MLB- Cincinnati at Washington
Major League baseball has a dirty secret.
2007-08-03
Major League baseball has a dirty secret. No it’s not Jose Canseco’s new book that nobody cares about and it’s not the fact that Barry Bonds is holding Bud Selig hostage by not hitting a home run to break the record, it’s the Washington Nationals are the second best bet in the game. How and when did that happen? Let’s take a look.
Starting back on July 7, Washington (47-60, +11.4 units) started a three game winning streak that has blossomed into them being 13-8 since that date. Only once during this stretch has the Nationals been favored to win a game and that was two days ago against tonight’s opponent Cincinnati at -110. (FYI –Previous to that the last time the Nats were favored was June 6.) During this span of time the underdog Nationals has picked up eight units in less than a month.
Washington plays in pitcher’s park which has limited the chances of a weak offense team to put up runs on a consistent basis. Of late, All-Star Dmitri Young, Austin Kearns and Ryan Zimmerman have added punch to the line-up, despite still being last in runs scored in the big leagues. In the team’s last 13 wins they have averaged a robust 6.1 runs per game. The pitching has not bad either, as opposing teams have scored four or fewer runs in 13 of the last 21 contests.
Among the pitchers that have contributed is today’s hurler Mike Bacsik (4-6, 4.22), as he looks to carry the success of July into the month of August. Bacsik is a left-hander who went 1-5 with a 5.08 ERA in his first eight starts of the season, but was 3-1 with a 2.97 ERA in five starts last month, with Washington winning four of those contests. Bacsik might have another decided edge in tonight’s tilt with Cincinnati just 15-26 against lefty’s.
Washington is a -135 favorite at Sportsbook.com and is playing with extra incentive. The Nationals were only 2-12 against the Reds coming into the season in last 14 tries. Washington has now won five in a row over Cincy and is searching for number six for the first time since 1996 season. The Nats have not swept Cincinnati since they were in Montreal on Sept. 27-29, 2002.
The Washington hitters will face left-hander Phil Dumatrait has been called up from Triple-A Louisville to make his major league debut for the Reds on Thursday. Dumatrait went 10-5 with a 3.49 ERA in 21 starts in the minors, and 3-0 with a 2.37 ERA in his last five outings. The Nationals are 10-2 against the money line in home games vs. teams outscored by 0.5 or more runs a game in the second half of the season over the last two seasons. This will be the largest favorite role of the season to date for manager Manny Acta’s club.
While this game may lack a little pizzazz because of each team’s standings in the National League, it beats sitting around waiting to Bonds to tie the record. XM 184 will have this contest for those who prefer to listen and MLB.TV has for those who would rather watch. The Live Odds will keep you in the game with numbers for the games being played day and night.
StatFox Power Line – Washington -122
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