A pair of National League postseason hopefuls will meet again in the desert on Tuesday when the Arizona Diamondbacks (63-51) host the
Philadelphia Phillies (63-49) as solid home favorites at the sportsbooks.The
Diamondbacks edged the Phillies 3-2 in Monday's series opener and have now won
nine of the past 11 meetings in the series and four straight at
Arizona
Chris Iannetta Jersey , according to the OddsShark MLB Database.MLB betting line: The Diamondbacks opened as -180 favorites (wager $180 to win
$100); the total is at eight runs, according to sportsbooks monitored by
OddsShark (line updates and matchup report).MLB betting pick, via OddsShark
computer: 5.2-4.5, Diamondbacks (MLB picks on every game).Check out the
OddsShark podcast on iTunes or at OddsShark.libsyn.com for more odds
information, betting picks and a breakdown of this week?? top sports betting
news.Why the Phillies can pay on the MLB linesPhiladelphia may be undervalued a
bit in this spot despite what looks to be a pitching mismatch with 25-year-old
Canadian Nick Pivetta (6-9, 4.75 ERA) on the hill. But after losing his previous
two starts, Pivetta pitched well last time out in a no-decision against the
Miami Marlins, allowing two runs and four hits in six innings of an eventual 5-2
victory with no walks and seven strikeouts.In fact, Pivetta has totaled 35
strikeouts and only three walks in his past four starts combined, so control has
not been an issue for him lately. Instead, he just needs to last longer in his
outings and get more run support.Why the Diamondbacks can pay on the MLB
linesThe Diamondbacks will lean on ace Zack Greinke (12-6, 2.96 ERA) here and
count on him to bounce back after suffering a rare loss. Greinke saw his
personal seven-game winning streak end in an 8-1 loss to the San Francisco
Giants at home on Thursday. The 34-year-old veteran did not pitch poorly though,
as he gave up two runs and four hits in six innings with one walk and five
strikeouts.Greinke has been good at Arizona overall this season, going 5-2 in 12
starts with a 2.44 ERA and opposing batters hitting .206 against him there. He
has not lost two in a row at Chase Field all year either. Smart betting
pickThese are two solid teams fighting for the playoffs, and both of them are
involved in tight divisional races. That said
http://www.rockiesfanproshop.com/authentic-ryan-mcmahon-jersey , the Phillies are still the hotter team right now despite seeing their five-game
winning streak end in 14 innings on Monday, so bet on them to rebound. MLB
betting trendsPhiladelphia is 5-1 in its last six games.The total has gone under
in eight of Philadelphia's last nine games.Arizona is 4-2 in its last six games
at home.All MLB odds and betting trends according to Bleacher Report?? official
odds partner, OddsShark. Check out OddsShark on Twitter and Instagram or head to
YouTube for more betting picks and analysis on this week's top games. You can
also download the free odds tracker app. OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — With a dominant
15-man bullpen, the Oakland Athletics don’t need much from their starters these
days.That’s been story of the hottest team in baseball. On Sunday, they overcame
a stinker.Stephen Piscotty homered and Oakland rallied from an early three-run
deficit to beat the Texas Rangers 7-3, the Athletics’ fourth straight win and
sixth in seven games.Trevor Cahill gave up three runs, two hits and six walks in
2 2/3 innings in his shortest start of the season.But the A’s got another
stellar performance from their bullpen, as seven relievers combined for 6 1/3
scoreless innings of two-hit ball.Shawn Kelley (1-0) retired the only four
batters he faced in relief of Cahill. He hasn’t allowed an earned run in 11
innings since coming over to Oakland in an Aug. 5 trade with the Washington
Nationals.“There’s plenty of depth to go around,” A’s manager Bob Melvin said.
“We were getting deeper contributions from the starters there for a while. Right
now, maybe not so much, and we’re having to cover a lot of the game, but my
feeling is that they’ll respond and they’ll start going deeper in games so we
can cut down on the amount of (relievers) we use.”Matt Olson had two hits
including a double for the A’s, who are 30 games over .500 (87-57) for the first
time since closing out 2013 at 96-66. They’ve won nine of their last 10 against
the Rangers.Piscotty’s homer in the seventh inning was his career-high 23rd,
surpassing his 2016 total with St. Louis.Oakland trailed 3-0 when Olson doubled
off Ariel Jurado (2-5) in a five-run fourth in which the A’s scored five runs on
three hits
http://www.tigersfanproshop.com/authentic-joe-jimenez-jersey , three walks, an error, a wild pitch and a passed ball. Ramon Laureano doubled in
a run later in the inning.“I think it’s pretty exemplary of how our entire
season has been,” Piscotty said. “Everyone else knows to kick it in gear. It’s a
special thing, it’s rare, and when we got it going, it’s pretty special.”Oakland
used eight pitchers Saturday and seven Friday.Blake Treinen, who pitched a 1-2-3
ninth, lowered his ERA to a major league-best 0.87.Texas dropped to a
season-high 21 games below .500 (61-82) after its 10th loss in 13 games.Jurado
pitched behind Jeffrey Springs, who tossed three shutout innings of one-hit ball
in an opening role. Jurado gave up four runs in two-thirds of an inning on four
hits and two walks.“It’s different, it’s a change to baseball,” Springs said of
the growing trend of using relief pitchers to start games.CAHILL’S K’SCahill’s
strikeout of Jurickson Profar in the second inning was the 1,000th of his
career.ADRIAN’S ADVANCEAdrian Beltre, who was 1 for 4 with an RBI, needs one
home run to tie Stan Musial and Willie Stargell (475) for 30th on the career
list and one hit to tie George Brett (3
Miguel Cabrera Jersey ,154) for 16th. Beltre ranks 27th on the RBI list with 1,697.Rangers manager Jeff Banister said he’ll try to get the 39-year-old
as many at-bats as he can.“I don’t want to miss those moments, and I don’t want
him to miss any of those moments,” Banister said.MONTAS’ ROLERight-hander
Frankie Montas is expected to be called up before the A’s open a six-game trip
at Baltimore on Tuesday. He’ll be expected to absorb innings in a yet-to-be
determined role.“It might be a game where we go with an opener, it might be a
game where he pitches out of the bullpen, it might be a game where he starts.
We’re not really sure yet,” manager Bob Melvin said. “We have a couple of
openings on this road trip and we’re trying to sort through that.”TRAINER’S
ROOMAthletics: LHP Brett Anderson (sprained left forearm) checked out OK a day
after throwing three simulated innings. He’s expected to move into the rotation
soon. “I think it’s going to be sometime on this road trip, but I’m not sure
which day,” Melvin said. … OF Nick Martini and RHP Ryan Dull were activated
before Sunday’s game. … 2B Jed Lowrie got a rare day off.UP NEXTRangers: LHP
Mike Minor (11-7, 4.31 ERA) will pitch Monday’s series opener against the Angels
in Los Angeles.Athletics: RHP Mike Fiers (11-6, 3.36) will pitch Tuesday’s
series opener in Baltimore.
