Rocketman
4* SF Giants +140
4* Red Sox -140
Mike Lineback
4* Jays/Red Sox Under 7.5
4* Yankees/Mariners Under 7
JR O'Donnell
3* LA Angels -110
The 46-42 Los Angels - 110 get our call tonight as a 3* J bomb winner, the offense will get moving tonight as the Angels were embarrassed vs the Chi Sox, the Angels grab our spotlight as the Pinero show will shut down the A's in good old time fashion, he is 6-0 the last 6 starts and a smooth under 3 ERA. The Oakland A's are mired in a mini slump of there own and the Angels do SCORE AND SUPPORT PINERO! The A's have scored 4 runs the last couple games. JR's Power rating has the Angels - 145 and the -110 mark here has value!
Tony George
Royals / White Sox Under 9
With Chen on the Hill for KC, and Buehrle for the White Sox, both in excellent form and both backed by bullpens with less than a 3 ERA their last 10, not to mention a rivalry type division game, you have a tight one on deck tonight. 4 out of the last 65 in this series have gone under, and these two southpaws tonight rarely put runners on bases. Chen has been on fire as of late, a 0.87 WHIP his last 3, and KC is red hot winning 10 out of 13, and winning a series 2 weeks ago I attended in KC against Chicago. The opening game of series like this, in this type of pitching scenario, usually warrants and under look and although KC bats are hot, I think on the road in their 3rd straight series on the road, they weaken against a good home pitcher tonight and KC also keeps the bats at bay for the WS. Play 1 Unit on the Under.
Marc Lawrence
Florida Marlins +120
When the Marlins meet the Diamondbacks in Arizona tonight they will do so knowing Ricky Nolasco enters tonight game in commanding KW form with two walks and 28 strikeouts in his last three starts. In addition, Nolaso is 3-0 in his last three starts and 11-6 in his last 17 team starts during July. With Arizona's Dan Haren just 1-3 in his career team starts against Florida and Nolasco 4-1 in his career starts in this series, look for the Fish to fry up the Diamondbacks tonight. We recommend a 3-unit play on Florida.
Larry Ness
10* Division Game of the Month Detroit Tigers -130
The Tigers lost THREE of their final four regular season games last year, ending in a tie for the AL Central title with the Twins. They then blew a 3-0 lead in a one-game playoff, losing 6-5 in Minnesota (12 innings). The Tigers have lost SIX of their nine meetings with the Twins this season but based on "current form," sure have to like their chances to win this three-game series this weekend. The Tigers are wrapping up a nine-game homestand this weekend, and are already 5-1 which ups their home mark in 2010 to an AL-best 30-12 (.714). Only the Braves (30-10) own a better home record but the Tigers lead MLB in money won at home, going plus-$1,589 vs the moneyline. The Twins, who led the division by 4 1/2 games less than a month ago, have lost 11 of 16 and now find themselves behind both the Tigers (two games) and White Sox (half-game) in the division they've won FIVE times since 2002. More bad news comes in the fact that Justin Morneau (.345, 18 HRs, 56 RBI) may not play. He sat out Thursday's 8-1 loss to Toronto because of a mild concussion after he was accidentally kneed in the head the previous night. "He wasn’t feeling very good. We’ll see how he does (Friday),” manager Ron Gardenhire told the Twins’ official website. “We’ll give him a day and then we’ll (aim) for (Friday). I can’t go any deeper than that.” The starting pitchers will be Francisco Liriano and Justin Verlander. Verlander got off to an awful start in 2010 (6.95 ERA in his first four starts, although the team won THREE of those four games) but he's posted a 3.07 ERA over his last 13 games, including a 1.81 ERA in his seven home starts in that span. Verlander 'EXPLODED' on the scene as a rookie in 2006 and had another excellent season in 2007 (team was a combined 41-21 in his starts those two years). He then suffered through a very poor 2008 season, going 11-17 (4.84 ERA), as the Tigers went 13-20 in his starts. His moneyline of minus-$1,351 was the WORST of any MLB starter tha~t year. However, he was back in fine form in 2009, going 19-9 (3.45 ERA), as the Tigers went 23-12 in his starts. Same this year, as he's 10-5 (3.85 ERA) in 17 starts (team is 12-5). Liriano knows a little about having a big rookie season, as he also was a star in 2006. He went 12-3 with a 2.16 ERA but arm troubles forced him to miss all of 2007. He then made just 14 appearances in 2008 (6-4, 3.91 ERA) before struggling for most of 2009 (5-13, 5.80 ERA / team was 9-15). He began this year healthy, opening 4-0 with a 1.50 ERA in five starts (team was 5-0). However, he's just 2-6 over his last 11 starts (team is 3-8), going 0-3 with a 4.68 ERA in his last four (team is 0-4). Both the Twins and Liriano are slumping, while the Tigers look to finish a strong first half of the season in style. All Detroit, tonight!
Lenny Del Genio
20* Washington -130
Washington sends out ace rookie Strasburg tonight to take on the hot Giants. SF wasn’t playing very good baseball, that was until they went to Milwaukee and swept the Brewers winning four straight games. They did it with good pitching as the Giants allowed the Brewers to score only seven runs in the four games. However, we look for the winning streak to get snapped tonight as the Giants send Cain to the hill. The SF righty has struggled mightily in his last three starts posting a 8.59 ERA. On the road this season he has a 3.30 ERA and a 3-6 team start record. Cain is not a good pitcher to have out there when the Giants are on a winning streak as he has a 2-10 TSR when SF is on a 3 or more game winning streak. Strasburg has been as good as advertised so far posting a 2.45 ERA and striking out 53 hitters in only 36 2/3 innings pitched. With the day off this week for the Nationals, Strasburg starts tonight with an extra days rest, and he should come out firing tonight. SF got fat on some weak pitching in Milwaukee, not the case tonight in Washington. Strasburg gets an easy win tonight.
VINCE AKINS
Angels at A's
Pick: Angels
Angels starter Joel Pineiro has now worked five straight quality outings, allowing a total of six runs in the five starts, and has quietly been an All-Star caliber pitcher since May. We’ll grab him on this short line tonight.
La is the slight favorite here and that’s been a good situation for Pineiro as the Angels are 6-0 since May 16, 2010 when Joel Pineiro starts as a favorite for a net profit of $600.
Pineiro worked seven shutout innings his last start in an 11-0 win against Kansas City on Sunday night baseball. The Angels are 5-0 since June 11, 2010 when Joel Pineiro starts after his team won the last time he started for a net profit of $550.
That was LA’s last win as they have now lost four straight. Yesterday, they fell to Chicago, 1-0, managing only two hits and seven left on base individually. The Angels are 8-0 since May 27, 2009 as a favorite after a loss in which they left fewer than 10 men on base for a net profit of $800.
Oakland starter Vin Mazzaro has been strong lately as well, winning his last two starts by allowing a single run in each. The Athletics are 1-10 since July 19, 2009 as a home dog when they won the last two games their starter started for a net profit of $830 when playing against.
SPORTSBOOK BREAKERS PREDICTION: La Angels 4, OAKLAND 2
Scott Rickenbach
10* Colorado / San Diego Over
Jorge De La Rosa is back from injury for the Rockies but he shouldn’t be expected to immediately resume in top form. For one thing, the southpaw had a rocky April with the Rockies before being put on the disabled list. For another thing, De La Rosa’s rehab outings in the minors (leading up to this start) saw him go 1-2 with a 5.52 ERA. The southpaw has just one win in seven career starts against the Padres and he’s compiled a 5.30 ERA in his career against San Diego. Though the Padres certainly aren’t known as an offensive juggernaut, note that they are coming off of a three game set where they averaged six runs per game against the Nationals. The Padres pounded out 37 hits in the three games and that gives their lineup plenty of confidence as they head to hitter-friendly Coors Field for this three game set with a division rival. The Padres will need all the offense they can get because we do expect Kevin Correia to get absolutely walloped in this outing.
The Padres Correia is facing a Rockies team that is 8-2 in their last 10 games and that has averaged 6.8 runs per game during their hot streak. Note that Correia has a 5.05 ERA on the season and he’s particularly struggled over the last two months. Yes, Correia was 4-1 in April but he’s had just one win since then! Also, before shutting down the weak-hitting Astros in his most recent start, the Padres right-hander had allowed at least four earned runs in six of his last nine starts! This included getting clobbered by Colorado in a late June start against them. Correia compiled a 5.22 ERA in May and a 7.83 ERA in June. One good start against a weak-hitting Houston team hasn’t changed our mind about the direction that Correia is heading in. Also, he has a 4.53 ERA in pitcher friendly Petco Park in San Diego this season but he’s compiled a 6.07 ERA in his road outings this season. The Rockies have been pounding the ball and are on a 9-2 run to the over. The Padres also have been hitting better than usual and they are currently on a 7-3 run to the over. The Rockies are 2-0 to the over in De La Rosa’s last two starts. The Padres are 4-1 to the over in Correia’s last five road starts! Play OVER the total in Colorado as a *10* Top Play selection.
8* Philadelphia / Cincinnati Over
The Phillies just saw Mike Leake on June 29th and they hammered him for six earned runs in six innings. Leake is 6-1 on the season with a 3.38 ERA but his current form is definitely heading the wrong direction and that’s what keys the value with a selection like this. While he shows a 3.38 ERA in the books, take a look at what the Reds right-hander has done in his last five starts! Leake has allowed 20 earned runs on 40 hits and 14 walks in 28.1 innings of work. That equates to an average of nearly two base runners per inning and when you factor in that he’s allowed 7 homers in these 5 starts, you can see why Leake’s ERA has been on a sharp rise recently. A start at hitter-friendly Citizens Bank Park is unlikely to do any favors for Leake. Even though the Phillies are still battling through injuries, they have averaged 5.3 runs per game in their last half dozen games and we look for them to pound Leake and a subpar Reds bullpen.
The Phillies bullpen hasn’t been much better than the Reds pen this season and both pens got some extra work last night as the result of a game that went 12 innings. With Joe Blanton on the mound, the Phillies bullpen could once again be called upon for extra work tonight and that’s great news for our over. Even though Blanton has been pitching a little better recently, he’s still having trouble avoiding the big hits and big innings. Blanton has allowed 13 homers in his last 10 starts. He has a 6.27 ERA on the season. The Phillies right-hander got hit at a .341 clip in his five June starts and then he started July by allowing one of the NL’s weakest offenses, the Pirates, to get to him for five earned runs in six innings. Now Blanton is dealing with a Reds offense that is among the best in the league. Cincinnati just saw him on June 29th and, though they didn’t enjoy great success, they only struck out twice against him so he wasn’t fooling the hitters. The Reds got three runs on eight hits against Blanton in that start and, seeing him again in less than two weeks time, Cincinnati is likely to enjoy even more success in the rematch. The Reds are 33-22 to the over in night games this season. The Phillies are 7-0 to the over in Blanton’s last seven starts! The Reds are 3-0 to the over in Leake’s last three starts! Play OVER the total in Philadelphia as an *8* Regular Play selection.
NSA
20* Boston Red Sox -135
20* LA Dodgers -145
20* Washington/SF Giants Under 6.5
Dave Cokin
Cleveland Indians
Dave Cokin
Cleveland Indians
Dave Cokin
Matchup: Cleveland at Tampa Bay
Time: 7:10 PM EDT (Fri)
Listed pitchers must go: (R) CARMONA, F vs. (R) SHIELDS, J
Play: Cleveland (ML +196)
You'll be hard pressed to find gigantic underdogs where everything looks great for the upset on paper. Certainly that's the case here as the Indians have lost three in a row and the red hot Rays are on a 6-0 streak. But I believe the road team has a real shot to get the shocker tonight. Fausto Carmona is seldom sensational, but he's generally reliable. The same cannot be said for struggling James Shields, who has had all kinds of trouble lately after tearing things up early. Right now, Shields simply isn't pitching well enough to justify his role as big chalk, and Carmona is a tough enough adversary to give the Tribe a real opportunity here. The big price is the key that gets me over the top and willing to go for the shocker with the Indians.
Paul Leiner
50* Braves -110
25* Nationals -145
Asian Executive asiatic idiot
Vegas Arena Line Error of the Month - Orlando
Arena Parlay of Our Generation - Orl & Orl Over
Arena 0-2
CFL Total of the Year - Toronto Under
CFL 2-1
MLB First Half Lock of the Last 10 Years - Detroit Under
Executive
250% Oakland A's