Even though their records wouldn’t tell you this, these are the two teams atop the AL Central currently. They are each a half game up on the Tigers, but neither team is really playing their best baseball.
Even though Albert Pujols finished his first month with the Angels without a homer, Anaheim returned from a rough road trip with a 4-3 victory over the equally miserable Minnesota Twins on Monday night in game one of a three games set that will continue on Tuesday.
The 2012 MLB regular season kicks-off the month of May with most of the favorites holding true to form, but with a few still struggling out of the gate.
After poring through the stats for the matchups on Tuesday’s slate of games, we uncovered a two-team parlay that promises to get your week started-off on the right foot.
Game 1- Arizona Diamondbacks vs. Washington Nationals
Money Line: Arizona +110 Washington -130
Total Line: 7.5
Arizona will go with Trevor Cahill as its starter in this one. The right-hander has been struggling a bit with 1-2 start and an ERA of 3.70. He dropped his last two starts after giving-up eight earned runs in 11 innings. This was after giving-up just two runs in 13 1/3 innings in his first two starts.
Washington will look to maintain at least a share of first place in the NL East behind Jordan Zimmermann. This right-hander continues to be a productive piece of the Nationals’ starting rotation with a 1.33 ERA in four previous starts. He is 1-1 with a 2.03 against the Diamondbacks.
The D-Backs are 1-4 in their last five games against a team with a winning record and 4-6 in their last 10 games overall. The Nationals are 16-5 in their last 21 games on one day’s rest and 8-2 in their last 10 home games against a right-handed starter. Stick with Washington to snap a four-game skid with the win at home. [dfads params=’groups=10&limit=1&return_javascript=0′]
Game 2- Miami Marlins vs. San Francisco Giants
Money Line: Miami +125 San Francisco -140
Total Line: 7
Miami will kick this three-game series off with Ricky Nolasco on the mound for Tuesday’s Game 1. He is 2-0 on the year with a 3.20 ERA, but more important, the right-hander is 4-2 lifetime against the Giants with a 1.61 ERA including a 3-0 record and 0.76 ERA at AT&T Park.
Matt Cain is slated to get the start for San Francisco. He has posted a 1-1 record with an ERA of 2.37 in his first four starts, but got tagged with three earned runs including two home runs in last Tuesday’s loss to Cincinnati. Cain is 3-2 against the Marlins with a 3.28 ERA.
The Marlins are 10-1 in Nolasco’s last 11 starts on a Tuesday and the Giants are 2-6 in Cain’s last eight starts in the first game of a new series. Overall, San Francisco is just 8-19 in Game 1 of its last 27 series. Stick with Miami as a likely road underdog to round-out the back-end of this parlay with the win.
This is a match-up between the two best records in the National League. The Dodgers are fresh off of their first two home losses of the season at the hand of the Atlanta Braves, but that isn’t to say they didn’t play well. Matt Kemp hit another home run, pushing his league-leading total to 10.
This weekend marks the end of the first month of the 2012 MLB regular season and a few early surprises both good and bad have made handicapping the games a bit more challenging so far.
The 2012 MLB regular season heads into the final weekend in April and there have already been a number of early season surprises that have had a direct impact on handicapping the games.
The Nationals have been one of the surprises in the early part of the MLB season, as they have the best record in the Majors and they are on a 4-game winning streak.
The Dodgers have gotten off on a torrid pace in the early part of this season. Led by Matt Kemp, they sit atop the NL with a 13-4 mark. The Braves on the other hand, have been a team of runs so far.
Two teams that generally hang around the top of the standings, and have gotten off to awful starts this season.
The defending champion Cardinals have not missed a beat without Albert Pujols in the lineup, as they lead the NL Central and rank 4th in the Majors in runs scored.
The Red-hot Yankees are now in first place in the AL east after winning 2 straight games against the Boston Red Sox, the 3rd was postpones, and now head to the Lone Star State to face a Rangers’ team that is in first place in the AL West and has won 9 of their last 10 games.
The Phillies are coming off a win, but they are in the basement of the NL East being the only team in the division that does not have a winning record.
If you opened up the newspaper today you may have noticed that the Boston Red Sox were in last place in the AL East. Tthe same position they were in at this time last season.
The 2012 MLB regular schedule takes us into the third weekend in April with a couple of early season divisional battles on the slate.
The Oakland A’s entered Tuesday’s game two coming off a 6-0 shutout to start their four-game series in Anaheim, while the Angles got a much-needed win after going 3-6 in their first nine games of the 2012 campaign.
The 2012 MLB regular season enters its second full week a games with a few teams making an early sprint out of the gate with a few others off to a surprisingly slow start.
