Monday started with a miss on the Pirates run line. Archer scattered 2 hits over 5 innings while picking up 8 Ks, but the Pirates bullpen looked like they were the ones with considerably less rest and gave it up. The Mets pulled out a 9th inning payback victory for the Pirates meltdown, and the Yankees bullpen held on to get a 3-1 run line cover behind 7Ks from German. Run line action goes 2-1, yielding +1.35 units.
The icing on the cake came from the Oakland A’s who relished in showing up the defending champs at home with a 7-0 blowout. This +124 play extended the night’s profits to +2.59 units on Monday. Batting .500 on the season (8-8) for +2.47 units is a good way to grind but we’ve got a TON of games left in the season.
Colorado Rockies @ Tampa Bay Rays
Well, the Rays are at it again. An “average” MLB team playing good ball puts their ace on the mount against a Rockies club on a small slide. Opening up on the road and dropping their last two to the lowly Marlins had them longing for home. However, Colorado has to fight through a series in St. Pete that did not start well last night. Freeland takes the mound and could very well eat 6 innings or a shade more. With the potential for limited run support, the length of his outing should depend on his ability to maintain control of the count and work the edges. They’ve only been able to muster 4 runs in 3 games so this is not a scenario to bank on.
Blake Snell most likely won’t reach the lofty highs he achieved last season, but I do expect him to bounce back from his subpar opener with Houston. Teams have to work hard to manufacture runs off of this high-K young arm who can get out of jams and strand runners on the bases. Tampa has kept their opponents to 5 runs in the last 4 games. These teams have some momentum going…in opposite directions.
WAGER: Rays RL +145
LA Angels @ Seattle Mariners
Like the Rockies, the Angels are having a tough time putting it together on the road early in the season. They’re matched up against a similar middle-of-the road club in Seattle who divested themselves of veterans in the offseason. Trevor Cahill looks to right the ship for the Halos and has the capability to eat some innings. This is very important because the bullpen is definitely a weak spot.
Seattle has a little less pop in their lineup than the Angels, but otherwise I don’t see a depreciable drop-off between the two offenses. This could be a good spot for Gonzales to rebound from his first start and keep the M’s in the game early. If patient, their hitters should have some success off of Cahill and try to get to LA’s pen in the 5th inning. It’s worth taking a longer shot on this home squad tonight that is in an above-expectation run of the season.
