MLB Betting Free Picks: Cleveland @ Philadelphia

Added on Jun 22, 2010 by Jack Thurman in

MLB

In our second baseball betting position of the day we’ll look at a matchup between two of the more disappointing teams in the sport this season as Cleveland takes on Philadelphia. The Indians are mired in last place in the AL Central 13.5 games back of division leading Minnesota. They were expected to be a bad team, which makes the Phillies an even bigger disappointment. They got off to a red hot start but have played horrible baseball since then. They’re now in third place in the NL Central 5.5 games behind division leading Atlanta.

Cleveland Indians (Talbot) at Philadelphia Phillies (Moyer)
June 22, 4:05 PM Pacific

This game presents several very profitable sports betting situations–you’ve got a team that the general public doesn’t like in Cleveland in a situation in which they’ve done well this season playing a public darling that has underperformed this year. Cleveland is 7-6 against lefthanders on the road, good for 5.1 units of profit. They’re hitting .270 and averaging 4.7 runs per game against southpaws. Ultimately, however, this is a Phillies ‘go against’. Philadelphia has lost money overall (-7.8 units) due primarily to a 17-15 home record.

Mitch Talbot has been a bright spot for Cleveland this season, and the Indians have won 8 of his 13 starts including 4 of 6 on the road. His overall ERA is just 4.21, but his road ERA is 2.56. Jamie Moyer has been up and down all year–his last games are a good microcosm of his entire season. On June 11, Moyer didn’t make it out of the first inning against Boston giving up 9 hits and 9 runs. In his subsequent start, he pitched 8 innings against the NY Yankees giving up 3 hits and 2 earned runs. Still, he’s overpriced in this game and with the Indians performance against LHP and the Phillies poor overall play we’ll take a position on the underdog.

Bet Cleveland (Talbot) +170 over Philadelphia (Moyer)