Sports Odds And Picks
NY YANKEES -145
TORONTO -120
Dave Malinsky
Detroit Tigers @ Cleveland Indians Aug 1, 2009 7:05PM
PICK: over
REASON FOR PICK: 4* #922 CLEVELAND/DETROIT Over
The last time that Rick Porcello took the mound we put an Over ticket into play, noting how he had literally hit the wall in his rookie season. We lost that ticket, but it had nothing to do with Porcello’s part of the equation – he allowed five runs in 5.1 innings against the White Sox, with an ominous secondary chart that showed that both his home runs and walks allowed exceeded his strikeouts. Or in this case, strikeout, since he could fan only one of the 24 batters that he faced. Now the 20 year old will likely go over 100 innings for the season tonight (he enters at 97.1), and with his confidence wobbling this is not a situation for a turnaround. And keep in mind that his stuff is not all that dominating, but that early-season opponents lacked scouting reports. In four “second look” games it has been an unsightly 7.45 allowance, and this will be the second go-around this season for a Cleveland offense that has been one of baseball’s best since the break.
We write about Jeremy Sowers often, almost always getting the money, and he simply is who he is – a guy that is crafty enough to fool overly aggressive hitters at the AAA level, but just does not have enough pop in his arm to succeed from major League mounds. In going 1-6/6.42, 4-9/5.95 and now 3-7/5.15 the past three seasons the cement is getting dry for his epitaph, and his struggles to get out right-handers makes him a particularly bad matchup vs. the Tigers. Seven Detroit players have at least five career at-bats against him and six of those seven are hitting .333 or better, with Curtis Granderson, Marcus Thames and Miguel Cabrera all having home runs in their portfolios. There is no particular reason to believe any of that changes in this setting.
Not only is there the potential for a lot of early scoring here; the pace never slows down. With neither Edwin Jackson nor Fausto Carmona working many innings last night the bullpens got a high exposure in the series opener, and note that both closers had long stints, with Fernando Rodney going two full innings at 29 pitches, and Kerry Wood 1.1 and 26. That means that the door stays wide open for the hitters throughout in this one.
Chris Jordan
100♦ UNDER Astros/Cardinals (WITH Rodriguez and Carpenter)
100♦ UNDER Mariners/Rangers (WITH Hernandez/Hunter) -
100♦ GIANTS (WITH Lincecum) -
Triple Crown Sports
4* Blue Jays / A's under 9 Runs
Teddy Covers
Tigers/Indians Over
Wunderdog
Game: Washington at Pittsburgh (7:05 PM Eastern)
Pick: 4 units on Pittsburgh +105 (moneyline) (risk 4 to win 4.2)
Game: Arizona at New York Mets (7:10 PM Eastern)
Pick: 3 units on New York Mets +120 (moneyline) (risk 3 to win 3.6)
Game: Arizona at New York Mets (7:15 PM Eastern)
Pick: 5 units on New York Mets +1.5 runs -140 (runline) (risk 5 to win 3.6)
Game: Los Angeles Angels at Minnesota (7:20 PM Eastern)
Pick: 3 units on Game Total UNDER 10 -110 (risk 3 to win 2.7)
Priority Sports Info
TB Rays -260
The Duke's Sports
FOR THE LARGEST SELECTION OF FREE SERVlCE PLAYS VlSlT THESPREAD.COM
Atlanta (-122) 1.5 Units
FOR THE LARGEST SELECTION OF FREE SERVlCE PLAYS VlSlT THESPREAD.COM
Derek Lowe is in good form (2.63 ERA) and ready to take on his former team in which he sports a respectable 3.21 ERA. Moreover, Atlanta's bullpen controls a solid 2.45 ERA over its last 10 appearances. On the other hand, Randy Wolf has had trouble vs the Braves. He sports a lofty 8.75 ERA over his last 8 starts vs the Braves. And the Dodgers bullpen, which won't have Claudio Vargas (traded), sports a sluggish 4.54 ERA over their last 10 appearances. The Dodgers have struggles at Atlanta (1-4) and won't have an easy time here. The Braves are resilient (7-1 off a loss) and 7-0 after scoring 2 runs or less. Braves the call.
Robert Ferringo
Detroit over Cleveland
Colorado over Cincinnati
Tampa Bay (-1.5) over Kansas City
N.Y. Yankees over Chicago White Sox
Boston over Baltimore
N.Y. Mets over Arizona
Today's Totals
OVER 8.5 Colorado at Cincinnati
OVER 8.5 Washington at Pittsburgh
UNDER 9.0 Toronto at Oakland
UNDER 8.5 Seattle at Texas
UNDER 8.5 L.A. Dodgers at Atlanta
Platinum Plays Win
Pitt +115
Under 9 Mets
Cubs -155
Bos -175
Over 10 Angels
Oakland +115
charlie sports
mlb. seattle @ texas under 8' runs,
astros @ cards under 7 runs &
phillies @ giants under 7 runs( 500* 3 team parlay).
mlb. washington-125 (30*)
mlb. toronto-120 (20*)
mlb. san francisco-145 (20*)
mlb. detroit-110 (10*)
mlb. atlanta-135 (10*) free play
Chris Jordan
100♦ UNDER Astros/Cardinals (WITH Rodriguez and Carpenter) - Has a 1-0 appeal to it, right? Can't you see it, one team scores in the ninth to win it? Wandy Rodriguez and Chris Carpenter will be up for this one, as they're both 2-0 in their last three starts, and neither has an ERA higher than 1.20 over that span. Ten of Carpenter's 15 outings have stayed low, while four of Rodriguez's last five road starts have done the same. There have been some overs to note for Houston, but it has still stayed low in more times than not, including 10 of its last 14 against NL Cetral foes. The Redbirds are on under streaks of 9-1 as the favorite, 14-1 with Carpenter going on Saturdays, 7-2 when they're in off a win, 11-4 when Carpenter toes the rubber and the total is between 7 and 8-1/2 and 4-0 when they're hosting a losing team.
100♦ UNDER Mariners/Rangers (WITH Hernandez/Hunter) - Six of the last seven meetings this season have stayed under, and considering the pitchers going tonight, I think I am okay in betting it'll be seven of eight. Felix Hernandez toes the slab for Seattle, while it's wunderkid Tommy Hunter for the Rangers. With Hernandez, I'm talking about an All-Star who has gone 7-1 with a 1.91 ERA while fanning 80 in 84-2/3 innings in 12 road starts. On the flipside, Hunter will be looking to win a fourth consecutive decision, as he is 3-0 with a 1.11 ERA in his last four starts. All six of Hunter's starts have stayed low. With Settle, the under is on winning runs of 9-2 on Saturdays, 26-8 on the road and 9-2 with Hernandez on the hill. With the Rangers, the low number is on streaks of 19-6 on Saturdays, 21-6 at home against right-handers and 38-15 at home.
100♦ GIANTS (WITH Lincecum) - You’ve got to ask yourself, if the defending champs are in town, fresh off a blowout win and sporting a new look to their rotation, what are the oddsmakers doing making anyone – even Tim Lincecum – a big favorite like this? Real simple, he’s deserved of the number and clearly who is supposed to win tonight. Thus, I’m laying the number. These two have split the first two meetings, but the host has won seven of the last 11 meetings in this rivalry, while Philadelphia has lost five of its last eight games at AT&T Park. San Francisco will be able to get the bats going once again, against Joe Blanton, who is 3-2 with a 4.21 ERA on the road and 1-2 with a 5.74 ERA in five career starts against the Giants (all in interleague play when he was with Oakland). Also, the Phillies are 0-3 in his last three on the highway and 0-4 in his last four as an underdog. Lincecum, meanwhile, is 6-1 with a 2.13 ERA in 10 home starts and in two outings last year against the Phils, he yielded six runs (only two earned) in 14 innings (1.29 ERA). Take the home team here.
Bob Akmens
Yankees
Red Sox
JACK JONES
15* Colorado Rockies -145
I give Rockies the edge over the Reds in Cincinnati, mostly due to their hitting and their opposing pitcher. Colorado is posting 4.9 runs per game, compared to Cincinnati's 4.0 runs per game. Reds' starter, Homer Baily is 2-2 in 7 starts this season, but he brings in a 6.87 ERA and 1.53 WHIP, including a 1-2 record 9.39 ERA, and 1.76 WHIP over his last 3 starts. Rockies starter, Ubaldo Jimenez has a losing record this year, but he has been solid overall. Jimenez has a 3.74 ERA and 1.23 WHIP in 12 road starts this season and is 1-0 with a 1.50 ERA in 2 career starts against the Reds (both last year). The Reds are hitting an embarrassing .180 as a team and are putting up just 3.0 runs per game over the past week, and they've lost 10 of their last 11 overall. We'll keeping fading the Reds, who are showing no signs of improvement.
Jim Fiest
5* GOY Dodgers