Free Picks: Service Plays for Saturday, July 10,2010

Red Dog Sports
FOR THE LARGEST SELECTION OF FREE SERVICE PLAYS VISIT THESPREAD.COM
Minnesota at Detroit
Play: Over 9.5
FOR THE LARGEST SELECTION OF FREE SERVICE PLAYS VISIT THESPREAD.COM
Look for Detroit to win on Saturday as they are -155 and should cover the runline at -1.5. Both starters have high ERA's in their last 3 starts as Blackburn's is 6.88 and Bonderman's is 8.27. Look for a game to reach 10 or more on Saturday afternoon.

Hollywood Sports
FOR THE LARGEST SELECTION OF FREE SERVICE PLAYS VISIT THESPREAD.COM
Alouettes at Eskimos
Prediction: Over
FOR THE LARGEST SELECTION OF FREE SERVICE PLAYS VISIT THESPREAD.COM
Montreal enters this game on the heels of their disappointing 54-51 double-overtime loss to Saskatchewan in the rematch of last season's Grey Cup. That game proved two things: the Alouettes can still score but they are vulnerable on defense as that game was tied 40-40 at the end of regulation. Veteran QB Anthony Cavillo still has got it as he threw for 368 yards on 28 of 42 passing. Last season's top scoring offense in the CFL (34.2 PPG) will still put up plenty of points this year. But the defense allowed the Roughriders' QB, Darian Durant, to enjoy a 30-44 day for 478 passing yards. In fact, Saskatchewan produced a whopping 657 total yards of offense. Eskimos' QB Ricky Ray looks to have a big season leading an offense that has the potential to be dynamite with a super set of wide receivers. Stamps led the CFL with his 1402 reception yards last season. He is joined by Kamau Peterson who was 3rd in total receiving yards and 2nd in catches just two years ago. But the exciting "X-Factor" is the return of Campbell who took a run with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last season. The former Georgia Tech star blossomed in his rookie season in Edmonton in '08 by leading the CFL with his 22.6 yards-per-reception average. Add into the mix Jason Barnes who had eight receptions for 99 yards and two TDs in preseason. Coach Richie Hall has taken over the defensive coordinator duties while Edmonton has seen a number of personnel changes on defense. However, it may take a few weeks for the CFL's #5th ranked defense from last season to improve. For this Sunday night contest, expect an old-fashioned, Canadian Football League scoring fest. Take the Over.

Marc Lawrence
FOR THE LARGEST SELECTION OF FREE SERVICE PLAYS VISIT THESPREAD.COM
Los Angeles Angels at Oakland Athletics
Prediction: Oakland Athletics
FOR THE LARGEST SELECTION OF FREE SERVICE PLAYS VISIT THESPREAD.COM
The A's and Angels meet in Game Two of this three-game weekend set in Oakland tonight when Ben Sheets matches serves with Scott Kazmir. Sheets takes the mound having cashed in four of his last six home team starts and 10 of his last 16 team starts during July. On the flip side, Kazmir is 3-10 in his career team starts on the road during the month of July. Back the better arm here this evening. We recommend a 1-unit play on Oakland.

Steve Merril
FOR THE LARGEST SELECTION OF FREE SERVICE PLAYS VISIT THESPREAD.COM
Royals vs. White Sox
Play: Over 9
FOR THE LARGEST SELECTION OF FREE SERVICE PLAYS VISIT THESPREAD.COM
For the third straight time, Brian Bannister and Gavin Floyd will face off against each other as the White Sox host the Royals. Bannister is 1-2 with a 9.69 ERA against the White Sox so far this season. Those are approximately his career numbers against Chicago as his ERA is 7.97 in 15 outings against them. A.J. Pierzynski (13-31), Alexei Ramirez (8-20), Alex Rios (6-13), Carlos Quentin (5-12), Juan Pierre (3-9), Mark Kotsay (4-7), Andruw Jones (2-5), and Dayan Viciedo (1-2) all hit the righty well. The White Sox have scored 27 runs so far in their 5-game homestand, and they are hitting over .280 as a team in their past eight games. Gavin Floyd is 1-2 with a 6.16 ERA in three starts against the Royals. The righty has given up 14 runs and 30 hits over 19 innings pitched against them. Floyd is 2-7 with a 5.40 ERA in 10 overall career starts against Kansas City. David DeJesus (9-32), Billy Butler (7-24), Mike Aviles (6-19), Alberto Callaspo (6-17), Yuniesky Betancourt (6-16), Scott Podsednik (3-10), Jason Kendall (2-7), Mitch Maier (2-7), Willie Bloomquist (1-3), and Chris Getz (2-3) all have the most success against Floyd. The Royals have now gone Over in 21 of their 33 games against A.L. Central opponents, and they’ve also gone Over in four of their last five games overall. We expect another high-scoring game here so we’ll recommend a play on the Over between the Royals and White Sox tonight.

Rob Vinciletti
FOR THE LARGEST SELECTION OF FREE SERVICE PLAYS VISIT THESPREAD.COM
San Francisco Giants vs. Washington Nationals
Play: San Francisco Giants
FOR THE LARGEST SELECTION OF FREE SERVICE PLAYS VISIT THESPREAD.COM
The Giants qualify in a nice system here tonight. What we want to do is play on certain road favorites off a road dog loss of 5 or more runs with 4 or less hits if the total was 8 or less. These road favs have done well the past few years. The Giants have controlled the series the past years including 6-2 this year. The Giants are averaging 7 runs per game over the past 7 games. In the pitching department J. Sanchez for the Giants has better overall numbers then Washington starter C. Stammen. Look for the Giants to bounce back from last nights debacle and get the win.

BIG AL
FOR THE LARGEST SELECTION OF FREE SERVICE PLAYS VISIT THESPREAD.COM
San Diego Padres @ Colorado Rockies
PICK: Colorado Rockies
FOR THE LARGEST SELECTION OF FREE SERVICE PLAYS VISIT THESPREAD.COM
Look up the term "smoke and mirrors" in the dictionary and you should see Wade Leblanc's picture. The 25-year-old lefthander for San Diego who is now in his third MLB season, has somehow put up an ERA of 3.10 after 15 starts, despite a K-to-BB ratio of just 58:33 and a WHIP of over 1.4. Leblanc doesn't throw hard and obviously benefits from his home ballpark, Petco, which has been one of the most pitcher-friendly venues in the Majors for the past several years. Leblanc has a won-lost record of just 4-6 and although the Padres have a 9-6 record in his 15 starts, it should be noted that four of those victories were against the Diamondbacks, Orioles, Mariners, and Astros. Righthander Jason Hammel will get the start for the Rockies and after a very rocky start (no pun intended) which saw Hammel with a 2-3 record and ridiculous 6.93 ERA through April and May, this guy has really settled down in a big way since then and has become perhaps the second ace of the staff (after All-Star Ubaldo Jimenez). It remains to be seen if he can keep it up, but the Rocks certainly don't mind putting him out there every five days to find out and this is a critical series for the Rockies heading into the break as they sit tied with the Dodgers three games behind this Padres team. Hammel just beat the Padres and Leblanc 6-3 in San Diego and now he gets to try and repeat that feat at home. Take the Rockies.

Jimmy Boyd
FOR THE LARGEST SELECTION OF FREE SERVICE PLAYS VISIT THESPREAD.COM
1 Unit on Texas Rangers -310
FOR THE LARGEST SELECTION OF FREE SERVICE PLAYS VISIT THESPREAD.COM
I expect Cliff Lee's impact to be immediate with the Rangers in his first start for them. The Rangers already have one of the top offenses in the league, averaging 5.2 runs per game and hitting .280 as a team. At home they average 6.0 runs per game and hit .300 collectively. Now they add an Ace like Cliff Lee to the mix and they should find themselves winning Saturday, particularly against a poor offensive team like Baltimore, who averages just 3.4 runs per game and hits .249 as a team on the road. This is a huge number, but it's well worth the risk for 1 unit, as the Rangers have everything working for them in this situation.

Jim Feist

Angels vs. Athletics
Play: Under 9

Oakland is a large, pitcher-friendly park, which partly explains why the A's have no offense, 12th in the AL in runs scored. Scott Kazmir has a 1.42 ERA against light hitting Oakland this season, while veteran Ben Sheets has a 3.67 career ERA against the Angels. Oakland has been on a strong run under the total the last 3 weeks and this one shapes up as a defensive duel. Play the Angels/A's under the total.

EZWINNERS
FOR THE LARGEST SELECTION OF FREE SERVICE PLAYS VISIT THESPREAD.COM
Philadelphia Phillies -220
FOR THE LARGEST SELECTION OF FREE SERVICE PLAYS VISIT THESPREAD.COM
The Phillies send their ace pitcher Roy Halliday to the mound for this start against the Reds. Halladay continues to throw complete games on a regular basis and has been a work horse for Philadelphia keeping the suspect Phillies bullpen out of his games. Halliday has now thrown seven complete games this season and has lasted at least seven innings in fifteen of his eighteen starts. Halliday's ERA is only 2.33 this year and his strikeout to walk ratio is a ridiculous 119 to 17. I don't see anything changing as I expect him to pitch another outstanding game here as well. Cincinnati sends their rookie pitcher Travis Wood to the mound for this game at Philadelphia. Wood looks to have a bright future, but I don't expect him to out duel Doc Halladay in this match up. Wood's margin for error is very small and I expect the Philadelphia bats to do enough damage for the Phillies to pick up the win here. The Reds are only 5-12 in their last seventeen meetings with the Phillies. Play on Philadelphia.

Brad Diamond Sports
FOR THE LARGEST SELECTION OF FREE SERVICE PLAYS VISIT THESPREAD.COM
Play Philadelphia over Cincinnati
FOR THE LARGEST SELECTION OF FREE SERVICE PLAYS VISIT THESPREAD.COM
Difficult laying heavy wood against the first place Reds, but Doc Halladay should be in solid form this afternoon for a key win by the Phillies. Philadelphia has won 5 of 6 at home in the series and 11 of 16 overall. Granted young lefty Travis Wood is a find for Cincinnati, but he was just smashed by the Mets on July 5th, so his confidence could be on the down side. Remember Doc Halladay is 2-1 with a 1.88 ERA last three times out, make it Phillly!

Stephen Nover

I am 37-22-1 on my past 60 complimentary selections following Friday's no-play on the Yankees-Mariners matchup with the traded Cliff Lee an obvious scratch.

But I did cash on my lone paid selection Friday, a 30-dime winner on the Tigers, and am looking forward to my 35-dime winner tonight.

After missing all of last season due to elbow surgery, Oakland's Ben Sheet finally is getting his stamina and fastball back. He went a season-high 7 1/3 innings versus the Yankees in his last start. He has 17 strikeouts in his past three starts.

Sheets hasn't given up more than four earned runs during any of his last 12 starts. That consistency should be enough to beat the Angels and a struggling Scott Kazmir.

Kazmir is much worse than his 7-8 record. His 5.98 ERA is indicative of that. But even that high ERA doesn't explain how bad Kazmir has become.

Kazmir has always relied on a slider that was one of the best in the American League. But he's lost that pitch, which has forced him to become more of a nibbler than a thrower. He is struggling to make that adjustment.

The last time Kazmir's average pitch per inning count was less than 17 1/2 was back in May. He has been brutal in his last three starts. During this span, Kazmir has surrendered 17 runs in just 14 2/3 innings throwing 284 pitches.

2♦ OAKLAND

Derek Mancini

Easy Free Play winner with Boston routing Toronto 14-3 last night! N.L. action Saturday with the Arizona hosting Florida in the 3rd game of their 4-game set tonight.

Not been pretty of late for the Snakes, who are the midst of a 1-6 slide, with all those games being played at Chase Field. However, with that being said, I'm seeing a light at the end of the tunnel in this match up, and that's thanks to the tired arm of Nate Robertson (6-6, 4.94 ERA).

After just 49 2/3 innings last season due to injury, Robertson has managed to stay healthy this year, amassing 89 1/3 innings. But that's not necessarily a good thing, being that he's clearly starting to fatigue, and his numbers prove it: 2-2 with a 7.12 ERA over his L6 starts. He's had real trouble on the road this season (5.28 ERA away), including terrible efforts at the Mets and Orioles in the last month.

Ian Kennedy (3-7, 4.16 ERA) hasn't been much better lately, but the one thing you can hang your hat on, is he's been far more effective at Chase Field. He's posted a solid 3.47 ERA at home this season (WHIP of 1.03), and after giving up a career worst 7 runs in his last one, I expect he'll be looking to bounce back strong tonight. Prior to his implosion vs the Cubs, he posted 5 straight quality efforts at home.

Lay it with Arizona tonight, as they get a strong bounce back effort from Ian Kennedy. Snakes offense hasn't been great lately, but a match up against a tired Robertson is just what they need to get going again. Arizona (Kennedy) over Florida (Robertson) Saturday.

3♦ ARIZONA

JEFF BENTON

Scored my third straight freebie winner Friday as the Marlins held off Arizona. I’m now on a 102-68-2 roll with plays that I’m giving away! For Saturday, we’ll take a shot with the Indians as a huge road underdog at Tampa Bay.

First of all, the Rays have hardly been money in the bank when playing at Tropicana Field this season. After getting hammered 9-2 by the Indians last night, Tampa Bay is now just 24-20 on its own turf, and prior to sweeping the Red Sox to start this week, the Rays had lost three straight home series, one to a decent team (San Diego), one to a mediocre team (Florida) and one to a terrible team (Arizona).

Tonight, the Rays hand the ball to Matt Garza, who is in a bit of a tricky spot here. On Wednesday, Garza was called upon to close out a 6-4 win over the Red Sox, throwing 20 pitches to get two outs (he allowed a hit and a walk). Although it was regular between-starts throwing day, it was a pressure situation and I wouldn’t be at all surprised if there was some lingering effects when Garza takes the mound tonight. As it is, Garza has been mediocre since the start of June – although he’s 4-1 in seven appearances (six starts), he’s given up 25 runs in 31 1/3 innings (7.18 ERA).

As for Indians lefty Aaron Laffey, he’s coming off consecutive strong outings against two powerful offenses (Texas and Toronto), allowing three runs (two earned) in 10 1/3 innings, with Cleveland prevailing 3-1 versus the Blue Jays and 9-3 at the Rangers. And while the Rays are 1-3 in Garza’s last four starts against the Indians (6.96 ERA), Laffey rolled to a 13-2 win in his lone career start against Tampa Bay in 2008, allowing both runs on four hits in six innings.

Finally, with Laffey being a southpaw, it’s interesting to note that the Rays hit just .242 against lefties this season (.246 at home).

3♦ CLEVELAND INDIANS

BRETT ATKINS

I'll get you back on the winning track tonight with a free winner on the Cardinals as they take on the Astros in Houston in Game 2 of this series.

Look for the Cardinals to make it two in a row over the Astros tonight, especially as easy as it was for them on Friday in the series opener.

The road team has won five straight in this series and St. Louis is coming in with streaks of 6-1 in the second game of a series, 17-6 when Jeff Suppan starts the second game of a series and 7-3 when he pitches on Saturday.

Houston is on slides of 5-22 on Saturdays, 2-6 at home against winning teams and 1-5 against teams with winning records.

Suppan has held each of his last four opponents to three earned runs or less, but his offense has let him down. He has dominated the Astros lately, leading his teams to wins in six of his last seven appearances against Houston and last year he led the Brewers to three wins against the Astros.

Play St. Louis in this one.

2♦ ST. LOUIS