ANDREW GOLD
Braves -1½ +145
I know most will think I'm crazy for doing this but the Braves are definitely worth a look here on the RL. They send Teheran to the mound who has just been sensational this year. In 13 innings pitched he has yet to give up a run and those games were both on the road against the Pirates and Mets.
Padres are a team I want no part of even though they have been a surprise early in the season. IN Chacin only road start this season he 3 and third giving up 9 earned runs on 8 hits including two home runs. The Padres have no offense and the Braves will put it to them here tonight
DUSTIN HAWKINS
Houston at Oakland
Play: Houston -150
Houston has the seventh best batting average at .266 and the eighth best era at 3.47. Oakland's batting average is 16th, at .236 and their era is 14th at 3.99.Astros are 4-0 in their last 4 games vs. a right-handed starter.Athletics are 10-27 in their last 37 vs. American League West.
TEDDY DAVIS
Tigers vs. Indians
Play: Tigers +143
The Indians are sure getting all sort of love right now early this season. While everyone knows they will get better as the season goes on right now these prices are crazy.
The Indians have lost 5 of 6 and there is no reason to back them here with not one of their top pitchers. Bauer struggled in his only start giving up 4 earned runs in 5 and two thirds. He has also struggled against the Tigers in his career in 9 games with a 6.99 ERA.
Norris for the Tigers is a smooth throwing lefty. In 3 games against the Indians he is 1-0 with a 2.70 ERA. Tigers are also playing better ball winning 5 of their last 7.
Wunderdog
San Jose @ Edmonton
Pick: Edmonton -135
Young Edmonton learned a valuable lesson in Game 1: don't sit on a lead. The Oilers jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first period only to get outshot 34-9 the rest of the way in a 3-2 home loss. San Jose outshot Edmonton 28-7 through the final 40 minutes and finished with a 44-19 edge. San Jose is still on a 5-9 run and plays its second straight road game. The Sharks played without star center Joe Thornton, who is day-to-day with a left knee injury. Edmonton plays its third straight home contest and is strong all around at eighth in goals scored and allowed, plus fifth in the NHL on the power play. The Oilers are on a 12-3 run, including 9-1 at home. They are also 19-7 when playing on one day of rest, so back the home team in bounce-back mode.
Jason Sharpe
Cleveland (-160) over Detroit
The two best teams in the American League Central go head to head here in this one. The Cleveland Indians won the AL Central division last year as they owned the Tigers, beating them 14 of the 18 times that these two teams faced off. Detroit goes with left-hander Daniel Norris in this game. Norris is a solid up-and-coming southpaw, but he has not looked sharp early on this year as he posted an ERA above 6.00 in the spring and was shaky in his regular-season debut also. The soon to be 24-year-old has been a slow starter in the past with an ERA of 4.22 in the first half of the baseball season compared to a solid 3.43 ERA after the All-Star break. It's been the opposite for Cleveland's Trevor Bauer as he's been a quick starter the past years as he's posted his lowest monthly ERA in the month of April throughout his career. The Indians were tough at home last year as they ended up tied for the most home wins in the American League in 2016. Added all up and they look the much better side here in this one.
Indian Cowboy
St. Louis (+130) over New York Yankees
We are going to be a little gutsy and take the Cardinals on the road against the Yankees behind last year's disappointment in Michael Wacha. But, Wacha has come back with a vengeance. In his first outing since giving up 17 runs in 12 innings of work in September, Wacha pitched strong against the Reds in giving up 1 run on 3 hits en route to a 10-4 win for the Cardinals. Wacha took a lot of heat for his poor performance in September of 2016, and we like him to keep that fire and motivation as he pitches against the Yankees. The Yankees have talent but are very, very young. And, as they face a pitcher who is motivated and who they have very little experience against, don't be surprised to see Wacha very strong in this outing of interleague play.
Allen Eastman
Washington (-1.5) over Philadelphia
For this free play I see a blowout. This one should be Aaron Nola and Stephen Strasburg. The Nationals are going to want revenge against Nola. The last time they faced him was just last week in a 17-3 win by the Phillies. Nola won't be so fortunate here. The last time he started in Washington was last June. He allowed four runs in just three innings. Some of Nola's worst starts in his young career have come against the Nationals, and he had a 5.13 ERA against them last year. The Phillies are now just 2-5 in his seven starts against Washington. Strasburg beat Philadelphia last week, and his stuff has been really good to start the season. Washington should dominate this division this season, and I think that they will win the opener in this series.
Buster Sports
Baltimore at Toronto
Play: Toronto -132
The Toronto Blue Jays have had a rough go of things to start the season. Besides having no offense and starting the year 1-8, they have now lost their best player in 3B Josh Donaldson. We see a Blue Jay club that was picked to have a good chance of winning the American League East coming together tonight without their best player. They also have an advantage on the mound tonight as they send RH Aaron Sanchez (2016: 15-2, 3.00 ERA) to the hill and he faces the Orioles LH Wade Miley (2016: 9-13, 5.37 ERA) Sanchez had a great start for the Blue Jays in his last outing allowing only 1 run in 7 innings. As for Miley he also had a good start last time out but he has struggled against the Blue Jays in recent games sporting a 5.57 ERA in 6 games. We had this game at 160 for the Jays. At the time of this writing we are only laying 132 with the Jays. We see lots of VALUE here and as you know when we see VALUE we take it.
Gary Bart
Orioles at Blue Jays
Play: Orioles +138
This is an important series for Toronto. They are off to a slow start and lost two straight in Baltimore in last week. The Orioles are coming off a win in the opener last night. Toronto has just one win this season. Aaron Sanchez makes his second start of the year for Toronto.
Jack Brayman
Lost my free play last night on the Cincinnati Reds. Oh well, it's a comp play. The important thing is I hit my 50 Dimer on the Red Sox over Pittsburgh. Tonight, for my freebie, let's play the Washington Nationals on the Run Line, over the Philadelphia Phillies.
Though pitchers are automatically listed when making Run Line wagers, I am insisting you DO NOT worry about who the scheduled starters are. In the event of a scratch, you MUST re-wager the game with the new pitcher(s) who are scheduled. This play will stand no matter who pitches for either team.
The Phillies arrive in the nation's capital riding a three-game skid, and that won't bode well in trying to keep pace with Washington's power-packed lineup.
I would have to say that other than Anthony Rendon, the Nationals - as a team - are hitting incredible right now. They lead the league with a .300 batting average, and top the bigs with a slugging percentage of .497.
At home, Washington is hitting .317 in six games, while it has a .524 slugging percentage at Nationals Park.
And while I know I said I wasn't worried about the pitchers, it is important to note that Stephen Strasburg is 8-2 with a 2.86 ERA in 18 starts against the Phillies. Plus, the current Philadelphia hitters have an average of .210 against him. So since he is automatically listed on this run line play, I figured I'd give you that nugget.
Your free winner is the Nationals on the Run Line.
3* NATIONALS -1.5
JOHN MARTIN
Houston Astros -125
The Houston Astros got off to a poor start last season that cost them the AL West. They have made a point of starting fast in 2017, and they've done just that. Ace Dallas Keuchel also looks back, going 1-0 with a 0.64 ERA and 0.500 WHIP while allowing one earned run and seven base runners in 14 innings over his two starts. Kuechel has posted a 2.77 ERA in 12 starts against Oakland in his career. Kendall Graveman has a 4.46 ERA in his six career starts against Houston. The Astros have the edge in rest here as they had yesterday off, while the A's played in Kansas City.
BRANDON LEE
Red Sox -134
Boston is worth a look here at home against the Rays. This looks like a great pitching matchup with Chris Archer going for Tampa Bay and Boston sending out Rick Porcello. Archer has pitched well in his first two starts, posting a 2.45 ERA over 14 2/3 innings. However, both of those starts came at home. Keep in mind that Archer had a 2.65 ERA in 16 home starts last year and a 5.44 ERA in 17 road starts. Archer has also had miserable luck against these Red Sox. He's 1-11 with a 5.38 ERA and 1.649 WHIP in 16 career starts. On the flip side of this, Porcello is 10-4 with a 3.03 ERA in 17 career starts against the Rays. I just see too much value here on Boston to pass up.
JACK JONES
Detroit Tigers +156
The Cleveland Indians are getting way too much respect from oddsmakers and the betting public in the early going after making a run to the World Series last year. They have opened 4-5 while costing bettors 4.3 units. They are hitting just .217 and scoring 3.9 runs per game thus far.
Now Cleveland is another big favorite here despite the fact that Detroit has the edge on the mound. Trevor Bauer is 3-3 with a 6.99 ERA and 1.813 WHIP in nine career starts against Detroit. Meanwhile, Daniel Norris is 1-0 with a 2.70 ERA in three career starts against Cleveland.
Norris in an impressive 11-4 (+9.8 Units) against the money line in road games over the last two seasons. The Tigers are 4-0 in Norris' last four road starts. Detroit is 21-5 in its last 26 during game 1 of a series. The Indians are 1-5 in Bauer's last six starts vs. Detroit.
DAVE PRICE
Kansas City Royals -129
Danny Duffy went 12-3 with a 3.51 ERA for the Royals in 2016. He is 1-0 with a 2.08 ERA while allowing only 3 earned runs over 13 innings in 2017 to start the season. He is 1-0 with a 3.00 ERA in his last 2 starts against the Angels, yielding 4 earned runs in 12 innings. This is a tough spot for JC Ramirez to have to make his first major league start for the Angels after 111 career relief appearances. The Royals are 33-12 in Duffy's last 45 starts in the -100 to -150 price range. Kansas City is 24-8 in Duffy's last 32 home starts.
BLACK WIDOW
Detroit Tigers +149
Bets against home favorites with a money line of -150 or more (Cleveland) - American League team with a starting pitcher whose ERA was between 4.20 and 4.70 last season are 45-27 (+45.3 units) since 1997. This situation is 5-1 (+7.3 units) this season alone. Trevor Bauer sports a 6.99 ERA in 9 starts against the Tigers. Daniel Norris has a 2.70 ERA in 3 starts against Cleveland.