MLB Baseball Betting for June 23, 2016
Short card of Major League Baseball for Thursday with only 9 games on tap. Here are our ‘best bets’:
MLB BASEBALL BETTING FOR JUNE 23, 2016:
SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS AT PITTSBURGH PIRATES:
The Pittsburgh Pirates have become a horrible team. After Wednesday’s loss to the Giants they’ve dropped 8 of their last 10 games and are a dismal 5-16 -11.2 units for the month of June. They’re on the verge of dropping into fourth place in the NL East–they’re just two games up on the Milwaukee Brewers and it’s not like the Brewers have been doing anything good. Milwaukee has lost 7 of 10 so the precipitous decline in the standings is all the Pirates’ doing.
The local media has made 2013 NL MVP Andrew McCutchen something of a scapegoat and he’s likely going to be traded before the deadline this year. More reasonable voices have suggested that McCutchen should spend some time on the disabled list. McCutchen recently revealed that he’s been playing with an injury to the muscle between the index finger and thumb. This is a very common–and very painful–injury among baseball players. Maybe the right move *is* to send McCutchen packing but you don’t have to be Billy Beane to realize that you’re not going to get maximum return for an injured player. That reality alone suggests that he should spend some time on the DL.
In the other corner, the San Francisco Giants are one of the hottest teams in baseball at the moment. Their 8 game winning streak ended earlier this week but they’ve picked up right where they left off winning the two games since. They’ve opened up a 6 game lead over the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League West and the Dodgers are the only team in sight of the leaders. The Dodgers are playing well at the moment, however, winning 5 straight and 7 of 10 so that does put some pressure on the Giants to keep up their recent form.
Not the best pitching matchup in this game. San Francisco will start rookie Albert Suarez who has been largely ineffective in his three assignments this season. He’s back in the rotation due to Matt Cain heading to the DL and hopefully his numbers will improve this time around. The Giants have lost 2 of his 3 starts with Suarez posting a 4.50 ERA and a 5.58 ERA on the road. He’ll be opposed by veteran lefthander Jon Niese who has been a capable starter throughout his career. He’s not having a good season, however, though the Pirates have won 8 of his 14 starts. He’s got an ERA of 4.74 overall and a 4.46 ERA at home. Pittsburgh has lost 2 of his last three starts with Cain putting up a 6.12 ERA.
Regardless of the pitching matchup just can’t pass up the Giants at this price. They’ve made money against left handed pitching this season (15-10 +5.2 units) and the Pirates are just flatlining right now.
BET SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS -110 OVER PITTSBURGH PIRATES
SAN DIEGO PADRES AT CINCINNATI REDS:
Two teams trying to claw their way out of last place in their respective divisions will meet at the Great American Ball Park as the Cincinnati Reds host the San Diego Padres. The Reds are in last place in the NL Central 3.5 games back of the fourth place Milwaukee Brewers and 5.5 games back of the third place Pittsburgh Pirates. They’re 4-6 in their last ten games after a Wednesday night loss to the Texas Rangers.
The Padres are in last place in the NL West and they’ve also lost 4 of their last 6. They’re 4.5 games back of the fourth place Arizona Diamondbacks who have been on a nice run lately winning 7 of their last 10. San Diego is also five games back of the Colorado Rockies who are in third place. The Padres’ biggest issue has been their play on the road. They’re nothing special at home (18-22) but they’ve been terrible on the road with a record of 12-21. Cincinnati is nothing special at home with a record of 17-19 so they’ve got a chance to improve their road record here.
The starting pitching matchup will be a battle of lefthanders. The Padres will start Christian Friedrich who has been decent overall and very impressive on the road. Overall he’s got a 3.15 ERA and the Padres have won 4 of his 7 starts. On the road, he’s got a 0.47 ERA and a 1.000 WHIP in three starts–somehow the Padres lost two of those starts. They’re 1-2 in his last three starts and he’s got an ERAA of 3.86. Cincinnati will counter with lefthander John Lamb and he’s been largely ineffective this season. Cincinnati has lost 6 of his 9 starts this season with Lamb posting an ERA of 4.75 and a 1.521 WHIP. At home, he’s lost 4 of 5 though his ERA is a marginally better 3.29.
San Diego’s Friedrich looks to be the better of the two pitchers and Cinncinati has struggled against lefthanders this year. Not much to work with here, but that’s enough to get us on the Padres.
BET SAN DIEGO PADRES -105 OVER CINCINNATI REDS