Four bad teams that could make good MLB bets

By COVERS.COM STAFF

There’s still a month and a half left on the MLB calendar before the postseason begins but baseball bettors have a good idea which clubs are making the cut and which ones aren’t.

Tell that to these four fallen teams, who are fighting to the finish and providing big moneyline payouts in the process. Any sharp MLB bettor is careful about wagering on a losing club but value can’t be ignored:

Houston Astros

The Astros are so bad, oddsmakers are practically begging MLB bettors to take a shot on them. Tony Miller, race and sportsbook director at the Golden Nugget in Las Vegas, told Covers this past week that he can’t make the price high enough when it comes to the Astros' day-to-day odds.

Houston has won only three games in its past 10 outings, but is 2-2 in its last four heading into Tuesday. Depending on where you bet, you could have made a small fortune taking a chance of the worst team in the league. Pick your spots when it comes to the Astros, who play a three-game set in Chicago before coming home to face the stumbling Diamondbacks.

San Diego Padres

What the hell is happening in San Diego? The Padres, left for dead in the National League West, have sprung to life with an 8-2 record in their last 10 games, winning 6.93 units in that stretch. They’ve leaned on their pitching during this streak, allowing three or fewer runs six times including three shutouts.

San Diego wraps a four-game set in Atlanta before coming back home to take on the Giants and the Pirates, two contending teams struggling to find their form in August.

Philadelphia Phillies

The Phillies aren’t used to being among the other clubs on this list. But when it comes to bettors, Philadelphia is public enemy No. 1 after burning -21.75 units heading into Tuesday’s action. However, the Phillies are trying to make that up after a fire sale that scattered some top talent across the big leagues.

Philadelphia is 6-4 in its last 10 games, including back-to-back wins over Miami this week. Oddsmakers realize that the Phillies have nothing to play for and have discounted their moneylines like Christmas trees on Dec. 26. They stay on the road this week, leaving South Beach for Milwaukee to face the bumbling Brewers.

Kansas City Royals

For a team with only 49 wins to be just -5.56 units in the hole, there has to be some value hiding in those lines. Kansas City has shown some fight in the past two weeks, taking wins over the Orioles, White Sox and Rangers and posting a 5-3 mark in their last eight games for 4.56 units. Four of those came on the road where K.C. is 28-33 this year.

Kansas City returned home Tuesday for a six-game stand against Oakland and Chicago – two teams that have fallen off the pace in their division races. The Royals are thinking ahead to next season and plenty of players are fighting for a spot on the roster and are eager to impress.

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Posted by rarejerbear
10 months ago

Even though they have lost 5 out of their last 6 games, I would add the Minnesota Twins to this list. Since May 28th, the Twins record is a surprising 35-34, with 25 of those wins coming in games in which they were an underdog. Living in Minnesota, I get to watch them play on a daily basis. I can see they are playing with enthusiasm and I do not believe they will pack it in as teams such as Boston and Cleveland have. They have a decent starting lineup and good relief pitching but, however, are being held back somewhat by three mediocre starting pitchers; De Vries, Blackburn, and Duensing. Two of those will be replaced when starting pitchers PJ Walters and Carl Pavano come back from injury, so they should soon improve in that department. I believe they will continue to play well and win a lot of games between now and the end of the season. In addition, I feel next year could be a breakout year as almost all of their players are signed to play next season for them.

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Posted by rarejerbear
10 months ago

" Even though they have lost 5 out of their last 6 games, I would add the Minnesota Twins to this list. Since May 28th, the Twins record is a surprising 35-34, with 25 of those wins coming in games in which they were an underdog. Living in Minnesota,..."

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Featured Free Play

MLB: Colorado vs. Toronto

Pick:: Toronto
Start:: June 19, 2013 - 7:07 PM
Capper:: Bryan Power
Offered at:: betonline @ -150 Toronto
Analysis:

1* Toronto (7:07 ET): The Toronto Blue Jays came into the 2013 season w/ plenty of hype. They quickly fell on their face, and in fact still remain in last place of a very competitive American League East. But recently, things are trending upward in the form of a season-high seven-game win streak for the Jays. Wednesday sees them going for a three-game sweep of the Rockies. I think they'll get it.....

Toronto allowed three runs yesterday. It was the most runs they'd allowed in the last six games. In the previous five, they allowed a total of four. One of those was a start from Mark Buehrle, who gets the nod here. Last time out, the southpaw went seven scoreless innings, allowing just four hits, as Toronto won 8-0. In Buehrle's last two starts, he's allowed just 1 ER over 14 IP. Buehrle has an all-time 32-13 team start record in Interleague Play.

Meanwhile, Colorado has dropped 22 of 27 games vs. the American League dating back to last year. That includes a 3-9 record this year, averaging just 3.0 runs per game. They have never won in Toronto, batting just .176 in eight games here. Starter Juan Nicasio is winless in his last five starts and has yet to make it past the sixth inning all season. Toronto and Buehrle are just too hot right now. 1* Toronto.

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