Jeff Benton
20 DIME - CUBS
Maybe Lou Pineilla should’ve retired a long time ago, because since the old skipper took off the uniform for the final time on Sunday, his former mates have been swinaing the lumber in the nation’s capital. After rolling to a 9-1 win in Monday’s series opener, Chicago jumped out to a 5-1 lead last night and held on 5-4 – only the fourth time since the first week of July that the team recorded back-to-back wins.
That was also the last time the Cubs had a three-game winning streak – it was a road sweep of Arizona, capped by Ryan Dempster’s 8-3 victory on July 7. Well, I’m putting my faith in Dempster that he’ll once again lead the way to another three-game road sweep tonight.
Dempster has been fantaestic lately, giving up just five earned runs in his last four starts covering 27 1/3 innings (1.65 ERA). He won the first three of those games by scores of 15-3, 8-6 and 9-7, but got a no-decision in Friday’s 5-3 loss to the Braves when his bullpen fell apart. Still, the fact the Cubs are just 16-27 since July 7 but 6-3 with Dempster on the hill during this stretch is something worth noting.
One more tidbit about Dempster: Since returning to the Cubs’ rotation in 2008, he’s made three starts against the Nationals and posted the following numbers: two earned runs in seven innings, one run in 7 1/3 innings, three runs in eight innings.
As for Dempster’s counterpart tonight – veteran Jason Marquis – here’s all you need to know: He’s 0-6 with an 11.39 ERA in six starts this year, including 0-3 with a 20.25 ERA at home. And the right-hander is 4-6 with a 4.42 ERA in 13 career apperrances (12 starts) against his former team. In six starts versus Chicago since 2006, Marquis has allowed 27 runs (21 earned) in 32 2/3 innings (5.79 ERA).
Finally, the Cubs have now won six straight games in Washington, and they’ve taken 10 of the last 14 meetings overall. On top of that, the Nats are in funks of 4-11 overall, 3-10 against right-handed starters and 8-20 against teams with a losing record.
This price is WAY too cheap given the talent on both teams and the advantage Chicago has on the hill. Cubs roll and probably roll comfortably once again.
PRO SPORT CAPPING
Single Dime: San Francisco Giants
Both these teams are deep into play-offs battle in the divisions right now and though it has to be tough game, we are surprised hosts are just slightly favored. First of all it seems their starting pitcher Madison Bumgarner is still underrated cause of the fact he is a rookie, while he was delivering a solid outings so far. He is surely in better shape than inconsistent Homer Bailey, who has been homerun prone all season long (and he has got way worse ERA than Bumgarner). Giants and Reds are similar in terms of quality at the moment, so with better pitcher and home ballpark factor, @1.91 looks valuable. It is also a sweep chance for the hosts and we bet they will do it.
Single Dime: Detroit Tigers
Tigers are continuing their quite solid form and we suppose they will sweep Royals at home, after two easy previous wins. They notched a 9-1 win yesterday and we suppose there is even bigger pitching missmatch today. Armando Galarraga has had some great moments during season and is reliable, while Sean O'Sullivan is still inconsistent as he is inexperienced. Adding the fact it is chance for hosts to be over .500 after this early game (they are 63-63 now), we are taking them to win.
WAYNE ROOT
Millionaire - Tampa Bay Rays
Billionaire - NY Yankees
No Limit - Chicago Cubs
Bob Balfe
Philadelphia Phillies -1.5
The Phillies lost a tough extra- innings game last night but the ejection of Ryan Howard had to fire up this team (oh, and have the best pitcher in baseball on the mound tonight). The Phillies are a good home team (with the exception of the last two nights) and it is not often they get swept at home. Look for the Phillies to get a much-needed win tonight. Take Philly.
Tommy Gun
2* Angels -115
2* Reds +102
Billy Coleman
5* Cubs
3* Dodgers Over
Wunderdog
5 Units Atlanta +4.5
2 Units Atlanta +180
2 Units Seattle -9.5
Tony George
Milwaukee Brewers -113
I will take the Brew Crew here at home with solid pitcher on the hill with an ERA right at 3 his last 3 games, all wins. Knowing that Wolf is a southpaw, and knowing that LA does not hit lefties well, just .193 as a team their last 10 games, and playing with revenge after a 2 run loss last night, I like the line this low. Bear in mind LA has only won 4 out of their last 18 road games, I do not see them winning a back to back scenario against Milwaukee here, and the Brewers bullpen has an impressive 2.66 ERA their last 3 games. The Dodgers have a hot pitcher on the hill tonight but their bullpen has been less than stellar this year and I feel the run support will be there for the Brewers and not LA late in the game when needed. Play 1 Unit on Milwaukee.
Marc Lawrence
Oakland -140
When the Oakland A's send All-Star hurler Trevor Cahill to the mound against Mitch Talbot and the Indians in Cleveland this evening they will do so knowing Cahill has cashed in 16 of his 22 team starts this season. He's also 6-1 with a 1.39 ERA in his last seven team starts during the month of August. Particularly impressive is Cahill's road work this season where he owns a 2.54 ERA and a WHIP of 1.009. On the flip side, Talbot enters the game in rotten current KW form with 11 walks and five strikeouts in his last three starts. Talbot has struggled at home this campaign where he owns a 5.53 ERA with a WHIP of 1.635. With Talbot reeling at 1-5 with a 6.56 ERA in his last five home team starts, look for the A's to get the money here tonight. We recommend a 4-unit play on Oakland.
Lenny Del Genio
Toronto +125
Five Yankees homered yesterday in an 11-5 win at Rogers Centre that evened this series up at one game apiece, but looking back NY has a nasty habit of following a stellar offensive performance with a poor one. Such was the case in Monday's series opener as they were coming off a 10-0 win over Seattle and then lost 3-2. In last Friday's series opener vs. the Mariners, they were blanked 6-0 on the heels of an 11-5 win over Detroit. We can envision a similar situation unfolding tonight against the Blue Jays' Brett Cecil, who boasts a 7-1 team start record vs. AL East opponents this season (including a pair of 6-1 wins over the Yankees) and was the beneficiary of Toronto's own offensive surge last time out in a 16-2 win over the Red Sox. His ERA in division contests is 2.13. New York has managed just nine hits in 14 innings vs. Cecil this season. Overall, Toronto has a winning record vs. the Bronx Bombers this year (6-5), so we have to take a shot against the always overvalued favorite even with Phil Hughes on the mound. Hughes gets the best run support of any starter in MLB at 7.93 runs per game, which is more than a full run better than any other hurler, but as we discussed earlier we don't see that kind of offensive production tonight from the Yanks. Take Toronto.
Nick "BookieKiller" Parsons
10* Toronto +1.5
For a number of different reasons I believe the value in this contest is the Jays on the “run line”:
Phil Hughes gets the call for the visitors; Hughes has pitched well of late, but keep in mind that the Yanks are just 2-4 their last six on the road in Canada; also just 9-10 (-4.6 units) when playing against a team with a winning record in the second half of the season.
In the other dugout: Brett Cecil heads to the hill for the home side; Cecil is coming off a 16-2 win over the Red Sox in which he struck out six off nine hits.
He is 1-0 with a 1.29 ERA in two starts against the Bronx Bombers this season.
The Jays are 54-43 (+14.2 units) against right-handed starters.
Bottom line: I expect the home side to play with an extremely concerted effort after last night’s beatdown;