Power Play Wins
San Diego Padres
Tim Trushel
Detroit Under
Bob Balfe
Cincinnati Reds -170
The Reds have been on fire as of late and are facing a Brewers team that has underperformed all year. The Reds have a much better pitching advantage tonight and should get the easy home win. Take Cincinnati.
The Duke's Sports
Colorado (-110) for 1.5 Units
The Rockies have shown resiliency for most of the year and are currently on a 10-2 run off a loss. Ubaldo Jimenez should break the franchise season win mark today at 18; after all, the Rockies control a 14-2 team mark with Jimenez following a team loss. Moreover, the Rockies are 4-1 vs the Giants when Jimenez is matched up against Lincecum. The Giants' two time Cy Young Award winner Lincecum is struggling with a 7.82 ERA in 5 August starts. And the Giants are a mere 3-8 following a win. We'll jump on the Rockies who are 9-4 in game 3 of a series following a loss.
Chris Jordan
200* NY Yankees -1.5
SEABASS
100* Houston Astros
100* Colorado Rockies
100* Florida Marlins
50* Detroit Tigers
Lenny Del Genio
Minnesota -155
By now, we all know what a lousy road team the Tigers have been all season (22-41) and that trend continued last night with a 4-3 loss here at Target Field. It was a frustrating loss for Detroit as they wasted a 3-0 lead after two innings and now trail the first place Twins by 11 games in the American League Central. At two games under .500 for the season, the Tigers postseason chances are all but done now, so this would be an excellent opportunuity for Minnesota to put the final nail in their coffin. The home team is averaging 5.1 runs per game in night games on this field and is now 27-12 in those contests following last night's win. Minnesota has beaten Detroit 20 of the previous 26 meetings here in the Twin Cities and will have Francisco Liriano on the hill this evening. Liriano is much more effective at home compared to on the road as his ERA in 13 starts at Target Field is 2.72. While his previous four outings have been mediocre at best (three on the road), note that from late July to early August Liriano enjoyed a three start stretch where he didn't allow a single run over 21 IP and his team outscored the opposition by a cummulative score of 29-1! Since the All-Star Break, the Twins lefty has gone 6-0 with a 2.47 ERA in eight starts. Detroit's Max Scherzer has certainly been sensational of late, but on the road this year he's just 3-6 with a 4.31 ERA. He's been positively rocked by the Twins in two starts against them this year, allowing 16 runs off 18 hits in eight innings of work. Overall, he has a 2-8 TSR in division starts this season. Since the start of last season, his team start record in road games is just 9-22. As a team, the Tigers are 48-90 the last three seasons in the road underdog role. Minnesota is 25-7 this year as a home favorite of -125 to -175 and while the price is a little higher than we prefer, it's certainly worth your investment. Minnesota is our 20* Division Game of the Month.
Nick "BookieKiller" Parsons
6* Atlanta -165
I normally don't recommend playing favorites of this side, but for a number of different reasons I believe the value in this contest is clearly on the home side:
Mike Pelfrey heads to the hill for the visitors; Pelfrey has been sharp in his last couple of outing, but I believe will be in trouble, on the road and against a hot hitting Braves side.
he's 3-2 with a 2.78 ERA in his last seven outings; in four starts vs. the Braves this season he's 2-2 with a 3.80 ERA; lifetime he's 4-7 with a 5.45 ERA and did not make it out of the fifth inning his last two starts vs. Atlanta.
New York is just 2-5 its last seven overall; 7-15 its last 22 on the road; 1-4 its last five vs. the Braves.
In the other dugout: Tommy Hanson gets the nod for the home side; Hanson struggled his last time out, but has an opportunity to turn things around tonight.
He's 0-5 since July 3rd, but has a very respectable 3.08 ERA over that stretch.
And he can take solace in the fact that he's 1-1 with a 1.02 ERA in three career starts vs. New York.
Atlanta is 4-1 its last five overall; 4-1 its last five in front of the home town crowd; 54-33 (+14.1 units) vs. right-handed starters; also 20-7 (+8.7 units) as a home favorite in the -150 to -175 range.
Bottom line: Atlanta has been on fire at the plate and that continues tonight as it finally gives Hanson some run support; look for the BRAVES to continue their mastery of Pelfrey here;