Saturday's betting tips

Weather to watch

Indianapolis Colts at Washington Redskins: A 60 percent chance of rain could make this Week 3 preseason clash a wet and sloppy one.

Washington Nationals at Philadelphia Phillies: A 30 percent chance of a thunderstorm at first pitch. The threat of precipitation increases to 50 percent throughout the evening.

Who’s hot?

The San Francisco Giants. The Giants are riding a five-game win streak into Saturday afternoon’s contest with the Braves. 

Who’s not?

The Cleveland Indians. The Tribe has dropped nine straight contests heading into Saturday’s tilt with Hiroki Kuroda and the Yankees. Cleveland has recorded a pair of losing skids of at least nine games this season. That run of futility marks a first in the franchise's 112-year history.

Key stat

Texas Rangers third baseman Adrian Beltre is the second player in MLB history to hit three home runs in a game and a cycle in a seven-day span. The other - Joe DiMaggio in 1948, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

Game of the day

Atlanta Braves at San Francisco Giants (-150, 6.5)

Injury that shouldn’t be overlooked

Los Angeles Dodgers right-hander Chad Billingsley left Friday night's game against Miami in the fourth inning with pain in his right elbow, an apparent recurrence of an injury that landed him on the DL for most of July. The Dodgers are waiting for the results of an MRI taken last night. Billingsley entered the contest with a 6-0 record and 1.29 ERA in his previous six starts.

Notable quotable

"The NFL really needs to kiss and make up with the refs, these replacements are horrible. Frankly, it's kind of embarrassing."- Minnesota Vikings punter Chris Kluwe after the team’s 12-10 loss to the Chargers on Friday.

Betting news and notes

-Houston Astros interim manager Tony DeFrancesco admitted that he would have no issues welcoming veteran hurler Roger Clemens to the team, should that move come about. "If the Astros feel that it's time for him to come up here, then it's their decision, but I have nothing against Roger - he's a Hall of Fame pitcher," DeFrancesco said.

-The Blue Jays pushed Left-hander Aaron Laffey to the bullpen to open a rotation spot for Brandon Morrow. Laffey had gone 3-5 with a 4.78 ERA as a starter and could start again when Toronto shifts to a six-man rotation in September.

-A potential blockbuster trade circled involving the quartet of Adrian Gonzalez, Carl Crawford, Josh Beckett and Nick Punto being sent to the Los Angeles Dodgers for a package of prospects on Friday. The deal was finalized Saturday morning. Beckett was scheduled for Saturday’s start against the Royals but will have to be replaced. The Red Sox will pay just $12 million of the over $270 million owed to Beckett, Crawford, Gonzalez, and Punto