardinals haven’t been impressive against left handers this season (16-20 -9.1 units) so that could work in Morgan’s favor. The Cards have won 3 of 4 this season but this is the first game on Philadelphia’s home field where the teams have split the last six meetings. Neither pitcher is much to write home about but just can’t see getting involved with Wainwright in his current form. The Phillies offense isn’t much but they could look like the 27 Yankees if Wainwright continues to struggle.
BET PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES +150 OVER ST. LOUIS CARDINALS