Miguel Cabrera doesn’t exactly play by the same rules as everyone else. In order for him to be considered “hot,” he has to be in a different galaxy than all other players – and he is. Cabrera, seeking to win the Triple Crown for a second consecutive season, has a ridiculous 33-point lead in AL batting average and he is five clear of the field in RBI. The Tigers’ superstar is tied for second in homers with 22 behind Baltimore’s Chris Davis (28).

On the other side of the coin, the Yankees are not getting much healthier nor are the gaining any serious ground on Boston in the AL East.

All odds provided by Sportsbook.ag.

Pitchers – Hot

Jordan Zimmerman (Nationals) – Washington has won five consecutive starts made by Zimmerman and four of those have been awesome outings. In three he did not give up a run while going at least seven innings and on Wednesday he surrendered two on just three hits in seven innings during a 3-2 win over Arizona.

Chien-Ming Wang (Blue Jays) – The Yankees may be regretting their release of Wang right about now. Since the veteran landed in Toronto, the Blue Jays have won all three of his starts and he has not allowed a single earned run in his last two outings (in a combined 13.1 innings of work).

Matt Garza (Cubs) – On June 11, Garza was taken deep three times and he gave up nine runs in five innings of a 12-2 loss to Cincinnati. Chicago’s right-hander has not wasted any time righting the ship. He blanked the Mets through seven innings on June 16 and last Friday he struck out eight Houston hitters while allowing only one run in eight frames. The Cubs (Garza) are -115 road favorites against Milwaukee (Wily Peralta) on Thursday.

Pitchers – Cold

Roy Oswalt (Rockies) – Oswalt’s tenure with the Rockies is not off to good start, and he can’t make the mile-high excuse because both of his starts have come on the road. In two outings (both losses), Oswalt has given up a total of 18 hits and nine runs in 11 innings. The one bright spot is that the righty’s strikeout-to-walk ratio is 16 to 1.

C.C. Sabathia (Yankees) – The Yankees are still 3.5 games back of Boston, in part due to injuries (now Mark Teixeira is expected to be out for the season). Sabathia (8-5, 4.09 E.R.A.) is not really to blame, as New York has won four of his last five starts. However, the southpaw has surrendered at least four runs in three of his last four outings and he has been rocked for at least five runs in three of his last six.

Jason Marquis (Padres) – Marquis has been incredibly effective at home this year. But he has also allowed at least one home run in each of his last seven starts. He has also walked at least four batters an outrageous seven times in his last nine outings. It reached a low point when Marquis gave up six runs and five walks in 4.1 innings during a 6-2 loss to Philadelphia on Tuesday. The Padres are +800 to win the NL West and +1500 to reach the World Series.

Hitters – Hot

Pedro Alvarez (Pirates) – Alvarez is in the midst of a 10-game hitting streak and he has five multi-hit performances in the current hot stretch. In the same span, Pittsburgh’s third baseman has five home runs and 13 RBI. Alvarez is one of those guys who does damage whenever he makes contact…which is not every time. He has 15 strikeouts in his last 10 outings.

Jason Kipnis (Indians) – Kipnis has an eight-game hitting streak going and he has homered in each of Cleveland’s last two contests. The second baseman has four multi-RBI games in his last six, driving in a total of 10 runs in those six contests. Kipnis’ batting average is up to .288, his best mark of the season. The Indians are the second choice at +600 to win the AL Central.

Miguel Cabrera (Tigers) – Saying Cabrera is hot is like saying LeBron James is good as basketball. It’s a constant, a certainty. Still, Cabrera is hot even by his standards at the moment. Detroit’s third baseman has hit safely in 11 straight games, he has four dingers in his last nine outings, and he has seven RBI in his last five.

Hitters – Cold

Coco Crisp (A’s) – Coco is always crispy, but he certainly isn’t hot right now. Oakland’s center fielder has four hits in his last eight games and he has not enjoyed a multi-hit performance since June 15. None of his 15 stolen bases has come since June 8. Crisp also boasts just one RBI in his last six outings and prior to scoring two runs on Tuesday he had crossed the plate only once since June 13.

Todd Frazier (Reds) – Frazier has two hits in his last six contests, zero home runs in his last eight, no RBI in his last eight, and one stolen base since May 11. Since opening June with five consecutive multi-hit games, Cincinnati’s third baseman has only one such performance in his last 17 games.

Willie Bloomquist (Diamondbacks) – After missing all of April and May, Bloomquist was hitting .409 on June 16. Ten days later he finds himself below .300 at .292. Arizona’s shortstop has no home runs this season, two RBI in his last 11 games, one hit in his last four, and three hits in his last seven. The Diamondbacks (Patrick Corbin) are +130 road underdogs against Washington (Stephen Strasburg) on Thursday.

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