MLB Baseball Betting for July 31, 2016
Full card of Major League action on Sunday and it could be an interesting day off the field as the trade deadline is set for Monday, August 1. All records pending outcome of Saturday night games.
MLB BASEBALL BETTING FOR JULY 31, 2016:
ST. LOUIS CARDINALS AT MIAMI MARLINS:
Same old same old for the St. Louis Cardinals. They’re playing fairly well but have been unable to make up much ground and cut the Chicago Cubs’ lead atop the NL Central to less than six games. They won the first two games of this series but lost on Saturday night. They’ll try to get things heading back in the right direction in the series finale on Sunday afternoon. This will be the first start for the now beardless Andrew Cashner as a member of the Miami Marlins. Cashner was formerly with the San Diego Padres and put up so-so numbers for the season to date. The Padres won 7 of his 16 starts overall with Cashner putting up a 4.76 ERA and a 1.399 WHIP. The Padres won 5 of his 8 starts at homer with Cashner contributing a 3.63 ERA and a 1.321 WHIP. They lost two of his final three starts with the team though Cashner pitched fairly well with a 2.55 ERA and a 0.792 WHIP.
St. Louis will start right hander Carlos Martinez who has been exceptional this season–even if he hasn’t always had the help he needs from his teammates. St. Louis has won 10 of Martinez’s 19 starts including 6 of 8 on the road. He’s put up a 2.87 ERA and a 1.156 WHIP overall with a 1.89 ERA and a 1.108 WHIP on the road. The Cards have won his last three starts with Martinez turning in a 2.65 ERA and 1.294 WHIP.
Cards just the better team with the better pitcher in better form. Plus they’ve got the more potent offense.
BET ST. LOUIS CARDINALS -120 OVER MIAMI MARLINS
COLORADO ROCKIES AT NEW YORK METS:
Kind of a lot going on for the New York Mets at the moment. They had a nice tribute to Mike Piazza before Saturday’s game. Off the field, they’ve reportedly increased their offer to Milwaukee for catcher Jonathan Lucroy. On Sunday, they’ll try again to cool off the red hot Colorado Rockies, this time with right hander Noah Syndergaard. Syndergaard has been solid this year though the weak hitting Mets haven’t always done their part. Overall, Syndergaard has a 2.48 ERA and a 1.143 WHIP. At home, he’s got a 2.39 ERA and a 1.064 WHIP. In his last three starts he’s put up a 2.75 ERA with a 1.591 WHIP. The Mets have won 12 of his 19 starts overall but have won only 6 of 11 starts at home and only 1 of his last three starts.
Colorado will counter with Chad Bettis who, like his team, has been mediocre for most of the year but is in good form now. He’s got a 5.19 ERA and a 1.450 WHIP overall with a 2.99 ERA and a 1.407 WHIP on the road. He’s been very good in his last three starts with a 2.79 ERA and a 1.189 in three Rockies’ wins. Syndergaard might be a superstar of the future but given the form of these teams he looks overpriced here.
BET COLORADO ROCKIES +185 OVER NEW YORK METS
PITTSBURGH PIRATES AT MILWAUKEE BREWERS:
The Pittsburgh Pirates need to scratch out some wins over the next week if they’re serious about contending in the NL Central. They’ve got a great opportunity in their current road series against the Milwaukee Brewers and three games on deck against the Atlanta Braves. So far, however, they haven’t done what they need to do. They lost the opening game of the series against Milwaukee and dropped Saturday’s second game 5-3 to the Brewers.
The pitching matchup will feature a pair of starters capable of much better as lefthander Francisco Liriano will matchup with Milwaukee right hander Matt Garza. The Pirates have gone 9-11 in Liriano’s 20 starts this season including 4-5 in his 9 road starts. Liriano has a 5.38 ERA overall, a 6.52 road ERA and a 6.75 ERA in his last three games–two of which were Brewers’ losses. He’s coming off a horrible performance against Seattle on 7/26–he went 3 1/3 innings giving up 8 hits, 7 ER and 2 home runs. Prior to that however, he turned in a nice outing in a Pittsburgh win over Milwaukee at PNC Park.
He’ll be opposed by Matt Garza–the Brewers are 2-6 in Garza’s 8 starts this season though they have won both of his home starts. No matter the venue, Garza’s numbers have been poor. He’s got a 5.74 ERA overall, a 5.25 home ERA and a 6.06 ERA in his last three starts. We haven’t been sold on this Pittsburgh team all season long and note that Milwaukee has been profitable in their home games going 29-25 +6 units. Pittsburgh is 9.5 games back of the Chicago Cubs and might be realizing that their season is slipping away. In any case, we like the value with the home team.
BET MILWAUKEE BREWERS +125 OVER PITTSBURGH PIRATES