Fantasy Sports Gametime
100* Play New York Yankees (-170) over Texas
New York has won 28 of the last 36 games when the total posted is between 8 and 8.5 runs and they have also won 58 of the last 82 games when playing on a Wednesday. CC Sabathia has won 13 of the last 16 games when the total is between 8 and 8.5 runs and he is 11-2 in home games this season with an ERA of 3.00.
50* Play San Francisco (-110) over Philadelphia
San Francisco has won 4 of the last 5 games and they have also won 8 of the last 11 games vs. Philadelphia at home. Madison Bumgarner has won 8 of the last 10 games when the line posted is between +125 to -125 and he is 3-0 over the last 3 starts with an ERA of 1.50.
NHL Hockey
25* Play Los Angeles (-200) over Carolina
Rocketman
3* Columbus -140
3* Carolina +170
Tim Trushel
NY Yankees Under
Teddy Covers
Phillies/Giants Over
Ben Burns
7* NY Yankees
5* LA Kings
Seabass
50* NY Under 8
Power Play Wins
Phillies +105
Scott Spreitzer
I'm playing the Phillies on Wednesday night. I had the Giants on these pages yesterday afternoon, but they're in a tough spot in this one, as far as I'm concerned. Philadelphia was shutout on Tuesday by Matt Cain. But they have clobbered southpaws away from home this season and they expect to face Madison Bumgarner, who owns strong overall numbers, but he has not protected his own "turf" too well. Bumgarner, fantastic away from home, was just 1-3 in eight home starts, with a 4.60 ERA, 1.53 WHIP, and .303 BAA. The Phillies are an extremely tough "out" in this situation, going 16-7 in road games against lefties, averaging 6.21 rpg. If they hit their average tonight, they ought to have no trouble at all with Joe Blanton backing those runs up. Blanton went 6-0 in his final 13 starts of the season, sporting a solid 3.24 ERA. The Phillies won each of his last seven starts and went 10-1 in his last 11, overall. The Giants aren't normally going to score a lot of runs, and I suspect they'll fall well short against Blanton tonight. The Phils are 22-5 in their last 27 road games. They are on a 4-0 run with Blanton as an underdog. And the Phils are on a 9-0 run in road games against lefthanders. I'm backing Philadelphia, whether it's Blanton as expected, or with Halladay, if Charlie Manuel makes the change. And by the way, Halladay owns strong numbers if he starts on short rest, as you probably already know. Either way, it's the Phillies for me on Wednesday night.
Sean Higgs
5* NYY Under 8.5
4* Rangers +161
4* SF Giants -1.5 + 183
Red Zone Sports
2* Phillies
5 STAR SPORTS PICKS
3%* Phllies/Giants Over 7.5
3%* Blackhawks -145
3%* Canucks/Blackhawks Over 5.5
BIG AL
At 4:05 pm, our selection is on the New York Yankees over the Texas Rangers. The Yankees face a must-win situation at home this afternoon, and there is nobody they would rather have on the mound than the man they're putting out there. Lefthanded ace and #1 starter CC Sabathia has been a warrior for this team all season, and he shines when pitching at home in the Bronx (11-2 with a 3.00 ERA), so there is a very good chance that he will deliver a much-needed win today to keep his team alive. Sabathia's also at his best in the daytime, as his ERA is 2.67 and his daytime WHIP is a sparking 0.95. CJ Wilson had a 4.50 ERA and a 1.67 WHIP at Yankee Stadium this year, and we'll take New York to stave off elimination on Wednesday.
At 4:05 pm, our selection is on the Texas Rangers and New York Yankees 'under' the total. The two righthanded #4 starters for the Yankees and Rangers pitched a bit like #4 starters last night in a game that the Rangers won and easily went 'over' the total with 13 runs. Today, we are back to the #1 starter for the Yankees in lefthander CC Sabathia, and #2 starter for the Rangers in lefthander CJ Wilson in what is obviously a must-win situation for New York. Sabathia got into trouble early in game one, but then settled down later although the Yanks still lost that one on the road. He's back home tonight in the Bronx, a place where he did his best work during the regular season. But the crafty Wilson cannot be taken lightly either as he can go deep into this game and seems to always have hitters off-balance with his southpaw delivery. Wilson is proving in the post-season that his first regular season as a full-time starter was no fluke as he is now 1-0 with a 2.03 ERA in his combined first two starts in the ALDS and ALCS. The Yanks' offense received what could be a devastating blow on Tuesday night when first baseman Mark Teixeira left the game with a hamstring injury that ended his 2010 season. Take the 'under.'
At 7:55 pm, our selection is on the Philadelphia Phillies and San Francisco Giants 'under' the total. Some are calling the starting pitching staffs for the four teams that are left the best they've seen in 20+ years and you can argue about exactly how they would rank from top to bottom, but almost anyone would say that the Phillies and Giants rotations are the top two and that can be backed up by looking at the team ERAs through the division series as the Phillies are first at 1.87 (through their first six playoff games) while the Giants are third at 2.11 (through their seven post-season contests). The Braves - no longer alive - are ranked ahead of the Giants. The proof is in the pudding as they say, and when you look at tonight's scheduled starters, who are both #4 starters for their teams, you see just how deep these staffs are. Both righthander Joe Blanton and lefthander Madison Bumgarner could easily be #3 starters on just about any other team in baseball, and probably #1 or 2 on a few as well. Blanton finished up the season strong, with a 2-0 record and 2.81 ERA in five August starts followed by a 3-0 record and 3.19 ERA in six September starts. Bumgarner is a 20-year-old rookie who posted a winning record and 3.06 ERA in his second season in the Majors and he pitched like a grizzled veteran in many of his starts. Run support was a bit of an issue for Bumgarner late in the season as he only managed to receive more than four runs of support in one of his five September starts, while in his last three starts at home, the Giants only scored a total of nine runs. Take the 'under.'
Wayne Root
Millionaire - Phillies
Brandon Lang
San Francisco -115
igz1 sports
3* Texas +150
3* Buffalo -105