The second half of the 2016 MLB season officially begins today! And with that in mind, it’s only right that today’s edition of the Best Games To Bet on will be all about baseball, baseball and more baseball.
In our first game, it’ll be an intriguing AL Central showdown between the Cleveland Indians (52-36) and Minnesota Twins (32-56) at Target Field. The Indians enter this game as losers of their last two games, while the Twins are surprisingly aiming to win their third-straight game tonight. Can they do so, or will the Indians get back on track?
Later on, another division showdown between NL West rivals—Los Angeles Dodgers (51-40) and Arizona Diamondbacks (38-52)—commences at Chase Field. The Dodgers have bested the D-Backs in four out of six meetings earlier this season. Can LA continue their dominance, or will Arizona get the better of them this time around?
Read on below for a quick look at both of these matchups.
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Stepping on the mound for the Cleveland Indians is Carlos Carrasco (5-3, 2.47 ERA). He has missed a relatively huge part of the first half of the season due to a hamstring injury but still has managed to stay as productive as possible for the Tribe. At home this year, Carrasco is 3-2 with a 1.82 ERA, 0.83 WHIP and .193 opponents’ batting average.
Meanwhile, the Minnesota Twins are countering with Ervin Santana (3-7, 4.06 ERA). He’s been pitching like a superstar as of late, yielding just three runs or fewer in his last four games. Santana went 2-0 and also punched in 19 strikeouts during that stretch.
Since his trade to the Los Angeles Dodgers, Bud Norris (4-7, 3.98 ERA) has performed quite solidly in his first two starts in a royal blue and white uniform. In that stretch, he’s logged in 11 frames of three-run and has struck out a total of 13 batters. Norris, however, could be in deep, deep trouble against the Arizona Diamondbacks. The former Braves starter is 0-7 with a 13.92 ERA (Yes, you read that right) across eight career games (five starts) in this specific matchup.
Speaking of the D-Backs, handling the ball for them will be Patrick Corbin (4-7, 4.92 ERA). The struggle has been real for him lately, as the 26-year-old lefty has surrendered 16 runs—11 earned—over 14 1/3 innings in his previous three starts. But fortunately, Corbin could be in line for at least a slightly better performance against the Dodgers. He is 3-5 with a respectable ERA of 3.83 through 11 career games (10 starts) versus their division rivals.
