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**TheGame** · 08-06-2013, 06:53 AM

Tuesday's National League Betting Cheat Sheet
Covers.com

Miami Marlins at Pittsburgh Pirates (-189, 7)

Cold pitching stat: Despite pitching well versus the Marlins on July 26, Pirates starter Jeff Locke took the 2-0 loss after being charged with both runs on eight hits in his 6 2/3 innings of work.

Hot batting stat: Marlins slugger Giancarlo Stanton went 2-for-2 with a solo blast in that game versus Locke.

Weather: Temperatures will be in the high-70s with partly cloudy skies. Wind will blow in from right field at 5 mph. There is a 20 percent chance of rain in the forecast.

Key betting note: The under is 22-7 in the last 29 meetings.

Chicago Cubs at Philadelphia Phillies (-117, 8)

Cold pitching stat: Phillies starter Kyle Kendrick was knocked around in his last start on July 31. He lasted two innings after giving up six earned runs on eight hits in a 9-2 loss to the San Francisco Giants.

Cold batting stat: The Cubs roster is 9-for-50 (.180) collective versus Kendrick.

Weather: There is a 40 percent chance of thunderstorms in the forecast. Temperatures will be in the low-70s and wind will blow out to left field at 8 mph.

Key betting note: The Cubs are 5-1 in Edwin Jackson's last six starts.

Atlanta Braves at Washington Nationals (-125, 7)

Cold pitching stat: Nats starter Gio Gonzalez is coming off his worst outing of the season. The southpaw give up 10 runs on 11 hits in just 3 1/3 innings in an 11-1 defeat to the Detroit Tigers on July 31.

Hot batting stat: Nationals CF Denard Span is 6-for-9 (.667) with two triples in his career versus Braves starter Julio Teheran.

Weather: There is a 40 percent chance of thunderstorms in the forecast for gametime. Temperatures will be in the mid-70s and wind will blow out to left field at 9 mph.

Key betting note: The under is 5-1 in Teheran's last six starts versus the National League East.

Colorado Rockies at New York Mets (-105, 7.5)

Cold pitching stat: Rockies starter Tyler Chatwood gave up seven earned runs on 10 hits in just 2 1/3 innings en route to a 9-0 loss in his last start against the Atlanta Braves on July 31.

Cold batting stat: Mets 2B Daniel Murphy is 1-for-8 in his career versus Chatwood.

Weather: There is a 20 percent chance of thunderstorms in the forecast for gametime. Temperatures will be in the low-70s with wind blowing out to left field at 11 mph.

Key betting note: The Mets are 0-7 in their last seven games following an off day.

Los Angeles Dodgers at St. Louis Cardinals (+144, 7)

Hot pitching stat: Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw went 4-1 with a 1.34 ERA in his six July starts. The lefty is tied for the MLB lead in quality starts with 19.

Cold batting stat: Cards OF Carlos Beltran is 4-for-19 (.211) with seven K's in his career versus the Dodgers' southpaw.

Weather: There is a 30 percent chance of thunderstorms in the forecast. Temperatures will be in the mid-80s and wind will blow from right field to left field at 6 mph.

Key betting note: The over is 6-0-1 in Kershaw's last seven starts versus the Cardinals.

Milwaukee Brewers at San Francisco Giants (-175, 7)

Cold pitching stat: Giants starter Matt Cain took the loss in his lone start versus the Brewers this season. He went six innings and gave up seven runs on seven hits in a 7-2 loss.

Hot batting stat: Brewers C Jonathan Lucroy is 6-for-15 with one double, one triple, one homer and four RBIs in his career versus Cain.

Weather: Temperatures will be in the low-50s with mostly sunny skies. Wind will blow out to center field at 11 mph.

Key betting note: The over is 10-2-2 in Cain's last 14 home starts.

Interleague

Oakland A's at Cincinnati Reds (-143, 8)

Cold pitching stat: A's starter Dan Straily has lost three straight decisions and owns a 5.06 ERA during that stretch.

Hot batting stat: A's OF Chris Young is 5-for-14 (.357) with one double and one home run in his career versus Reds starter Mat Latos.

Weather: Temperatures will be in the mid-80s with partly cloudy skies. Wind will blow from right field to left field at 5 mph. There is a 20 percent chance of rain in the forecast.

Key betting note: The Reds are 7-0 in their last seven interleague home games versus a team with a winning record.

Tampa Bay Rays at Arizona Diamondbacks (+108, 8.5)

Cold pitching stat: Rays starter Jeremy Hellickson had a personal six-game winning streak snapped his last time out. He gave up four runs on seven hits, including one homer, in 4 1/3 innings in a 7-0 loss to the DBacks on July 31.

Hot batting stat: DBacks OF Jason Kubel is 4-for-8 with two homers and three RBIs in his career versus Hellickson.

Weather: Due to a 30 percent chance of thunderstorms, the roof could be closed at Chase Field.

Key betting note: The under is 5-0 in DBacks SP Wade Miley's last five interleague starts.

Baltimore Orioles at San Diego Padres (+110, 7.5)

Hot pitching stat: Newly acquired Bud Norris got the victory in his first start for the Orioles against his former team, the Houston Astros, on August 1. The righty went six innings and gave up two solo homers en route to a 6-3 victory.

Hot batting stat: Orioles SS J.J. Hardy is a pedestrian 4-for-15 in his career versus Padres starter Edinson Volquez. But two of those hits are home runs.

Weather: Temperatures will be in the mid-60s with partly cloudy skies. Wind will blow in from left field at 5 mph.

Key betting note: The Padres are 6-0 in their last six home games versus a team with a winning road record.

**TheGame** · 08-06-2013, 06:55 AM

Hot & Not - NL Edition
By Mike Rose
VegasInsider.com

The trade deadline is said and done with, but interestingly enough, not many of the teams on our list of the hottest and coldest National League teams did much to change their fortunes on the MLB betting lines.

Money-Makers

Los Angeles Dodgers (31-7, +$2,277 in L/38) – Then again, we wouldn't have changed anything if we were the Dodgers either. This team is flat out rolling, and there isn't a club out there that looks like it is going to get in the way of LA.

On Deck: Next up to try to derail the LA Express: There are four games with the Cardinals on the road and then three at home against the Rays. If there is a week for the Dodgers to slip, this is the one.

Atlanta Braves (10-0, +$1,022 in L/10) – Atlanta has been running away with the NL East for weeks, and it should have no problem finishing things off in August. The Braves have won 10 straight and they just delivered a deathblow to the season of the Phillies over the weekend, sweeping three games in the City of Brotherly Love.

On Deck: With the next 14 games all coming in the NL East, the Braves have a real chance to just continue to put their foot on the gas pedal. By the time they go to St. Louis on August 22nd, that series could be for the best record in the National League, if not all of baseball.

San Diego Padres (10-5, +$799 in L/15) – The Padres won't finish above .500 this year, but they did make a tremendous move at the deadline by picking up RHP Ian Kennedy from the Diamondbacks. This is a man that won 21 games just two years ago, and he has the goods (and the favorable contract) to help this team out quite a bit in the future.

On Deck: Winning 10 out of 15 is nice when you're a team mired in the middle of the garbage pit known as the NL West. Series this week against the Orioles and Reds should be troublesome though, especially knowing that the trip to Cincy is weirdly placed in the schedule and is paired with just three road games against Colorado.

Money-Burners

Philadelphia Phillies (1-13, -$1,295 in L/14) – GM Ruben Amaro Jr. should be fired for the way that he has handled the Phils this year. First he inked LHP Cliff Lee to that horrid contract that will likely cripple the franchise for years to come, and then he refused to trade Lee or the rest of the tradable chips that he had. Now, the farm system is lacking thanks to previous deals, and the team is 11-games under .500 after losing 13-of-14.

On Deck: The good news for the Phillies this week is that they have a series against another team that has tanked it for the year in the Cubs, but then it's back to playing series against the Nats, Braves, and Dodgers. Don't be shocked if the Phils are on this list again when we look at the NL again in two weeks.

San Francisco Giants (4-10, -$868 in L/14) – No one is getting fired from a team that has won two championships in the last three years, but the Giants acted poorly at the deadline. No one was moved, though the opportunities were there to do a lot. Losing 10-of-14 is no mistake for a clubhouse that probably needs a shakeup.

On Deck: The Giants don't play a particularly difficult series for quite some time. In fact, the next road series against a good team is in the middle of September in LA. Seven at home this week with the Brew Crew and the Orioles could yield decent results.

Chicago Cubs (1-7, -$679 in L/8) – Unlike the rest of the teams that should have sold at the deadline but didn't, the Cubs dealt away everything they could. RHP Matt Garza and OF Alfonso Soriano were at the middle of it all, and though the end result now is more losses (as demonstrated by this 1-7 run of games all played at Wrigley Field), the franchise is definitely headed the right direction.

On Deck: Going on the road is probably good for the Cubs this week. The bad news? After the three in Philly, the next nine games are all against the Cardinals and the Reds. Yikes.

**TheGame** · 08-06-2013, 12:54 PM

MLB Odds and Picks – Cardinals’ Joe Kelly looks to halt Dodgers’ road win streak
By: The Linemakers
Sportingnews.com

The Dodgers are looking to win their 16 straight road game and sixth in a row overall tonight, and they send out their ace, Clayton Kershaw – perhaps the best pitcher in baseball – to get the job done. Kershaw has been on a tear lately and is finally getting credit, in the form of wins, for his efforts. Over his past seven starts, the left-hander has gone 5-1 with a 1.47 ERA to bump his season record to 10-6.

The Dodgers, winners in 32 of their last 39 games, are two wins shy from matching the NL record for most consecutive wins on the road, set by the 1916 New York Giants.

The Cardinals, who the Dodgers beat, 3-2, last night behind Zack Greinke, stand in the way of that record. Because of the Dodgers’ success on the road, plus their current overall form and having Kershaw on the mound, they are a big -155 favorite tonight against Joe Kelly (2-3, 3.10 ERA).

That's a lot of positive factors in Dodgers’ favor, and the price may appear cheap. But let's not sell the Cardinals short. They actually boast a better record than the Dodgers on the season, and Kelly has quietly become one of the more consistent starters for St. Louis since joining the rotation last month. In his last four starts, he's 2-0 with a 1.90 ERA and has not allowed a run in his last 14 2/3 innings.

Still not sold on the Cards? Well, there's more to consider, like how Kershaw has fared against the them recently. In his last six starts against St. Louis, Kershaw is 2-4 with a 5.15 ERA. He allowed eight runs in a visit last season to Busch Stadium and gave up four runs in 5-3 loss at Dodger Stadium to them on May 26.

Kelly's recent performances, Kershaw being somewhat human against St. Louis, and the Cards winning ways should tempt you to consider taking the plus-money tonight. And it gets easier to swallow when considering that Hanley Ramirez, the heart of the Dodgers lineup and the main cause for their winning slurge, is likely to be out again with an injured shoulder.

When the Cardinals lost four of five to the Pirates last week, it looked like they were headed for a big slump. But their offense has come back strong, scoring 13 runs or more in three of four – the finale against Pittsburgh and in taking two of three from the Reds.

From a value standpoint, St. Louis is the way to go tonight.

Tuesday’s selections:

Cardinals (Kelly) +145 vs Dodgers

Braves (Teheran) +115 at Nationals

Second-half record: 38-28 (+1,223)

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