MLB Baseball
2012-07-14 - Detroit Tigers at Baltimore Orioles
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
United States: Major League Baseball
Saturday 14 July 2012 - First Pitch 4:05pm ET
9:05pm (British Standard Time)
Preview
The Baltimore Orioles (45-41) and the Detroit Tigers (45-42) might not be in the same Division, but these two teams are both in the American League and could potentially be Wild Card rivals later in the year. The Tigers took game 1 of this series last night and will be looking to secure the series today and also keeping their winning momentum from the end of the first half of the season.
The batting line up of the Tigers is finally showing signs of what was expected when they brought in Prince Fielder to join Miguel Cabrera and it is the latter that has been riding a really hot streak. The win last night also means this is the longest winning run for Detroit since September 2011.
Detroit will send Max Scherzer to the mound- Scherzer has an 8-5 record this season with a 4.72 ERA, but his recent form has been even stronger. The pitcher has a 3-1 record from his last four starts and a 2.00 ERA in those games.
Scherzer has a 2-1 record against Baltimore with a 4.05 ERA in his three previous starts against them and he was given the decision in his last start here despite giving 5 runs in 7 innings pitched.
Baltimore will counter with Wei-Yin Chen and they will be hoping he can return to some semblance of form after a poor ending to the first half of the season. Chen is 7-5 this season with a 3.93 ERA, but his last four starts has seen him end with a 0-3 record and a 5.96 ERA.
Chen has also been struggling at Camden Park where he has allowed 12 runs in his last three starts after giving up just 8 in his previous five starts before that.
The pitcher's struggles haven't been the only concern for Baltimore as they are not getting enough runs on the board to cover any issues the pitcher's have. They have scored just 5 runs in their last four games, including 2 last night in a 7-2 loss to Detroit.
Head to Head
Detroit won last night and that is the first time they have met this season with five games left to play.
Baltimore are just 2-4 in their last 6 games at Camden Park against Detroit.
The Orioles are 22-21 at home this season, Detroit are 23-22 on the road.
Baltimore are 15-11 in day games this season, Detroit are 25-15.
Prediction
I am going to take the Detroit Tigers to win this game and continue their hot form that they ended the first half of the season in.
Baltimore have been having a hard time in a lot of aspects of their game at the moment and they are sending a pitcher to the mound that has been having a hard time keeping control. With the way Detroit are swinging their bats, Wei-Yin Chen could really have a tough time keeping them off the scoreboard.
Maz Scherzer is not the most reliable pitcher, but he had been performing well before the All-Star break and I just think he will get enough run support to earn the victory in this one.
Instead of taking the Tigers to win, I am going to back their batting line up to continue their form and take Detroit on the run line.
The Pick :
Baltimore Orioles 3-6 Detroit Tigers
