The class of the AL Central comes in as slim as a favorite as they’ve been in quite some time. With the Indians returning their whole team, the Royals becoming relevant following their 2014 run, and now the White Sox making a splash in the offseason, the Central is now jammed packed with 4 legit contenders.
The Cubs, by far, made the biggest moves this off season and grabbed the attention of bettors. The question people are beginning to ask are whether or not the Cubs can live up to the big expectations people are giving them or is it just an overhype? Chicago will look to bring the World Series trophy to Wrigley for the first time since 1908.
The Orioles lost their 2014 big bopper, OF/DH Nelson Cruz, to the Seattle Mariners in free agency, but the restoration of health of some of the club’s either key pieces might be enough to pretty well mitigate that departure.
The L.A. Dodgers have all the pieces to be one of the league’s best teams and barring a slew of catastrophic injuries or misfortune this team should clean up in the NL West for a third straight season.
There has been a lot of hype and disappointment with the Toronto Blue Jays over the last couple of seasons.
After some very lean times the Pittsburgh Pirates have been to the playoffs in back to back seasons. They are in a very competitive division – the NL Central – but there is no reason they should not be in the mix again in 2015.
The St. Louis Cardinals are one of the most consistent franchises around. Since 2000 they have missed the playoffs only four times. Over that stretch they have won two World Series and played in two others. In short if you have been betting against these guys you have not been making money.
One of the most consistent franchises in the game (the Atlanta Braves) are looking like they might be headed for a serious down cycle. I am all for the pinning the future on promising pitching but they have gutted their lineup, making it older and less talented at the same time.
I bet you probably forgot that the Milwaukee Brewers had a winning record last season. The fact is they have have pretty good success over the past decade but never really broke through (two early playoff exits).
Perhaps no team in the Major Leagues went through more changes this past offseason than the Tampa Bay Rays – from the front office to the product on the field the Rays will be a much different team than the one that has contended virtually every year the last decade.
All eyes will be on the Boston Red Sox once again this season as they attempt to bounce back from a 91-loss campaign last season. 3B Pablo Sandoval, LF Hanley Ramirez, RHP Rick Porcello, LHP Wade Miley, RHP Justin Masterson, C Ryan Hanigan and Robbie Ross are a few names that were added to the lineup that still includes Dustin Pedroia and David Ortiz.
Spring Training is underway and nowhere is the spotlight bigger than in the home of the New York Yankees who will have their share of intriguing storylines as we head into the season. A-Rod, CC Sabathia and Carlos Beltran are all examples of aging veterans that could be a huge difference maker for this team – good or bad!
Before rain postponed Tuesday’s contest, the Orioles had scored 36 runs over their last four games, including 11 in Monday’s series opening victory over the visiting New York Yankees.
The O’s will try to keep that offensive momentum going when the take on the Yankees in game three on Wednesday night on ESPN.
NYY: Michael Pineda (R) (2-2, 1.83 ERA) v BAL: Chris Tillman (R) (9-5, 3.73ERA)
Date/Time: 7:05 pm ET Wednesday, August 13, 2014
Venue: Oriole Park at Camden Yards, Baltimore, Maryland
Broadcast: ESPN
Line: Orioles -123
Total: OFF
[dfads params=’groups=63740&limit=1&return_javascript=0′]
Chris Davis, Nelson Cruz and Jonathan Schoop all hit home runs in game one for Baltimore (68-50), who are winners of 11 of their last 15 games.
Cruz has fueled the Orioles offense with six RBIs in his last three games and Adam Jones has eight hits in his last four games, as Baltimore has gone 8-3 so far in the month of August and is 18 games above .500.
Check out our in-house Handicapper!!! Click here to Buy Razor Ray’s MLB Baseball Picks Today!
Meanwhile, after Monday’s defeat, the Yankees (61-57) have lost three in a row.
An inconsistent offense that had produced three or less runs in six of its last eight games, has been a real problem for New York, with the exception of a retiring Derek Jeter, who has a hit in nine of his last 10 games.
[dfads params=’groups=10&limit=1&return_javascript=0′]
Looking to put an end to Jetter’s hitting streak will be Orioles starter Chris Tillman, who is 9-5 with a 3.73 ERA and has 102 strikeouts in 149.2 innings.
The right-hander is 5-5 with a 5.64 ERA in 12 career starts against the Yankees, and is coming off a solid performance against St. Louis, in which he gave up two runs and four hits in 6 2/3 innings.
The Yankees will counter with 25-year-old Michael Pineda, who is 2-2 with a 1.83 ERA and has 15 strikeouts in 19.2 innings. The right-handed Dominican made two rehabilitation starts this month and struck out 11 in 7 2/3 innings.
He is 0-0 with a 2.77 ERA in two career starts against the Orioles.
1. Yankees SS Derek Jeter owns a .400 career average (8-for-20) against Tillman.
2. Baltimore has scored 36 runs over its last four games.
3. Orioles 3B Manny Machado will be re-evaluated Wednesday after spraining his right knee on Monday. The team is still deciding whether or not to place him on the disabled list.
The Orioles are 7-3 in Tillman’s last 10 starts overall, while the Yanks are 4-9 in the last 13 meetings at Camden Yard.
And while New York has looked good as of late, with the exception of its minor losing streak, I like the Orioles to win in a big way at home in this one.
The Reds will host the Red Sox in the opener of a two-game interleague series on Tuesday in Cincinnati, looking to narrow the gap between them and an NL wild-card berth.
On the season the Phillies have an Over/Under record of 45-39 and a run-line W/L record of 43-47 and the Brewers have an Over/Under record of 46-41 and a run-line W/L record of 44-47.
The Chicago Cubs will aim to take the second game of a short-two game series on the road in Miami on Tuesday, when they square odd against the Marlins.
