Baseball betting news: Improved pitching affecting 2010 MLB totals

One of the main themes of the 2010 Major League Baseball season has been the improved performance of pitchers. There have been several no-hitters that have been tossed with a few more close calls. Through August 17th, 16 starting pitchers have an earned run average of under three. The lower scoring games have been evident in the over/under results in baseball this season. Of the 30 MLB squads, only 9 clubs have gone over the total in the majority of its games in 2010. The Arizona Diamondbacks have been a clear exception to the trend this season. Arizona (72-45-3 over) has gone over the total in 2010 in more than 61% of its contests. The Diamondbacks have given up an average of 5.5 runs per game to rank as the worst pitching staff in baseball. The Milwaukee Brewers rank second in the over rankings with an over mark of 63-50-7. Like Arizona, Milwaukee has been unable to find some consistent pitching. The Brewers are allowing 5.3 runs per outing to rank as the third-worst staff in the majors. The Boston Red Sox (60-53-7 over) have been the top over squad in the American League. The Red Sox are one of just two teams in the majors with an average of more than five runs scored per game this season. Boston is averaging 5.1 runs per game to rank just behind the New York Yankees (5.2). Athletics are top under team The Oakland Athletics (64-46-8 under) have gone below the total more than 58% of the time this year to rank as the top under squad in the majors. The average total score of an Oakland game has been just 7.9 runs. The Baltimore Orioles are next on the under list at 66-48-6. The Orioles have managed to produce a majority of unders despite allowing over five runs per game. On average, the Seattle Mariners (64-48-8 under) have played the lowest scoring games in baseball this season. The typical Mariners game has yielded an average of just 7.6 runs. Seattle is last in the majors in runs scored with just 3.3 runs per outing. The New York Mets are the top under team in the National League at 64-50-5. Its home stadium has played a role in some of the unders. Since it opened last season, Citi Field has been one of the most favorable pitching ballparks in baseball.?