Free Picks: Premium Service Plays for Wednesday August 12,2009

Winsportsnow

Parlay Club Report
Cubs+110
Over 10 Orioles
Whitesox+130

Seabass

Steam - 100* Bal/Oak over

Al DeMarco

5 Dimes Boston (Beckett) - 1 1/2 Runs over Detroit (Galarrago)

Boston did not win Josh Beckett's last outing, falling to the Yankees in New York in 15 innings last Friday, but the righthander can't be faulted after throwing seven innings of shutout ball for the second straight start, lowering his earned run average on the season to 3.12. That figure is even lower at Fenway, where Beckett has been unbeatable, going 7-0 with a 2.58 ERA, winning five straight starts while compiling a 1.19 ERA since the start of June.Beckett, who is 2-1 with a 2.61 ERA in three career starts against the Tigers, won at Detroit on June 3, allowing three unearned runs and two hits over 7.2 innings in which he also fanned nine batters. In that contest he not only had a no-hitter through 6.2 innings, but he beat tonight's mound opponent, Armando Galarraga, who carries a 5.23 ERA into the rematch. Galarraga started the season strong but has since struggled, having gone 0-3 in five starts before beating Minnesota in his last outing. But in that win against the Twins, the second-year righthander needed 109 pitches to survive five innings. His ERA in his last five starts is 5.81 as he's allowed 48 baserunners in 30 innings.The Red Sox have bounced back from their Big Apple nightmare with two straight wins in this series to run their record against Detroit to 5-0 on the season while improving to 37-17 at Fenway this year. With the Tigers losing 15 of their last 20 on the road over the past six weeks, Beckett is at an extremely attractive price because of my willingness to lay the 1 1/2 runs in this spot.

Mike Neri

**SINGLE PLAY**
St Louis w/Carpenter -1.5 -145 8:15 EST
Risk 1 Unit to make .69 Units

**SINGLE PLAY**
Tampa Bay w/Niemann -120 3:35 EST
Risk 1 Unit to make .83 Units

Seabass

Steam - 100* Bal/Oak over

Chris Jordan

400♦ ST. LOUIS CARDINALS RUN LINE (LIST Carpenter and Bailey) - I couldn’t ask for a better situation in this pitching mismatch, as I’ve been thoroughly impressed by Chris Carpenter this season, and love to go against Homer Bailey. There’s really no other way around it, as that’s the basis for raising the bar to 400♦ tonight for this run-line release.

Let’s start with my boy Carpenter, who persevered in his last start by throwing eight innings to off-set giving up four runs while earning the win. Every one of those runs came by the end of the third inning, as the right-hander yielded back-to-back home runs in the first and later a run in the third. Nevertheless, Carpenter, who has thrown at least eight innings in four of his last five outings, is 2-0 with a 1.12 ERA in two starts against the Reds this season and is the dominant choice in this one.

As for Bailey, he’s 1-2 in his last seven starts and in those outings he’s given up more than three earned runs four times and has an ERA of 6.75 in those games. Granted, what might have been his best start of the bunch was a July 3 outing versus these same Cardinals, that game was in Cincinnati … this one is in St. Louis. Of those seven stints, he’s given up 13 earned runs over 14-2/3 innings in three road starts, in which he’s 0-1 with two no-decisions.

The home-run ball continues to be the crux of his inability to nab a win, or even put his team in position to win. Last season he allowed eight home runs in eight starts; this year he’s already given up nine in nine outings. Even worse, the Reds are mired in losing streaks of 2-10 when he’s an underdog, 1-5 when he’s on the road against a winning team, 0-7 on four days rest and 3-14 when he simply steps on the hill.

All Cardinals in this blowout win.

100♦ SEATTLE MARINERS (LIST Hernandez and Buehrle) - It’s going to be quick and to the point, so I’m not sure where to start with this one …

Yes I do. Mark Buehrle is 0-3 since the perfect game, having allowed 17 earned runs over 18-1/3 innings. And though it might be understandable the first game out of the box, his last two starts have been horrendous – including his last outing, against lowly Cleveland, which battered him for six run (five earned), 11 hits (two home runs) in a 6-2 loss. His ERA in his last three starts is a whopping 8.36.

In siding with Felix Hernandez, I have a pitcher who is 12-4 on the year with a stifling 2.84 ERA. The M’s have won 12 of his last 14 starts, and 17 of his 23 starts this season. And in his first meeting with this team, back on April 28, the Mariners won 9-1, as he tossed eight scoreless innings, while allowing four hits and striking out nine.

Lay the chalk here, it’s value.

PlatinumPlays Win

Braves runline -110
St Louis runline -140
Under 10.5 TB
Over 9 Det
KC +190
Over 10 Oak

Teddy Covers

LA Angels

This Is or New LeaderBoard
in Winning Services
___________________

PlatinumPlaysWin
Braves runline -110
St Louis runline -140
Under 10.5 TB
Over 9 Det
KC +190
Over 10 Oak

KELSO

15 Units Cardinals (-1½ Runs, -150) over Reds

ST. LOUIS CARDINALS (63-52) -1 ½ Runs -145 over Cincinnati Reds (49-63) Pitching for St. Louis: RH Chris Carpenter (11-3, 2.26) Pitching for Cincinnati: RH Homer Bailey (2-3, 7.11) Cardinals Trend Profile: Last 10: 7-3, Streak: Lost 1, Home Record: 32-24, Against RHP: 42-36. Reds Trend Profile: Last 10: 4-6, Streak: Won 1, Road Record: 25-33, Against RHP: 36-44. Starting Time: 8:15 TV: Fox Sports Ohio, Fox Sports Midwest Comments: There is simply no reason not to expect a dominating performance from the Cardinals and starting pitcher Chris Carpenter. For openers Carpenter has faced Cincinnati twice this season and has beaten them both times while turning in an E.R.A. 0.72. The St. Louis bats also factor into the equation, They are very much alive, led by baseball’s best slugger Albert Pujols (37 home runs) and red-hot Matt Holliday. It also is of note St. Louis has not lost back-to-back games this season.

Clear. Winds blowing in from center field at 5-10 m.p.h. Game-time temperature: Around 75.

IndianCowboy

4 Unit Play. Take the Texas Rangers -125 over the Cleveland Indians
The Rangers were blanked 0-5 yesterday and I cannot imagine them being blanked once again today. Remember, the Rangers are in a heated division race and each game is crucial. They come off a game where this proud and high potent offense failed to score a run. Hunter is one of the better young arms in the league and he is 4-2 with a 2.62 era thus far. The young man has a great fast ball and changeup and I look for him to be affective once again today. More importantly, I look for the Rangers offense to bounce-back successfully. Carmona comes off a great start and helped the Indians defeat the Twins but I look for him to have a bit of a let down today. Although he has been showing signs of improvement, this has just not been Carmona's year as he has produced a 6.66 era and I look for him to have trouble against the Rangers this evening.

Good luck,
Indian Cowboy

JACK JONES

15* on Royals/Twins OVER 9

This is a great spot for the over with two hot-hitting teams and two pitchers that have struggled over their last 3 outings. KC starter, Brain Bannister, has a 5.29 ERA and 1.47 WHIP over his last 3 starts, while Twins starter, Francisco Liriano, has picked up a 6.61 ERA and 1.84 WHIP in his last 3 appearances. The Royals aren't well-known for their hitting, but over their last 7 games they are putting up an average of 7.6 runs per game and hitting an amazing .345 as a team. The Twins aren't far behind over the last 7 games offensively, batting .325 as a team and scoring 6.3 runs per game. Kansas City's bullpen is currently sporting a 5.19 ERA, while the Twin's pen has struggled at home, posting a 5.02 ERA. Like I said, this is a great spot for the over to hit.

Robert Ferringo

2-Unit Play. Take #964 St. Louis (-1.5, -150) over Cincinnati
2-Unit Play. Take #978 Minnesota (-1.5, -105) over Kansas City
2.5-Unit Play. Take #966 Colorado (-1.5, -125) over Pittsburgh
1-Unit Play. Take #958 Atlanta (-1.5, -125) over Washington
1-Unit Play. Take #968 N.Y. Yankees (-1.5, -120) over Toronto
1.5-Unit Play. Take #973 Texas (-115) over Cleveland

Today's Totals
1.5-Unit Play. Take ‘Over’ 10.0 Tampa Bay at L.A. Angels
1-Unit Play. Take ‘Over’ 9.5 N.Y. Mets at Arizona
1-Unit Play. Take ‘Over’ 9.0 Detroit at Boston
0.5-Unit Play. Take ‘Over’ 9.0 Toronto at N.Y. Yankees
0.5-Unit Play. Take ‘Under’ 9.5 Texas at Cleveland
0.5-Unit Play. Take ‘Under’ 7.5 Chicago White Sox at Seattle

Dominic Fazzini

15 Dime -- Rangers (Hunter) over INDIANS (Carmona)

RANGERS
NOTE: List only Hunter as Texas' starting pitcher

Didn't I tell you the Rangers were due for a big letdown Tuesday after taking two of three from the Angels? Well after a one-game hangover, Texas should get back to business today.Yes, I know the Indians are 12-5 in their last 17 games. I also know that Cleveland starter Fausto Carmona (2-6, 6.66 ERA) has a 2.45 ERA in two outings since being recalled from the minors.But there's some other numbers that stand out even more to me. First, Carmona has won just once in his last 11 starts, and the right-hander is 0-3 with an 8.59 ERA lifetime in three home outings vs. Texas.Carmona also is 0-3 with a 5.05 ERA in seven home starts overall this year.Rangers rookie Tommy Hunter (4-2, 2.63) continues to impress. The 23-year-old right-hander has allowed three runs or fewer in seven of his eight outings. He gave up two runs and three hits in seven innings Thursday at Oakland.In two road starts, Hunter is 1-0 with a 1.38 ERA, allowing three runs (two earned) and seven hits in 13 innings.Hunter, who has never faced Cleveland, is especially good when being threatened, as opposing batters are hitting .146 against him with runners in scoring position. Opponents are batting .223 overall against him.I expect Hunter to turn in another fine outing today while Texas' offense gets busy against Carmona. Take the Rangers in this one.

Detroit Tigers Pulled Pitcher

Detroit Tigers Zach Miner Starting