Five To Follow MLB Betting: Wednesday, May 27, 2015 Opening Line Report

by Alan Matthews - 5/26/2015

Here's hoping you didn't bet on the Kansas City Royals on Monday at the Yankees or have starter Jeremy Guthrie in one those daily fantasy leagues. He had one of the worst outings in big-league history in allowing 11 runs -- four homers -- in just one inning. I feel comfortable in saying I can do better than that. Guthrie faced 16 batters and 13 reached. He became the third starter ever to give up at least 11 runs while recording three outs or fewer. Guthrie's ERA rose from 4.75 to 6.70. By comparison, Atlanta's Shelby Miller has allowed only 10 earned runs all season in 60 innings.

Rangers at Indians (-156, 8.5)

Your earliest-starting game on Tuesday with 12:05 p.m. getaway day first pitch. Texas outfielder Josh Hamilton made his debut on Monday off shoulder surgery and then his trade from the Los Angeles Angels -- the Rangers are paying only about $7 million of the $80 million left on that ridiculous contract. Hamilton was 0-for-3 with a run on Monday. I doubt he has much left. It's Colby Lewis (4-2, 3.49) in this one for Texas. He faced Cleveland two starts ago in Arlington and allowed a season-high six runs and seven hits over five innings in a no-decision. Cleveland's Carlos Carrasco (5-4, 4.74) pitched in Texas on May 17 and also didn't fare well, allowing five runs over eight innings, although he did strike out a season-high nine. Hamilton is 1-for-4 with an RBI off him, although Josh might get this early-starting game off. Prince Fielder is 1-for-5 with a homer and five RBIs.

Key trends: The Rangers are 0-6 in Lewis' past six against teams with a losing record. The Indians are 4-0 in Carrasco's past four on Wednesday. The "over/under" has gone over in Lewis' past five.

Early lean: Indians and over.

White Sox at Blue Jays (-108, 9)

I just can't figure out why the White Sox are so disappointing. They managed to finally get over .500 a week ago but have since lost six of seven entering Tuesday. Well I guess I do know why they are struggling as the Sox haven't scored more than three runs in any of those seven. They try to solve Marco Estrada (1-3, 3.90) on Wednesday afternoon. The Jays have lost his past four. Keep an eye on White Sox leading hitter Avisail Garcia in this one with the early start (12:37 p.m.) as he left Monday's game with left knee inflammation. He hasn't faced Estrada. It's Jeff Samardzija (4-2, 4.28) for Chicago. He has been fairly disappointing but might be coming around. The Sox have won his past two and he has gone eight innings in each, allowing five total runs. Russell Martin is 6-for-19 with three doubles off him.

Key trends: The White Sox are 1-4 in Samardzija's past five on the road. The Blue Jays are 1-4 in their past five during Game 3 of a series. The over is 4-1 in Samardzija's past five on the road.

Early lean: White Sox and over.

Mariners at Rays (+115, 6.5)

Here's something you probably didn't know. This is the first series in big-league history that each team's manager had played in the Little League World Series. Seattle's Lloyd McClendon played for Gary, Indiana, in 1971, and Kevin Cash was a member of the 1989 Tampa, Florida, squad. The Mariners have activated center fielder Austin Jackson, while the Rays have lost first baseman James Loney for 4-6 weeks to a finger injury. This should be a nice pitching matchup. Felix Hernandez (7-1, 2.19) is on the bump for Seattle. He held Toronto to a run and four hits over seven innings last time out. David DeJesus hits him pretty well with a .333 average, a homer and five RBIs in 36 at-bats. Asdrubal Cabrera is just 3-for-23 off King Felix. Chris Archer (5-4, 2.40) goes for Tampa. The Rays have won his past three and he hasn't allowed more than two runs in any of them. Seattle's Robinson Cano is 0-for-10 with three strikeouts off him.

Key trends: The Mariners are 11-5 in Hernandez's past 16 vs. teams with a winning record. The Rays are 5-0 in Archer's past five during Game 3 of a series. The under is 4-1 in Hernandez's past five against Tampa.

Early lean: Mariners and under.

Tigers at A's (-122, 7.5)

Oakland will activate closer Sean Doolittle off the disabled list on Tuesday. He has yet to pitch this season after recovering from a partially torn rotator cuff in his shoulder. Doolittle was an All-Star last year, saving 22 games with a 2.73 ERA and 89/8 K/BB ratio in 63 innings. Trade candidate Scott Kazmir (2-3, 3.09) gets the start for Oakland on Wednesday. The A's have won just one of his past seven even though he has pitched pretty well. In 15 career starts against the Tigers, he is 5-5 with a 3.51 ERA. Rajai Davis likes seeing Kazmir as he is 10-for-21 with a homer and six RBIs against him. Alfredo Simon (5-2, 2.67) goes for Detroit. He didn't allow an earned run over seven innings last time out against Houston. Not many A's have faced him. Ben Zobrist, who was activated off the DL on Monday, is 3-for-12 with a triple against Simon.

Key trends: The Tigers are 6-2 in their past eight vs. a lefty. The A's are 0-8 in Kazmir's past eight vs. teams with a winning record. The over is 6-0 in Kazmir's past six at home.

Early lean: Tigers and under.

Nationals at Cubs (+110, TBA)

Another great pitching matchup here -- and did you know that Washington star Bryce Harper and the Cubs' Kris Bryant were on the same team when they were kids in Las Vegas? Must have been some club. It's Max Scherzer (5-3, 1.67) for Washington. The Nats have won his past four starts, and he has allowed one run or fewer in three of them. He hasn't faced the Cubs since 2012 with the Tigers. Thus, only a few have seen him. Catcher David Ross is 3-for-9 with two doubles. And Ross will be behind the plate because he is the personal catcher of Jon Lester (4-2, 3.56). The lefty has allowed more than two earned runs just once in his past five. Harper has never faced him. Denard Span is a .316 hitter off Lester with three RBIs.

Key trends: The Cubs are 4-1 in Lester's past five at home. Washington is 5-1 in its past six against lefties. The under is 5-0 in Chicago's past five during Game 3 of a series.

Early lean: Nationals and under (even though it might be as low as 6).

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