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Five To Follow MLB Betting: Friday, June 19, 2015 Opening Line Report

by - 6/18/2015

Jose Altuve Houston Astros

A few weeks ago, I figured the Chicago Cubs would be the St. Louis Cardinals' main competition for the NL Central title. Maybe it still will be the Cubs if they add a starting pitcher. But for now it looks like it will be red-hot Pittsburgh. Entering Thursday's interleague finale, the Bucs have won seven straight and 20 of 25 to cut the Cards' lead over them about in half. During that seven-game win streak, five were by shutout. Francisco Cervelli was behind the plate for over 50 consecutive scoreless innings at one point in that run, the longest such streak by a catcher in nearly 60 years. Who misses Russell Martin? Considering the Pirates started ace Gerrit Cole on Thursday, they have a good chance to go for nine in a row on Friday. Pittsburgh is +500 to win the division. No preview of Pirates game Friday because Washington's pitcher is TBA as of now.

Rangers at White Sox (-190, 7)

Chicago is the biggest opening favorite on the board, which is surprising considering how lousy the Pale Hose are playing. But they are also starting the incomparable Chris Sale (6-3, 3.01). The lanky lefty is working on a string of five straight starts with at least 10 strikeouts (ninth pitcher in MLB history) and four in a row with at least 12. Sale has joined Pedro Martinez (1997, 1999, 2001) and Randy Johnson (1998) as the only pitchers since 1914 to strike out 12+ batters in four consecutive starts. On June 3 in Arlington, Sale shut out the Rangers over seven innings and whiffed 13. He eats Prince Fielder's lunch as Fielder is just 4-for-25 with eight strikeouts against him. Colby Lewis (6-3, 4.37) gets the call for Texas. He faced Chicago on June 2 and allowed two runs over seven innings. He has had three straight quality starts. Jose Abreu is 2-for-6 off him. Adam Eaton just 1-for-10.

Key trends: The Rangers are 1-7 in Lewis' past eight vs. teams with a winning record. The Sox are 6-2 in Sale's past eight at home. The "over/under" has gone over in eight of Lewis' past nine overall. The under is 4-1 in Sale's past five at home.

Early lean: Take Chicago, the under and Sale gets to 10.

Cubs at Twins (+106, 8.5)

How about the big-league debut of top Cubs prospect Kyle Schwarber on Wednesday night? He was 4-for-5 with three runs scored and two RBIs -- yet the Cubs brass swears he is headed back to Triple-A after the teams finishes interleague play this weekend. He will be in there again at DH for this series opener at Minnesota. Kyle Hendricks (2-2, 3.80) gets the start for the Cubs. He has lasted only five innings in his past two starts, but the Cubs have won them both (rain played a role in one of those). Hendricks has never faced the Twins. Minnesota's Phil Hughes (4-6, 4.79) hasn't much resembled last season's very good pitcher but has had back-to-back quality starts, so maybe he's coming around. He has never faced the Cubs. Dexter Fowler is 1-for-3 with a triple off him. David Ross is 3-for-8 with a solo homer -- generally he only plays when Jon Lester starts, but usual catcher Miguel Montero is dealing with a minor injury and is day-to-day.

Key trends: The Cubs have lost four straight on Friday but won four straight Hendricks starts in Game 1 of a series. The Twins are also 0-4 in their past four on Friday. They are 4-0 in Hughes' past four interleague starts. The over is 7-0 in Hendricks' past seven road starts vs. teams with a winning record. The under is 5-1 in Hughes' past six during Game 1 of a series.

Early lean: Cubs and over.

Padres at Diamondbacks (+105, 8.5)

Bad news for San Diego as outfielder Wil Myers, one of the team's big offseason acquisitions, was to undergo surgery on his left wrist Thursday and miss at least two months. Will Venable and Melvin (B.J.) Upton will get the majority of the playing time in center field with Myers out. James Shields (7-0, 3.59) gets the call here for San Diego, and he should be an All-Star. The Padres have lost his last two, but he was excellent last time out, allowing only a run over seven innings vs. the Dodgers. Shields has made one start vs. the Snakes and allowed five runs over six innings in Phoenix on May 8. Paul Goldschmidt is 2-for-3 with a solo homer off him. Thinking Jarrod Saltalamacchia won't be the Arizona catcher in this one as he's 0-for-14 vs. Shields. Arizona's Rubby De La Rosa (5-3, 5.27) comes off the best start of his career, shutting out the Giants over eight innings -- De La Rosa had been rocked in his previous four starts. He is 2-0 with a 2.08 ERA in two starts this season against San Diego. Yangervis Solarte is 3-for-6 with two doubles off him. Yonder Alonso is 1-for-5 with a solo homer.

Key trends: The Padres are 2-6 in their past eight series openers. Arizona has won four straight on Friday. The over is 7-0 in Shields' past seven starts following a quality start in his last appearance. The over is 4-0 in De La Rosa's past four at home.

Early lean: Padres and under.

Red Sox at Royals (-142, 7.5)

Last time Boston rookie left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez (2-1, 3.55) pitched was June 14 at home against Toronto. Previewing that game, I mentioned that Rodriguez had allowed just one earned run in the first three starts of his big-league career but that he hadn't seen an offense like Toronto's yet and the Jays were going to bring him back to earth. They certainly did, roughing up him for nine runs in 4.2 innings. Rodriguez makes his first start against the Royals. Kansas City's Yordano Ventura (3-6, 4.68) hasn't won his past four outings. He left his last start after three innings because Ventura said he was losing sensation in three of his fingers. MRI tests showed fluid buildup was causing irritation of his ulnar nerve. I don't really know what that means, but Ventura had a bullpen session Monday and apparently is fine to go here on a bit of extra rest. Mookie Betts is 2-for-3 with a double and RBI off Ventura. David Ortiz is 0-for-3.

Key trends: The Sox are 0-4 in their past four road games vs. right-handed starters. The Royals are 7-2 in Ventura's past nine series openers. The under is 5-0-1 in his past six overall. Boston has won six of the past seven meetings.

Early lean: Royals and under.

Astros at Mariners (-115, 7)

Houston might be without reigning AL batting champion and second baseman Jose Altuve for a bit. He left Wednesday's game with right hamstring soreness and didn't play Thursday. He had to recently miss three games with that problem as well, so a disabled list stint might be necessary. Altuve is hitting .287 with five homers and 28 RBIs. Houston starts very good rookie right-hander Lance McCullers (3-1, 2.00) in this series opener. His last start was Sunday against these Mariners, and he no-hit them over five shutout innings. He already had thrown 90 pitches, so there was no way the team was going to let him try for an official no-hitter. Mariners left-hander Roenis Elias (3-4, 3.67) was opposite McCullers in that Sunday game, and Elias was shelled for eight runs and seven hits in 3.1 innings, easily his worst outing of the year. Evan Gattis is 4-for-6 with a homer and two RBIs off him. Chris Carter is 1-for-9 with five strikeouts.

Key trends: Houston is 2-6 in its past eight against a lefty. Seattle is 0-7 in Elias' past seven at home. The under is 5-0 in the Astros' past five road games vs. left-handers. The under is 7-0 in Elias' past seven at home. Houston is 6-1 in the past seven meetings.

Early lean: Astros and over.

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