Sunday's Diamond Notes
By Joe Williams (Vegas Insider)
Hottest team: Red Sox (9-1 past 10 overall)
After a 5-4 loss on Friday to snap their eight-game winning streak, the Red Sox were back at it starting a new winning run with a 10-5 victory over the Yankees. Rookie Andrew Benintendi swatted a pair of homers with six RBI, becoming the first Red Sox rookie to record six RBI against the Yankees since the statistic became official back in 1920. Now, the Red Sox turn to Chris Sale against Jordan Montgomery is a pitching matchup which looks to be heavily skewed in favor of the road team. The Red Sox are now 9-1 over their past 10 games overall, 5-2 in their past seven inside the division and 4-1 over their past five on the road.
Coldest team: Astros (0-5 past five games, 3-11 past 14 overall)
The Astros haven't appeared on the 'cold' list very often this season, but they're struggling lately. Houston has dropped five in a row, and they look to avoid the broom in Arlington against their in-state rivals from Texas. The Rangers are always a thorn in the side of the Astros, going 38-13 in their past 51 meetings at home against Houston. They're also 77-35 in the past 112 meetings overall. Houston has dropped seven in a row on the road, five straight overall and four of their past five inside the division. They're still 8-1 in Dallas Keuchel's past nine road starts and 10-1 over his past 11 inside the division.
Hottest pitcher: Chris Sale, Red Sox (14-4, 2.57 ERA)
Sale heads into Sunday Night Baseball with the best ERA in the American League at 2.57. Through 23 starts the opposition is hitting just .193 against him with a 0.88 WHIP and he has struck out a major league high 229 batters while walking just 29 over 161 1/3 innings. He has managed an 8-3 record with a 2.37 ERA across 13 road outings, posting 137 strikeouts over just 91 innings away from home. He hasn't beaten the Yankees this season in two tries, but he is 0-1 with a 1.15 WHIP across 15 2/3 innings with 23 strikeouts and just two walks. The Red Sox are 5-1 over Sale's past six road starts, 16-5 across his past 21 overall and 5-2 in the past seven inside the division.
Coldest pitcher: Matt Moore, Giants (3-12, 5.88 ERA)
The left-hander for the Giants has allowed more earned runs (84) than any other pitcher in the majors. He also has won just three of his 15 decisions overall with the opposition hitting a robust .294 against him. It appears Moore will not have to face OF Bryce Harper (knee), as he slipped an injured his knee on a wet base in Saturday's game, but even without the All-Star outfielder the Nats lineup is extremely dangerous. The Giants are just 3-9 over Moore's past 12 starts on the road, 5-16 over his past 21 overall and 1-7 across his past eight inside the division.
Biggest UNDER run: Indians (5-0 past four overall)
The 'under' connected in Saturday's 3-0 victory at Tampa Bay, giving Cleveland five consecutive under results. The under is 4-0 in their past four against a right-handed starting pitcher and 4-1 over their past five on the road against teams with a winning home mark. The under is also 31-15-5 in their past 51 on the road, while going 7-2 in thei past nine starts by Corey Kluber against American League East clubs. The under has hit for Tampa Bay lately, too, going 8-1 in their past nine home games and 19-7-2 in their past 28 games overall. And with Austin Pruitt on the mound, the under has hit in four straight overall.
Biggest OVER run: Royals (6-1-1 past eight overall)
The 'over' is 6-1-1 over the past eightgames overall for Kansas City, and 4-1-1 in their past six against a team with a winning percentage under .400. However, with Jason Vargas on the bump, the over will certainly not be easy. The under has hit in nine of his past 13 road outings, and 20 of the past 29 starts overall by the All-Star. The under is also 10-4-2 in Kansas City's past 16 overall on the road. The under is also 3-0-1 across the past four meetings with the White Sox, including Saturday's narrow 5-4 win with a total of 10.
Biggest public favorite: Dodgers (-280) vs. Padres
Biggest public underdog: Cubs (+115) at Diamondbacks
Biggest line move: Padres (+315 to +280) at Dodgers
279) Detroit Lions at (280) Indianapolis Colts
