The Indians might be a serious contender in the AL Central after all. They closed the gap on Chicago with a recent hot streak and send one of the top hurlers in the junior circuit to the bump to battle the O’s. Danny Salazar could be the best starter no one has heard of and he looks to continue his dominance at Progressive Field.
You can bet on MLB odds at BookMaker.eu every day of the season.
ODDS ANALYSIS
The Indians remain a difficult team to get a read on. They thumped the Reds last week only to turn around and lose two of three to the Red Sox at Fenway Park last weekend. A trip to AL Central-leading Chicago produced two wins in the first three games moving the Tribe within a game and a half of first place in the division. The question remains, however; is this team a contender?
If Cleveland wants to answer that with a yes, playing more consistent baseball would be a way to do that. The Tribe was beaten four times by Minnesota and swept by the Phillies earlier in the season, outcomes that may hurt them down the road. However, in their last 10 games, the Indians are 7-3 and averaging 6.7 runs per outing. The over is 6-3-1 in that span and the Tribe is up 4.58 units on the moneyline.
PROBABLE PITCHERS
Ubaldo Jimenez (2-5, 6.04 ERA) allowed six earned runs for the second start in a row Sunday against the Angels. He went 5.2 innings and surrendered eight hits with three walks. Jimenez once averaged 96 mph on his fastball, but his is now averaging below 90 mph on the radar gun. He simply isn’t blowing hitters away like he once did and his ratios reflect that.
Jimenez had had a tough stretch of late, but manager Buck Showalter said the righty will remain in the rotation. He’s tossed just 15 innings over his last three starts allowing 17 runs and 22 hits in that span. He’s faced his former club four times in his career posting a 5.06 ERA and 1-2 record over 21.1 innings.
Monday’s make-up doubleheader threw a wrench in the Tribe’s rotation, but Danny Salazar (4-3, 2.32 ERA) is likely to get the nod on Saturday. He’ll look to rebound from his worst outing of the year when he surrendered four runs on eight hits in 4.1 innings in a 5-2 loss to the Red Sox on Sunday. He walked three and struck out six while burning through 109 pitches. It was the first time in nine starts that he allowed more than three runs in an outing.
The poor start was enough to push Salazar’s ERA over 2.00, and that says plenty about just how well the right-hander had been pitching entering that contest. He’s been brilliant in three home starts, going 2-1 with a 1.23 ERA, 0.77 WHIP and .181 opponent’s batting average against.
LIVE BETTING
What people forget about Matt Wieters, who is in his first full season back since Tommy John surgery in 2014, is that the Orioles’ catcher was having a career year before the injury. He batted .308/.339/.500 in 26 games in 2014 before he was shut down. He had five home runs and 18 RBIs that season. After a slow start in 2016, Wieters is heating up again now.
In 29 games this season, Wieters is batting .288/.333/.462 with four homers and 16 RBIs. Over his last eight games, he has three doubles, three homers, eight RBIs and a .464 batting average. Is he going to slug .893 – his percentage over that eight game stretch – all season? No. But the 30-year-old, who celebrated his birthday with a game-winning homer last Saturday night, is finally looking like his old self at the plate and behind it. And that’s good news for the O’s.
QUICK PICK
The Indians enter the weekend set nipping at the heels of the White Sox in the AL Central. Their biggest concern about being a serious contender was over their offense, and could it produce enough to back a strong pitching staff. Through their first 44 games, the Tribe is producing 4.8 runs per game, sixth-best in baseball, while the staff ERA is a shade under 4.00. Cleveland gets its shot at Jimenez, who has struggled mightily this season but more so over his past few starts. A hot offense against a cold hurler is troubling for the O’s.
MLB Odds: Cleveland 7, Baltimore 2
Need to fund your account before the big game but don’t have your computer? No problem, BookMaker Sportsbook now offers a mobile betting cashier so you can deposit money directly from your smartphone. Don’t miss out on getting paid because you couldn’t bet, click here and deposit at BookMaker now! The ballgame between the Baltimore Orioles and Cleveland Indians will take place Saturday, May 28, 2016, at 4:10 p.m. ET at Progressive Field. You can watch the contest live on the MLB Network.
