MLB Daily Line Drive: Monday's picks, betting odds and analysis
The Pirates are 5-0 in Gerrit Cole's five career starts against the Braves, where Cole has a 2.03 ERA. The Pirates are -130 favorites for today's matchup.
The Pirates and Braves are beginning to turn things around, but who has the edge when the two NL foes start a four-game series in Atlanta Monday. Plus, analysis on today's games as well as tips on weather, umpires, and other betting trends with our daily MLB Line Drive.
Double-Play Picks
Pittsburgh Pirates at Atlanta Braves (+120, 8)
The Pirates and Braves begin a four-game series in Atlanta on Monday, in what is a battle of two National League teams starting to bounce back after slow starts.
The Braves are coming off series wins over Miami, Toronto and Washington, while the Pirates have won six of their last eight games. The difference in the opener of this four-game set should be starting pitching.
Pittsburgh sends ace Gerrit Cole to the mound Monday to take on Atlanta starter Mike Foltynewicz.
After getting off to a bit of a slow start this season, Cole has been fantastic over his last seven starts, pitching to a 1.96 ERA, 0.87 WHIP, while racking up 44 strikeouts. Additionally, the Buccos right-hander has had plenty of success against the Braves. The Pirates are 5-0 in his five career starts versus Atlanta, while Cole himself is 3-0 with a 2.25 ERA, a 1.344 WHIP and 29 strikeouts.
Foltynewicz on the other hand got off to a hot start, but has cooled off recently, pitching to a 6.19 ERA and a 1.50 WHIP in his last three starts.
On offense, the Pirates lineup is starting to find its way after the loss of Starling Matre to a suspension, while the Braves are still coping with the loss of Freddie Freeman to a broken wrist.
Pick: Pirates -130
Colorado Rockies at Philadelphia Phillies (-117, 8)
Many bettors believed this could be a breakout year for the Rockies, taking the Over when their season win total was released back in the winter, but not many expected them to be this good. The Rockies look legit, leading the National League Central at 28-17 as they begin a four-game set in Philadelphia with the Phillies.
The Rockies have always been known for their offense and this year is not different ranking 8th in runs, average, OPS while ranking 10th in home runs. They’ve been even better over the last seven games scoring 6.8 runs per game.
The difference has been the solid play of pitchers Kyle Freeland and Antonio Senzatela with Greg Holland at the back end to close out games with his 19 saves and 0.96 ERA.
They send another young pitcher to the mound today in Jeff Hoffman, who is making just his second start of the season. Hoffman allowed 3 runs on six hits in 5.1 innings in his first start against the Dodgers.
Hoffman faces off against the Phillies Jerad Eickhoff. The Phillies right-hander has had an up and down season, but is 0-4 with a 4.53 ERA this season. Eickhoff has only pitched into the seventh inning once this year in eight starts. That exposes a Philadelphia bullpen that ranks 24th in the big leagues with a 4.86 ERA.
The Over is also 4-0 in the last four meetings in this matchup.
Pick: Over 8
Yesterday's Picks: 1-1
Season to Date: 40-31-3
Streaking and Slumping Starting Pitchers
Streaking: Ty Blach, San Francisco Giants (1-2, 4.15 ERA, $-303)
Despite the Giants dropping four of Blach’s five starts this season, the young southpaw has actually pitched pretty well in the majority of his outings.
Blach has allowed two runs or fewer in four of five starts since joining the Giants rotation and in his last two starts he has allowed just three earned runs on 10 hits in 14 innings of work. Blach and the Giants are +175 dogs today at the Cubs.
Slumping: Kyle Gibson, Minnesota Twins (0-4, 8.20 ERA, $-198)
The whole season has been one big slump for Twins starter Kyle Gibson, who hasn’t won a decision since early September of last year.
Gibson has allowed three or more earned runs in each of his six starts, but his major problem has been control. The right-hander just three more strikeouts than walks this season (16-13), while opponents own a 4.19 on base percentage against him. Gibson and the Twins are +123 dogs in Baltimore tonight.
Monday's Top Trends
* Under is 6-0 in the last six when the Twins are in Baltimore. O/U: 9.5.
* Over is 6-0 in Rays last six games following a loss. O/U: 8 vs. Angels.
* Over is 15-2 in Cubs last 17 home games. O/U: 10 vs. Giants.
* White Sox are 0-6 in their last six during Game 1 of a series. +150 @ Diamondbacks.
Weather To Keep An Eye On
Tell me if you have heard this one before. It's going to be windy today inthe Windy City. In fact, hitters will be given a hand for when the Cubs host the Giants. There will be a 13-15 mile per hour wind gusting out to center field for tonight's game. Temperatures will be in the mid 60's and there will be approximately a 55 percent chane of rain during the game. The total is currently 10.
There is also a slight chance of rain Philadelphia, where the Phillies host the Rockies (O/U: 8), New York where the Yankees host the Royals (O/U: 8), in Baltimore, where the Orioles host the Twins (O/U: 9.5) and in Atlanta, where the Braves host the Pirates (O/U: 8).