Lenny Del Genio
Seattle Mariners +140
The M’s were mauled by the Sox last night 11-0 to make it two straight losses (they lost on Monday 6-1). Can they possibly get one of these four games in Chicago. We think so. Tonight they send Vargas to the hill and if he was on another team his record would be much better. The Seattle lefty has a sparkling 2.94 ERA and in his last three starts it’s a microscopic 1.66. Despite these impressive numbers his TSR on the season is only 9-10. For Chicago they’ve witnessed the resurgence of Buehrle. After a slow start he’s lowered his ERA to 3.96 and in his last three outings has posted a 1.50 ERA. How long can this continue? We think that the White Sox pitcher is due for a bad outing and for Vargas to hold the White Sox to 2 runs or less. In one start against them this year he went 6 2/3 innings and allowed only two earned runs on four hits. The White Sox are only 12-11 this season against lefties, and Vargas is one of the best in the league.
Nick "BookieKiller" Parsons
Philadelphia Phillies -1.5
For a number of different reasons I believe the value in this contest is the Phillies on the "run line":
Edwin Jackson gets the nod for the visitors; Jackson has been struggling since his no hitter and I expect that to continue tonight; on Friday he allowed six runs against the Giants off of eight hits including two homers; he walked two as well.
He's gone 1-3 with a 6.85 ERA in his last four outings.
Important to point out that Arizona is in fact 0-5 its last five overall; just 1-6 its last seven on the road; also 0-2 as a road in the +225 to +250 range.
In the other dugout: Roy Halladay heads to the hill for the home side; Halladay is coming off his first victory since July 5th and I'm expecting him to carry that momentum into this one; he allowed five hits and had nine K's in eight innings over the Rockies.
He has 140 K's on the year with just 20 walks; he's 2-0 vs. Arizona with a 3.86 ERA.
The Phillies are 5-0 their last five in front of the home town crowd; 8-3 their last 11 vs. Arizona.
Bottom line: Philadelphia has turned things around of late and will be particularly hungry at home as they sit just 3 1/2 games back of East-leading Atlanta; expect a blowout.
BOB BALFE
Detroit Tigers +210
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