SPORTS ADVISORS
L.A. Dodgers (67-45) at San Francisco (61-50)
The Dodgers and Giants renew their rivalry at AT&T Park, where Jonathan Sanchez (5-9, 4.49 ERA) is slated to take the mound for the home team opposite L.A.’s Hiroki Kuroda (5-9, 4.44).
The Dodgers wrapped up a seven-game homestand with Sunday’s 8-2 loss to the Braves, losing the final three games of a four-game series against Atlanta. Los Angeles has dropped 10 of its last 16 games (3-4 on the road) and is looking to avoid just its second four-game losing skid of the season tonight. On the bright side, Joe Torre’s club is on positive runs of 46-19 in N.L. West action, 9-4 in series openers and 4-0 with Kuroda on the hill.
San Francisco capped a three-game series against the Reds on Sunday with a 5-2 loss. The Giants lost two of three to Cincinnati but they’ve still won nine of their last 13 games overall, going 7-3 at home during this stretch. San Francisco is on additional surges of 37-17 at home, 6-2 against right-handed starters and 20-7 against teams with a winning record.
These clubs haven’t met since early May, when San Francisco took two of three in Los Angeles. The Dodgers won the first three clashes this season, but the Giants have won four of the last six, including two of three at AT&T Park in April. L.A. is 2-6 in its last eight games in San Francisco.
Kuroda is coming off three straight quality starts, pitching six innings in all three games while posting a 3.50 ERA and a 21-2 strikeout-to-walk ratio. The right-hander, who beat Milwaukee 17-4 at home on Tuesday, has surrendered three runs or fewer in each of his last four trips to the mound. He’s 3-2 with a 4.66 ERA on the road, and he faced the Giants four times as a rookie in 2008, going 0-1 with a 4.79 ERA as the Dodgers dropped three of the four contests.
Sanchez dominated the Astros on Tuesday, yielding four hits and three walks in seven scoreless innings en route to an 8-1 road win. Sanchez has won consecutive starts (two runs and seven hits allowed with 15 strikeouts in 12 2/3 innings), but the Giants are still in slumps behind Sanchez of 8-22 overall, 1-5 on Monday and 1-5 versus the N.L. West.
Sanchez is 4-1 with a 3.26 ERA in nine home outings (eight starts), but he’s 0-2 with a 5.02 ERA in eight career appearances (five starts) against the Dodgers. Two of those starts have come this year, with the southpaw pitching five innings in each contest while giving up a total of seven runs (five earned) as San Francisco lost 5-3 at home and 8-0 at Dodger Stadium.
For the Dodgers, the “under” is on streaks of 4-1 on the road, 9-4 with Kuroda on the mound, 15-6-1 when Kuroda works on the road and 7-1 when Kuroda faces a winning team. Also, the under is 19-9-3 in the Giants’ last 31 N.L. West contests. However, with Sanchez on the hill, San Francisco is on “over” streaks of 4-0 overall, 10-2-2 at home and 5-0-1 versus winning opponents.
ATS ADVANTAGE: NONE
Tampa Bay (61-50) at L.A. Angels (65-44)
The Rays’ West Coast road trip continues with a three-game set in Southern California as they send right-hander Matt Garza (7-8, 3.63 ERA) to the hill opposite Angels rookie Sean O’Sullivan (3-1, 4.24) in Anaheim.
Tampa Bay lost its series in Seattle with Sunday’s 11-2 setback. The Rays are just 2-7 in their last nine against A.L. West teams and just 56-146 in their last 202 games on the road against teams with a winning percentage of .600 or better.
The Angels dropped two of three to the second-place Rangers over the weekend, including Sunday’s 7-0 defeat. Los Angeles is still on positive runs of 36-16 overall, 9-4 at home, 65-33 at home against teams with a winning record, 14-4 in series openers and 5-0 against A.L. East squads. The Angels have also dominated Tampa lately, winning 50 of the last 74 meetings overall and going 26-5 in the last 31 matchups played in California.
With Garza pitching, the Rays are in funks of 5-11 on the highway and 1-4 against A.L. West teams. The right-hander faced the Red Sox in Tampa on Tuesday and allowed two runs on three hits over seven innings, getting a no-decision as the Rays eventually won 4-2 in 13 innings. With that victory, Tampa Bay improved to 3-1 in Garza’s four starts since the All-Star break, including 2-0 on the road.
Garza has made 10 starts as a visitor this season, going 3-4 with a 4.09 ERA, but his most recent road outing was a 4-2 complete-game win in Toronto on July 24. In his lone start against the Angels last season, Garza allowed four runs on seven hits in 6 2/3 innings of a 5-4 loss, making him 0-1 with a 5.25 ERA in his career against the Halos.
O’Sullivan has made two starts since the All-Star break, including Wednesday in Chicago when the White Sox got to him for four runs on six hits in five innings and handed him a 6-2 loss. It was the first time in six games this season that the Angels lost a game O’Sullivan started. O’Sullivan’s two home starts resulted in no-decisions, as he allowed a combined seven runs in 10 2/3 innings (5.91 ERA), but the Angels beat Colorado 4-3 and Baltimore 11-4.
With Garza on the hill, the Rays are on “under” runs of 36-16-2 overall, 20-6-1 on the road, 17-9 against winning teams and 7-2 in series openers. As a team, Tampa is on “under” streaks of 19-8 on the road, 14-7 against winning teams and 7-3-1 in series openers. It’s been all “overs” for the Angels lately, including 38-14-3 overall, 22-7-1 at home, 23-7-2 against right-handers, 6-1 on Mondays, 5-0-1 in series openers and 5-0 against the A.L. East. Finally, in this series, the under has been the play in four of the last five meetings in Anaheim.
ATS ADVANTAGE: L.A. ANGELS
DUNKEL
Cincinnati at St. Louis
The Cardinals look to take advantage of a Cincinnati team that is 2-9 in its last 11 games as a road underdog. St. Louis is the pick (-160) according to Dunkel, which has the Cardinals favored by 1. Dunkel Pick: St. Louis (-160).
Game 951-952: Houston at Florida
Dunkel Ratings: Houston (Moehler) 14.482; Florida (Vandenhurk) 16.001
Dunkel Line: Florida by 1 1/2; 8 1/2
Vegas Line: Florida (-145); 9 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Florida (-145); Under
Game 953-954: Cincinnati at St. Louis
Dunkel Ratings: Cincinnati (Cueto) 15.120; St. Louis (Lohse) 16.258
Dunkel Line: St. Louis by 1; 7 1/2
Vegas Line: St. Louis (-160); 8 1/2
Dunkel Pick: St. Louis (-160); Under
Game 955-956: Chicago Cubs at Colorado
Dunkel Ratings: Cubs (Gorzelanny) 15.485; Colorado (De La Rosa) 14.673
Dunkel Line: Chicago Cubs by 1; 10 1/2
Vegas Line: Colorado (-140); 9 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Chicago Cubs (+130); Over
Game 957-958: NY Mets at Arizona
Dunkel Ratings: NY Mets (Pelfrey) 15.103; Arizona (Davis) 16.203
Dunkel Line: Arizona by 1; 7
Vegas Line: Arizona (-155); 9
Dunkel Pick: Arizona (-155); Under
Game 959-960: LA Dodgers at San Francisco
Dunkel Ratings: LA Dodgers (Kuroda) 15.558; San Francisco (Sanchez) 13.917
Dunkel Line: LA Dodgers by 1 1/2; 7
Vegas Line: LA Dodgers (-115); 8 1/2
Dunkel Pick: LA Dodgers (-115); Under
Game 961-962: Toronto at NY Yankees
Dunkel Ratings: Toronto (Rzepczynski) 15.167; NY Yankees (Mitre) 17.286
Dunkel Line: NY Yankees by 2; 8
Vegas Line: NY Yankees (-140); 10 1/2
Dunkel Pick: NY Yankees (-140); Under
Game 963-964: Oakland at Baltimore
Dunkel Ratings: Oakland (Gonzalez) 14.734; Baltimore (Guthrie) 14.209
Dunkel Line: Oakland by 1/2; 11 1/2
Vegas Line: Baltimore (-130); 9 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Oakland (+120); Over
Game 965-966: Detroit at Boston
Dunkel Ratings: Detroit (Jackson) 14.885; Boston (Penny) 15.914
Dunkel Line: Boston by 1; 11
Vegas Line: Detroit (-115); 9 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Boston (+105); Over
Game 967-968: Tampa Bay at LA Angels
Dunkel Ratings: Tampa Bay (Garza) 14.959; LA Angels (O'Sullivan) 15.469
Dunkel Line: LA Angels by 1/2; 10 1/2
Vegas Line: Tampa Bay (-120); 9 1/2
Dunkel Pick: LA Angels (+110); Over
Game 969-970: Chicago White Sox at Seattle
Dunkel Ratings: Chicago White Sox (Floyd) 14.436; Seattle (French) 15.820
Dunkel Line: Seattle by 1 1/2; 10 1/2
Vegas Line: Chicago White Sox (-130); 8 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Seattle (+120); Over
WNBA
Indiana at Los Angeles
The Sparks are coming off an overtime win over Seattle and look to build on their 4-2 SU mark at home. Los Angeles is the pick (-1) according to Dunkel, which has the Sparks favored by 2 1/2. Dunkel Pick: Los Angeles (-1).
Game 657-658: Indiana at Los Angeles
Dunkel Ratings: Indiana 111.919; Los Angeles 114.408
Dunkel Line & Total: Los Angeles by 2 1/2; 142 1/2
Vegas Line & Total: Los Angeles by 1; 138 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Los Angeles (-1); Over
Vernon Croy
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Tampa Bay Rays vs. LAA Angels
Play: Tampa Bay Rays
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This pick falls into one of my top MLB systems and we are getting great value here Monday night with the Rays who have the superior pitcher on the mound. Matt Garza (7-8, 3.63 ERA) has pitched solid over his last 3 starts with an ERA of just 2.74 while lasting an average of 7.7 innings per start and the Rays are a perfect 4-0 in Garza's last 4 starts in game 1 of a series. The Rays opponents were hitting just .202 against them over their last 7 games before Saturday's game and their bullpen has been solid on the road this season with an ERA of just 3.48 up until yesterday's game. Sean O'Sullivan (3-1, 4.24 ERA) has struggled over his last 3 starts with an ERA of 5.62 while lasting just an average of 5.3 innings per start and I look for the Rays bats to come alive against him Monday night. Take the Tampa Bay Rays Monday Night.
Cajun Sports
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Los Angeles Dodgers vs. San Francisco Giants
Play: San Francisco Giants
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The Giants and Dodgers open a three-game set at AT&T Park on Monday night with the first pitch set for 10:15PM Eastern Time. LA is leaving the friendly confines of Chavez Ravine knowing they are 5-13 (-10.8) in road games during the month of August over the last 2 seasons and 19-30 (-17.0) on the road with a money line of -100 to -150 over the last 2 seasons. San Francisco is 18-10 (+8.5) in home games when playing against a team with a winning record this season, 44-37 (+7.6) against right-handed starters and 25-9 (+14.1) in home games when playing under the lights. The Giants are 38-17 (+18.3) in home games this year, 16-7 (+9.5) at home when the money line is +125 to -125 and 14-8 (+8.7) as a home underdog of +100 or higher this season. LA will send Hiroki Kuroda to the bump with his 4-5 record and ERA of 4.16 including a record of 3-2 with an ERA of 4.08 on the highway. Kuroda is 1-5 his last 6 on the road when facing a team with a winning record. San Francisco will send Jonathan Sanchez to the hill with his record of 5-9 and an ERA of 4.67 on the year. When he takes the bump at AT&T Park he has posted a record of 4-1 and an ERA of 3.40. The Giants are also 20-7 their last 27 home games when facing a team with a winning road record. We will back the host here as the Giants grab a game one victory over the LA Dodgers on Monday night.
Graded Selection: 2* San Francisco Giants 3 Los Angeles Dodgers 2
Craig Trapp
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Chicago White Sox vs. Seattle Mariners
Play: Chicago White Sox
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Would be a 5 star play but CHW have struggled the last 10 years in SEA. But last year CHW won 2 of 3 at safeco field. Also CHW goes to there hottest pitcher Floyd who has gone 23 innings with only 3 runs his last three starts. SEA won two of three this weekend verse TB but don't TB is horrible on the road so don't give them too much credit. Starting for them today is French who in his first start for SEA he went 5 innings giving up 9 hits and 4 runs against a very average KC lineup. CHW have power in the middle and tonight will bust some big HR's to win this one. SCORE CHW 6 - SEA 2
Red Dog Sports
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Cincinnati at St. Louis
Play Over 8.5
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Johnny Cueto starts for the Reds and his ERA is 8.10 in his last 3 starts while Kyle Lohse hurls for the Cardinals. Lohse has an ERA of 6.39 in his last 3 starts. In the last 14 meetings there have been 10 overs and 4 unders. Look for an over to profit on Monday night.
Jorge Gonzalez
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Cincinnati at St. Louis
Play Over 8.5
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The St. Louis Cardinals will be back home to take on the division rivals Cincinnati Reds. The Cardinals are currently in first place of the National League Central after sweeping the Pirates in a three game series winning the game 7-3. Kyle Lohse (4-7, 4.56) will take the mound to face Johnny Cueto (8-8, 4.23 ERA). Over the last three games, both of these pitchers have struggled. Ceuto is 0-3 with a horrible ERA of 8.10 while Lohse is 0-1 with an ERA of 6.39. The Cardinals offense is hitting on all cylinders right now and will be a tough Match-up for Cueto. He has allowed 4 or more earned runs in five of his last six starts. Lohse has also seen better days. The Cardinals have lost nine of his last 10 starts. Lohse has seen all five of his starts against the Reds go over while Ceuto has seen all four of his starts go over as well. Take this game to go over the 8½ runs.
Marc Lawrence
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Detroit Tigers at Boston Red Sox
Prediction: Detroit Tigers
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The Red Sox return home off their disappointing four-game visit to New York against the Yankees to host the Tigers in a battle of two teams looking to keep their playoff hopes alive. Edwin Jackson takes the hill for the Tigers knowing he is 5-1 with a 2.27 ERA in his last six team starts in August. Meanwhile, Brad Penny is 1-6 with a 5.73 ERA in his last seven team starts and 0-2 with a 7.64 ERA in his career team starts against Detroit. With that we' back the visiting Bengals here tonight.
Rob Vinciletti
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Houston Astros vs. Florida Marlins
Play: Florida Marlins
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The Marlins return home in good shape after sweeping the Phillies over the weekend.Tonight they take on a Houston team that is playing hard but appears to somewhat less talented than some of the others in their division.Tonight's pitching matchup features B.Moehler for Houston,taking on Florida's Vandenhurk.Moehler has been off in his last 3 starts struggling with location.He has a 6.75 era over that span.VandenHurk has pitched well in his only home start going 6 innings allowing just 2 runs.Florida has played well on Mondays winning 7 of 10 this year and they are hitting over .300 and scoring over 5 runs per game over the past week.In the series they have won 5 of the last 6 here in Florida.Best of all they are an amazing 14-1 as a home fav off a win in which they had twelve or more hits.On Mondays late phone card their are Huge system plays up.Two totals plays with 12-1 and 11-1 records that both average over 12 runs per game.Plus a side selection from a system that has cashed 8 of the last 9 and wins by an average 5-2 score.
Jimmy the Moose
Oakland at Baltimore
Baltimore is 2-8 their last 10 and 6-14 the last 20 times Jeremy Guthrie takes to the mound. Back lefty Gio Gonzalez and the Oakland A's against the Orioles on Monday.
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Two teams whose playoff aspirations ended early in the season meet up tonight in Baltimore. The A's are 49-62 on the year and the Orioles are 46-64, and both will be happy to get the W in this one.
Camden YardsOakland is coming off a series win vs. the Royals and they'll hope to take adavantage of an Orioles team that is returning home after a seven-game road trip where they went 2-5. The A's are a bad road team posting a 22-34 mark away from home but a tired Orioles team might be just what the doctor ordered.
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Oakland has won seven of their last nine games vs. a righthanded starter. The A's smashed four home runs yesterday vs. the Royals and are hoping to do more damage vs. Baltimore who gave up three dingers on Sunday to the Jays. Oakland will be sending Gio Gonzalez to the mound and the A's have won four of his last five starts. The A's have also won four of his last five starts as a dog.
The Orioles are really struggling having lost eight of their last 10 games overall, and in their last seven home games they are 2-5. Baltimore is 8-20 in their last 28 games vs. a team from the NL West and also 2-6 their last eight vs. a lefthanded starter. The Orioles send Jeremy Guthrie to the mound and he's really struggled this season. Baltimore is 6-14 in his last 20 starts; in his last last five home starts they are 1-4. In his last six starts vs. a team with a losing record the Orioles are 1-5.
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The A's are 28-9 in their last 37 trips to Baltimore and in the last 64 meetings overall they are a money making 48-16. Oakland has the edge with Gonzalez on the mound and they'll take this one too. Play on Oakland.
Pick: Athletics +130
BIG AL
NY Mets at Arizona
Doug Davis gives the Diamondbacks the pitching advantage on Monday night at home in Arizona against Mike Pelfrey and the sinking New York Mets.
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Our Monday night MLB selection is on Doug Davis and the Arizona Diamondbacks at home over the New York Mets.
Chase FieldMike Pelfrey was supposed to face the Padres in the weekend series, but it seems he was busy doing something else – becoming a "Padre." Pelfrey witnessed the birth of his first child and now the new father will get the start in the first game of this series in Arizona after a break of seven days instead of the normal five.
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Unfortunately for him, the big veteran righthander goes from getting a start in one of the most pitcher-friendly places in baseball to one of the most hitter-friendly. And that could be bad news for a starter who has a 5.75 ERA on the road this season. Even when he's pitched in his home park, one of the stingiest in all of baseball, Pelfrey is only 4-3 with a 4.00 ERA, so clearly this season has been a struggle for him.
Davis has been putting up excellent numbers almost all season except in the wins category, although that appears to be changing lately as the veteran Arizona lefthander has won two of his last three games, one of those against this Mets team. The D-Backs have won his last three starts, and clearly Davis is starting to get more run support now as his teammates have combined for 20 runs over his last four starts, compared with only ten total runs in the six starts before that.
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Pelfrey is winless with three losses and a 5.91 ERA in four career starts against the D-backs. Take Arizona.
Pick: Diamondbacks -160
JIM FEIST
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DETROIT TIGERS at BOSTON RED SOX
Take: DETROIT TIGERS
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The Red Sox just got spanked by the Yankees, losing three straight and scoring a total of two runs in the three games. Now they return home to lick their wounds and it doesn't get any easier as they entertain the AL Central leading Tigers. The Tigers are three games ahead of the White Sox and 5 1/2 up on the Twins. Edwin Jackson has been fantastic for the Tigers, going 8-5 this year with a very good 2.62 ERA. Jackson has allowed just two earned runs in his last 16 innings. Boston will try to get back on the winning track with veteran Brad Penny. Penny has gotten thumped pretty good the last three outings, going 1-2 with a 6.23 ERA. In addition, Penny has a very high WHIP of 1.48. Big difference in starters here with Jackson being red hot and Penny ice cold. With the Sox also in a losing streak this looks like a good spot for the visitor.
DAVE COKIN
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NEW YORK METS / ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS
Take NEW YORK METS
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The Diamondbacks are not very good, and they just got swept by the Nationals. The Mets are obviously no bargain themselves, and Mike Pelfrey is not fooling anyone. But the DBacks just aren't worthy of laying this kind of lumber against anybody, so just on the price, I'll side with the Mets tonight.
Spartan
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CWS (-130) vs SEA
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White Sox open a series in Seattle monday evening and Ozzie Guillen sends out reliable Gavin Floyd to take the ball in Game 1. Floyd, 9-6 3.91 was simply outstanding his last outing putting in 8+ frames and allowing a lone tally. He has managed 12 quality starts in his last 14 and during that stretch is an impressive 7-2, 2.24.Mariners counter with newly acquired Lucas French who shows flashes and I feel will be a capable starter but is the victim of a lousy draw here tonight hooking up against Floyd!
LT Profits
Cincinnati Reds @ St. Louis Cardinals
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Kyle Lohse of the St. Louis Cardinals and Johnny Cueto of the Cincinnati Reds may have just mediocre overall numbers, but their home/away splits suggest a rather low scoring game here at Busch Stadium tonight.
Lohse is just 4-7 with a 4.56 ERA overall, but while he is winless on the road, he had a winning 4-3 record with an excellent 2.98 ERA and an outstanding 1.06 WHIP in this ballpark. In fact, he has allowed a grand total of two earned runs and just 13 hits in his last three starts here, and prior to getting hit hard by the New York Mets on the road in his last start, Lohse had allowed three runs or less in three straight starts.
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Now Cueto is 8-9 with a 4.23 ERA overall, but he has been a much better pitcher on the road, where he is 6-5 with a 3.95 ERA and 1.30 WHIP. Furthermore, he has been absolutely dominant in two starts vs. the Cardinals this season, first allowing one run on just five hits in seven innings back in Cincinnati and then allowing one run on seven hits in 6.1 innings here in this stadium.
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Finally, the Under is 11-3-2 the last 16 times St. Louis has been favored and 8-2 the last 10 times Cincinnati has been an underdog, and we look for both of those trends to continue.
Pick: Reds/Cardinals Under 8.5