MLB Weekend Top 10
Whatever you do, don’t win that 10th game. It’s cursed.
As we mentioned last week, Toronto Blue Jays ace Roy Halladay was the first pitcher in the majors to win 10 games this year. Halladay promptly went on the DL with a strained groin.
Take a look at this season’s MLB betting trends from Bodog. All statistics were at press time; for the latest odds visit sports.bodog.com.
.Minnesota Twins right-hander Kevin Slowey picked up his 10th victory on Friday against the Houston Astros; according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune, his next start has been pushed back two days to Saturday because of “soreness in his right side.” Zack Greinke, you’ve been warned.
Top 10 paying teams
1. Los Angeles Dodgers (47-25, 20.00 units)
2. Boston Red Sox (44-27 SU, 10.02 units)
3. Texas Rangers (38-32 SU, 7.68 units)
4. Detroit Tigers (40-31, 7.05 units)
5. Los Angeles Angels (38-32 SU, 6.97 units)
6. San Francisco Giants (39-32 SU, 6.52 units)
7. Toronto Blue Jays (40-33 SU, 4.84 units)
8. Milwaukee Brewers (38-33 SU, 4.39 units)
9. Colorado Rockies (37-35, 3.78 units)
10. Florida Marlins (37-36 SU, 3.02 units)
Top 10 paying pitchers
1. Matt Palmer, L.A. Angels (8-2 team record, 9.30 units)
2. Josh Johnson, Florida (12-3, 8.89 units)
3. Tim Wakefield, Boston (11-3, 7.98 units)
4. Matt Cain, San Francisco (11-3, 7.19 units)
5. Jeff Niemann, Tampa Bay (10-4, 6.60 units)
6. Jason Marquis, Colorado (10-5, 6.35 units)
7. Vicente Padilla, Texas (9-4, 6.04 units)
8. Kevin Slowey, Minnesota (10-4, 5.95 units)
9. Eric Stults, L.A. Dodgers (7-2, 5.85 units)
10. Rick Porcello, Detroit (10-4, 5.84 units)
This weekend’s top 10 storylines
1. Rays 3B Evan Longoria (hamstring) leaves game, listed as day-to-day
2. CC Sabathia expects to start Friday for Yankees after strong bullpen session
3. Phillies to activate closer Brad Lidge
4. Reds shut down righty Edinson Volquez, will re-examine his elbow next week
5. Florida puts closer Matt Lindstrom on DL with elbow sprain
6. Royals OF Coco Crisp out for season with torn labrum
7. Angels pitcher Kelvim Escobar (shoulder) back on DL
8. Yankees OF Johnny Damon (calf) returns to lineup
9. Scott Kazmir on verge of rejoining Rays rotation
10. Marlins reliever Leo Nunez leaves game with right ankle sprain
This weekend’s top 10 games to bet on
1. Sunday: N.Y. Yankees at N.Y. Mets (8:05 p.m. Eastern, ESPN)
The Subway Series terminates at Citi Field on Sunday Night Baseball. Chien-Ming Wang (1-6 team record, -6.84 units) is still in the rotation for New York.
2. Saturday: Chicago Cubs at Chicago White Sox (4:05 p.m., FOX)
Mark Buehrle (10-4, 4.60 units) has the under at 10-4 in his 14 starts for the Pale Hose. Ryan Dempster (5-10, -6.89 units) has pitched five straight quality starts (and five straight unders), the Cubs losing the last four.
3. Sunday: Boston at Atlanta (1:30 p.m., TBS)
A reprise of last week’s TBS broadcast, this time at Turner Field. The legend of rookie Tommy Hanson (4-0, 4.00 units) grows with every win for the Braves.
4. Friday: San Francisco at Milwaukee (8:05 p.m.)
Matt Cain takes the mound for the Giants in search of deadly win No. 10. The Brewers have lost six of their last seven at home.
5. Saturday: L.A. Angels at Arizona (4:10 p.m., FOX)
John Lackey (3-5, -3.21 units) has pitched at least seven innings in five of his last six starts, but the Halos are just 2-4 in that span.
6. Friday: Colorado at Oakland (10:05 p.m.)
The Rockies have dropped two in a row after winning 17 of their previous 18. The A’s are sending money-shredding rookie Brett Anderson (4-9, -4.27 units) to the hill; the over is 9-4 in his starts.
7. Saturday: Seattle at L.A. Dodgers (10:10 p.m.)
Felix Hernandez (10-5, 3.77 units) has allowed two earned runs or fewer in each of his last six starts, Seattle winning five. Eric Milton (3-1, 2.83 units) has done the same in each of his four starts for the Dodgers, although none went into the sixth inning.
8. Sunday: Kansas City at Pittsburgh (1:35 p.m.)
The aforementioned Zack Greinke (9-6, -0.03 units) makes his potentially lethal next start against Pittsburgh punching bag Ian Snell (4-11, -6.30 units).
9. Friday: Cincinnati at Cleveland (7:05 p.m.)
The Battle of Ohio should have betting value as a matchup of two “small-market” clubs. Cleveland is 14.10 units in the hole at 30-43; Cincinnati (34-36) is above ground for now at 0.52 units.
10. Saturday: Philadelphia at Toronto (1:07 p.m.)
Young Brad Mills makes his second career start for the Jays. He gave up four runs in 3.2 innings to the Phillies in his debut, which Toronto won anyway 8-7.
