MLB Baseball Betting Preview: Week of July 27th 2009

MLB Baseball Weekly Preview
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There has been no better team in MLB betting circles this season than the Los Angeles Dodgers. Winners of six of their last eight games against the moneyline, the Dodgers have been the most profitable club since the first pitch on opening day. Los Angeles didn’t even miss its stride when Manny Ramirez was suspended for 50 games before the All-Star break.

One team the Dodgers haven’t had much success against over the past number of seasons is the St. Louis Cardinals. L.A. is only 20-41 in its last 61 meetings with St. Louis, and has cashed a mere eight times in its last 24 games at Busch Stadium.

LA Dodgers at St. Louis

Despite having the best righthanded hitter in the game in Albert Pujols, the Cardinals (53-48, -1.45 units) have been incredibly anemic against lefthanded pitching this season. With slugger Matt Holliday on board following a trade over the weekend with the Oakland Athletics, St. Louis hosts the league-leading Dodgers (62-36, +19.90 units) in a four-game set beginning on Monday night.

The Cards are banking on Holliday to give the team some protection for Pujols, and to help improve on their .227 batting average against southpaws. St. Louis has been particularly brutal against lefties over the last 10 games, hitting .211 as the team has gone 4-6 against the MLB moneyline.

Barring an immediate reversal, the Redbirds are in tough for at least two of the games in the series. Veteran lefthander Randy Wolf (5-4, 3.45 ERA) takes the ball for Los Angeles in the opener, while southpaw Clayton Kershaw (8-5, 2.96 ERA) toes the rubber on Wednesday night.

Houston at Chicago Cubs

Currently in the mix for top spot in the National League Central, the Cubs (51-45, -3.31 units) head into their four-game series with the surging Astros (50-48, +3.78 units) playing their best baseball of the season for backers.

Chicago had cashed eight of its last 10 games heading into Monday night’s series opener to grab a share of top spot in the division. Not to be outdone, Houston is hot on the Cubbies’ trail with seven moneyline victories over its last 11 outings to sit just one game back.

Both clubs hit the field with key players either banged up or on the disabled list. Lance Berkman (calf) is on the 15-day DL for the Astros, while Derrek Lee (neck) is day-to-day this week for the North Siders. Cubs bettors won’t have the services of All-Star Ted Lilly (shoulder, knee), although Ryan Dempster (toe) is expected to come off the DL to start on Tuesday night.

Colorado at NY Mets

If the Cubs or Astros can’t cash the NL Central, they could get into the postseason by taking the wild card. To do that, they’ll have to keep pace with the Rockies (54-44, +10.12 units), who travel to Citi Field on Monday night for a four-game showdown with the Mets (46-51, -6.31 units).

16-5 over its last 21 games away from home, Colorado is only 5-22 in its last 27 meetings with the Mets in New York. Conditions are ripe for the Rockies to turn the trend around this week, with the Mets dealing with a slew of injuries.

With Carlos Beltran (knee), Jose Reyes (calf), Carlos Delgado (hip), Gary Sheffield (leg), John Maine (shoulder), and J.J. Putz (elbow) all out of the lineup, New York is already looking ahead to next season.

NY Yankees at Tampa Bay

Sharp bettors are eyeing the under for this week’s three-game series between the Yankees (60-38, +0.34 units) and the Rays (54-45, +1.63 units) beginning on Monday night at Tropicana Field.

New York is 2-7-1 O/U in its last 10 games heading into the set, while Tampa Bay has been an even stronger under wager with a 1-8 O/U mark in its last nine contests. The Yanks have foiled oddsmakers’ expectations because of the stellar performance of their pitching staff during the streak: New York’s starters have a 3.10 ERA over their last 10 games (9-1 SU), while the bullpen (2.31 ERA) has been even better.

With the Yankees leading the Rays by 6.5 games in the AL East, this is a prime opportunity for Tampa Bay to make up some ground. The teams have split the season series at four games apiece, with New York having taken two of three when the teams met at the Trop back in April.