BASEBALL MLB ARTICLES

Few men in baseball have allowed as many home runs per innings pitched this year as Miguel Gonzalez. That could put the Baltimore Orioles (43-42 SU, -1.15 Units) in bad shape on Saturday night when they take on their crosstown rivals, the Washington Nationals (46-38 SU, -1.01 Units).... 

Believe it or not, the Pittsburgh Pirates (50-34 SU, +8.96 Units) could be just a half-game back of the St. Louis Cardinals (55-30 SU, +20.40 Units) in the NL Central going into the All-Star break if they can take care of business over the course of these next four days. Saturday's game marks the third game of this four-game set and will also be the Redbirds' 13^th game played in the last 12 days.... 

ODDS ANALYSISThe Cardinals have more to worry about than a doubleheader loss to the Cubs. The team’s bullpen faltered late in both games of Tuesday’s twin bill and their usually reliable defense did them no favors losing 7-4 and 5-3.... 

In the first battle over the city of Chicago this season, the Cubs (46-27, $518) will host the White Sox (37-44, -$857) as each team enters having played solid ball of late.... 

ODDS ANALYSISThe Detroit Tigers have turned Safeco Field into their own launching pad banging out four home runs Tuesday night for the second straight game. The barrage of long balls helped Detroit keep its streak of cashing the over alive, which has now reached an incredible 18 consecutive games.The last time the Tigers played below the scoreline was back on June 16. Anibal Sanchez started three times during the current over streak with the Tigers winning all three while producing 25 runs of support. Detroit won each of Sanchez’s last five starts scoring a total of 37 runs in those games.... 

ODDS ANALYSISNot a good road team all season, the Mets just needed to get out of New York to start winning games again. The Mets ended their last homestand getting swept by the Cubs while scoring just one run in three games, but took two of three in Los Angeles before Monday’s shutout win against the Giants.... 

The Cleveland Indians (38-44, -$1,520) wrap up their four game series against the AL West leading Houston Astros (49-36, $1,089) on Thursday night looking to build upon something going into the break.... 

The last time Jesse Chavez pitched against the New York Yankees (44-38 SU, -1.38 Units), he put together one of the most inspired efforts of the season by a pitcher for the Oakland Athletics (38-47 SU, -17.75 Units).He'll look for more of that on Thursday on getaway day in the Bronx.... 

Parlay the New York Mets' (42-41 SU, +0.09 Units) with their inability to score runs at the moment, and you've got a disaster waiting to happen on Wednesday against the San Francisco Giants (42-41 SU, -3.13 Units).... 

ODDS ANALYSISThe Orioles hit a wall after winning 16 of 20 games to vault into the top spot in the AL East. Monday’s loss to the Twins was Baltimore’s sixth in its last eight games, a stretch littered with inconsistent play that has them in the red 5.6 units on the moneyline.The under is 3-1 on Baltimore’s current road trip and 9-3-1 in their last 13 games overall. The O’s have been a strong under play this season going 21-15-2 on the road.... 

ODDS ANALYSISThe Cardinals continued their dominance over the Cubs even when they couldn’t get a hit for much of Monday’s series opener. St. Louis scored all of its runs over the final three innings in a 6-0 win and improved to 8-2 against Chicago this season, up 5.84 units on the moneyline.The Cards stretched their winning streak to three, nearly wiping out the bitterness of a season-long four-game slide that preceded their current run. The Cards have won five straight over the Cubs, limiting them to five runs in that stretch with the under at 4-0-1.... 

Mother Nature has reared her ugly head time and time again to the St. Louis Cardinals (54-28 SU, +21.37 Units) and the Chicago Cubs (44-37 SU, +3.19 Units), and if the forecast doesn't improve, bettors could be in for a tricky mission on Wednesday night in the Windy City.... 

Miguel Cabrera is on the disabled list and that is a big hit for the Detroit Tigers (41-40, -$197) who continue to stay afloat around .500.They’ll look to make a run without their top player as they wrap up a three game set against the Seattle Mariners (38-44, -$1,131) on Wednesday.... 

A small bump in the road aside, the St. Louis Cardinals (53-28, $2,028) are back to their winning ways with two straight wins.They will look to continue that streak, and either winning streak against the Chicago Cubs (44-36, $436) when the two teams meet in the finale of a four game series on Wednesday night.... 

The Minnesota Twins (43-39, $1,218) will welcome the Baltimore Orioles (43-39, $256) to Target Field for the second of three on Wednesday with both battling it out for a wildcard position while hanging in the race for their respective divisions as well.... 

The Chicago Cubs (44-36 SU, +4.36 Units) might not be the better of the two teams on the field on Tuesday, but the fact that they are playing a doubleheader against the St. Louis Cardinals (53-38 SU, +20.28 Units) could give them a very tangible advantage.... 

ODDS ANALYSISSt. Louis gave the rest of the National League some hope with a season-long four-game losing streak. But while the Cards struggled on the offensive end, they were able to take the final two games of a home set with San Diego with some impressive pitching. St. Louis totaled 11 runs over its last six games, cashing the under in each of the last three.The under is 7-3 in the Cards’ last 10 games with both playing below the scoreline when the teams met in Chicago in early April. The Cardinals remain the most profitable team in MLB, up 20.28 units overall on the moneyline, however the Cards are just 2-5 in seven road starts made by John Lackey, down 3.65 units.... 

The rivalry between the St. Louis Cardinals (53-28, +20.28 Units) and the Chicago Cubs (44-36 SU, +4.36 Units) will only be made more intense on Tuesday when the hated teams have to play against each other twice.... 

The New York Mets (40-40, -2.54 Units) are coming off of a three-game series in which they scored just one run and were booed out of Citi Field.You'd think that going into a West Coast swing might be well-timed, but an 11-26 road record doesn't bode well going into the Fourth of July against the Los Angeles Dodgers (45-35, -6.35 Units).... 

The New York Yankees (42-37 SU, -2.09 Units) won the first five games they played this year against the Tampa Bay Rays (42-39 SU, +1.73 Units).With as badly as the Rays have played of late, there might be a real opportunity to help put some space between the Bronx Bombers and their division rivals to the south, including on Saturday afternoon in the Big Apple.... 

The Minnesota Twins (42-37 SU, +12.74 Units) were presented with a big opportunity here just before the All-Star break.They've got four games with the Kansas City Royals (44-32 SU, +10.96 Units), and they could really use a series win here to help cut that gap in the AL Central.... 

The last time the San Francisco Giants (42-38 SU, -0.09 Units) paid a visit to the Washington Nationals (43-36 SU, -1.38 Units), they won an 18-inning game in which fans from DC were running to the exits before the game was said and done with.Now, the two teams will meet again in our nation's capital to finish up the Fourth of July weekend.... 

The Philadelphia Phillies (27-54 SU, -19.05 Units) might have the worst team in baseball, but they have at least shown some spunk lately and could have some good value against the Atlanta Braves (38-41 SU, +3.97 Units).... 

It's clear that at some point, both the Cincinnati Reds (36-41 SU, -6.13 Units) and the Milwaukee Brewers (33-48, -13.78 Units) are going to abandon ship this year and start to trade away their veterans to give some young guys a shot.For the Reds though, we're seeing just how thin their pitching really is on Saturday.... 

There are a total of 11 games on the MLB docket which will be seen across the country on national television on Saturday.As a part of FOX's regional coverage on the Fourth of July, the Miami Marlins (34-46 SU, -12.31 Units) will take on the Chicago Cubs (42-35 SU, +4.19 Units)....