MLB Baseball Betting for September 6, 2016
With the start of college football season already upon us and the start of the NFL season looming this weekend baseball will take a back seat among the betting public. Until then, we’ll continue with coverage of September baseball as the pennant races heat up.
MLB BASEBALL BETTING FOR SEPTEMBER 6, 2016:
ATLANTA BRAVES AT WASHINGTON NATIONALS:
The Washington Nationals took the opening game of this early week series on Monday using a ‘patchwork lineup’ necessitated by a 3 AM return to DC on Sunday night. That not withstanding, the Braves have been playing very well of late winning 9 of their last 14. With Monday’s loss, the Braves are officially eliminated from the NL East race but that’s hardly a surprise. What has been surprising is that despite their awful record this season the Braves have never quit. That’s not the case with another one of the sport’s ‘bottom feeders’ the Minnesota Twins who have lost 15 of their last 16 games and do look to have quit for the year. The Braves, meanwhile, completed their second straight series sweep against Philadelphia over the weekend after previously not having swept a series all year long.
Atlanta has been very competitive of late but the big story among Braves fans is the team’s interest in former University of Florida quarterback Tim Tebow. The team insists that their interest is based on Tebow’s ability, not his potential as a gate attraction. That’s a natural question given that the Braves are leaving Turner Field and moving into a swanky new arena in suburban Cobb County for next year. SunTrust Field will likely be filled for most of next season based on it’s ‘newness’ alone but having a popular guy like Tebow wouldn’t hurt.
The Nationals will start lefthander Gio Gonzalez here–Gonzalez started the season in miserable form but has been much more solid during the second half. Not sure if he’ll be with the Nationals next season–Washington has a $7 million team option for 2017 and it’s not certain they’ll exercise that. On one hand, a capable lefthander is always a valuable asset but not sure Gonzalez’s form would justify that big of an outlay. The Nats got some more good news on Monday as they’re expecting Stephen Strasburg to be back in the rotation on Wednesday and start the series finale.
Atlanta will start right hander Williams Perez here–Perez has spent the past three months on the disabled list with a rotator cuff strain. He put up marginal numbers at best early in the season but hasn’t started a game since June 6 and clearly his rotator cuff issue might have hampered his performance.
This looks like a possible ‘letdown’ spot for Washington and with Strasburg set to start on Wednesday this looks like the most likely game for Atlanta to win.
BET ATLANTA BRAVES +190 OVER WASHINGTON NATIONALS
NEW YORK METS AT CINCINNATI REDS:
The New York Mets have been in excellent form of late and have won 7 of 10 as they try to cut into the Washington Nationals’ lead atop the NL East. They’ll have another opportunity to do so on Tuesday as they face the struggling Cincinnati Reds. The Reds had been playing well in the second half of the season but over the past few weeks have clearly regressed. Heading into Tuesday’s action the Reds have lost 7 of 10 and have dropped 2.5 games below the fourth place Milwaukee Brewers. The Mets are now 8.5 games behind the Washington Nationals and have opened up a 4 game lead over the slumping Miami Marlins (lost 9 of 10).
New York has won 10 of 14 but face a talented starter in good form here as the Reds will start left hander Brandon Finnegan. Finnegan has a mediocre at best ERA for the season with a 4.19 ERA overall but he’s looked very sharp lately. In his last three starts Finnegan has a 1.80 ERA and a 0.650 WHIP with 29 strikeouts against 4 walks. Hard to ignore a pitcher averaging 7 1/3 K’s per game over his last three. The problem, however, is that the Reds lost two of those three starts. The Reds just aren’t scoring runs putting up 2.9 runs per game over their last 7 contests. Also worth noting–Finnegan’s L3 games all came against week hitting teams including the notoriously bad against lefthanders Los Angeles Dodgers.
The Mets will start right hander Rafael Montero who’ll make his second start of the season. Decent performance in his first start of the season going 5 innings allowing 2 hits and 0 earned runs. The problem was his control as he allowed 6 walks in that game. The Mets have dominated the Reds in recent years winning 15 of 17 for +13.3 units of profit overall including 7 of 8 +6.1 units in Cincinnati.
BET NEW YORK METS -110 OVER CINCINNATI REDS