ODDS ANALYSIS
Baltimore has not been a good bet on the road and that trend continued Wednesday when the Orioles dropped their third straight in Houston to the Astros. The 3-1 loss left the O’s at 6-16 in away games this season and dropped them into last place in the AL East, a season-high six games below .500. It was also their fifth straight loss on the road, putting them in the red 5.11 units in that span. The O’s are down 9.5 units overall in away games, leaving them as the least profitable road team in the AL.
The Indians are trying to get back to the .500 mark but hit a road block Wednesday in a loss to the Royals that broke their three-game win streak. Getting some wins at home will help them get there, but that’s been a tough task. The Tribe is just 10-14 at home and in the red 8.17 units for the season.
PITCHING MATCHUP
Baltimore’s Chris Tillman (2-7, 5.94 ERA) continues to struggle, taking his seventh loss of the season after serving up six runs – five earned – on nine hits in 4.2 innings to Tampa Bay on Sunday. He’s lost his last six decisions and has allowed four or more earned runs in five of his 10 starts.
Tillman sports a 7.07 ERA and 1.71 WHIP yielding 17 hits and seven walks in three career starts at Progressive Field. He’ll be facing the Indians for the first time since Sept. 3, 2013.
Shaun Marcum (2-0, 5.49 ERA) had a decent outing tossing 5.1 innings with five hits and two runs Saturday in a win over Seattle in his third start of the year. He had a five inning relief stint on Apr. 12 in his first big league game since July 6, 2013 following shoulder surgery, and was 4-0 with a 1.36 ERA in five starts at Triple-A Columbus before starting against Chicago on May 20.
Marcum has faced the O’s 14 times with 12 starts in his career going 4-2 with a 4.33 ERA but hasn’t faced Baltimore since the 2010 season.
QUOTE TO NOTE
“He’s an easy guy to pull for with everything he’s been through. And he does such a good job. Like fielding his position and holding runners. There’s been a few walks that I think are maybe a little more uncharacteristic, but you can tell he knows what he’s doing. As long as he’s executing, he’s OK.” – Indians manager Terry Francona on Shaun Marcum
LIVE BETTING or SITUATIONAL BETTING
The fifth spot in the Indians rotation has not only been a revolving door this season, it’s been a black hole for the team, creating the kind of inconsistency that threatens a club’s hopes of contending. The top four arms in the rotation – Corey Kluber, Carlos Carrasco, Trevor Bauer and Danny Salazar – have been outstanding but the back end has been a different story. The four pitchers who have logged at least one start in that spot, including Shaun Marcum, have combined to go 2-6 with a 10.42 ERA, 2.21 WHIP, 1.65 strikeout-to-walk ratio and 15.2 hits allowed per nine innings.
PROP TALK
Indians second baseman Jason Kipnis is on a nice roll and capped his historic month of May earning the AL Player of the Month. Kipnis hit .429 with 15 runs, four homers and 17 RBIs during May, leading all big league players in average, on-base percentage and runs scored during the month while hitting safely in 25 of the 29 games he played. The guy will cool off, it just happens in the game, but he’s streaking now and his run continues against Chris Tillman, who he hits .333 against during his career. His torrid pace at the plate has sparked the Indians and a few more hits and runs gets the Tribe going in this one.
ANALYSIS AND PREDICTION
The Indians are putting things together and have played much better baseball over the last few weeks with the help of strong starting pitching and Jason Kipnis, who had a historic month of May. It’s been an adventure, however, for the Tribe when handing the ball to the fifth starter in the rotation. Shaun Marcum continues his path on the comeback trail after shoulder surgery sidelined him for all of last season and is the latest at the back end of the rotation.
The struggles of Orioles starter Chris Tillman continue to puzzle everyone in the organization. His ERA this season is over two runs higher than in any of his previous three years and he hasn’t shown near the consistency. His troubles continue against the Indians.
Cleveland 6, Baltimore 4
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