David Ortiz and the Red Sox went 6-0 last week.
US PRESSWIRE
Every week, we update you on who's hot, who's not and situational betting spots in Major League Baseball (All records and statistics through Saturday):
HOT TEAM: Boston Red Sox
THIS SEASON: 10-10.
LAST WEEK: 6-0.
THIS WEEK'S SCHEDULE: Home to the Athletics for three, home to the Orioles for three.
THE SKINNY: If you listen closely, you'll hear the sound of all of Boston taking its finger off the panic button.
It was a rough start for new manager Bobby Valentine, from his comments, to his rifts with players, to his team's effort on the field. But the Red Sox have stemmed the tide with authority and entered Sunday's action with a six-game winning streak intact.
A sweep of the Twins got it all started, and along the way, the Red Sox found their hitting sticks. In a four-game stretch bridging the Minnesota series with the White Sox one, Boston scored 38 runs.
And Jon Lester proved the Red Sox might be able to pitch a bit as well, on Saturday, when he recorded his first win by striking out seven, and allowing just five hits to the White Sox.
With Oakland and Baltimore on deck in Fenway this week, it might be time to jump on Boston.
COLD TEAM: Minnesota Twins
THIS SEASON: 5-15.
LAST WEEK: 0-5.
THIS WEEK'S SCHEDULE: At the Angels for three, at the Mariners for three.
THE SKINNY: The good news for Minnesota last week, is that Saturday's date with the Royals was postponed. For a day, at least, the Twins didn't lose.
Clearly, it's been a struggle for the Twins, who ran into the wrong teams at the wrong time last week: Tampa Bay and Boston. Minnesota entered Sunday's date with Kansas City, as a result, riding a six-game losing streak, and the Twins were held to two runs or less in three of those contests.
OVER TEAM: Milwaukee Brewers
O/U THIS SEASON: 14-7.
O/U LAST WEEK: 5-1.
THIS WEEK'S SCHEDULE: At the Padres for three, at the Giants for three.
THE SKINNY: Prince Who? OK, so the Brewers aren't exactly a better team without Fielder, who left for Detroit in the offseason, but they've found a way to keep scoring runs, which is good news for over players.
Saturday's 7-3 loss at St. Louis was Milwaukee's fifth straight over, and the Brewers combined with their opponents to reach double figures in all of those contests.
There has been balance in the lineup -- Corey Hart, Alex Gonzalez and Ryan Braun all have at least 11 RBIs -- and the league was hitting more than .300 against five of their pitchers through Saturday: Wily Peralta, Mike McClendon, Manny Parra, Randy Wolf, and Yovani Gallardo.
If that's not an over recipe, we don't know what one is.
UNDER TEAM: Miami Marlins
O/U THIS SEASON: 9-10-1.
O/U LAST WEEK: 0-5.
THIS WEEK'S SCHEDULE: Home to the Diamondbacks for one, at the Giants for three, at the Padres for three.
THE SKINNY: You know what they say about the best laid plans, right? Well, marquee free-agent signee Jose Reyes hasn't been able to rescue the new-look Marlins.
Though it's still early, surely Miami wasn't expecting to enter Sunday's action at 8-12 after shelling out all of those offseason millions and opening a new ballpark. But that's their problem.
For under players, their struggles are your reward. In the five-game under streak that was put on the line Sunday, Miami scored two runs or less in all of those contests.
Reyes -- who should not be unfamiliar with the pitchers he's seen so far, given he came from the Mets and the same National League East -- was hitting .213 with three RBIs. More importantly, his speed, thanks to a .286 on-base percentage and just four steals, is suffering.
He's not alone in the offensive struggles, though. Only Hanley Ramirez (13) had a double-digit RBI total, and five players -- Ramirez, Emilio Bonifacio, Giancarlo Stanton, Gaby Sanchez and John Buck -- had at least 12 strikeouts. The uniforms and the new stadium might be pretty, but the numbers aren't.