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Five to Follow MLB Betting: Saturday, May 21, 2016, Opening Line Report

by - 5/20/2016

New York Yankees starting pitcher Masahiro Tanaka

Apparently the Yankees' Joe Girardi won't be the next manager fired in the majors. Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner had his state of the team address this week and he didn't put any blame on Girardi for his team's slow start. Ditto on GM Brian Cashman. Instead, Steinbrenner singled out Mark Teixeira, Chase Headley, Michael Pineda and Luis Severino for criticism. And those guys have been pretty lousy. I guarantee you that Hal's dad, the late George Steinbrenner, wouldn't be taking the calm approach to things the way his son is. The Boss was a blowhard, but he sure was entertaining. I do believe the Yankees will be big-time sellers ahead of the trade deadline. I'm just not sure who has much value right now. Cather Brian McCann and outfielder Brett Gardner might each bring a decent package in return. Perhaps pitcher Ivan Nova. Where the Bombers could get some real prospects is if they put stellar lefty relievers Andrew Miller and/or Aroldis Chapman on the market. And I've heard rumblings they just might if things don't change by July.

Royals at White Sox (-113, 9)

First pitch at 2:10 p.m. ET. Kansas City is expected to activate third baseman Mike Moustakas off the disabled list for this game. Moustakas, who has been out since May 5 with a broken left thumb, began his rehab assignment Wednesday. Cheslor Cuthbert has played pretty solid at third since Moustakas was out, so if Cuthbert isn't sent back down he could see time at second base, where he has been taking grounders. The Royals start lefty Danny Duffy (0-0, 2.57). They have a few starters on the DL so he will come in out of the bullpen. Duffy has made 17 appearances this season but just one start. That was Sunday vs. the Braves when he was on a 45-pitch limit, and he won't throw more than around 60 here. The White Sox's Jose Abreu is 6-for-17 with a homer and two RBIs off Duffy. Austin Jackson is 8-for-23 with two doubles and a homer. It's Miguel Gonzalez (0-0, 5.17) for Chicago. He has made three starts since being picked up off waivers, and only one has been good. Gonzalez has walked 10 in 15.2 innings. Moustakas is 2-for-9 with a double off him. Jarrod Dyson is 5-for-6.

Key trends: The Royals are 2-5 in Duffy's past seven road starts vs. teams with a winning record. The White Sox are 0-4 in their past four vs. lefties. The "over/under" has gone under in seven of Duffy's past eight starts on the road.

Early lean: Royals and over.

Rockies at Pirates (-134, 8)

A 4:05 p.m. ET matinee. What if I told you the best road pitcher in the National League this season isn't Jake Arrieta or Clayton Kershaw, both Cy Young winners and early leaders for 2016, but Tyler Chatwood of the Colorado Rockies? Yeah, I was surprised too. Chatwood (5-3, 3.20) has shut out San Diego, Arizona and the Chicago Cubs in his past three road outings. His 24.2-inning road scoreless streak is No. 3 in franchise history. The record belongs to former Colorado reliever Rex Brothers with 35.1 innings from August 2012-2013. Chatwood has never faced Pittsburgh. John Jaso and Matt Joyce are both 3-for-5 off him in their careers. It's lefty Jon Niese (4-2, 5.28) for the Bucs. He had a second straight quality start Monday vs. Atlanta, allowing two runs over six innings. He pitched in Colorado on April 27 and gave up five runs and 10 hits over five innings in a no-decision. Mark Reynolds is a career .556 hitter off him with two homers in 18 at-bats. Carlos Gonzalez is 5-for-19 with two doubles and a homer. Trevor Story is 1-for-2 with a dinger.

Key trends: The Rockies are 1-5 in Chatwood's past six following a quality start in his last appearance. The Pirates are 2-5 in their past seven on Saturday. The under is 6-2 in Chatwood's past eight.

Early lean: Rockies and under.

Yankees at A's (+120, 7.5)

This one also at 4:05 p.m. ET. Big loss for Oakland on Thursday night when arguably its best hitter, Josh Reddick, broke his thumb while sliding into second base (when will people stop doing that!?). That means he will miss at least a month and maybe two. Reddick, 29, leads the A's with 47 hits, in batting average at .322 and on-base percentage at .394. He also has five homers and 18 RBIs. The A's weren't going anywhere this season, but Reddick was a huge trade chip. That obviously will be lessened now, and Oakland would have gotten the most value by trading him soon instead of waiting until the July 31 deadline. No team obviously would deal for Reddick right now. That weakened A's lineup faces New York ace Masahiro Tanaka (1-0, 3.51), who has basically been Mr. No Decision this season. He hasn't been all that sharp in his past two outings, allowing 10 runs and 15 hits over 12 innings, but New York won both. Tanaka is 2-0 with a 1.32 ERA in two career starts vs. Oakland. The A's go with rookie lefty Sean Manaea (1-1, 7.91). He had easily the best outing of his four-start career Monday vs. Texas, allowing a run and four hits over 6.2 innings for his first win.

Key trends: The Yankees are 4-0 in Tanaka's past four vs. teams with a losing record. The under is 4-0 in his past four on the road.

Early lean: Yankees and under.

Mariners at Reds (+143, 8.5)

A 4:10 p.m. ET start. If I lived anywhere near Cincinnati, I'd go to this game just to get the Ken Griffey Jr. dual bobblehead. It goes out to the first 25,000 fans and features Griffey on the left side in a Mariners uniform and on the right side in Reds gear. It's cool. I may have to hit eBay for one of those. Of course, Griffey, who goes into the Hall of Fame in July in a Mariners cap, was traded from Seattle to Cincinnati on Feb. 10, 2000. The Mariners lose the DH for this series, but Manager Scott Servais already has said that usual DH Nelson Cruz will play right field. The M's go with Felix Hernandez (3-3, 2.47) here. He lost to the Angels last Sunday, allowing three runs and seven hits over 7.1 innings and striking out nine. As usual, the Mariners didn't support him offensively. Cincinnati's Joey Votto is 2-for-3 off Hernandez. Jay Bruce is 0-for-3 with two strikeouts. The Reds go with lefty John Lamb (0-1, 5.79). He was blasted Monday by Cleveland, allowing seven runs and 10 hits in four innings. Lamb has never faced Seattle.

Key trends: The Mariners are 8-3 in Hernandez's past 11 road starts vs. teams with a losing record. The Reds are 0-6 in Lamb's past six. The under is 7-0 in Hernandez's past six vs. the NL Central.

Early lean: Mariners and under.

Dodgers at Padres (+129, 7.5)

Los Angeles thinks it will have first baseman Adrian Gonzalez back in the starting lineup for this game. He has been out since Monday with a back problem. This is just the third time since the start of the 2006 season that the durable Gonzalez hasn't started in at least three straight games. He has played in at least 156 games every year since that '06 season. Gonzalez is hitting .282 with four homers and 20 RBIs. The Dodgers start lefty Alex Wood (1-3, 4.17). He has been much better of late, allowing one earned run in each of his past two starts. Wood took a no decision on April 29 vs. San Diego, allowing a run and five hits over seven innings. Melvin Upton Jr. is 3-for-6 off him with two doubles. Matt Kemp is 5-for-9 with a double and homer. It's Cesar Vargas (0-2, 3.55) for San Diego. The rookie's best start of the season was opposite Wood on April 29 when he shut out the Dodgers on four hits over 5.1 innings.

Key trends: The Dodgers are 1-5 in Wood's past six road starts. The over is 6-0 in those six.

Early lean: Padres and over.

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