MLB Baseball Betting for July 30, 2016
Big card of Saturday baseball action as the month of August draws to a close. All records mention pending Friday results:
MLB BASEBALL BETTING FOR JULY 30, 2016:
PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES AT ATLANTA BRAVES:
Weekend series of bad against worse at Turner Field. The Atlanta Braves are the worst team in baseball with a record of 35-67 and are 25 games out of first place. They’re 11 games out of fourth place in the NL East and that spot is held by their opponent this weekend, the Philadelphia Phillies. The Phillies aren’t very good either but they’re at least better than the Braves. Philadelphia is 47-57 and just 14 games behind the division leading Washington Nationals. With the rest of the division playing .500 baseball or worse of late they could possibly even get back into contention if they were to go on a run but that doesn’t seem to be forthcoming. The Phillies have lost 6 of 10 while the Braves have lost 7 of 10.
Julio Teheran left his last start with back tightness but he’s scheduled to take the ball for the Braves on Saturday. For awhile, there was a good deal of talk that Teheran would be traded but that seems to have died down. This has been met with enthusiasm among Braves fans as Teheran is one of the few players on the team’s 2016 roster that has played like he belongs in the Majors. Teheran has pitched fairly well this season but has received little or no help from his teammates. In fact, he’s borne the brunt of Atlanta’s horrific 14-37 -19.8 home record. Teheran has not only been solid but consistent–overall he’s got a 2.71 ERA and a 0.956 WHIP. At home, he’s got a 2.90 ERA and a 1.098 WHIP. In his last three starts he has a 2.65 ERA and a 1.118 WHIP. Were Teheran on a semi-competent baseball team his record would reflect that. Instead, the Braves are 5-15 -8.6 units in his starts overall and 1-10 -10.2 units in his starts at Turner Field.
He’ll be opposed by right hander Jeremy Hellickson who may be making his last start for the Phillies. In fact, he could be scratched from this start because he’s been traded. He’s definitely on the market but so far the Phillies haven’t found anyone willing to pay their price. Hellickson has been fairly mediocre this season but he’s been in good form lately. Overall, he’s got a 3.65 ERA and a 1.122 WHIP. On the road, he’s got a 3.64 ERA and a 1.104 WHIP. The Phillies have won 11 of his 21 starts overall and 5 of 9 on the road. They’ve also won two of his last three in which Hellickson has a 2.25 ERA, 0.700 WHIP and 14 strikeouts against 1 walk.
Teheran is the best pitcher in this game but the Braves can’t be trusted at home. We’ll go with Philadelphia.
BET PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES +120 OVER ATLANTA BRAVES
COLORADO ROCKIES AT NEW YORK METS:
The Colorado Rockies are in a strange situation. Not necessarily a bad situation but definitely an unexpected situation. Just a few weeks ago they were playing terrible baseball and everyone expected that to continue. For that reason, they were expected to be ‘sellers’ at the trade deadline. That’s changed dramatically over the last few weeks. The Rockies have won 8 of 9 and 9 of their last 12 and are 1 game under .500. They’re also the only team in the NL West playing above .500 baseball in the last 10 games. Depending on what the Dodgers do against Arizona on Friday night they could be 6, 6.5 or 7 games back of the second place Dodgers. With the first place Giants struggling (lost 8 of 10) the division is up for grabs. The sum total of this–they’re now in a position where they’re not sure if they’re buying, selling or neither. The most popular theory among Rockies media types is that they might move a player or two–very possibly closer Boone Logan–but they’ll otherwise ‘stand pat’.
The Mets are heading in the opposite direction–they’re 4-6 in their last 10 games and are now 2 games back of the Miami Marlins and 7 back of the Washington Nationals. Their problem is the same as it’s been all season–a complete lack of offense. They’ve also got depth issues at several positions, most particularly in the outfield. One rumor is that they’ll trade for Cincinnati outfielder Jay Bruce who can’t help but improve their offense. He’s definitely not a good enough defender to replace Mets CF Juan Lagares who is on the disabled list with a partially torn ligament in his left thumb.
Colorado will start left hander Jorge De La Rosa who hasn’t benefited from the Rockies’ strong recent form. De La Rosa has a 6.21 ERA for the year with a 1.761 WHIP. He’s got a 5.74 ERA an a 1.677 WHIP on the road with a 5.51 ERA and a 1.898 WHIP in his last three games. Colorado has lost 8 of his 14 starts overall and 5 of 8 on the road. One thing working in his favor–although the Mets have made a small profit against lefthanders (13-11 +1.1 units) they average just 3.5 runs per game against southpaws. If he’s capable of a good performance at this juncture he’s facing a team that is a made to order matchup.
New York will respond with veteran Bartolo Colon who has been steady and solid all season. The Mets have won 13 of his 20 starts overall, 7 of 10 at home and 2 of his last 3. He’s got a 3.38 ERA overall with a 1.207 WHIP. At home, he’s got a 3.25 ERA and a 1.193 WHIP. In his last 3 games he’s got a 3.71 ERA and a 1.118 WHIP. He had a horrible start on 7/20 against the Chicago Cubs allowing 8 hits, 2 HR and 6 ER in 4 1/3 innings of work. He bounced back with a strong performance against St. Louis next time out pitching 7 innings with 8 K’s, no walks allowing just 3 hits and 1 ER.
As Yoga Berra once (supposedly) said ‘90% of the game is half mental’. The Rockies are playing with confidence and the Mets aren’t.
BET COLORADO ROCKIES +130 OVER NEW YORK METS