Tonight’s matchup features two teams that are desperately trying to stay within striking distance in their respective divisions.
New York Mets at Los Angeles Dodgers
New York stumbles into a four-game series against the Los Angeles Dodgers after losing 4-3 in 14 innings on Wednesday and getting swept by the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Mets are dismal 19-30 on the road this season (-930) and have fallen 6.5 games back of the NL East-leading Atlanta Braves. New York is 3-10 in its last 13 games and 8-16 over its last 24 games. Offensively, the team has been held to four runs or fewer in 12 straight games, as the club has compiled a 3-9 record over that stretch. In their last seven games, the Mets have managed to score first just once, with the team being 9-28 when the opponent draws first blood. Expect a possible bounce back performance in tonight’s change of venue, with the team being 5-3 after three or more consecutive losses this season (+340) and 26-19 in this spot the last three years (+1,240).
Los Angeles comes into this series having a chance to gain ground on the AL West Division leaders, as they currently sit five games back of the Texas Rangers. “We’ve been sitting four, five games back for a while now,” tonight’s starter Jered Weaver said. “When you’re playing those games, you pick up a game or lose one. Simple as that.” The Angels are now 4-2 since the All-Star break after dropping the series finale against the New York Yankees on Wednesday afternoon and the team is 7-10 this month (-380), after losing just nine games in June (18-9). The team trails 3-2 in the season series against Texas, as four of the five meetings this year have been one-run affairs. Los Angeles has dropped eight of the last 11 meetings in Arlington.
This is a very interesting time when it comes to NFL win totals betting. They have been posted for a while now, so the initial action has bet out any obvious errors, but the public hasn’t yet paid a lot of attention to them. That likely means that the futures are somewhat more accurate now than they will be before the fans jump on the public teams. Because of that, looking at the odds right now shows us some very interesting trends and opinions. Based on the line movement and the prices available there are hints of some strong and interesting opinions held by those who have made bets so far. Here are 11 win totals that have seemed to have one-sided action so far. In each case the one-sided action can be a clue that the total is likely to change as the season nears, and it gives us something to think about when it comes to the teams (odds are form Bodog):
Washington’s furious comeback fell short in a 8-7 road defeat to the Cincinnati Reds at the Great American Ball Park, in a game that was interrupted for three hours in the middle of the fifth inning by rain. The Nationals have now dropped four straight since tonight’s starter toed the rubber. With 94 games filed away, the team’s 40 wins to date is far better than the 27 victories the team garnered at this point last season. Prop bettors need to take notice that the club has plated the first run in 15 of their last 18 contests dating back to June 28. After starting 9-7 on the road this season, the Nationals are 6-26 away in their last 32 games away from Washington, DC. The team has played just seven road games the past three years with a total of 7 or less, with six of those games taking place this season (3-3, +150).
Los Angeles started its brief road trip to New York and Texas with an impressive 10-2 victory over the Yankees in the Bronx. It’s part of a stretch that has the club playing three teams with a combined record of 166-112 when adding a series with Boston when they return home. The team banged out 14 hits on Tuesday night and is batting a combined .300 against the Yankees over the past five seasons, their highest average against any AL club. In fact, the team is 54-44 against New York during the Mike Scioscia era, dating back to 2000. The Angels have a 4-3 season series lead over the Yankees, but the team has managed to win just three of their last 13 games in New York. The bullpen has been much improved this month, posting a 2.67 ERA in July, after struggling to post a 4.97 ERA the month prior. Los Angeles continues to dominate teams during the day, posting a 18-13 mark this season (+510) and 86-39 record the last three years (+4,750).
One of the great things about 
Houston is set to play its final game of a six-game road trip against the Chicago Cubs and Pittsburgh Pirates, with the team posting a 12-5 combined mark against those two opponents this season. The Astros are 14-11 versus NL clubs since June 7, winning four of seven series over that span. Unlike today’s opponent, Houston has had success against the division, tallying a 21-17 record (+1,060). The club is 13-18 in day games this season (+10) and 60-63 over the last three years, with the team averaging 3.5 runs and combining for a dismal .229 average under the sun. Houston has thrived in playing during the middle of the week, tallying an 11-3 mark when playing on Wednesday (+1,020).
