A's vs. Indians Preview + Free Thursday MLB Pick

[Shame About Ray]

MLB Baseball Betting Action – Cleveland Host Oakland A’s

Uh-oh.

That collective sigh, is an early-season cause for worry for every American League team not named the Cleveland Indians, (21-19, 20-20 RL).

The rest of the American League could be in serious trouble if the Indians starting pitchers keep taking the mound and blowing away AL hitters like they’re going out of style.

The Oakland Athletics, (23-18, 23-18 RL) were the victim of another commanding performance by an Indians starter on Wednesday night, getting shut out by 2006 AL Cy Young award winner, C.C. Sabathia en route to their 2-0 loss to Cleveland, just one night after getting blanked by Indians veteran right-hander Paul Byrd in the team’s 4-0 loss.

The Indians, winners of five of their last six sports betting games in the BetUS Sportsbook, enter tonight’s contest with no starting pitcher having allowed a single run in a mind-boggling 43 1/3 innings.

Cleveland right-handed starter Aaron Laffey, (1-2, 1.83 ERA) will try to help the Indians complete a three-game sweep while extending the Indians’ scoreless streak and should have an excellent chance if he throws the ball like he did in his last outing as he did not allow a run in seven innings while leading Cleveland to a 12-0 shutout win over the Toronto Blue Jays on Saturday.

"It's pretty special stuff what they're putting together right now," manager Eric Wedge said. "They're going well beyond the call of duty right now. We just want them to give us a chance to win."

The Indians have allowed just three runs in their last five games, with all coming in the 10th inning of Monday’s 3-0 loss to the Blue Jays – all after Cliff Lee had shut them out for nine innings.

Cleveland’s four shutouts in their last five games have given them a major league-high seven for the season.

"It's been impressive to watch," center fielder Grady Sizemore told the team's official Web site. "I don't think I've ever seen anything like it. Offensively, you want to get on board and help these guys out, but they're just taking matters into their own hands right now."

The A’s will counter rookie Greg Smith, (2-2, 3.00) who allowed four runs on six hits including a home run in six innings in Oakland’s 4-0 loss to the Texas Rangers on Friday.

A’s manager Bob Geren has been impressed by Cleveland’s pitching to say the least.

"It was another well-pitched game," he said. "What are you going to do? It seems like I have said this before. It seems like I sat here and said the same thing 24 hours ago."

Here is a look at tonight’s key trends followed by my MLB Betting Picks.

The Athletics are 9-1 in their last 10 road games vs. a team with a winning home record.
The Athletics are 6-1 in their last 7 Thursday games.
The Indians are 4-0 in their last 4 vs. American League West.
The Indians are 4-0 in their last 4 vs. a team with a winning record.
The Under is 4-0-1 in Athletics last 5 games vs. a left-handed starter.
The Under is 4-0 in Indians last 4 home games with the total set at 7.0-8.5.
The Under is 5-2 in the last 7 meetings.
The Athletics are 8-19 in the last 27 meetings in Cleveland.

Analysis: With the Indians are rolling right along and the A’s starting a rookie pitcher, I say the Indians end the drama surrounding this game by the fifth of sixth inning by rounding Smith and getting another strong performance from Laffey.

MLB Free Picks: Indians 5 A’s 2

12:05 PM EST MLB Odds

Oakland Athletics
Greg Smith -L +1½ -155

Cleveland Indians
Aaron Laffey - L -1½ +135

Over 8 -110
Under 8 -110