Wunderdog
Cleveland Indians vs. Baltimore Orioles
Play: Cleveland Indians
Jeremy Sowers has pitched much better for the Indians of late. Despite a poor performance in his last outing, his previous five outings showed an impressive 3.09 ERA. The Orioles counter with rookie Chris Tillman, who really has struggled keeping the ball in the park. Tillman has allowed nine HRs in just 35 big league innings, and the Indians are a team that can score and take average pitching deep, as they have been 15-6 in their last 21 against a pitcher with a WHIP over 1.30. The O's inconsistent offense has led them to a 22-48 record after scoring 5+ in their previous game. The Orioles offense takes a sharp negative turn against left-hand pitching as well, as they average 5.1 runs a game vs. right-handers, but just four per game against southpaws. The Indians meanwhile, are plating 5.6 runs a game on the road, so I will go with them in this one.
The Animal
Pick: 2* San Francisco +7
Two figures jump off the page when examining the Dallas Cowboys. Last weekend Dallas threw 42 times for 355 passing yards in the 30-10 win over Tennessee. Last time I checked the Titans defense was very good. The week before Oakland threw for 280 passing yards against Dallas and accumulated 456 total yards. The Raiders had 176 rushing yards on just 26 carries averaging 6.8 a carry. Last time I checked the Raiders are widely considered horrible offensively. Dallas has one QB sack in two games. Let's not forget Dallas only led Tennessee 14-10 in the 4th quarter before the Titans started committing turnovers leading to 16 4th quarter points for the Cowboys. Dallas is banged up at the receiver position. Roy Williams is out with an injured shoulder and Sam Hurd, who led the team with 79 receiving yards two weeks ago at Dallas, has missed three days of practice this week with a quadricepts injury. The 49ers are 2-0 SU this preseason winning each game by a single point at home. Catch this system: NFL preseason road underdogs coming off two SU wins and catching 3 1/2 to 10 points are 40-14 ATS since 1993. Last week there was a circus-like atmosphere for the opening of the new Cowboy Stadium. But things have settled down. We all know how dangerous it is taking big favorites in the NFL when coming off a lopsided win. They rarely get the job done. Still a competition at the QB spot for San Francisco. I'll take the point tonight.