Baseball Handicapping Articles

Five to Follow MLB Betting: Thursday, September 22, 2016, Opening Line Report
by Alan Matthews - 9/21/2016

I'll admit that I'm a Cubs fans so I'm a little biased here, but it sure seems like the National League is totally opening up for them. Washington's Stephen Strasburg is hurt. The Mets can barely cobble together a healthy rotation. The Dodgers also are missing a few pitchers (one returns Thursday). And now comes news that San Francisco's Johnny Cueto was to have an MRI on Wednesday. He left Tuesday's start against the Dodgers in the sixth inning with a groin strain.

Five to Follow MLB Betting: Wednesday, September 21, 2016, Opening Line Report
by Alan Matthews - 9/20/2016

If there's one reason the San Francisco Giants' streak of winning the World Series in even-numbered years this decade will end, it's probably going to be the bullpen. That group blew another game on Monday in a big one against the Dodgers. It was the ninth time this season that the Giants lost when leading after eight innings, a franchise record. Since Aug. 13, the bullpen's ERA has topped 6.00 in the ninth or later compared to a 1.51 mark in all other innings during that span.

Five to Follow MLB Betting: Tuesday, September 20, 2016, Opening Line Report
by Alan Matthews - 9/19/2016

It was not a good weekend for the World Series chances of the Cleveland Indians and New York Mets. The Tribe, who recently lost All-Star right-hander Danny Salazar likely for the rest of the season with a forearm strain, did say goodbye for 2016 to another very good righty, Carlos Carrasco. He broke his right pinkie finger on Saturday when Carrasco was hit by a line drive off the bat of Detroit's Ian Kinsler. Carrasco (11-8, 3.32) missed six weeks earlier this season with a strained left hamstring.

Five to Follow MLB Betting: Saturday, September 17, 2016, Opening Line Report
by Alan Matthews - 9/16/2016

We have reached that time of year where you have to consider a team's motivation when betting on individual baseball games. On Thursday night, the Chicago Cubs lost at home to the Milwaukee Brewers with a chance to celebrate clinching their first NL Central title since 2008 in front of their fans. But the Cubbies won the division a few hours later when the Cardinals lost in San Francisco. So it's a guarantee that Joe Maddon will be resting a key guy or two in each game from here on out, while also limiting the workload of his starters to keep them fresh.

Five to Follow MLB Betting: Friday, September 16, 2016, Opening Line Report
by Alan Matthews - 9/15/2016

Back in the spring, I predicted a Red Sox-Astros ALCS matchup, and while Boston might get there it's looking grim for Houston to return to the playoffs. Especially after All-Star second baseman Jose Altuve, the AL batting leader, left Wednesday's game with an oblique injury. In the third inning against Texas, replays showed him grimacing after a swing during the plate appearance. Those oblique injuries usually take a while, and if that's true here, Altuve's season is likely over and he won't get to 200 hits, although he'll still win the batting title.

MLB Handicapping: Toronto Blue Jays Quickly Falling out of Playoff Picture
by Trevor Whenham - 9/15/2016

What a horrid start to September it has been for the Toronto Blue Jays. A month ago it seemed as if they were not only going to win the AL East for the second straight year but that they were going to run away from the competition. They were rounding into form and looked dangerous. Now, though, they have lost four straight series.

Five to Follow MLB Betting: Thursday, September 15, 2016, Opening Line Report
by Alan Matthews - 9/14/2016

Very interesting news from USA Today on Tuesday in that the Los Angeles Dodgers and Milwaukee Brewers were just a few minutes from completing a trade that would have sent Brewers outfielder Ryan Braun, who is from the Los Angeles area, to the Dodgers for outfielder Yasiel Puig, pitcher Brandon McCarthy and prospects. The clubs couldn't quite finalize the deal before the Aug. 1 deadline, but it was so close that Brewers told Braun about it and to expect something.

Five to Follow MLB Betting: Wednesday, September 14, 2016, Opening Line Report
by Alan Matthews - 9/13/2016

The Cleveland Indians are going to win the AL Central, barring an epic collapse, for their first division title since 2007. But I don't give them a great shot of reaching the World Series for the first time since 1997 due to the news that All-Star right-hander Danny Salazar is probably done for the season. An MRI on his right forearm showed mild strain of the flexor muscle, and he was to receive a platelet rich plasma injection in there on Tuesday.

MLB Betting Trends: Totals Report for Hot Over and Under Teams
by Aaron Smith - 9/12/2016

For the year as a whole, scoring is up in Major League Baseball. Home runs are up by a large amount this year, and that has a lot to do with the jump in scoring. In fact, through games played on Sept. 11, there have been 4,990 home runs in the league as a whole. All of last year there were only 4,909 home runs. There have been 51,508 games played in Major League Baseball so far this year. Last year, there were a total of 70,535 games. The home run has played a big role. Overall, the average team was scoring 4.07 runs per game two years ago. Last year, the number was 4.25 runs per game. So far this year, it is 4.50 runs per game.

Expert MLB Betting Advice: Weekly Baseball Bullpen Report
by Victor Ryan - 9/12/2016

It's really unfortunate for MLB that pitching changes are akin to watching paint dry. With excitement supposedly growing over the playoff chase, fans must endure what happened in Boston on Sunday. In that masterpiece of a game, an incredible 18 pitchers toed the rubber over the course of nine innings. Game time: 3 hours and 46 minutes. Thanks expanded rosters.

MLB Betting Trends: Hot and Cold Baseball Wagers
by Victor Ryan - 9/12/2016

As things stand entering Monday's action, the AL East would send three teams to the playoffs. The Red Sox lead the division by two games over both the Blue Jays and Orioles, who are up two games on both the Yankees and Tigers in the wild-card chase.

Five to Follow MLB Betting: Tuesday, September 13, 2016, Opening Line Report
by Alan Matthews - 9/12/2016

Injuries have really hit the defending World Series champion Kansas City Royals hard this season, and it appears that outfielder Lorenzo Cain, an AL MVP finalist last year, might now be done for the year with a wrist injury. That might officially put a nail in the Royals' coffin in terms of getting a wild-card spot as they are four games out of the second spot as of Monday and have six total teams ahead of them in the standings.

Five to Follow MLB Betting: Saturday, September 10, 2016, Opening Line Report
by Alan Matthews - 9/9/2016

I'm not a Yankees fan at all. But if they somehow make the playoffs, then Brian Cashman deserves to be MLB's Executive of the Year and Joe Girardi the AL Manager of the Year. Everyone thought the Yankees were punting on 2016 at the trade deadline in dumping Aroldis Chapman, Andrew Miller and Carlos Beltran while also forcing Alex Rodriguez into retirement.

Five to Follow MLB Betting: Friday, September 9, 2016, Opening Line Report
by Alan Matthews - 9/8/2016

Sorry Nationals fans and backers, but I warned you. On Wednesday's Opening Line Report, I said to watch Stephen Strasburg very closely in his first start back from a DL stint due to elbow pain. If said pain returned and Strasburg had to be pulled from the game, his season was surely over (and maybe 2017 too) and so was Washington's chance to win the pennant for the first time in franchise history.

Five to Follow MLB Betting: Thursday, September 8, 2016, Opening Line Report
by Alan Matthews - 9/7/2016

I monitor several MLB news sources daily to get updated injury information that might affect a betting decision on any given game. But I was just as surprised as anyone that the Marlins activated slugger Giancarlo Stanton from the DL on Tuesday after he reportedly was going to miss the rest of the regular season due to a major groin strain. If rosters weren't expanded, then Stanton probably wouldn't be active.

Five to Follow MLB Betting: Wednesday, September 7, 2016, Opening Line Report
by Alan Matthews - 9/6/2016

What on earth has gotten into Twins second baseman Brian Dozier? He hit three homers on Monday against Kansas City and now has 38 on the season, second in the majors. He's just the sixth Twin ever with a three-homer game and has joined Hall of Famer Harmon Killebrew as the only players in Twins history with 36 or more homers in a single season. The all-time record by a second baseman is 42 homers by Davey Johnson in 1973, while the American League record is Alfonso Soriano's 39 in 2002. Dozier has 24 homers since the All-Star break, or one more than reigning NL MVP Bryce Harper has all year.

Five to Follow MLB Betting: Tuesday, September 6, 2016, Opening Line Report
by Alan Matthews - 9/5/2016

Monday was Labor Day, one of the last big regular-season days of the year in Major League Baseball, so it's a good time to check out updated division odds at Bovada. And you can only bet on three of them because the Cubs are lapping the field in the NL Central, and the Nationals and Rangers are going to win the NL East and AL West, respectively, barring a collapse of epic proportions. The most interesting race has to be in the AL East with Toronto holding a one-game lead over Boston and three over the Orioles as of Monday.

Expert MLB Betting Advice: Weekly Baseball Bullpen Report
by Victor Ryan - 9/5/2016

This week's bullpen report is yet another indicator of just how critical relief pitching is in today's Major League Baseball. Each of the four best bullpen efforts from last week came from clubs squarely in the playoff chase. Conversely, of the three worst bullpen performances, two resulted in likely fatal postseason blows for their respective clubs.

MLB Betting Trends: Hot and Cold Baseball Wagers
by Victor Ryan - 9/5/2016

Just four weeks remain in the Major League Baseball season, and both wild-card races are looking to go down the wire. In the American League, the Red Sox (76-60) are two games up for the first wild card entering Monday's action with the Tigers and Orioles, both at 74-62, tied for the second spot.

Five to Follow MLB Betting: Saturday, September 3, 2016, Opening Line Report
by Alan Matthews - 9/2/2016

One thing I like about the September call-ups is that it gives you a potential heads-up from a betting perspective on the following season's Rookie of the Year props. Here's the official designation of what makes a rookie in MLB: "A player shall be considered a rookie unless, during a previous season or seasons, he has (a) exceeded 130 at-bats or 50 innings pitched in the Major Leagues; or (b) accumulated more than 45 days on the active roster of a Major League club or clubs during the period of 25-player limit."