MLB Baseball Betting for June 21, 2016

Full card of baseball with a nice helping of Interleague play:

MLB BASEBALL BETTING FOR JUNE 21, 2016:

SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS AT PITTSBURGH PIRATES:

The San Francisco Giants got another excellent pitching performance from Madison Bumgarner on Monday but the Pittsburgh Pirates got an even better one from lefthander Jeff Locke. Both offenses took the day off but the Pirates scrapped out one run and beat the Giants 1-0. The Pirates are on the verge of throwing in the towel on the season and word on the street is that Andrew McCutchen will be dealt before the trade deadline. This game could either be the harbinger of a turnaround or just a fortuitous occurance during the long season.

For the Giants, this isn’t their ‘first rodeo’ so I’m not going to make too much of Monday’s loss even though it did end an eight game winning streak. When winning streaks start to hit double digits it’s a good idea to keep an eye on teams after the streak ends as they can quickly go into ‘letdown mode’. I don’t see that happening to this veteran Giants team. The pressure is on them not because of the challenges of a divisional race. They can handle that. They’ll likely be welcoming some disappointed Golden State Warriors’ fans to the bandwagon and they probably can’t handle another meltdown.

Sure don’t see any reason to start fading the Giants here. San Fran will start former Cincinnati Red righthander Johnny Cueto on Tuesday and he’s been excellent this year. San Francisco has a record of 12-2 when he starts and overall Cueto has a 2.10 ERA and a 1.003 WHIP. The Giants are undefeated in the road in his seven starts where he’s got a 2.28 ERA and he’s been even better in his last three games putting up a 1.29 ERA with a 0.952 WHIP. Pittsburgh will start minor league callup Wilfredo Boscan who has been pitching for Triple A Indianapolis this year where he’s put up decent numbers. In other words, it’s essentially a pitching mismatch in favor of the Giants.

BET SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS -165 OVER PITTSBURGH PIRATES

ATLANTA BRAVES AT MIAMI MARLINS:

Wait a minute…I thought we’d already shoveled dirt on the Atlanta Braves for this season? Apparently they’re back from the dead. To the surprise of everyone the Braves will enter this contest on a five game winning streak after sweeping the New York Mets on the road this weekend. Freddie Freeman has been the hottest player in baseball and was named ‘Player of the Week’. He’s not the only Brave that has improved his game as of late–starting pitcher Julio Teheran looked very sharp this weekend as he threw a one hit shutout against the Mets. The way baseball teams improve is just an aggregation of improved individual form and that’s what we might have going on here.

Word is that the Braves are still committed to peddling off some veterans at the trade deadline and in the longterm that might be the right move. In the short term, it’s worth keeping an eye on the Braves. They’re not a great team but they’re likely not as bad as they looked in the first part of the season and could be due for a decent run. At the very least, the team is building confidence and that is always helpful.

Tough pitching matchup for Atlanta as Miami will start their ‘Ace’ Jose Fernandez. Fernandez’s year to date numbers are pretty impressive–Miami has won 10 of his 13 starts overall including 6 of 7 at home. He’s got a 2.57 ERA overall and a 2.06 ERA at home. In his last three games he’s got a 1.80 ERA. Atlanta will counter with veteran Bud Norris who like the Braves has ugly numbers for the year but decent ones in the near term. Atlanta has lost 5 of Norris’ 8 starts on the season where he’s put up a 6.13 ERA overall and a 8.64 ERA on the road. Atlanta has won two of his last three starts and Norris has a 2.65 ERA in those games along with a 0.941 WHIP.

The Braves actually swept the Marlins early in the season which was their only sweep prior to this past weekend against the Mets. Miami has been playing well but given the Braves’ recent resurgence this price is just too high.

BET ATLANTA BRAVES +250 OVER MIAMI MARLINS

WASHINGTON NATIONALS AT LOS ANGELES DODGERS:

Washington has been playing well of late winning 7 of 10 but they’ll head West on a two game losing streak. The Nationals still hold a 5.5 game lead atop the NL East with Miami in second place 5.5 games back and the New York Mets in third 6 games back. Dodgers playing well winning three straight and should the San Francisco Giants lose steam they’ll be in a position to close the six game advantage atop the NL West.

This pitching matchup will involve starters capable of better that have underachieved this year. Washington will go with Tanner Roark and the Nationals have split his 14 starts this season. Roark has a 3.14 ERA overall and a 4.07 ERA on the road. Los Angeles will counter with Scott Kazmir and the Dodgers have lost 8 of his 14 starts overall including 4 of 7 at home. He’s got a 4.63 ERA overall and a 4.12 ERA at Chavez Ravine.

Not sure which team is the better one in the long term but today we’ll back the Dodgers. Always tough traveling East to West and Los Angeles has put up winning numbers at home this season.

BET LOS ANGELES DODGERS -115 OVER WASHINGTON NATIONALS

About the Author: Jim Murphy

For more than 25 years, Jim Murphy has written extensively on sports betting as well as handicapping theory and practice. Jim Murphy has been quoted in media from the Wall Street Journal to REASON Magazine. Murphy worked as a radio and podcasting host broadcasting to an international audience that depended on his expertise and advice. Murphy is an odds making consultant for sports and 'non-sport novelty bets' focused on the entertainment business, politics, technology, financial markets and more.