About a month back it looked as if the Yankees had the AL East wrapped up, but they have not been playing great while the red-hot Orioles and Rays have played well. New York is now tied atop the division with Baltimore and Tampa Bay is only 2 games back.
The Dodgers are only 4-6 in their last 10 games and they now trail the San Francisco Giants by 5 games in the NL West. After getting back in the division race the D-Backs are now 10 games back of the Giants.
We are into the last month of the 2012 MLB Regular Season – the cream has really started to rise to the top. While the American League teams have started to bunch up a tad the National League seems to be devoid of any sort of September pennant race.
With the Reds running away with the NL Central the Pirates and Cardinals will have to chase the Wild Card to make the post-season. St. Louis and Atlanta are tied for the Wild Card lead while Pittsburgh is 2 games back.
While the Rangers are coming off a loss they are still 7-3 in their last 10 games and have the biggest AL division lead, as they are 5.5 games up on the Oakland A’s in the AL West. The Rays are also 7-2 in their last games, but they have lost 2 straight.
After hitting a rough patch a couple weeks back the Angels have won 4 straight and while winning the AL West is a long shot they are only 2.5 games out of the Wild Card lead.
The St. Louis Cardinals have overtaken the Pittsburgh Pirates for second place in the NL Central. Now, the Cardinals are trying to make another late charge toward the playoffs like they did last year.
The Yankees had a comfortable lead in the AL East for several weeks, but they have lost 3 straight and only lead the hot Tampa Bay Rays by 2.5 games in the division.
All six MLB divisions remain up for grabs as the regular season continues to grind-on through the dog days of summer. While these close races have a tendency to make handicapping the games a bit more difficult, after carefully analyzing all the pitching matchups for this Thursday’s slate we have uncovered a golden opportunity for a two-team parlay.
The Braves avoided a sweep in their last win over the Nationals, but they still trail them by 6 games in the NL East.
The Rangers have the biggest lead of any division in the American League with a 5-game lead over the Angels in the AL West.
The Yankees and White Sox are meeting in a showdown of two divisional leaders. The Yankees have dropped the first two games in this series, and they are in a bit of a slump right now.
The MLB playoff picture is beginning to take shape and there are a couple of crucial series on this week’s slate that could have an impact on the final results.
We have carefully analyzed the stats and betting trends for all the pitching matchups on Tuesday’s schedule to uncover a two-team parlay that should help get your week off to a profitable start.
Game 1: New York Yankees vs. Chicago White Sox
Money Line: New York +105 Chicago -115
Total Line: 8.5
Ivan Nova is scheduled to get the start for the Yankees in the second game of this three-game set. The right-hander is 11-6 on the year with an ERA of 4.76.
He gave-up four runs in just over five innings against Texas his last time out after getting pummeled for 18 runs in his previous three starts. Nova is 2-0 against the White Sox with a 1.33 ERA.
Chicago will go with Francisco Liriano as its starter for Tuesday night. He won his first game with the White Sox his last time out after holding the Blue Jays to two earned runs in just over six innings pitched. Overall the left-hander is 4-10 with a 5.22 ERA. He is 1-4 against the Yankees with an ERA of 4.02.
New York is 13-3 in Nova’s last 16 starts on the road against a team with a winning record. It comes into this series 8-2 in the last 10 meetings and a perfect 6-0 in its last six games in Chicago.
The Yankees may lose the opener on Monday night but get the victory in this game as Nova returns to form. [dfads params=’groups=10&limit=1&return_javascript=0′]
Game 2: San Francisco Giants vs. Los Angeles Dodgers
Money Line: San Francisco +110 Los Angeles -120
Run Line: 7
The Giants will go with Tim Lincecum in Game 2 of this NL West Division showdown. It has been a struggle for the right-hander this season with a 6-13 record and 5.45 ERA. His last time out he was tagged for four runs on eight hits after giving-up a total of five runs in his previous three starts. Lincecum is 6-5 against the Dodgers with a 2.87 ERA.
Joe Blanton should be on the mound for Los Angeles on Tuesday. Since coming over from Philadelphia at the end of July, the right-hander has given-up 14 earned runs on 18 hits in three starts. Overall, Blanton is 8-11 with a 4.96 ERA this season. Against San Francisco, he is 2-4 with an ERA of 4.75.
San Francisco is 4-11 in Lincecum’s last 15 starts on the road. The Dodgers are 6-2 in their last eight games overall and 5-2 in their last seven games against a team with a winning record.
The bats will have the final say in this matchup as Los Angeles pounds out a win to lock-up the back-end of this parlay.
September is nearly here and as always we are seeing some clear separation between the haves and the have-nots in Major League Baseball. There are only two real close division races in the Bigs – the rest of the divisions have leaders running away.
Johan Santana threw a no-hitter earlier this year, but ever since then Santana has been awful. The Mets as a team have turned south as well after hanging in the NL East race for quite some time. Washington has the best record in the major leagues, and the Nationals continue to put up awesome pitching numbers.
Both the Rangers and Yankees have big cushions in their respective divisions and this match up may be a preview of a playoff series. The Yankees have a 5 game lead over the Rays in the AL East and the Rangers have a 6.5 game lead over the A’s.
