MLB Baseball Betting Weekend Look-Ahead at Bovada
by Bovada Sportsbook Staff | June 8, 2012
Not since pre-PED Barry Bonds have the Pittsburgh Pirates given us a taste of hope and improvement. Last season we had a sample of up-and-coming baseball, only to watch Pittsburgh come back to Earth in the season’s second half.
But these Bucs regained their first-half swag in 2012 (currently 29-27), and go into this MLB weekend with seven of their last 10 in the win column. The question bettors are asking is, is it for real this time? Can Andrew McCutchen and Co. keep the Bucs bats rolling, giving bettors an NL Central contender with amazing futures value?
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The difference this time is the bat of McCutchen won’t be the biggest factor to keep Pittsburgh bets consistent. The 2012 Pirates are propelled by an amazing pitching staff, most of which were sitting on the fantasy baseball waiver wire a year ago. Pittsburgh boasts aces like James McDonald (5-2, 2.14 ERA), who was traded from the Los Angeles Dodgers. And A.J. Burnett (5-2, 3.76 ERA), who may have resuscitated his career after his plus-five ERA was swapped by the New York Yankees.
Last year Pittsburgh ranked 11th in the National League in ERA, this year – they’re third. A drastic improvement while sitting at a profitable 75-1 to win the 2012 World Series in the sportsbook, and 12-1 to win the NL Central. Speaking of the Reds the Pirates just took two of three from the Central leaders and are just two games back.
Starting Friday, interleague play handed the Pirates a winnable three-game set with the always-struggling Kansas City Royals. A stat to make your odds tingle is the Pirates have won eight of 12
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And to completely confirm we’re in an MLB bizarro world the Philadelphia Phillies are free falling like a “Mad Men” intro. The losing streak sits at six, and they’re about to hit the road for a nine-game, interleague stint. Starting this weekend with the AL East-leading Baltimore Orioles. However, the Orioles haven’t exactly been lighting up the standings either, they’ve dropped eight of their last 11. The Phillies simply don’t have their real team on the field, as every 2011 All-Star is either on the DL or having a horrible season. MLB oddsmakers seem to think they’ll turn things around, listing them at 12-1 to win the World Series. Difficult to see them pulling it off anytime soon.
The last interesting interleague series is the always action-heavy Subway Series. The New York Mets are a great story this season with a 32-26 record, but the Yankees have the advantage as it’s in their house and the Mets dropped four of six in the Subway Series last year, losing two of three at Yankee Stadium.
What will give Yankee bettors pause is that Johan Santana (3-2, 2.38 ERA) will start for the Mets on Friday, his first since pitching the first no-hitter in team history. After his brilliant performance Mets manager Terry Collins gave Santana an extra two days off, conveniently lining him up to open the three-game stint versus their NY rival. The Yankees always want to knock off their cross-town opponent, but an added incentive could be that they the AL East lead in their sites, they sit just a half-game back.
The Yankees, Mets and Santana’s well-rested arm will be available for live betting when Game 1 tips at 4 p.m. ET.
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