Greetings from Chatham, Mass.! I am on vacation this week spending time with my fiance and family on Cape Cod. Unfortunately, there is no VSiN Market Insights Podcast with Josh Appelbaum. But I will still check in all week to report a handful of games receiving sharp action across the market.
Without further ado, let's discuss where the money is flowing for a trio of MLB games today.
Top MLB Resources:
1:05 p.m. ET: Tampa Bay Rays (81-48) at Baltimore Orioles (40-88)
The Rays have taken the first two games of this AL East division series. Tampa Bay won the opener 6-3 as -220 road favorites and won again yesterday 4-3 as -150 road favorites. Tampa Bay has won six straight games while Baltimore is just 2-21 over their last 23 games. In this afternoon's series finale, the Rays hand the ball to righty Chris Archer (0-1, 4.26 ERA) and the Orioles counter with fellow righty Spenser Watkins (2-6, 7.07 ERA). This line opened with the Rays listed as hefty -205 road favorites and the Orioles a %plussign% 185 road dog. Pros aren't outsmarting themselves on this one. They're laying the chalk with the far superior team, steaming Tampa Bay up from -205 to -230. Teams receiving big steam of 15-cents or more coming off a win are 221-152 (59.2%) this season. Big favorites -200 or more off a win are 130-46 (73.9%). Tampa Bay has owned Baltimore this year, going 17-1 head-to-head. The Rays are 55-26 as a favorite this season. The Orioles are 36-80 as a dog. Tampa Bay is 51-27 against righties. Baltimore is just 25-55 against righties.
1:10 p.m. ET: Boston Red Sox (75-56) at Cleveland Indians (63-64)
The Red Sox are 2-0 so far this series, beating Cleveland 4-3 as -175 favorites in the opener and then winning again 5-3 on Saturday night as -135 road favorites. In this afternoon's rematch, Boston hands the ball to young righty Tanner Houck (0-3, 3.43 ERA) and Cleveland sends out fellow righty Eli Morgan (2-6, 5.98 ERA). This line opened with the Red Sox listed as a -145 road favorite and the Indians a %plussign% 130 home dog. Pros are riding the hot hand and betting on the Red Sox to complete the sweep, steaming Boston up from -145 to -155. Non-division favorites receiving steam 10-cents or more are 258-168 (60.6%) this season. The Red Sox are 48-31 as a favorite this season. The Indians are 26-43 as a dog. Boston will lean on its bats in this one. The Red Sox are hitting .259 this season, which ranks 3rd-best in MLB. The Indians are hitting .237, which ranks 21st. We could be looking at a higher-scoring game. The total is 9.5 with the over juiced to -115. The forecast calls for ideal hitting weather: high 80s with 7-10 MPH winds blowing out to right center.
2:10 p.m. ET: Chicago Cubs (57-74) at Chicago White Sox (75-56)
These rivals have split the first two games of this Interleague series. The White Sox took the opener 17-13 as -200 home favorites and then the Cubs bounced back with a 7-0 win yesterday as hefty %plussign% 280 road dogs. In this afternoon's rubber match, the Cubs trot out Kyle Hendricks (14-5, 4.09 ERA) and the White Sox rebuttal with fellow righty Dylan Cease (10-6, 3.92 ERA). This line opened with the White Sox listed as -205 home favorites and the Cubs a %plussign% 185 road dog. Pros aren't scared off by the big chalk price. They're backing the White Sox to avenge yesterday's upset loss, steaming the Southsiders from -205 to -220. Home favorites -200 or more are 162-62 (72.3%) this season. Interleague favorites -200 or more 320-124 (72.1%). The White Sox are 38-21 (64.4%) this season following a loss. The White Sox are 63-35 as a favorite. The Cubs are 23-49 as a dog. The White Sox are 43-24 at home. The Cubs are 24-42 on the road. The White Sox are 4-1 against the Cubs this season.
Remember to check the VSiN Betting Splits every day for money and ticket counts so you can tell who the public is betting on.
