The “homer” could follow the “opener” into baseball’s lexico

JUPITER Khris Davis Jersey , Fla. (AP) — says he’d consider rearranging some of pitcher Wei-Yin Chen’s starting dates during the regular season should last year’s atrocious home/road splits continue.“If we’re seeing the same type trend then I think if you have a chance to schedule it — if you have an off-day and you can skip a guy and it lines him up for two home starts instead of one and back in Philly, or wherever it would be — I think you look at it,” Mattingly said.Late last season Mattingly did elect to skip a scheduled Chen start in Philadelphia to have him pitch at home the following day.Rather effective at spacious Marlins Park last season where he pitched to a 5-3 record and a 1.62 ERA, Chen became a completely different pitcher on the road, losing nine of 10 decisions while posting a 9.27 ERA.“Last year, we’re hoping, was an anomaly as far as the road and home,” Mattingly said. “He’s a flyball guy. When he gets in smaller ballparks he may be trying to do something different than that. You’ve got to stay with your strengths and who you are. It’s tougher in Philly and some places where the ball jumps, but you still have to pitch the way you pitch and trying to do something that’s not really your strength gets you in trouble http://www.athleticsfanproshop.com/authentic-khris-davis-jersey , and it feels like we saw some of that last year.”Miami signed Chen to a five-year, $80 million deal prior to the 2016 season. He’s yet to perform up to that contract.Injuries limited Chen to only 27 combined starts during his first two years with the Marlins. His 3.82 ERA over 33 innings in 2017 marks Chen’s lowest single-season average since making the move from Baltimore to Miami.Through a translator, Chen said he found his home/road splits “kind of weird” but correcting them wasn’t a focus of his offseason.“I tried to work on focusing on the hitters because that’s the only thing you can do,” Chen said.Watching video of Chen’s 2018 performances, new Marlins pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre Jr. believes he’s identified aspects of the big lefty’s approach that can be tweaked.“Some of it is usage, or I’ll just say lack of command on certain parts of the plate, and some is quality of pitches,” Stottlemyre said.On Saturday night, Chen turned around what had been a disappointing spring. Working after starter Pablo Lopez Jake Smolinski Jersey , Chen allowed only one hit in four shutout innings against Washington.Mattingly praised Chen’s aggressiveness and variance of speeds. Prior to that outing, Chen allowed nine runs in 3 1/3 Grapefruit League innings. Public bettors struggled over the weekend, as teams getting more than 50% of bets got crushed.Tonight they're focused on three more plays, although they aren't as lopsided as usual.‘Twas not the best weekend for public bettors. Teams getting more than 50% of bets went 11-20 over the past two days, losing 12.7 units for a -41% return on investment.Perhaps it’s only coincidence, but following the tough weekend, tonight’s most popular betting percentages aren’t quite as lopsided as usual. Of Monday’s most popular plays, only two have received more than 70% of bets.>> All odds as of 1:45 p.m. ET. Download The Action Network App to get real-time MLB odds and track your betsAtlanta Braves (-164) vs. Miami Marlins7:35 p.m. ETWith 76% of bettors behind the Braves, they’re the most popular play Monday night. Those bets have accounted for 73% of dollars http://www.athleticsfanproshop.com/authentic-khris-davis-jersey , and the Braves have barely moved from their opening number of -163 to -164.Why the public loves Atlanta: Miami is 11.5 games behind the Braves, who are making a push for their first postseason appearance since 2013. Weighing the relative importance of this game to each team makes this a pretty easy decision for the public.Rockies-Cardinals Betting Preview: All Signs Point To Under, But Ignore ThemRead now Oakland Athletics (-147) vs. Toronto Blue Jays10:05 p.m. ETThe A’s have attracted 71% of bettors tonight, but those bettors have accounted for just 38% of dollars. Like the Braves’ price, the Athletics’ line hasn’t moved much from its opening number of -145.Why the public loves Oakland: The 61-win A’s just suffered a three-game sweep at the hands of the Rockies. What does that mean to public bettors? Oakland is due.San Francisco Giants (-102) at San Diego Padres10:10 p.m. ETSixty-nine percent of bettors have made the Giants tonight’s third-most popular side. They’ve also landed 80% of dollars to this point, but have fallen from -118 to -102.Why the public loves San Francisco: At 42-66, the Padres are the worst team in the National League, yet they’re a slight favorite right now against the 53-54 Giants. That San Francisco price is just too good for the public to pass up.