The Reds are coming off a series in which they dropped two out of three games against Philadelphia. They are now playing their 7th consecutive game on the road when they face the Mets today. New York just won two out of three against the Cubs and they had the benefit of sleeping in their own beds tonight as they return home to face Cincinnati. The Mets have done a great job of opening up a series with a win. They are 4-1 in their last 5 game 1 matchups. The Reds are at their worst on the road batting .243 and posting a 10-11 record. The Mets may never be confused with a team that can light up a scoreboard, but they are certainly at their best when playing against a right handed starter and playing at night as they average 4.5 runs per game. You should always play against a road favorite like Cincinnati when they have a starting pitcher that has allowed 5.5 or less hits per start and they are a below average hitting team batting .255 or less and playing against a team whose starting pitcher has a 5.70 ERA or higher. This system is 45-27 (63%) against the money line.

Jon Lester continues to be a stud for Boston posting a 6-0 record in 9 starts. Lester has a 2.71 ERA and a 1.006 WHIP. In his last three starts Lester has been even more impressive going 2-0 with a 2.05 ERA and averaging 7.3 innings per start. The Red Sox are 5-0 in their last 5 road games and 4-0 in their last 4 games against a starting pitcher whose WHIP is 1.30 or higher. The White Sox send a struggling Dylan Axelrod to the mound today. Axelrod has a 1-3 record in 8 starts and he is trending in the wrong direction. In his last 3 starts he has allowed 24 hits and 10 earned runs in 19 innings pitched. It could be a very short night for Axelrod when he faced this Red Sox team batting .265 and averaging 5.5 runs per game on the road. One of the biggest struggles Chicago has had this season is their inability to provide run support. They have a .219 batting average at home and are scoring a mere 3.4 runs per game. Those numbers are simply nowhere near good enough to contend each night. With Lester on the mound and Chicago’s inability to score runs the Red Sox are the play in this matchup.

There is a lot of value on Houston today with Dallas Keuchel on the mound. Keuchel has performed well this season and in his last home start he gave up a mere 2 earned runs and 5 hits in 6 innings pitched. The Astros are averaging 4.7 runs per game over their last 7 games so they should have no problems providing him the run support needed to pick up his first win of the season. The Royals are really having trouble right now. They have lost 10 of their last 13 games quickly slipping to a .500 record. They have a lot of trouble against left handed starters posting a .224 batting average and scoring 2.9 runs per game. Jeremy Guthrie is coming off a confidence shattering performance against the Angels. Guthrie went 7 innings and gave up 5 earned runs and did not have a single strikeout. He has a serious problem with giving up the long ball allowing 11 home runs in just 8 starts.

In his 8 starts this season Pat Corbin is 6-0 with a 1.52 ERA and 1.069 WHIP. His team’s record is a perfect 8-0 in those games. Corbin has been throwing his best stuff over his last three starts posting a 0.89 ERA. Corbin’s opponent will be Colorado’s Jon Garland. Garland has a 1-2 record in his last three starts posting a 1.733 WHIP with a 5.40 ERA. His last outing was a loss against the Chicago Cubs, a game in which he made it just 5 innings and gave up two home runs. Arizona is 5-1 in their last 6 road games and they are 4-1 in their last 5 games against National League West teams. The Rockies are 2-9 following a win and they have a bad habit of dropping a series opener going 1-4 in their last 5. With Corbin on the mound this game should be an easy win for the Diamondbacks.

The Indians have a .241 batting average over their past 7 games. They will face Seattle’s ace in today’s game as Hisashi Iwakuma takes the mound. Iwakuma has a 5-1 record this season with a 1.84 ERA. He faced the Indians once last season taking a no decision and posting a 1.59 ERA in a game won by Seattle. Scott Kazmir is not having the season many Cleveland fans expected. He has posted a 5.33 ERA and a 2-2 record in 5 starts. With Kazmir struggling the Indians will be in big trouble considering Seattle is batting .271 as a team over their past 7 games. In that same span they have averaged 4.9 runs per game and have a .345 on base percentage. The Mariners should have no problem building and holding onto the lead against the Indians today.