Armadillo Sports

Teams’ records by starting pitcher:
(thru Tuesday’s games)
Diamondbacks (36-36)
Gallen 6-9 (over 3-1 last four)
Kelly 8-7 (over 4-1 last five)
Burnes 6-5 (under 5-1 last six)
Pfaadt 9-6 (over 6-1 last seven)
Rodriguez 5-6 (over 6-2 last eight)
Nelson 2-3 (under 4-1)

— Braves (32-39)
Sale 7-7 (under 7-3 last ten)
Schwellenbach 10-5 (over 9-2 last 11)
Smith-Shawver 5-4 (under 7-2)
Holmes 5-9 (2-7 last nine)
Elder 5-6 (under 8-2 last ten)
Lopez 0-1
Strider 1-5 (under 5-1)
Blewett 0-1

— Cubs (45-28)
Imanaga 5-3 (under 6-2)
Steele 3-1 (over 4-0)
Taillon 8-6 (won last five; under 7-3 last ten)
Boyd 7-7 (home team 12-2; under 4-0 last four)
Brown -5 (over 10-2)
Rea 9-3 (under last 3-1 last four)
Horton 5-2 (under 4-1 last five)
Pomeranz 2-0 (opener)
Keller 1-0 (opener)

— Reds (38-35)
Greene 6-5 (under 8-2 last ten)
Lodolo 6-8 (over 7-4 last 11)
Martinez 4-10 (over 4-0 last four)
Singer 9-5 (under 7-3 last 10)
Miley 2-0 (over 2-0)
Abbott 9-3
Petty 0-2
Suter 2-0 (opener)
Spiers 0-2

— Rockies (16-57)
Freeland 2-12 (under 9-5)
Senzatela 4-10 (over 5-2 last seven)
Feltner 1-5 (under 4-0 last four)
Marquez 3-11 (over 9-4 last 13)
Dollander 3-8 (under 6-2 last eight)
Palmquist 1-5 (under 4-2)
Gomber 1-0
Blalock 0-3
Gordon 1-2
Rolison 0-1 (opener)

— Dodgers (45-29)
Yamamoto 8-6 (over 3-1 last four)
Kershaw 4-2 (over 6-0)
May 7-6 (over 3-1 last four)
Ohtani 1-0
Snell 2-0 (over 2-0)
Glasnow 3-2
Sasaki 6-2 (over 6-2)
Knack 5-2 (over 5-2)
Gonsolin 3-4
Wrobleski 0-2
Miller 1-0
Casparius 1-1 (opener)
Dreyer 3-1 (opener)
Sauer 1-0 (opener)
Trivino 0-1 (opener)

— Marlins (29-42)
Alcantara 5-8 (under 5-2 last seven)
Quantrill 7-7 (under 7-1 last eight)
Bellozo 1-4
Meyer 5-7 (over 7-1 last eight)
EPerez 1-1
Cabrera 6-5 (under 5-2 last seven)
Weathers 2-3
Gillispie 1-5 (over 5-1)
Gibson 1-0 (opener)
Veneziano 0-1 (opener)

— Famous birthdays, June 18th:

Paul McCartney, 83
Isabella Rosselini, 73
Neil O’Donoghue, 72
Eric Truvillion, 66

Andrés Galarraga, 64
Jeff Saturday, 50
Alana De La Garza, 49
Jake Meyers, 29

— Brewers (39-35)
Peralta 8-7 (under 6-2 last eight)
Cortes 1-1
Patrick 5-10 (under 11-4)
Priester 3-6 (under 7-2)
Misioroski 1-0
Myers 2-3
Rodriguez 0-2 (over 2-0)
Alexander 2-2 (over 3-1)
Quintana 6-3 (under 7-2)
Henderson 3-1 (over 3-1)
Hall 2-0
Zastryzny 1-0 (opener)
Civale 3-2

— Mets (45-28)
Holmes 10-4 (under 5-1 last six)
Megill 6-8 (over 9-2 last 11)
Senga 9-4 (under 12-1)
Canning 10-4 (over 4-1 last five)
Peterson 9-5
Blackburn 1-0
Tidwell 0-1
Brazoban 0-2 (opener)

— Phillies (43-30)
Wheeler 10-4
Luzardo 9-6
Nola 3-6 (under 6-3)
Sanchez 10-4
Walker 4-4 (under 3-1 last four)
Suarez 5-3 (under 4-1 last five)
Abel 2-2 (under 3-1)
Ross 0-1 (opener)

— Pirates (29-45)
Skenes 7-8 (under 8-3 last 11)
Keller 3-12 (under 6-2 last eight)
Falter 8-7 (under 6-3 last nine)
Heaney 5-9 (under 10-4)
Burrows 2-2
Mlodzinski 3-6 (under 4-1 last five)
Harrington 0-1

— Cardinals (38-35)
Gray 11-3 (under 4-0 last four)
Fedde 4-10 (under 3-1 last four)
Mikolas 7-7 (over 3-1 last four)
Liberatore 6-8 (over 4-1 last five)
Pallante 8-6 (over 4-0 last four)
Matz 2-0
McGreevy 0-1

— Padres (39-33)
King 5-5 (1-5 last six) (over 3-0-1 last four)
Cease 8-7
Vasquez 8-7 (under 10-5)
Pivetta 9-5 (over 3-0 last three)
Bergert 2-1
Hart 3-3 (over 4-2)
Kolek 4-4 (under 3-0 last three)
Reynolds 0-1

— Giants (41-32)
Ray 12-3 (under 9-2 last 11)
Hicks 4-5 (over 7-2)
Webb 8-7 (under 3-1 last four)
Verlander 4-6 (under 4-1 last five)
Roupp 7-7 (under 5-1 last six)
Birdsong 3-2 (under 2-0)
Harrison 3-1 (under 3-1)
Hjelle 0-1 (opener)

— Nationals (30-43)
Gore 6-9 (under 7-3 last ten)
Irvin 7-8
Parker 7-8 (under 9-5)
Williams 5-9
Soroka 3-6
Lord 2-4

— If the baseball playoffs started today (they don’t):
NL: Mets, Cubs, Dodgers. Wild Cards: Phillies, Giants, Padres
AL: Bronx, Tigers, Astros. Wild Cards: Rays, Blue Jays, Mariners

 

— Happy Armadillo Day; started this blog 24 years ago this week. Hope you enjoy reading it every day- you DO read it every day, right? 🙂 

The world has changed a lot since 2001; some for the better, some not so much, but hopefully things will get better again soon.

I try to focus on the positive here, but mostly aim for being realistic.

Thanks for reading, even if you read it only because it helps you sleep better 🙂

— Panthers 4, Oilers 2
Panthers led 2-0 after the first period.
Florida scored their five goals on only 19 shots.
Brad Marchand scored twice for Florida.
Game 6 is in Florida Tuesday night.

Panthers’ star Marchand has scored six goals for Florida in this year’s Final.

He scored five goals for the Bruins in the 2011 Finals. 

He is the first player in NHL history to score 5+ goals in a Stanley Cup Final with two different teams.

— Was watching Tigers-Orioles game the other night, and the great actor JK Simmons showed up in the Orioles’ TV booth, unannounced. Simmons is a big-time Tigers’ fan; he was also the manager of the Tigers in the excellent Kevin Costner movie For Love of the Game.

He has 245 acting credits on IMDB; he was Dr Skoda in 45 episodes of Law and Order, just a tremendous career.

— Atlanta Braves were minus-350 favorites over Colorado Saturday, huge favorites. Remember reading something a long time ago advising you to never lay more than -150 on baseball.

My cousin KL Wheat, who is smart with his bets, never lays more than -120.

— Pirates P Paul Skenes has a 1.78 ERA in 15 starts this year, but he is 4-6 in those start; Pirates have scored 3 or fewer runs in 10 of his 15 starts. Under is 8-3 in his last 11 starts.

— Cardinals 8, Brewers 5
Willson/William Contreras became the first brothers since 1933 to homer in the same inning in the same game, when they were on opposing sides in that game. 

Last year, Cleveland’s Josh/Bo Naylor did it as teammates.

— Heading into this weekend, the average OPS in the major leagues was .712; in 2019 it was .758, in 2020 it was .740. Getting harder and harder to hit.

— Famous birthdays, June 15th:
Dusty Baker, 76
Jim Belushi, 71
Wade Boggs, 67
Helen Hunt, 62
Courteney Cox, 61

Kerwin Bell, 60
O’Shea Jackson Sr., 56 (Ice Cube)
Andy Pettitte, 53
Michael Doleac, 48
Derek Anderson, 42

Tim Lincecum, 41
Trevor Plouffe, 39
Jake Locker, 37
Cooper Kupp, 32
Dom Smith, 30

Happy birthday to the Big Dawg, whose birthday is this weekend. He’s been a good friend for many years, he’s a good NFL handicapper.

— When Indiana’s Bennedict Mathurin scored 27 points off the bench the other night, it was the most points a sub scored in an NBA Finals game since Jason Terry scored 27 in 2011.

Both players were coached in those games by Rick Carlisle.

Pacers’ star Tyrese Halliburton has scored 71 points in the first four games of the series vs Oklahoma City; he’s taken a total of only three foul shots in the four games, all of them in the Game 4 loss.

— Diamondbacks 8, Padres 7
Arizona led 3-1 after the sixth inning.
San Diego led 7-3 in the middle of the ninth. 

Diamondbacks scored five runs in the bottom of the ninth; Geraldo Perdomo’s bases loaded triple was the big blow in the inning.

— It was a good week for a couple of NFL punters:

Monday, Jaguars gave P Logan Cooke a 4-year, $16M contract, making him the highest-paid punter in the NFL. 

Tuesday, Seahawks gave P Michael Dickson a 4-year, $16.2M contract, making him the highest-paid punter in the NFL.

— Houston Texans WR Nico Collins had 142 receiving yards negated by Houston penalties last year, more than any other player.

— White Sox traded 1B/OF Andrew Vaughn to Milwaukee for P Aaron Civale, who the Brewers had demoted to the bullpen. White Sox had demoted Vaughn to AAA.

— I’m curious if baseball executives who were really good ballplayers look down their noses at the nerdy, non-athletic guys who are often in front offices these days?

I’m guessing they do; John Smoltz was on TV Saturday night, saying how official scorers should consult with former players when they make scoring decisions, to find “how difficult a play that really was”

— Baseball seriously needs to promote itself better; a good reality show would include current players watching fantasy baseball podcasts on YouTube, where nerdy types criticize players, as they add/drop or trade these players. 

A quick trend for all of Saturday’s starting pitchers:
NL games
Marlins @ Nationals
Miami is undecided on their starter; they’re 1-4 in second game of a series, if they won the opener.

Nationals are 4-7 in Williams’ last 11 starts.

Pirates @ Cubs
Burrows is 2-1, 3.77 in his first three starts.

Cubs are 5-0 in Boyd’s home starts.

Rockies @ Braves
Under is 5-2 in last seven Dollander starts.

Strider is 0-5, 5.76 in his first five starts.

Cardinals @ Brewers
Pallante is 0-1, 6.64 in his last four starts (over 3-1)

Bewers are 6-2 in Quintana starts (under 7-1)

Padres @ Diamondbacks
San Diego won Bergert’s first two starts (0-0, 1.74, under 2-0)

Gallen is 1-4, 6.94 in his last six starts.

Giants @ Dodgers
Under is 4-1 in Roupp’s last five starts.

Over is 5-0 in Kershaw’s starts.

AL games
Angels @ Orioles
Anderson is 0-3, 5.63 in his last nine starts.

Under is 9-1 in Sugano’s last ten starts.

White Sox @ Rangers
Chicago is undecided on their starter; they’re 7-29 on the road. 

deGrom is 6-1, 1.46 in his last eight starts.

Twins @ Astros
Ryan is 5-0, 2.89 in his last five starts.

Brown is 7-2, 1.82 in his last ten starts.

A’s @ Royals
Lopez is 0-3, 6.61 in four starts.

Lorenzen is 1-1, 9.88 in his last three starts.

Bronx @ Red Sox
Under is 11-4 in Rodon’s starts.

Dobbins is 3-1, 4.74 in five home starts.

Guardians @ Mariners
Under is 8-2 in Bibee’s last ten starts.

Kirby is 1-1, 3.00 in his last two starts.

Famous birthdays, June 14th:
Vince Evans, 70
Sam Perkins, 64
Eric Murdock, 57

Bruce Bowen, 54
Sammy Watkins, 32
Bobby Witt Jr, 25

Interleague games
Reds @ Tigers
Under is 7-2 in Singer’s last nine starts.

Flaherty is 3-0, 0.50 in his last three starts.

Blue Jays @ Phillies
Francis is 0-6, 6.29 in his last nine starts.

Sanchez is 1-1, 2.41 in his last three starts.

Rays @ Mets
Rasmussen is 4-0, 0.62 in his last five starts.

Over is 8-2 in Megill’s last ten starts. 

AL teams’ records, by starting pitcher:

— Orioles (26-39)
Eflin 5-3
Morton 3-7 (under 4-1 last five)
Kremer 5-8 (under 7-2 last nine)
Sugano 7-6 (under 9-1 last ten)
Povich 4-8
Young 1-1
Gibson 0-4 (over 3-1)
Rogers 1-0
McDermott 0-1
Akin 0-2 (opener)

— Red Sox (33-36)
Crochet 8-6 (under 10-4)
Houck 2-7 (over 5-1 last six)
Buehler 6-4 (under 3-1 last four)
Pitts 0-5 (under 4-1)
Newcomb 2-3 (over 4-1)
Dobbins 5-3 (over 3-1 last four)
Bello 5-5 (over 7-3)
Giolito 5-3

— White Sox (23-44)
Burke 6-5 (under 5-1 last six)
Cannon 1-9 (over 5-1 last six)
Perez 2-2
Smith 4-9 (over 4-1 last five)
Martin 3-9
Wilson 3-2 (over 4-1)
Houser 2-2 (under 4-0)
Gilbert 1-2 (opener)
Eisert 0-2 (opener)
Shuster 0-2 (opener)
Vasil 0-1 (opener)

— Guardians (34-32)
Lively 7-2 (under 6-2 last eight)
Williams 8-5 (over 7-3 last ten)
Bibee 7-6 (under 8-2 last ten)
Ortiz 5-8 (under 6-3 last nine)
Allen 5-6 (under 3-1 last four)
Cecconi 2-3 (under 4-1)
Nikhazy 0-1
Allard 1-0

— Tigers (44-24)
Skubal 9-4 (under 3-0 last three)
Flaherty 5-8 (under 3-1 last four)
Olson 5-4
Jobe 9-1
Mize 7-3 (over 4-1 last five)
Montero 5-1 (under 5-1)
Gipson-Long 1-0
Holton 1-1 (opener)
Hurter 2-0 (opener)
Guenther 0-1 (opener)
Brieske 0-1 (opener)

— Astros (36-30)
Valdez 8-5 (under 4-1 last five)
Brown 9-4 (over 3-1 last four)
Arrighetti 1-1
Blanco 5-4 (under 5-1 last six)
Wesneski 2-4 (under 5-1)
Gusto 3-5
McCullers 4-3 (under 3-0 last three)
Gordon 4-1 (under 4-1)
Walter 0-2
Blubaugh 0-1

— Royals (34-33)
Ragans 5-5 (over 5-1 last six)
Lugo 5-6
Bubic 7-5 (under 7-2 last nine)
Lorenzen 7-6 (over 3-0 last three)
Wacha 7-6 (under 8-3 last 11)
Cameron 2-4 (under 4-2)
Lynch 1-1 (opener)

— Famous birthdays, June 11th:
Adrienne Barbeau, 80
Dave Cash, 77
Gary Fencik, 71

Joe Montana, 69
Hugh Laurie, 66
Odalis Pérez, 47

Jose Reyes, 42
Jorge Alfaro, 32
Max Schuemann, 28

— Angels (32-34)
Kikuchi 6-7 (over 9-4)
Soriano 5-9 (under 4-1 last five)
TAnderson 9-4 (over 6-2 last eight)
Hendricks 5-7 (over 3-1 last four)
Kochanowicz 6-7 (under 4-2 last sox)

— Twins (35-31)
Lopez 7-4 
Ryan 7-5 (under 9-3)
Ober 8-5 (over 4-1 last five)
Paddack 3-10 
Woods-Richardson 5-3 
Matthews 3-1
Festa 2-2 (over 3-1)
Topa 0-1 (opener)

— New York (40-25)
Rodon 8-6 (under 10-4)
Fried 12-2 (over 4-1 last five)
Warren 7-6 
Carrasco 2-4 (under 4-2)
Schmidt 5-4 (under 4-0 last four) 
Stroman 2-1 (over 3-0)
Yarbrough 4-2

— A’s (26-43)
Severino 4-10 (over 5-2 last seven)
Springs 5-7 (over 3-1 last four)
Bido 4-5 (over 4-1 last five)
Sears 7-6 (over 5-1 last six)
Lopez 1-3
Spence 1-1
Hoglund 2-4 
Ginn 2-2 (under 3-1)
Estes 0-2
Sterner 0-1 (opener)
Holman 0-2 (opener)

— Mariners (33-33)
Gilbert 5-1
Castillo 6-7 (under 4-1 last five)
Miller 4-6 (over 6-0 last six)
Woo 7-5 (under 4-1 last five)
Kirby 1-3
Hancock 6-5 
Evans 4-3 (over 5-2)
JFCastillo 1-1 (opener)
Legumina 0-1 (opener)

— Rays (36-31)
Pepiot 5-9 (under 8-2 last ten)
Littell 8-5 (won last eight; under 9-4)
Bradley 6-7 
Rasmussen 7-6 (under 11-2)
Baz 9-4 (over 3-0 last three)
Boyle 1-0

— Rangers (32-35)
Eovaldi 6-6 (under 10-2)
Leiter 4-6 (under 7-3)
Mahle 6-5 (under 10-1)
deGrom 6-4 
Rocker 3-3 
Corbin 4-7 (under 6-2 last eight)
Latz 1-0

— Blue Jays (37-30)
Berrios 7-6 (under 3-1 last four)
Gausman 8-5 (over 7-1 last eight)
Bassitt 8-5 (over 3-0 last three)
Francis 4-9 (over 7-1 last eight)
Lucas 2-2
Scherzer 0-1
Lauer 1-1
Urena 1-1
Schultz 2-0 (opener)
Rodriguez 1-0 (opener)
Fisher 1-0 (opener)

Teams’ records in first game of series:
(away/home….total)
(thru Sunday’s games)

NL East
Braves 4-7/6-4…..10-11
Marlins 1-9/4-7…..5-16
Mets 7-4/9-1…..16-5
Phillies 5-6/7-3…..12-9
Nationals 5-5/6-5…..11-10

NL Central
Cubs 6-6/9-1…..15-7
Reds 6-4/8-3…..14-7
Brewers 6-5/5-5…..11-10
Pirates 2-8/4-7…..6-15
Cardinals 4-6/8-3…..12-9

NL West
Arizona 6-5/4-6…..10-11
Rockies 2-9/1-9…..3-18
Dodgers 7-4/6-5…..13-9
Padres 7-4/7-3…..14-7
Giants 6-5/5-5…..11-10

AL East
Orioles 4-7/6-4…..10-11
Red Sox 3-8/6-4…..9-12
New York 5-5/7-4…..12-9
Rays 3-4/9-5…….12-9
Blue Jays 5-5/5-6…..10-11

AL Central
White Sox 1-9/7-4…..8-13
Guardians 5-6/6-4…..11-10
Tigers 8-3/9-1…..17-4                                                     
Royals 5-6/6-4…..11-10
Twins 5-6/6-4…..11-10

AL West
Astros 4-6/8-3…..12-9
Angels 7-5/4-5…..11-10
A’s 5-5/3-8…….8-13
Mariners 3-7/5-6…..8-13
Rangers 3-8/5-5…..8-13

Teams’ records in series:
(away/home….total)

NL East
Braves 3-8/5-4-1…..8-12-1
Marlins 1-8-1/5-6…..6-14-1
Mets 4-5-1/9-1…..13-6-1
Phillies 5-6/7-2-1…..12-8-1
Nationals 5-5/4-6-1…..9-11-1

NL Central
Cubs 7-4-1/8-2…..15-6-1
Reds 4-6/3-7-1…..7-13-1
Brewers 4-6-1/7-3…..11-9-1
Pirates 2-8/5-5-1…..7-13-1
Cardinals 4-5-1/8-3…..12-8-1

NL West
Arizona 5-6/3-5-2…..8-11-2
Rockies 1-10/0-10…..1-20
Dodgers 5-4-2/8-2-1…..13-6-3
Padres 5-5-1/8-2…..13-7-1
Giants 6-4-1/6-3-1…..12-7-2

AL East
Orioles 2-7-2/3-6-1…..5-13-3
Red Sox 6-5/4-5-1…..10-10-1
New York 6-4/7-4…..13-8
Rays 4-2-1/9-5…….13-7-1
Blue Jays 5-4-1/6-4-1…..11-8-2

AL Central
White Sox 1-9/5-5-1…..6-14-1
Guardians 5-5-1/6-4…..11-9-1
Tigers 7-3-1/8-2…..15-5-1
Royals 4-7/5-5…..9-12
Twins 5-6/6-3-1…..11-9-1

AL West
Astros 3-6-1/9-1-1…..12-7-2
Angels 6-6/4-5…….10-11
A’s 4-5-1/3-8…….7-13-1
Mariners 7-3/5-5-1…..12-8-1
Rangers 4-7/5-3-2…..9-10-2

Famous birthdays, June 10th:
Jon McGlocklin, 82
Ken Singleton, 78
Larry Brooks, 75
John Gianelli, 75
Dan Fouts, 74

Floyd Bannister, 70
Jay Vincent, 66
Gina Gershon, 63
Jeff Teague, 37
Kate Upton, 33

— Monday was the 52nd anniversary of Secretariat winning the Belmont Stakes and the Triple Crown of norse racing, which means it was also the 52nd anniversary of the only time I’ve ever ridden a horse.

My 8th grade field trip was to some resort place near Lake George; we were playing tennis, which was fun, but then we had to go ride horses. I had been to a racetrack with my dad, but betting on horses is way more fun than riding one was.

When I got on the horse, asked the guy in charge what the horse’s name was; he smiled and said “Jumper” which didn’t help things. The horse was pretty cool; he liked eating leaves off the trees, until we got to any open area and he took off in a full sprint, with me hanging on for dear life. Somehow I stayed on the horse and vowed never to do that again. Ever.

— Florida 6, Edmonton 1
Florida scored four times on their first 14 shots on goal.
Brad Marchand has scored in all three series games.
Panthers lead Stanley Cup finals, 2-1. Game 4 is Thursday.

— Last week we mentioned how Indiana/Oklahoma City are the NBA finalists that are the closest together in any year since 1971.

This year NHL’s finalists are 3,003 miles apart.

— Saturday in Tampa, Marlins’ P Ryan Weathers was warming up to pitch the bottom of the first inning; when the catcher threw the ball down to second to end warmups, he drilled Weathers in the head, but for some reason, they let him pitch anyway. 

Weathers pitched three innings, threw 57 pitches, and apparently hurt his back so badly that he is now on the 60-day disabled list. Oy.

— Washington Nationals have scored a total of 11 runs in their last seven games.

— Texas SS Corey Seager is 2-for-34 since coming off the injured list. He is 0-22 in June.

— Cubs’ 2B Nico Hoerner got thrown out of a game in Detroit over the weekend; TV mikes heard him tell the umpire “you’re having a really bad day” with no cursing included.

That gets you thrown out? 

— Prop bets for the US Open golf tournament this week:

72-hole winning score: 278.5

Lowest completed round: 65.5 (under -175)

— First-ever major league amateur draft was 60 years ago this week:
1) A’s- Rick Monday, OF. Played 19 years in majors, had an .804 OPS.
2) Mets- Les Rohr, P. Pitched in six games (24.1 IP) for the Mets
3) Senators- Joe Coleman, P. Pitched 15 years in majors, started 340 games.
4) Astros- Alex Barrett, SS. Played 125 games in AAA, never made the majors.
5) Red Sox- Billy Conigliaro, OF. Hit .256 in five years, never played after age 25.
6) Cubs- Rick James, P. Pitched in three games (4.2 IP) for the Cubs.
7) Indians- Ray Fosse, C. Played 12 years in majors, made two All-Star Games, helped the A’s win two World Series titles.

Monday/Fosse both became long-time announcers after their playing days. 

— Arizona (28-31)
Arizona lost 10 of its last 12 games.
Diamondbacks are 8-11 in one-run games.
Arizona is 2-10 in last 12 games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— Braves (27-31)
Atlanta lost eight of its last 11 games.
Braves are 17-11 at home, 10-20 on the road.
Under is 15-3 in their last 18 home games.

— Cubs (37-22)
Chicago won nine of its last eleven games.
Under is 5-1 in their last six games.
Cubs are 8-1 vs American League teams.

— Reds (29-32)
Cincinnati lost four of its last five games.
Under is 4-1 in their last five games.
Last 9 series, Reds are 0-6 in games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— Rockies (10-50)
Colorado is 3-15 since they changed managers.
Under is 14-4 in Rockies’ last 18 road games.
Rockies are 1-17 vs lefty starters, 9-33 vs righties.  

— Dodgers (36-24)
Dodgers won eight of their last 12 games,
Dodgers are 21-10 at home, 15-14 on the road.
Dodgers are 28-13 vs righty starters, 8-11 vs lefties.
Over is 14-4 in their last 18 home games.

— Marlins (23-35)                                                                       )
Marlins are 8-9 in their last seventeen games.
Miami is 14-18 at home, 9-17 on the road.
Marlins are 1-8 in road series openers.

— Brewers (33-28)
Brewers have won eight games in a row.
Brewers are 18-10 at home, 15-18 on the road.
Under is 10-4 in their last 14 home games.

— Mets (38-22)
Mets won nine of their last eleven games.
Mets are 24-7 at home, 14-15  on the road.
Under is 15-5 in their last 20 games.

— Phillies (36-23)
Phillies lost their last four games.
Phillies are 28-13 vs righty starters, 8-10 vs lefties.
Under is 9-6 in their last fifteen games.

— Pirates (22-38)
Pirates are 5-3 in their last eight games.
Pittsburgh is 13-16 at home, 9-22 on the road.
Under is 10-4 in their last 14 road games.

— St Louis (33-26)
St Louis won 19 of its last 26 games.
Cardinals are 10-2 when Sonny Gray starts.
St Louis is 19-8 at home, 14-18 on the road.

— Padres (34-24)
Padres won six of their last eight games.
Under is 7-3 in their last ten home games.
Padres are 8-1 against their NL West rivals.

— Giants (33-27)
Giants are 4-7 in their last eleven games.
Giants are 27-15 vs rightly pitchers, 6-12 vs lefties.
SF scored total of 14 runs in their last nine games.
Under is 14-1 in Giants’ last fifteen games.

— Washington (28-31)
Nationals won ten of their last 14 games.
Over is 5-1 in their last six games.
Washington is 10-3 last 13 games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— Famous birthdays, June 3rd:
Billy Cunningham, 82
Emmitt Thomas, 81
Az-Zahir Hakim, 48
Travis Hafner, 48
Al Horford, 39

Imogen Poots, 36
Harrison Bader, 31
Eric Lauer, 30
Luis Urias, 28
Ryan Jeffers, 28

Tuesday would’ve been the 100th birthday for Tony Curtis, the 88th birthday for Edward Winter (Colonel Flagg on M*A*S*H)

— Orioles (22-36)
Baltimore is 6-2 in its last eight games.
Orioles are 8-8 vs AL East foes, 14-28 vs everyone else.
Under is 6-2 in their last eight games.

— Red Sox (29-33)
Boston is 6-16 in one-run games.
Under is 10-4 in their last fourteen games.
Red Sox are 16-15 at home, 13-18 on the road.

— White Sox (18-42)
Chicago lost seven of its last eight games.
White Sox are 6-26 on the road.
White Sox are 12-33 vs righty starters, 6-9 vs lefties.

— Cleveland (32-26)
Cleveland is 14-5 against its AL Central rivals.
Guardians are 29-18 vs righty starters, 3-8 vs lefties.
Over is 4-2 in their last six games.

— Detroit (40-21)
Detroit is 12-6 vs its AL Central rivals.
Tigers won seven of their last eight games.
Under is 9-3 in their last 12 games.

— Houston (32-27)
Astros are 22-12 at home, 10-15  on the road.
Houston is 2-6 in road series openers.
Under is 13-6 in their last nineteen games.
Astros scored total of nine runs in their last four games.

— Royals (31-29)
Royals are 6-11 in their last seventeen games.
Kansas City is 19-13 at home, 12-16 on the road.
Under is 18-10 in Royals’ last 28 games.
Kansas City is 12-8 in one-run games.

— Angels (27-32)
Angels lost seven of their last nine games.
Over is 11-5 in their last 16 road games.
Under is 5-0 in their last five home games.
Halos are 13-6 in games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— Twins (32-27)
Twins lost five of their last eight games.
Minnesota is 18-8 at home, 14-19 on the road.
Over is 4-1 in their last five  games.

— New York (36-22)
New York won 17 of its last 23 games.
Under is 6-1 in their last seven home games.
New York is 28-17 vs righty starters, 8-5 vs lefties.

— A’s (23-38)
A’s lost 18 of their last 19 games.
A’s are 9-20 in Sacramento, 14-18 on the road.
Over is 9-3 in their last 12 home games.

— Seattle (32-26)
Mariners are 9-12 in their last 21 games.
Seattle is 4-8 in its last 12 home games.
Under is 7-2 in Seattle’s last nine road games.
Over is 5-1 in Mariners’ last six home games.

— Tampa Bay (30-29)
Tampa Bay won nine of its last 12 games.
Under is 16-7 in their last 23 home games.
Rays are 9-3 in last 12 games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— Texas (29-31)
Rangers lost nine of their last 13 games.
Texas is 5-13 in games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.
Rangers are 20-13 at home, 9-18 on road.
Under is 13-4 in their last 17 road games.

— Toronto (31-28)
Blue Jays won their last five games, scoring 41 runs.
Under is 5-1 in their last six road games.
Toronto is  9-10 in series openers.

— If the baseball playoffs started today: (they don’t):
NL: Mets, Cubs, Dodgers. Wild Cards: Phillies, Padres, Cardinals
AL: New York, Tigers, Mariners. Wild Cards: Guardians, Astros, Twins

13 of my favorite TV shows (in alphabetical order):
— Batman— When you’re six years old, and in the opening credits every week, they show “WHAP!!! POW!!! BIFF!!!” and your name is Biff, this quickly becomes a favorite show. 

The villains were some pretty big stars back then (Burgess Meredith, Cesar Romero, Milton Berle, Vincent Price, Liberace, Ethel Merman)

I haven’t seen much of the Batman movies that have been made over the years, but the TV show had some humor; one week there was a 3-foot Martian on the loose in Gotham City, and Robin blurts out “Holy interplanetary yardstick, Batman!!!” Good stuff. 

— Billions— Showtime series about a hedge fund manager who pushes the boundaries of the law while his marriage falls apart. His arch-enemy is a prosecutor in NYC who is into S&M and his wife is his dominatrix— the wife is also the psychiatrist for the hedge fund manager’s company. 

Trivia: Paul Giamatti plays the prosecutor; he is the son of former baseball commissioner Bart Giamatti. I suggested a cameo role for Pete Rose, but that never happened.

— CSI— I spent a good chunk of my work career searching fingerprints and working for the NY State Division of Criminal Justice, so I enjoyed all the CSI shows, but especially the one set in Las Vegas— the actors seemed to have a chemistry working together. 

One of my weirder ideas (a teacher friend of mine scoffed at this) is that CSI should be taught to all high school kids, so they realize how difficult it is to get away with crimes, so maybe there would be fewer crimes. What could it hurt?

— Green Acres— As a kid, I spent lot of hours watching Green Acres re-runs; my dad would walk into the room, say “Why the hell are you watching that?”, but within five minutes, he’d be sitting there laughing harder than me and would leave the room before my mother came in and saw the both of us laughing. She wasn’t a big fan of Hank Kimball or Arnold Ziffel. 

— Law and Order— 20 years, 456 episodes, a great launching point for lot of acting careers, not to mention the spinoff shows that branched off this original show. 

Take Billions; there are 32 actors who have appeared in 12+ episodes of Billons; 14 of those 32 actors appeared in at least one episode of Law and Order, and two others were in Law and Order SVU, and that doesn’t count Eric Bogosian, who was in Law and Order: Criminal Intent for 61 episodes, but was only in 11 episodes of Billions. 

— Magnum PI— I’ve never been to Hawai’i, but if I ever went, would like to visit Robin Masters’ estate; I’m told you can visit there, it is kind of a museum or something. 

One of the best episodes was when Frank Sinatra played a retired New York City cop whose granddaughter was murdered— this was near the end of both the series and Sinatra’s career. 

The overriding themes of the show were that great friends will do all kinds of stuff for each other, and if you’re really good looking and drive a Ferrari, women will like you 🙂

Famous birthdays, May 30th:
Mike LaCoss, 69
Billy Donovan, 60
Manny Ramirez, 53
Jordan Palmer, 41

Zack Wheeler, 35
Harrison Barnes, 33
Jeremy Lamb, 33
Shaedon Sharpe, 22

— M*A*S*H— Years later, after watching re-runs of this show on our local channel 10 and the Boston channel for hours at a time, it dawned on me that this was actually a very sad show, with humor/jokes masking the grotesque sadness of wartime Korea. 

The McLean Stevenson episodes were the best; he was Colonel Henry Blake for the first 75 episodes, and a lot of them were classics, just funny as hell. 

— Mr Ed— This show ran on network TV from 1961-66, so I never saw it until the re-runs came on at 4:30 weekdays on a local channel in the early 70’s. Mr Ed was a talking horse, but he only talked to Wilbur Post, an architect who worked at home but never actually seemed to work. 

Mr Ed was a big Dodger fan; his favorite player was OF Willie Davis. In one episode, the horse takes batting practice against Sandy Koufax, and hits a ball off the wall at Dodger Stadium, with the bat held in his mouth. A fun show, not necessarily a realistic one. 

— Odd Couple— As a kid, Oscar Madison was one of my heroes; a sportswriter who always spilled food on his clothes but was a good natured guy who somehow dated a doctor or one of the Pidgeon sisters. 

To this day when I see my cousin’s husband, we recite lines from Odd Couple episodes; when they owned a greyhound racing dog , or appeared on Password (a game show), or when Oscar dated a princess from some obscure European country “You bought her a salty pretzel; oh, boy!!!” Great stuff. 

— Ray Donovan— The most violent program on this list; just about everybody on this Showtime series that isn’t related to the Donovans eventually winds up dead. 

Ray Donovan is a fixer for rich people, but he can’t fix his own family; his wife passes away from cancer, and the last time we saw him, he was still struggling with that. 

Live Schreber plays Ray, Jon Voight plays his father (a genuine creep); they’ve had guest stars like Susan Sarandon, James Woods, Wendell Pierce, Hank Azaria. Alan Alda, C Thomas Howell. 

Very good show but also very violent. 

— Suits— This show was about a law firm that hired a young guy with a photographic memory who had one small problem— he is a college dropout who never went to law school, but he gets paid to take bar exams for other people. 

The show had to change directions because one of the actresses (Meghan Markle) moved to England after she married Prince Harry in real life. Her character was married to Mike (the fraudulent lawyer) so they got written out of the last couple years of the show.

They introduced Suits LA this year, which is similar; Harvey Spector (Gabriel Macht) made a couple appearances, as did Louis Litt (Rick Hoffman). Pretty good show. 

— West Wing— Martin Sheen plays the President in this show; his cabinet included Rob Lowe, Allison Janney, Richard Schiff, John Spencer— great cast.

Actor Duke Hill was in both West Wing and Suits; Mary Louise Parker was in this and is also in Billions. Alan Alda was in this, Ray Donovan and of course, M*A*S*H

Jimmy Smits, Mary MacCormack, Tim Matheson, Gary Cole, just a ton of excellent actors. 

In one episode, President Bartlet has to throw out the first pitch at an Orioles’ game, but he never played ball, so one of his aides has to teach him how to throw a baseball in a hallway in the White House, where an errant toss breaks an expensive vase. 

— White Shadow— Ken Howard plays a washed-up NBA player who becomes a high school basketball coach in Los Angeles. Show only lasted three years, because well, high school kids graduate so they would’ve had to turn most of the cast over every other year. 

The basketball scenes were really well-done; Gwyneth Paltrow’s father was the creator of the show. Lot of the issues they tackled in this show were issues that real high school in the inner city had to deal with. Ken Howard was great as Coach Reeves; he wasn’t some all-knowing guy; he had flaws but he fought for his kids and they respected him for it (most of the time). 

AL teams’ records, by starting pitcher:

— Orioles (16-33)
Eflin 3-2
Morton 0-7
Kremer 3-7 (under 4-2 last six)
Sugano 6-4 (under 7-0 last seven)
Povich 3-6
Young 1-1
Gibson 0-4 (over 3-1)
McDermott 0-1
Akin 0-2 (opener)

— Red Sox (26-26)
Crochet 6-5 (under 8-3)
Houck 2-7 (over 5-1 last six)
Buehler 6-1
Pitts 0-3 (under 3-0)
Newcomb 2-3 (over 4-1)
Dobbins 3-3 (under 3-1 last four)
Bello 5-2 (over 5-2)
Giolito 2-2

— White Sox (16-35)
Burke 5-5
Cannon 1-7
Perez 2-2
Smith 1-9
Martin 2-7
Wilson 2-2
Houser 1-0
Gilbert 1-2 (opener)
Eisert 0-2 (opener)

— Guardians (28-22)
Lively 7-2 (under 6-2 last eight)
Williams 6-4 (over 5-2 last seven)
Bibee 6-4 (under 6-1 last seven)
Ortiz 3-6 (under 4-1 last five)
Allen 5-4
Cecconi 1-1 (under 2-0)
Nikhazy 0-1

— Tigers (33-19)
Skubal 7-3 (over 5-2 last 7)
Flaherty 2-8 
Olson 5-4
Jobe 8-1
Mize 6-1
Montero 3-1 (under 3-1)
Holton 1-0 (opener)
Hurter 1-0 (opener)
Guenther 0-1 (opener)

— Astros (26-25)
Valdez 5-5
Brown 6-4 
Arrighetti 1-1
Blanco 5-4 (under 5-1 last six)
Wesneski 2-4 (under 5-1)
Gusto 3-3
McCullers 2-2 (over 4-0)
Blubaugh 0-1
Gordon 2-0 (under 2-0)
Walter 0-1

— Royals (28-24)
Ragans 4-5 (over 4-1 last five)
Lugo 5-4 (under 7-2)
Bubic 6-4 (under 5-2 last seven)
Lorenzen 5-5 (under 8-2)
Wacha 6-4 (under 6-2 last eight)
Cameron 1-2 (under 3-0)

— Famous birthdays, May 24th:
Bob Dylan, 85
Gary Burghoff, 82
Mitch Kupchak, 71
Kristin Scott Thomas, 65

Pete Metzelaars, 65
Joe Dumars, 62
John C Reilly, 60
Jeff Zgonina, 55

Bartolo Colon, 52
Dash Mihok, 51
Tracy McGrady, 46
Aaron Ashby, 27

— Angels (25-25)
Kikuchi 5-6 (over 9-2)
Soriano 3-7 (over 6-3 last nine)
TAnderson 8-2 (over 5-0 last five)
Hendricks 4-5 (under 3-1 last four)
Kochanowicz 5-5

— Twins (24-20)
Lopez 6-3 
Ryan 4-5 (under 8-1)
Ober 8-2
Paddack 3-7 (under 4-1 last five)
Woods-Richardson 5-2 (under 5-2)
Festa 2-1
Topa 0-1 (opener)

— New York (30-20)
Rodon 6-5 (under 8-3)
Fried 9-1 (under 6-2 last eight)
Warren 5-5 (under 5-2 last seven)
Carrasco 2-4 (under 4-2)
Schmidt 4-3 
Stroman 2-1 (over 3-0)
Yarbrough 1-1

— A’s (22-30)
Severino 4-7
Springs 5-5 
Bido 4-5 (over 4-1 last five)
Sears 6-4 (over 3-0 last three)
Hoglund 1-3 (over 3-0 last three)
Ginn 2-2 (under 3-1)
Estes 0-2
Lopez 0-2

— Mariners (29-21)
Gilbert 5-1
Castillo 5-5 (under 3-1 last four)
Miller 4-4 (over 4-0 last four)
Woo 7-2
Kirby 0-1
Hancock 6-2 (under 3-1 last four)
Evans 3-2 (over 4-1)
JFCastillo 1-1 (opener)
Legumina 0-1 (opener)

— Rays (24-26)
Pepiot 3-7 (under 5-1 last six)
Littell 5-5 (won last five) under 8-2)
Bradley 6-4 (over 3-1 last four)
Rasmussen 4-6 (under 8-2)
Baz 5-4
Boyle 1-0

— Rangers (25-27)
Eovaldi 5-6 (under 9-2)
Leiter 3-4 (under 6-1)
Mahle 6-5 (under 10-1)
deGrom 6-4 
Rocker 2-3 (under 3-1 last four)
Corbin 3-5 (under 4-1 last five)

— Blue Jays (25-25)
Berrios 5-5
Gausman 5-5 (over 5-0 last five)
Bassitt 6-4 (under 9-1)
Francis 4-6 (over 5-0 last five)
Lucas 2-2
Scherzer 0-1
Urena 1-1
Rodriguez 1-0

— If the playoffs started today (they don’t):
NL: Phillies, Cubs, Dodgers. Wild Cards: Mets, Padres, Giants
AL: Bronx, Tigers, Mariners. Wild Cards: Twins, Guardians, Royals

NL teams’ records, by starting pitcher:
— Diamondbacks (26-24)
Gallen 4-6 (under 6-3 last nine)
Kelly 6-4 (under 5-1 last six)
Burnes 5-4 (under 4-0 last four)
Pfaadt 7-3
Rodriguez 4-5 (over 6-0 last six)
Nelson 0-2

— Braves (24-25)
Sale 5-5 (under 5-1 last six)
Schwellenbach 6-4 (over 6-1 last seven)
Smith-Shawver 5-3 (under 7-1)
Holmes 4-5 (under 3-1 last four)
Elder 4-4 (under 6-1 last seven)
Lopez 0-1
Strider 0-2
Blewett 0-1

— Cubs (30-20)
Imanaga 5-3 (under 6-2)
Steele 3-1 (over 4-0)
Taillon 4-6 
Boyd 4-5 (home team 9-0)
Brown 5-4 (over 8-1)
Rea 6-1 (over 3-1 last four)

— Reds (25-26)
Greene 5-3 (under 6-1 last seven)
Lodolo 5-5 (over 5-2 last seven)
Martinez 2-8 (under 7-0 last seven)
Singer 6-4 (under 5-1 last six)
Spiers 0-2
Abbott 5-2 (under 3-0 last three)
Petty 0-2
Suter 2-0 (opener)

— Rockies (8-42)
Freeland 1-9 (under 7-3)
Senzatela 2-8 
Feltner 1-5 (under 4-0 last four)
Marquez 2-8 (over 7-2 last nine)
Dollander 2-6 (under 4-1 last five)
Blalock 0-3
Gordon 0-1
Palmquist 0-2

— Dodgers (31-19)
Yamamoto 7-3 (under 8-2)
Snell 2-0 (over 2-0)
Glasnow 3-2
Sasaki 6-2 (over 6-2)
May 4-5 (under 4-0 last four)
Knack 3-1 (over 3-1)
Gonsolin 2-2
Wrobleski 0-1
Miller 1-0
Kershaw 0-1
Casparius 0-1 (opener)
Dreyer 2-1 (opener)
Sauer 1-0 (opener

— Marlins (19-29)
Alcantara 3-6 
Gillispie 1-5 (over 5-1)
Bellozo 1-4
Meyer 5-5 (over 5-1 last six)
Quantrill 6-3 (under 3-0 last three)
Cabrera 3-4
Weathers  1-1

— Famous birthdays, May 23rd:
Joan Collins, 92
Rod Thorn, 84
Drew Carey, 67
Jay Feely, 49

Kirk Saarloos, 46
Chad Hall, 39
Aaron Donald, 34
Jonathan Aranda, 27

— Brewers (24-26)
Peralta 6-4 (under 8-2)
Cortes 1-1
Civale 1-1
Patrick 4-6 (under 8-2)
Priester 1-5 (under 4-2)
Myers 2-3
Rodriguez 0-2 (over 2-0)
Alexander 2-2 (over 3-1)
Quintana 4-2 (under 5-1)
Henderson 2-1
Zastryzny 1-0 (opener)

— Mets (30-20)
Holmes 7-3 
Megill 4-6 (over 5-2 last seven)
Senga 5-4 (under 9-0)
Canning 8-1 (under 7-2)
Peterson 6-3
Tidwell 0-1
Brazoban 0-2 (opener)

— Phillies (32-18)
Wheeler 7-3 
Luzardo 8-2 (under 3-1 last four)
Nola 3-6 (under 6-3)
Sanchez 7-2
Walker 4-3
Suarez 2-1
Abel 1-0

— Pirates (17-33)
Skenes 3-7 (under 5-1 last six)
Keller 2-8 
Falter 5-5 (under 6-2 last eight)
Heaney 4-6 (under 7-3)
Mlodzinski 4-5 (under 4-1 last five)
Harrington 0-1
Burrows 0-1

— Cardinals (27-23)
Gray 8-2 (over 9-1)
Fedde 3-7 (over 3-1 last four)
Mikolas 4-5 (won last four) (under 4-1 last five)
Liberatore 4-5 (under 6-1 last seven)
Pallante 6-4
Matz 2-0

— Padres (27-21)
King 5-5 (1-5 last six) (over 3-0-1 last four)
Cease 6-4 (under 4-2 last six)
Vasquez 5-5 (under 7-3)
Pivetta 6-3 (under 4-2 last six)
Hart 3-2
Kolek 2-2

— Giants (29-21)
Ray 9-1 (under 5-1 last six)
Hicks 4-5 (over 7-2)
Webb 6-5 (over 4-1 last five)
Verlander 4-6 (under 4-1 last five)
Roupp 5-4 (over 4-1 last five)
Birdsong 1-0

— Nationals (23-27)
Gore 4-6 (under 4-1 last five)
Irvin 5-5  (over 3-1 last four)
Parker 7-3 (under 7-3)
Williams 4-6
Lord 2-4
Soroka 1-3

— If the playoffs started today (they don’t):
NL: Phillies, Cubs, Dodgers. Wild Cards: Mets, Padres, Giants
AL: Bronx, Tigers, Mariners. Wild Cards: Twins, Guardians, Royals

Teams’ records in series:
(away/home….total)

NL East
Braves 3-5/5-1-1…..8-6-1
Marlins 0-6-1/4-4…..4-10-1
Mets 3-4-1/6-1…..9-5-1
Phillies 3-4/6-1-1…..9-5-1
Nationals 3-5/3-3-1…..6-8-1

NL Central
Cubs 4-3-1/6-2…..10-5-1
Reds 3-4/2-5-1…..5-9-1
Brewers 2-6/5-2…..7-8
Pirates 1-7/3-4…..4-11
Cardinals 3-4-1/6-1…..9-5-1

NL West
Arizona 4-3/3-3-2…..7-6-2
Rockies 0-8/0-7…..0-15
Dodgers 4-2-2/6-2…..10-4-2
Padres 3-4/6-2…..9-6
Giants 4-3-1/5-2…..9-5-1

AL East
Orioles 1-5-1/2-5-1…..3-10-2
Red Sox 4-4/3-4…..7-8
New York 4-3/5-3…..9-6
Rays 4-2/4-5…..8-7
Blue Jays 3-3-1/3-4-1…..6-7-2

AL Central
White Sox 1-7/3-7…..4-11
Guardians 4-4/5-2…..9-6
Tigers 5-3/6-1…..11-4
Royals 2-5/5-3…..7-8
Twins 4-4/5-2…..9-6

AL West
Astros 1-5-1/7-1…..8-6-1
Angels 4-5/3-3…..7-8
A’s 4-3-1/2-5…..6-8-1
Mariners 6-1/4-3-1…..10-4-1
Rangers 3-4/4-2-2…..7-6-2

— Famous birthdays, May 20th:
Leroy Kelly, 83
Cheryl Sarkisian (Cher), 79
Terry Nelson, 74
Rick Upchurch, 73
Wendell Tyler, 70

Bronson Pinchot, 66
Todd Stottlemyre, 60
Timothy Olyphant, 57
Terrell Brandon, 55
Jayson Werth, 46

— Royals 3, Giants 1
Bubic-Ray pitchers’ duel was 0-0 after seven innings.
Vinny Pasquantino hit a 2-run homer in the 8th inning.
Giants are 24-9 vs righty starters, 4-11 vs lefties.

— Red Sox 3, Mets 1
Mets scored total of 10 runs in their last six games.
Jarren Duran had a double/triple in first two innings.
Mets are out of first place in NL East for first time since April 9th.

— Astros 4, Rays 3
Jake Meyers had the game-winning home run in 7th inning.
Tampa Bay is 10-8 on road, only 11-18 in their temporary home stadium.

— Phillies 9, Rockies 3
Colorado led this game 3-2 after the 7th inning- their bullpen imploded.
Kyle Schwarber hit his 300th career home run, a 466-foot blast.

Sunday’s 1-0 win over Pittsburgh took 1:59 to play, fastest Phillies game since 1998.

— Marlins 8, Cubs 7
Jesus Sanchez homered in first inning, also had a walk-off triple.
Marlins are 13-13 at home; six of those wins are walk-off wins.

— Brewers 5, Orioles 4
William Contreras had the game-winning single in 8th inning.
Cedric Mullins had a 3-run homer for the Orioles.
Baltimore lost their 7th game in a row.

— Diamondbacks 9, Dodgers 5
Dodgers have lost four in a row at home, for first time since 2018.
Arizona led this game 7-0 in the third inning.
Brandon Pfaadt threw 6 IP, became MLB’s first seven-game winner.
Dodgers swung at 42 of his pitches, didn’t whiff on any of them— unusual.

— Twins led Cleveland 2-1 in 4th inning; game was suspended by rain, will be resumed at 6:10 Tuesday night.

— If the playoffs started today (they do not):
NL: Phillies, Cubs, Dodgers. Wild Cards: Mets, Padres, Giants
AL: Bronx, Tigers, Mariners. Wild Cards: Twins, Guardians, Royals

— Friday was the 10-year anniversary of the day my dad passed away, a cruddy day.

My dad was a nice person, an honest person- he was the kind of person this world needs a lot more of. He loved the Mets, the Knicks, the football Giants; he was a pretty good golfer, and he was a freakin’ great father. 

He was a great example of the kind of person I should be; I would’ve been remiss if today had gone by without giving a wave up to heaven and saying hi.

I love you, dad. You are missed every day.

— Knicks 119, Celtics 81
New York led 64-37 at halftime.
Knicks win this series, 4-2.
Knicks-Pacers (#3-seed vs #4-seed) is the Eastern Conference final

— 49ers signed QB Brock Purdy to a 5-year contract worth $53M/year; Purdy has played three years in the NFL, is 27-15 as an NFL starter, 4-2 in playoff games. 

— Illinois signed football coach Bret Bielema to a six-year contract, with $7.7M/year. Bielama has been at Illinois four years, has a 28-22 record, 2-2 in bowl games. 

Overall in 16 years as a head coach, Bielema is 125-80, 5-6 in bowl games.

— Former NBA star Nick Van Exel had some thoughts on social media about the increased amount of Achilles tendon injuries in the NBA:

“There have been Achilles tears throughout the years but my thoughts on them is that they happen more now and I think it has something to do with them dam lows the players wear nowadays. Cover them ankles up fellas.”

— I’m curious how much these celebrities get for doing commercials:
Christopher Walken (Miller Lite)
Will Ferrell (PayPal)
Jeff Goldblum (apartments.com)

— Texas Rangers P Max Scherzer is getting direct deposits in his bank account from all over the continent this year; he is getting paid:

$30,833,334 from the Mets
$15,500,000 from the Blue Jays
$15,000,000 from the Nationals
$12,500,000 from the Rangers

— Famous birthdays, May 17th:
Paige Turco, 60
Danny Manning, 59
Hill Harper, 59
Craig Erickson, 56

Hubert Davis, 55
Sasha Alexander, 52
Carlos Pena, 47
Tony Parker, 43

Matt Cassel, 43
Channing Frye, 42
Matt Ryan, 40
Austin Ekeler, 30

— Week 1 NFL spreads:
Cowboys @ Philadelphia (-7)
Chiefs (-3) vs Chargers (@ San Paolo, Brazil)
Cardinals (-3.5) @ New Orleans
Bengals (-4.5) @ Cleveland

Dolphins @ Indianapolis (-1.5)
Raiders @ New England (-3.5)
Giants @ Washington (-7.5)
Buccaneers (-2.5) @ Atlanta

Panthers @ Jacksonville (-3.5)
Steelers (-2.5) @ NJ Jets
Texans @ Rams (-3.5)
49ers (-1.5) @ Seattle

Titans @ Denver (-7.5)
Lions @ Green Bay (-1.5)
Ravens @ Buffalo (-1.5)
Vikings @ Chicago (-1.5)

— Twins 3, Brewers 0
Minnesota won its 12th game in a row.
Twins haven’t allowed a run in their last 24 innings.
Joe Ryan allowed three baserunners in six scoreless IP.

— Cardinals 10, Royals 3
St Louis has won 11 of its last 12 games.
Ivan Herrera had three hits, four RBI.
Cardinals are 49-26 in their games at Kauffman Stadium.

— Phillies 8, Pirates 4
Pittsburgh led 3-1 in 7th inning.
Phillies scored four runs on only one hit in bottom of 7th.
Bryce Harper got his 1,000th career RBI

— Bronx 6, Mets 2
Juan Soto was 0-2 with three walks in his return to the Bronx.
Mets are 17-5 at home, 11-12 on the road.
Bronx leads AL East by five games.

— Nationals 4, Orioles 3
Mackenzie Gore allowed 12 baserunners in 3.2 IP, but only gave up 2 runs.
Winning run scored from 2nd base on a 9th inning infield hit.
Orioles lost 10 of their last 12 games. 

— Marlins 9, Rays 4
Only 5th win for Miami in their last 29 games against the Rays.

— Astros 6, Rangers 3
Texas led 2-0 after six innings.
Astros scored six runs in the top of the 7th.
Christian Walker’s 3-run homer was the big hit.

— Mariners 5, Padres 1
JP Crawford hit the first pitch of the game for a home run.
Logan Evans tossed six shutout innings, allowing seven hits.
Seattle leads the AL West by a game and a half. 

Notes on the 2025 NFL schedule:
AFC East
Bills
Four of their first five games are at home.
Three of their first five games are in primetime.
Chiefs visit Buffalo in Week 9
Weeks 12-16, four road games in five weeks.

Dolphins
3/last 5 games are in cold weather: @ Jets, Steelers, Patriots.
Five primetime games, plus a game vs Washington, in Spain
Don’t play any 4:00 games.

Patriots
Weeks 5-7: 3 straight road games, at Buffalo, New Orleans, Tennessee
Week 7, Patriots @ Titans; Vrabel coached Tennessee from 2018-23.
Three of first four games at home.
Week 1, Raiders @ Patriots (Tom Brady owns part of Raiders now)

Jets
Week 1: Steelers @ Jets- Justin Fields played for Pittsburgh last year.
3/last 4 games are on the road.
Play Broncos in London in Week 6, don’t have a bye in Week 7.
Right now, 14 of their 17 games are at 1:00; low expectations.

AFC North
Ravens
Five of their first seven games are at home.
Weeks 5-8, have three home games and a bye week.
Weeks 9-11, 3 straight road games, at Miami, Minnesota, Cleveland
Play the Bengals in weeks 13/15.
Three of their last four games are on the road.

Bengals
Last three years, Bengals are 5-10 in Weeks 1-5, 25-10 from Week 6 on.
Three of their first four games are on the road.
Have four primetime games, plus four 4:25 games that aren’t on West Coast.
Weeks 7-10: three home games, then their bye week.

Browns
Browns have 40-year old QB Flacco, and two rookie QB’s,
Cleveland plays its first game and its last game against Cincinnati.
14 of their 17 games are in the Eastern time zone.
No primetime games; they play the Vikings in England in Week 5.

Steelers
Who will the QB be? Right now, it would be Mason Rudolph.
Only 5 of their 17 games are vs teams that were in playoffs last year.
Steelers have four primetime games, plus a game vs Vikings in Ireland.
Their games with the Ravens are in Weeks 14/18.

AFC South
Texans
Weeks 8-10, have three straight home games.
Visit SoFi Stadium twice; Week 1 vs Rams, Week 17 vs Chargers
Chargers beat Houston 32-12 in playoffs last year.
Visit Chiefs in Week 14; KC beat them 23-14 in playoffs LY.

Colts
Four of their first six games are at home.
Also visit SoFi Stadium twice; vs Rams in Week 4, Chargers in Week 7
Only one primetime game, Week 16 vs 49ers.
12 of their 17 games are in domed stadiums.

Jaguars
Play only one game in England this year, Week 7 vs Rams
Play only one primetime game, Week 5 vs Chiefs.
Two games vs Colts are in Weeks 14/17.
Two games vs Tennessee are in Week 13/18.

Titans
Weeks 4-6- 3 straight road games, at Houston, Arizona, Las Vegas (all domes)
No primetime games; league has low expectations for them.
Weeks 9-13- have four home games and their bye week.
Only cold weather game figures to be Week 14 in Cleveland.

AFC West
Broncos
First three games are against their three AFC West rivals.
Open season vs Chiefs on a Friday night in Brazil.
Five primetime games; league has high expectations for them.

Chiefs
Open season in Brazil vs Chargers; host the Eagles in Week 2.
5 of their first 8 games are in primetime.
Weeks 6-8, have three straight home games.
Play on both Thanksgiving/Christmas this year.

Raiders
Two of first three games are on East Coast, at New England/Washington
Raiders open season vs Patriots; Pete Carroll coached Patriots from 1997-99.
Weeks 15-16 are only time they play consecutive weeks on the road.

Chargers
Open season against the Chiefs, in Brazil.
Have two trips to east coast in Weeks 4, 6; lot of travel early on.
Three of their last four games are on the road. .
Five primetime games; league has high expectations for them.

Thanksgiving Day games:
Packers @ Detroit
Chiefs @ Dallas
Bengals @ Baltimore

Christmas Day games
Cowboys @ Washington
Lions @ Minnesota
Broncos @ Kansas City

NFC East
Cowboys
Open season at Super Bowl champion Eagles in Week 1.
Play four of their games on Thursdays. 
Weeks 12-16, play four home games in five weeks.
Play on both Thanksgiving/Christmas this year.

Giants
Open season with road games at Washington/Dallas.
Two games vs Cowboys are in Weeks 2/18.
Have a late bye week, Week 14.
Have only one road game in the last five weeks. 

Eagles
Don’t have back/back home games all season.
Two games vs Washington are in Weeks 16/18.
Two games vs Giants are in Weeks 6/8.
Host Bears on Black Friday afternoon, the day after Thanksgiving

Commanders
Washington is 18-1 to win Super Bowl; this time last year, they were 150-1
Their last four games are against NFC East rivals.
Weeks 4-8, play four road games in five weeks.
Have five primetime games, plus a Week 8 game in Spain. 

NFC North
Bears
Their games vs Detroit are in Weeks 2/18
Three of their last four games are at home.
Weeks 4-9, have tour road games and a bye week.
Thought it was odd that Ben Johnson turned down Washington job LY, but left the Lions to coach division rival Chicago this year. Both teams have promising young QB’s.

Lions
Detroit has two new coordinators this year, the price of success.
Weeks 12-14, have three straight home games.
Week 15, they visit the Rams, a renewal of the Stafford-Goff thing.
Play on both Thanksgiving/Christmas this year.

Packers
Open season with home games vs Lions/Commanders.
Play three of last four games on the road.
Have four primetime games, four 4:25 games.
Two games with the Bears are in Weeks 14/16.

Vikings- unusual schedule
Week 1- visit Chicago on Monday night
Weeks 2-3- two home games
Weeks 4-5- a game in Ireland, a game in England
Week 6- bye
Week 7- host the Eagles
Weeks 8-16- six road games in nine weeks.
Weeks 17-18- home games vs Lions/Packers. 

NFC South
Falcons
Week 5 is an early bye week.
Week 2 is at Minnesota, interesting if Kirk Cousins is still a Falcon.
12 of their 17 games are in domed stadiums.
Four primetime games, plus a Week 9 game in Germany,
They don’t have a bye week the game after playing in Germany.

Panthers
Three of their first four games are on the road.
Week 9 game in Germany, against the Falcons.
They don’t have a bye week the game after playing in Germany.
Two games with Tampa Bay are in Weeks 16/18.

Saints
It is unclear who Saints’ QB will be, but whoever it is will be young.
Open with home games vs Cardinals/49ers.
Finish with road games at Tennessee/Atlanta.
No primetime games; league has low expectations for them.

Buccaneers
Open season with road games, at Atlanta/Houston.
Weeks 13-15, have three straight home games.
Have four primetime games, three of them on road.
Four of their last five games are vs NFC South rivals. 

NFC West
Cardinals
Three of their last four games are on the road.
12 of their 17 games are in domed stadiums.
Two games with the Rams are in Weeks 14/18.
Have only two games in the eastern time zone.

Rams
Three of their first four games are vs AFC South teams.
Play Jaguars in England in Week 7.
Week 8-12, have three home games and a bye week.
Two of their last three games are in primetime.

49ers
Open season with road games, against teams with new QB’s (Seattle/NO)
Three of their last four games are at home.
Have five primetime games, including two of last three weeks.
First game and last game are both against the Seahawks.

Seahawks
Sam Darnold faces his old team (Vikings) in Week 13.
Cooper Kupp plays against his old team (Rams) in Weeks 11/16
Seahawks have five trips to the eastern time zone.
Seattle finishes with road games, at Panthers/49ers. 

2025 NFL schedule gets released Wednesday night; here is what we know:

— Cowboys @ Eagles opens the season September 4th; these division rivals play twice a year, but this is the first time since 2000 that they’ll meet in Week 1. 

— Chargers are going to start their season in Brazil the next night, September 5th; they haven’t announced who their opponent will be.

— Vikings are going to be the first team in NFL history to play consecutive international games in different countries; they’re playing the Steelers September 28 in Ireland, then they’re playing the Browns in England October 5th.

— Bears @ Eagles is a Friday afternoon game the day after Thanksgiving, the game Amazon shows because they want to you to stay home and go Christmas shopping on their website.

— Rams-Jaguars are playing a game in England October 19th, I think they said.

— Tomorrow’s Den will be loaded with info on the 2025 schedule.

— Famous birthdays, May 14th:
Tony Perez, 83
Dave LaRoche, 77
Dennis Martinez, 71
Mike Quick, 66

Pat Borders, 62
Pooh Richardson, 59
Sofia Coppola, 54
Rob Gronkowski, 36

Kyle Freeland, 32
Tony Gonsolin, 31
Brenton Doyle, 27
Zach Edey, 23

— Pacers 114, Cavaliers 105
Indiana eliminates top-seeded Cleveland in five games.
Pacers outscored Cleveland 33-20 in third quarter.
Tyrese Halliburton scored 31 points, was +27.

— Thunder 112, Nuggets 105
Shea Gilgeous-Alexander scored 31 points.
Nikola Jokic scored 44 points, had 15 rebounds.
Nuggets led 86-78 after the third quarter.
Oklahoma City leads series, 3-2

— New York Knicks are first NBA team ever to have three wins in the same playoff series, when they trailed by 9+ points at halftime in all three games.

— Boston Celtics’ star Jayson Tatum ruptured his Achilles tendon late in Monday night’s loss to the Knicks; he had surgery on his leg Tuesday afternoon.

— Top 4 picks in the 2025 NBA Draft:
Dallas
San Antonio
Philadelphia
Charlotte

— Movie of the Day: The Fugitive (1993)- A well-known surgeon is unjustly accused of murdering his wife, so he tries to find the real killer while being the target of a nationwide manhunt led by a veteran U.S. Marshal.

Harrison Ford is the surgeon, Tommie Lee Jones is the Marshal, Julianne Moore, Sela Ward and Joe Pantoliano are also in the cast. 

This is an excellent movie, really, really good.

— A’s 11, Dodgers 1
If the season ended right now, the A’s would be in the playoffs.
Jacob Wilson went 4-5, with two homers, 4 RBI
A’s are a major league-best 14-7 on the road.
1B Nick Kurtz hit his first major league home run.

— Guardians 2, Brewers 0
Cleveland shut the Brewers out for the second day in a row.
Logan Allen allowed three hits and a walk in six IP.
Milwaukee is 12-7 at home, 8-16 on the road.

— Rays 11, Blue Jays 9
Junior Caminero hit a grand slam in the ninth inning.
Rays gave up five runs in the last two innings but still won.
Daulton Varsho homered twice for Toronto.

— Phillies got rained out Tuesday; Kyle Schwarber has a 47-game on-base streak. The all-time best on-base streak is 84 games, by Ted Williams.

— Tigers 10, Red Sox 9 (11)
Javier Baez hit two homers, knocked in six runs; he had the walk-of HR in this game.
Red Sox tied game 8-8 with two runs in 8th inning.
Detroit is 28-15 now, 16-5 at home.

— Astros 2, Royals 1
Isaac Paredes hit a walk-off home run for Houston.
Framber Valdez threw 8 innings, on only 89 pitches.
Jeremy Pena has 13 RBI in 15 games since moving to the leadoff spot.

— Padres 6, Angels 4
Fernando Tatis hit a walk-off home run for San Diego.
Angels led this game 4-2 in the 8th inning.

— If the playoffs started today (they don’t):
NL: Mets, Cubs, Dodgers. Wild Cards: Padres, Phillies, Giants
AL: New York, Tigers, Mariners. Wild Cards: Guardians, Royals, A’s

— You can bet on whether or not a team will score in the first inning of a game; with the season six weeks old, here are each teams’ results for first inning scoring:

NL (Home/Away….total)
Braves 5-18/6-21…..11-39
Marlins 7-22/5-18…..12-40
Mets 6-19/4-20…..10-39
Phillies 11-19/4-21…..15-40
Nationals 7-22/3-19…..10-41

Cubs 5-17/5-24…..10-41
Reds 5-17/5-24…..10-41
Brewers 2-19/7-24…..9-43
Pirates 6-22/6-19…..12-41
St Louis 4-21/7-20…..11-41

Arizona 8-22/5-19……13-41
Colorado 8-22/2-19…..10-41
Dodgers 8-18/8-21…..16-39
Padres 7-18/9-21…..16-39
Giants 4-16/5-23…..9-39

AL
Orioles 5-16/7-23…..12-39
Red Sox 7-20/6-22…..13-42
New York 8-21/8-19…..16-40
Rays 8-28/0-12…..8-40
Toronto 6-19/5-21…..11-40

White Sox 9-21/8-20……17-41
Cleveland 5-19/5-21…..10-40
Detroit 5-19/7-22…..12-41
Royals 7-23/5-19…..12-42
Twins 3-21/3-18…..6-39

A’s 7-21/6-21…..13-42
Astros 3-21/3-18…..6-39
Angels 6-19/7-20…..13-39
Seattle 4-21/10-18…..14-39
Texas 3-20/5-21…..8-41

— Famous birthdays, May 12th:
Ted Kubiak, 83
Bruce Boxleitner, 75
George Karl, 74
Kevin Grevey, 72

Lou Whitaker, 68
James Wilder, 67
Ving Rhames, 66
Emilio Estevez, 63

Lawrence Phillips, 50
Malin Ackerman, 47
Steve Smith, 46 (NFL WR)
Lance Lynn, 38

— Thunder 92, Nuggets 87
Denver shot 2-22 in first quarter, trailed 17-8.
OKC shot 35.6% from floor, Nuggets 31.3%. Ugly game.
Thunder outscored Denver 29-18 in 4th quarter.
Series is 2-2; Game 5 is Tuesday in Oklahoma City.

— Pacers 129, Cavaliers 109
Indiana led 80-39 at halftime!!!! 80 to freakin’ 39!!!
If you’re coaching #1-seed Cleveland, what do you say at halftime?
Indiana’s starters shot 59.1% from the floor.
Underdog Pacers lead series, 3-1.

— Colorado Rockies beat San Diego 9-3 Sunday, then fired manager Bud Black, because they’re 7-33, which isn’t Bud Black’s fault, but you can’t fire the players, although you could fire the guy who assembled this awful roster of players.

— New York Mets are the only team that hasn’t lost three games in a row this season.

— Los Angeles Rams are having their mini-camp in Maui, which seems like a fun place to have your mini-camp, even though mini-camps aren’t necessarily supposed to be fun.

— Movie of the Day: Sea of Love (1989)- A detective investigating a series of murders becomes involved with a woman who may be the culprit.

Al Pacino is the detective, Ellen Barkin is the woman; John Goodman, Samuel L Jackson, John Spencer are also in this movie. Really good cast.

A movie worth watching, if only because Ellen Barkin is in it.

— Twins 7, Giants 6 (10)
Minnesota won its eighth game in a row.
Brooks Lee was 3-5, with three runs scored, 2 RBI
Heliot Ramos homered, had four RBI for the Giants.

— Cardinals 6, Nationals 1
St Louis also won its eighth game in a row.
Miles Mikolas got 16 outs, allowed only four hits.
Nootbaar, Contreras, Arenado homered for the Redbirds. 

— Pirates 4, Braves 3
Pirates blew a 3-0 run lead in 8th inning, won it in bottom of 9th.
Sean Murphy tied the game with a 3-run double in 8th inning.
Atlanta is 19-21, still hasn’t gotten to .500 this season.
Pittsburgh is 2-1 under interim manager Don Kelly.

— White Sox 4, Marlins 2
Tim Elko’s first major league hit was a 3-run homer.
Marlins are 15-24, 5-12 on the road.

— Mets 6, Cubs 2
Mets scored four runs in 8th inning; Lindor’s HR sparked the rally.
Pete Crow-Armstrong homered for Chicago.
Mets are 15-4 at home, 11-11 on the road.

— If the playoffs started today (they don’t):
NL: Mets, Cubs, Dodgers. Wild Cards: Padres, Giants, Phillies
AL: New York, Tigers, Mariners. Wild Cards: Guardians, Royals, Red Sox

— Arizona (20-18)
Diamondbacks are 3-6 in their last nine home games,
Arizona is 16-11 vs right starters, 4-7 vs lefties.
Under is 7-2 in their last seven nine games.

— Braves (18-19)
Atlanta won four of their last five games.
Braves are 12-6 at home, 6-13 on the road.
Under is 8-2 in their last ten games.

— Cubs (22-16)
Chicago is 6-0 in home series openers.
Over is 12-5 in their last 17 home games.
Cubs are 14-8 in night games, 8-8 in day games.

— Reds (19-20)
Reds lost five of their last six games.
Under is 7-2 in their last nine road games.
Reds are 2-5 in games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— Rockies (6-31)
Colorado lost 13 of its last 15 games.
Rockies are 2-17 on the road (under 13-6).
Rockies have already had four losing streaks of 6+ games.
Over is 4-1 in their last five games.

— Dodgers (25-13)
Dodgers won nine of their last 12 games.
Dodgers are 15-3 at home, 10-10 on the road.
Over is 12-6 in their home games.

— Marlins (14-22)
Marlins lost nine of their last eleven games.
Marlins are 3-9 in series openers.
Over is 9-0 in their last nine road games.

— Brewers (19-19)
Milwaukee is 12-7 at home, 7-12 on the road.
Brewers are 1-11 on the road if they score less than seven runs.
Brewers are 2-5 in games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— Mets (24-14)
Mets are 13-3 at home, 11-11 on road.
Mets are 10-2 in series openers.
Under is 4-1 their last five home games.

— Phillies (22-15)
Phillies won nine of their last eleven games.
Phillies are 19-9 vs righty starters, 3-6 vs lefties.
Philly is 16-6 at home, 6-9 on road.

— Pirates (12-26)
Pirates fired their manager Thursday; it isn’t his fault.
Pittsburgh lost ten of their last eleven games.
Last 8 series, Pirates are 1-4 in games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.
Under is 4-1 in their last five games.

— St Louis (19-19)
St Louis won its last five games.
Cardinals are 15-6 at home, 4-13 on road.
St Louis is 2-6 vs lefty starters, 17-13 vs righties.
Seven of their last nine games went over the total.
St Louis is 3-8 in games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— Padres (23-13)
San Diego is 6-2 since Arraez got back in lineup.
Padres are 14-4 at home, 9-9 on the road.
Under is 8-3 in their last eleven road games.

— Giants (24-14)
Giants are 22-6 vs rightly pitchers, 2-8 vs lefties.
SF is 7-4 in one-run games.
Over is 6-2 in their last eight games.

— Washington (17-21)
Nationals are 10-9 at home, 7-12 on the road.
Over is 6-1 in their last seven home games.
Nats scored in 1st inning in 7 of 19 home games, 3 of 19 on the road.
Washington is 6-1 in last seven games when winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— Famous birthdays, May 9th:
Candice Bergen, 79
Billy Joel, 77
Calvin Murphy, 77
Doug Christie, 55
Brandon Webb, 46

Prince Fielder, 41
Jace Peterson, 35
Samson Ebukam, 30
Tommy Edman, 30
Trey Lance, 25

— Orioles (13-23)
Baltimore is 4-12 in its last 16 games.
Orioles are 11-14 vs righty starters, 2-9 vs lefties.
Under is 13-2 in their last 15 games.

— Red Sox (20-19)
Boston is 4-9 in one-run games.
Red Sox are 11-9 at home, 9-10 on the road.
Under is 5-2 in their last seven games.

— White Sox (10-28)
Chicago lost its last four games, outscored 19-4.
White Sox are 7-11 at home, 3-17 on the road.
Chicago is 2-9 in games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— Cleveland (22-15)
Cleveland won seven of its last nine games.
Cleveland is 10-3 against its AL Central rivals.
Over is 5-0 in their last five games.

— Detroit (25-13)
Tigers won seven of last eight games, scoring 65 runs.
Detroit is 13-3 at home, 12-10 on the road.
Over is 6-2 in their last eight games.

— Houston (18-18)
Astros are 5-11 in the game following a win.
Houston is 11-7 at home, 7-11 on road.
Over is 8-2 in their last ten games.
Astros scored in first inning run in only 2 of 18 home games.

— Royals (23-16)
Royals won 15 of their last 17 games.
Kansas City is 15-5 at home, 8-11 on the road.
13 of Royals’ last 16 home games stayed under the total.

— Angels (15-21)
Halos lost 11 of last 15 games overall.
Angels lost their last nine road games.
Over is 8-1 in their last nine games.

— Twins (18-20)
Twins won their last five games.
Minnesota is 12-6 at home, 6-14 on the road.
Under is 9-3 in their last dozen games.
Twins are 7-10 vs their AL Central rivals.

— New York (21-16)
New York is 7-8 in its last 15 games.
New York is 13-8 at home, 8-8 on the road.
New York is 18-12 vs righty starters, 3-4 vs lefties.
Under is 5-2 in their last seven games.

— A’s (20-18)
A’s are 14-8 in their last 22 games.
A’s are 7-11 in Sacramento, 13-7 on the road.
Under is 5-2 in their last seven road games.
In 8 of their last 13 games, winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— Seattle (22-14)
Mariners won 19 of their last 26 games.
Over is 8-3 in their last eleven road games.
Seattle is 12-6 at home, 10-8 on road.

— Tampa Bay (16-21)
Rays are 9-16 at home, 7-5 on the road.
Rays are 11-7 vs NL teams, 5-14 vs AL teams.
Rays are 4-1 in last five games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— Texas (18-20)
Texas lost six of its last eight games.
Rangers fired their hitting coach last week
Under is 16-4 in their home games.
Rangers haven’t scored in first inning in their last 10 home games.

— Toronto (17-20)
Blue Jays are 9-7 vs their AL East rivals, 8-13 vs everyone else .
Toronto’s last four games went over the total. 
Toronto is 13-15 vs righty starters, 4-5 vs lefties.

— If the playoffs started today (they don’t):
NL: Mets, Cubs, Dodgers. Wild Cards: Padres, Giants, Phillies
AL: New York, Tigers, Mariners. Wild Cards: Guardians, A’s, Royals