Dave Cokin
Baltimore Orioles
Cleveland Indians
JR O'Donnell
3* Brewers/Cardinals Over 9
Plain and simple tonight as the Cards own the Brewers Dave Bush who is coming off a terrible outing in Zona, We note that D Bush gave up four back to back dingers & 7 runs and eight hits in 5 1/3 innings.The right-hander has a 7.52 ERA in his last 5 starts. D Bush has a 10.59 ERA and 0-3 at Busch stadium. Jamie Garcia was bombed last outing also he is 10-5 and a 4.78 ERA that is getting higher! We note that the Cards hurler has an inflated ERA in his last 4 ballgames 6+. & a bad bad 6.97 ERA the last 18 days. Let's look to have this baby fly over total of 9- 115, Over the is 10-4 the last 14 Mil Brewers games on the road!!! 11-4 after tonight.
Teddy Covers
Padres/Cubs Over 8.5
Indians/Royals Under 7.5
Fantasy Sports Gametime
100* Play Atlanta (-175) over Washington
Washington pitcher, Scott Olsen has lost 9 of the last 11 games when pitching on a Tuesday and he has also lost 12 of the last 15 games as a road underdog of +125 to +175. Scott Olsen has lost 8 consecutive games when pitching in the month of August and he is 1-2 over the last 3 starts with an ERA of 9.45.
50* Play St. Louis (-180) over Milwaukee
Milwaukee has lost 5 of the last 7 games and they have also lost 20 of the last 28 road games when the total posted is between 9 and 9.5 runs. Milwaukee pitcher, Dave Bush has lost 7 of the last 8 road games as an underdog of +100 or higher and he is 0-2 over the last 3 starts with an ERA of 8.27.
50* Play New York Yankees (-180) over Detroit
Detroit has lost 17 of the last 22 road games coming off a win and they have also lost 12 of the last 17 games when playing on a Tuesday. New York pitcher, C.C. Sabathia has won 14 of the last 15 games when pitching in the month of August and he is 8-0 at home this season with an ERA of 2.64.
50* Play Chicago (+8.5) over Atlanta
Chicago has won and covered the spread in 5 of the last 6 games vs. Atlanta on the road and they have also covered the spread in 10 of the last 13 games as a road underdog. Chicago has covered the spread in 9 of the last 11 road games when the total posted is 150 points or higher and they have also covered the spread in 8 of the last 9 road games when playing 5 or less games in 14 days.
The Duke's Sports
San Diego (-110) for 2 Units
Padres swinging a good bat now and should get the best of Randy Wells and the beleaguered bullpen. Wells has shown some strength at home but is limited in duration; therefore, the shaky Cubs' bullpen 4.97 ERA last 10 will eventually have to suffer the wrath of the hot Padres' bats and should give Jon Garland the needed run support. Garland, who sports a solid 2.37 ERA over his last 3 starts, should be on his game. SD is 4-1 with Garland vs the NLC. SD is 35-17 in their last 52 game 2 of series; moreover, they're 10-4 on the road vs a team with a losing record and 21-5 vs the NLC. We'll look for the demoralized Cubs to fall to 4-15 in their last 19.
Power Play Wins
Philadelphia
MTi Sports
4* Houston
Rocketman
5* Florida
3* Detroit
Joe D'Amico
White Sox at Twins
Pick: Twins
Minnesota has taken over the A.L. Central. The Twin’s have won 4 in a row and 8 of their L10. Their offense is averaging over 5.5 RPG in their L10 outings. Joe Mauer and Delmon Young have combined for 258 hits and 147 RBI’s. The team sends Scott Baker to the mound He is 7-3 at home TY. The RH is 2-0 vs. the White Sox this season. He faces a slumping Chicago squad that has dropped 7 of their L10. They have been hitting the ball alright. It is both their starting and relieving pitching that has been killing them. They have John Danks at the bump. When the LH starts against Minny, his team is 7-10 behind him, in his career. The White Sox are 7-19 their L26 vs. the Twin’s, 6-20 their L26 games played in Minnesota, and 1-6 in Danks’ L7 road starts vs. the Twin’s. The Twin’s are 6-1 their L7 vs. LH starters, 14-5 in Baker’s L19 home starts, and 22-7 his L29 overall. Take Minnesota.
Stan Lisowski
3* Boston -125
The Red Sox have taken all 7 games against LA this year. In game 1 of a series, they are 14-5 if coming into that game off of a loss. The Angels are just 11-19 vs. the AL East. Boston is 15-5 in Buchholz’s starts this season, while he has a sub-3 ERA pitching in Fenway.
Dwayne Bryant
Oakland -105
* Toronto's Brad Morrow owns a 6.44 ERA & 1.67 WHIP in 11 road starts this season.
* Morrow is coming off a complete game 1-hit shutout with 17 K's, so many bettors will line up to back him tonight at about even money.
* Oakland's Dallas Braden owns a 3.39 ERA & 1.16 WHIP in 12 home starts this season.
* Toronto is batting .223 and scoring just 3.3 runs per game against lefties on the road this season.
* Oakland is batting .257 and scoring 4.6 runs per game against righties at home this season.
* Oakland's pen at home (2.80 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, .212 BAA) owns the edge over Toronto's pen on the road (3.54 ERA, 1.36 WHIP, .241 BAA).
* Toronto is 2-6 in Morrow's last 8 road starts.
* The Athletics are 8-2 in their last 10 home games vs. a right-handed starter.
Rich Green
3* Red Sox
Scott Rickenbach
8* Baltimore / Seattle Over
We’re not sure how many more opportunities we’re going to get to play overs involving Kevin Millwood so you certainly won’t see us passing up on many of them. Millwood’s Orioles are now 7-4 to the over in his last 11 starts. Millwood compiled an 8.82 ERA in June while being hit at a .370 clip. He compiled a 10.66 ERA in July while being hit at a .368 clip. August has been better for Millwood with a 4.34 ERA but that is somewhat deceiving as he’s been fortunate to escape some real trouble situations. The Orioles right-hander has still been getting hit at a .312 clip this month so it’s evident that all his problems are not behind him just yet. Millwood is facing a Mariners team that is 7-4 to the over when they are on the road and the total is 9 or 9.5 runs. Seattle also is 7-4 to the over, since the halfway point this season, when they are playing a team with a losing record on the season.
The Mariners are sending Luke French to the mound tonight. He’s made two night starts this season and both have gone over the total. French has also made two starts where he’s opposed by a right-handed hurler. Both of those starts have gone over the total as well. The Seattle southpaw is facing an Orioles team that has been red-hot at the plate ever since Buck Showalter took over as manager. They rallied again for another late win as they defeated the Mariners in 11 innings last night. Speaking of rallies, both of these bullpens rank among the worst in the league based on bullpen ERA and we foresee more struggles for each of these relief corps’ this evening. As for French, he’s made three road appearances this season (two starts) and he’s compiled a 7.04 ERA while being rocked at a .323 clip! In his career (9 road games, 8 road starts) French has a 6.45 ERA and has been hammered at a .335 clip. He’s now facing the wrong team at the wrong time as the Orioles look to continue a hot surge at the plate that has helped lead the way to a 10-4 run their last 14 games! They’ll need the runs tonight if they want to stay hot because Millwood will continue to “give it up” as well. In other words, expect a slugfest here. Play OVER the total in Baltimore as an *8* Regular Play selection.
8* Atlanta / Washington Over
Atlanta is riding the momentum of rallying for a comeback win over the Dodgers last night as they now host the Nationals tonight. The Braves have now won 9 of their last 12 games and they’ve scored an average 4.8 runs per game during this stretch of a dozen games. With tonight’s total being an 8.5, our magic number is a 4. We say that because if each team gets to 4 runs we’re guaranteed of no worse than a 5-4 final and, of course, that means a win with our over ticket. Atlanta has scored at least 4 runs in 6 of their last 8 games. As for the Nationals, they’ve scored at least 4 runs in 3 of their last 5 games. Washington is currently on a 7-3 run to the over. The Braves are enjoying a solid season and note that the Nationals, since the halfway point of this season, have gone 13-6 to the over when they’re playing a team with a winning record on the year.
Mike Minor is a rookie making just his second start of the season. Rookie hurlers often struggle more in their second start than in the first as the league has already had its first look at them. The fact that Minor gave up four runs (three earned) in six innings to the weak-hitting Astros means that an even tougher outing is likely in store against a Washington team that has significantly more pop in its lineup. The Nationals will need all the runs they can get in this one because Scott Olsen is likely to get rocked here. The Nats southpaw is 1-2 with a 9.45 ERA and has been rocked at a .345 clip since returning to Washington after the All Star break. Olsen has a 5.65 ERA in his 15 games (14 starts) in his career against the Braves. Two decent bullpens involved here but two southpaw starters likely to struggle certainly mitigates the benefit of the two bullpens and we expect this one to cruise over by the middle innings. Play OVER the total in Atlanta as an *8* Regular Play selection.
8* Tampa Bay / Texas Over
Even while dealing with injury issues the Rangers continue to get involved in high-scoring games. Texas fell short on the scoreboard last night, a 6-4 loss, but it was the Rangers 4th over in their last 5 games. Texas has averaged 10 hits per game in their last 11 games. That said, even though the Rangers are just 5-5-1 to the over in these eleven games, it’s evident that they are still hitting the ball just fine and we see a lot of value with the low total posted on this one for Tuesday at Tropicana Field. With tonight’s total being an 8.5, our magic number is a 4. We say that because if each team gets to 4 runs we’re guaranteed of no worse than a 5-4 final and, of course, that means a win with our over ticket. The Rangers have scored at least 4 runs in 8 of their last 11 games. As for the Rays, they’ve scored at least SIX runs in 7 of their last 13 games. Tampa Bay is 32-22 to the over this season when they are facing a team with a winning record on the season. Also, Matt Garza’s last two starts have stayed under the total but, prior to that, the Rays were on a 12-5-1 run to the over in his starts!
As for Tommy Hunter of the Rangers, he’s been hit extremely hard over his last three starts. Yes, he held the Mariners without a run in one of the three outings but he did allow 8 hits in 6.1 innings in that start and the outing was at pitcher-friendly Safeco Field. In the other two outings that comprise his last three starts, Hunter gave up 12 earned runs in just six innings of work and he allowed 6 homers in those 6 innings! Could another 3-inning stint be on tap for Hunter here? It would not surprise us based on his current form. Also, in his career, Hunter is 12-4 at home but he’s gone 6-5 on the road with a 5.59 ERA while getting hit at a .292 clip away from home. Also, in day games in his career Hunter has a 2.08 ERA but, at night, he’s compiled a 4.95 ERA. Another concern for the Rangers right-hander here is that left-handed bats have given him trouble throughout his career and the Rays roster of position players includes six left-handed bats and two switch-hitters. In other words, this is not a good match-up for Hunter and this is particularly true based on his current form. The only good news for Rangers fans here is that the Texas offense should do plenty of damage against the Rays pitching staff. Keep in mind, the Rays bullpen struggled last night but we also expect Tampa Bay starter Garza to struggle tonight. The Rays right-hander has a 4.53 ERA in his career against Texas. Also, he was roughed up by the Rangers in his only start against them this season and he got absolutely rocked by Texas in going winless with an 8.80 ERA in three starts against the Rangers last season! Play OVER the total in Tampa Bay as an *8* Regular Play selection.
Tim Trushel
20* Angels/Sox Under
Tigers/Yankees Under
Indians/Royals Under
Tony George
SD Padres -115
Going with the Pads tonight after a big win last night as the Cubbies back down to earth after beating the Cards in a weekend series. Randy Wells has been lit up like a neon sign the past 3 outings with over an 8 ERA for the Cubby Bears, and I like Jon Garland on the hill for the Pads, in good form with a 2.47 ERA his last 3 outings and is backed by a better bullpen and a stronger hitting rotation not to mention a better closer. Padres hot winning 7 out of their last 8 games, and the Cubs are in usual form, winning just 5 out of their last 21 games. Even on the road this is a very cheap line. Play 1 Unit on the Padres.
Play a half unit BONUS play on BOSTON -135 at home against the Angels who have managed just 5 wins in their last 20 road games.