MLB Baseball Betting for July 1, 2016
A new month a full day of baseball betting for Friday with 15 games on the board:
MLB BASEBALL BETTING FOR JULY 1, 2016:
CINCINNATI REDS AT WASHINGTON NATIONALS:
The flatlining Cincinnati Reds will try to get the month of July started on a winning note when they play the Washington Nationals in the District of Columbia on Friday. Cincinnati didn’t give June much of a send off as they were routed 13-4 by the Nats in the first game of this series despite another marginal performance by lefthander Gio Gonzalez. Washington won for the first time in Gonzalez’s last 7 starts and there were at least signs of hope in his line: 6 innings pitched, 4 earned runs, 4 walks and 9 strikeouts. Of course it helps when your team has given you a 13-1 lead after four innings.
Cincinnati has now lost four straight and eight of ten and unless there’s a precipitous reversal in form will be passed up by the Atlanta Braves in the next week. That will officially make the Reds the worst team in the National League. They already have the worst run differential in baseball by a wide margin–Cincinnati has a -139 run differential with the second worst team in baseball (the Minnesota Twins) only at -112.
Washington has bounced back nicely from their recent 7 game losing streak and have now won five straight games. They lead the second place New York Mets by six games and the third place Miami Marlins by 6.5. Many baseball pundits expected the worst with the Nationals struggling and ace Stephen Strasburg heading to the disabled list but the team responded well. Strasburg is due to come off the DL on Sunday but at this point manager Dusty Baker isn’t optimistic that he’ll immediately get a start.
This game would be an obvious play on the home team were it not for the Reds’ starting assignment. They’ll start their most capable pitcher, Anthony Desclafani, who has looked good since returning to the rotation from the disabled list. Cincinnati has won 3 of his 4 starts which is an accomplishment in itself and Desclafani has put up very good numbers. He’s got a 1.52 ERA overall with a 1.310 WHIP. It’s a bit higher on the road at 2.79 with Cincinnati splitting his two starts. He’ll be opposed by right hander Tanner Roark who has solid numbers but hasn’t always received the support of his team. Roark has a 2.96 ERA overall with a 2.25 home ERA. Despite these good stats, Washington is just 8-8 in Roark’s 16 starts this season including 3-4 at home.
Cincinnati has been horrible as a road underdog in this price range (+175 to +200) with a 2-10 mark this season and a 6-19 record over the last three years. Washington is just 1-3 this year in the corresponding role as a favorite but are 24-10 over the last three seasons. Desclafani is a very capable pitcher but the same can’t be said for the rest of his team.
BET WASHINGTON NATIONALS -200 OVER CINCINNATI REDS
CHICAGO CUBS AT NEW YORK METS:
The Chicago Cubs have lost 6 of their last 10 games but with the rest of the NL Central also struggling to win games they’ve actually widened their margin over the second place St. Louis Cardinals. The Cards had their deficit down to 9 games a week ago but now trail Chicago by 11 games. Making matters worse, they’ve now got to worry about the Pittsburgh Pirates who might not be in great form but have at least ‘steadied the ship’ after a dismal run. Pittsburgh is now just 2.5 games behind the second place Cards. St. Louis will be hosting an erratic Milwaukee team this weekend while the Cubs will be playing the Mets at CitiField. New York earned a come from behind win on Thursday but we’re still not sold on having them installed as short priced favorites here.
The Mets’ biggest problem this season has been their putrid offense and no one has suffered from this more than right hander Jacob DeGrom who gets the start on Friday. Degrom has been very solid all season long with a 2.67 ERA overall and a 2.51 ERA at home. Despite these impressive numbers the Mets have lost 7 of his 13 starts though they have won 4 of 7 at home. His last three starts have just been sad. DeGrom has thrown 20 innings in his last three starts allowing just 5 earned runs. That’s a 2.25 ERA and a 1.050 WHIP. He’s struck out 21 and walked just 3. The Mets still managed to lose two of these three games and DeGrom didn’t even get the win in the victory. How is this possible? It’s not hard when your team scores a paltry *1* run in support of your efforts.
Jason Hamel has pitched well overall (2.58 ERA) and on the road (2.45 ERA) and while the Cubs have won 9 of his 15 starts overall they’re just 4-5 away from Wrigley Field. Just can’t trust the Mets to generate any offense and we just can’t pass up getting the Cubbies at this price.
BET CHICAGO CUBS +100 OVER NEW YORK METS