Chris Jordan
St. Louis +180 at LOS ANGELES
Chad Billingsley is stepping to the hill for the first time in 11 days, but that won’t be enough for the struggling Dodgers against a red-hot Cardinals team.
Last night it was a fine pitching performance by Chris Carpenter, as the Redbirds outlasted Los Angeles 3-2 for their fifth straight win and their ninth in the last 10 games. Tonight it’s going to be the offensive barrage to back rookie hurler Mitchell Boggs.
St. Louis is on winning runs of 4-0 on the road, 8-1 against the National League West, 6-1 against right-handed starters and 5-1 when Boggs is on the rubber
On the flipside, the Dodgers have lost four of five and seven out of 10 overall, including five straight at Chavez Ravine. They’re also on losing slides of 2-6 against the Central Division, 4-11 in the second game of a series and 2-6 versus right-handed starters.
St. Louis has won nine of the last 12 in Los Angeles, and this season the Cards are 4-1 against L.A.
1♦ CARDINALS
Michael Cannon
Boston at TORONTO +140
Take the Blue Jays as the home dog over the Red Sox.
I understand the logic behind this line but with the way Boston has been playing on the road I’d be a fool not to take a chance on Toronto with this kind of a return.
The Red Sox have lost eight of their last nine on the road and have lost every road series since the All-Star break with the exception of a three-game sweep of the pathetic Orioles. Over the last nine road games the vaunted Boston offense has produced just 27 runs and hit .202 as a team.
Toronto will start rookie Ricky Romero. The left-hander is 10-5 with a 3.70 ERA on the year. He’s going to have his work cut out with Josh Beckett starting for Boston. But Beckett hasn’t faced the Blue Jays this year and he was shelled by them last year.
Beckett was 0-2 with a 16.71 ERA in two starts against Toronto last year and is 1-2 with a 6.85 ERA in four career starts at Rogers Centre.
Take the Blue Jays at the nice plus return as they grab the home win.
3♦ TORONTO
Mr. Vegas Wins
FOR THE LARGEST SELECTION OF FREE SERVlCE PLAYS VlSlT THESPREAD.COM
Yankees at Oakland
FOR THE LARGEST SELECTION OF FREE SERVlCE PLAYS VlSlT THESPREAD.COM
Oakland is a huge park, great for pitchers as we saw last night in a 3-0 Oakland win. "It's frustrating to lose like that since A.J. pitched so well," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "He deserved better. Our starter goes eight innings an! d we get shut out. That's something you don't see every day. We're surprised we got shut out." NY catches a break as ace C.C. Sabathia faces a light hitting Oakland lineup.
FOR THE LARGEST SELECTION OF FREE SERVlCE PLAYS VlSlT THESPREAD.COM
Play the Yankees/Oakland Under the total.
Wunderdog
FOR THE LARGEST SELECTION OF FREE SERVlCE PLAYS VlSlT THESPREAD.COM
Seattle at Detroit
Pick: Seattle -170
FOR THE LARGEST SELECTION OF FREE SERVlCE PLAYS VlSlT THESPREAD.COM
The Seattle Storm has dropped six straight games ATS, but remain a top team in the league. I expect them to bring their "A" game to Detroit tonight as they will be out to revenge a three-point loss they suffered at home to the Shock. The Shock, WNBA Champs a year ago, are having problems of their own. The Shock are just 9-13 on the season, and not able to get anything going. They have not won more than two in a row all season long, and five of their nine wins have been by six points or less. They have been at their worst when playing on two days rest where they are 0-5 ATS in their last five. I think the better team, Seattle, will be focused for this one, so I'll go with the Storm here.
FOR THE LARGEST SELECTION OF FREE SERVlCE PLAYS VlSlT THESPREAD.COM
Los Angeles Angels at Cleveland
Pick: Cleveland -110
FOR THE LARGEST SELECTION OF FREE SERVlCE PLAYS VlSlT THESPREAD.COM
The Indians have waited a longtime for Fausto Carmona to pitch the way he did in '07, when he won 19 games. He has battled through injuries, rebuilding arm strength, and appears to be back where he was. Carmona has pitched to a 2.65 ERA in his last three starts, not allowing more than two runs in any of the three games. It is the first time he has done so since last May. The Angels are down to Trevor Bell for this one, and he did not impress in his debut vs. the Rays where he allowed four runs in 5.1 innings and served up two long balls. The Indians have relished the role of a favorite where they are 4-0 in their last four, and against a pitcher with a WHIP of 1.30 or higher, the Indians have cashed six of their last seven.
Scott Rickenbach
FOR THE LARGEST SELECTION OF FREE SERVlCE PLAYS VlSlT THESPREAD.COM
St. Louis Cardinals @ Los Angeles Dodgers
PICK: Under 8.5
FOR THE LARGEST SELECTION OF FREE SERVlCE PLAYS VlSlT THESPREAD.COM
It was another under for the Dodgers yesterday. The 3-2 final marked the fourth under for Los Angeles in their last five games. Also, the Dodgers have been held to two runs or less in five of their last nine games. They’ve only scored more than four runs twice in their last nine games! They simply aren’t getting the job done at the plate as they’ve only recorded double digits in hits twice in their last nine games! Things are unlikely to improve at the plate for Los Angeles tonight because they’re getting their first-ever look at Mitchell Boggs. While his numbers certainly aren’t great this season, before his loss to Cincy last Tuesday, Boggs had held his opponent to two earned runs or less in four of his first five starts this season. He also had pitched well in his only stint out of the bullpen – a two-inning effort earlier this season.
FOR THE LARGEST SELECTION OF FREE SERVlCE PLAYS VlSlT THESPREAD.COM
While the Dodgers sticks remain quiet tonight we also don’t expect much from the Cardinals lumber either! St Louis will be dealing with Chad Billingsley of the Dodgers. The right-hander has allowed three earned runs or less in 19 of his 24 starts this season. Also, even though he’s lasted at least 5.2 innings in 21 of his 24 starts this season, he has not allowed double digits in hits in a single one of his starts! In fact, one of Billingsley’s rare, ugly starts came at St Louis just three starts back. He got roughed up at Busch Stadium and also lacked command of his pitches. Tonight, it will be payback at pitcher-friendly Dodger Stadium for Billingsley. As he holds the Cards sticks in checks, look for the Dodgers woes at the plate to also continue and that spells pitchers duel. Consider a small play on UNDER the total in the Los Angeles Dodgers game on Tuesday night.
Mike Rose
FOR THE LARGEST SELECTION OF FREE SERVlCE PLAYS VlSlT THESPREAD.COM
Florida Marlins -115
FOR THE LARGEST SELECTION OF FREE SERVlCE PLAYS VlSlT THESPREAD.COM
After a disappointing start in his last outing, RHP Ricky Nolasco will be back on the bump on Tuesday night. Nolasco conceded a whopping ten runs in just 3.1 innings against these Astros last week in Floridas 14-6 loss. Prior to that start though, the right-hander had been on fire, pitching four straight games of allowing two runs or less. Nolasco may only be 8-8 with a 5.44 ERA on the season, but that is a marked improvement from the 2-5 record and 9.07 ERA he had at the end of May. Since that point, Marlins bettors are 9-4 in his 13 starts, and have earned a cool $638 in the process. Nolasco is 2-1 in four career appearances against the Stros, but his 8.35 career ERA is bloated thanks to his miserable outing last week.
FOR THE LARGEST SELECTION OF FREE SERVlCE PLAYS VlSlT THESPREAD.COM
The Astros will counter by sending rookie RHP Bud Norris to the mound. After just three starts, Norris has already netted MLB bettors over five units on the season, making him one of the Top-10 money pitchers in the NL. Hes a perfect 3-0 with a 3.00 ERA. Opposing batters are only hitting .228 against him in 21.0 IPs. His last start wasnt fantastic, but thanks to how poorly Nolasco pitched in that game, Norris four earned runs in five innings was good enough for the victory. Norris has only made one career start in Houston, and that came back on August 7th. He pitched six innings, allowing just three hits and two runs in the Astros 6-3 win over Milwaukee.
FOR THE LARGEST SELECTION OF FREE SERVlCE PLAYS VlSlT THESPREAD.COM
Six straight meetings between these teams have eclipsed the total. The winning team has scored at least eight runs in all six of those outings. Norris may be the hot pitcher, but its hard to believe that his luck is going to continue. Nolasco has really pitched much better than his season numbers indicate. Bank on him to have a nice rebound performance and to score a victory against the team that lit him up just six days ago. Florida has won six of the L/7 against Houston. Look for that streak to continue tonight
Dave Price
1 Unit on Detroit Tigers +110
The Tigers, one of the best home clubs in baseball, are showing excellent value in the home dog role tonight. I know how good Hernandez has been for the M's this season, but they are only 3-7 in the last 10 meetings in Detroit. Plus, this is a revenge spot with the Tigers looking to avenge back-to-back losses to the M's at home nearly a month ago. In fact, plays on all teams when the money line is +125 to -125 (DETROIT) - revenging a loss vs. an opponent as a home favorite, in a game involving two marginal winning teams (51% to 54%) are 40-15 the last 5 seasons. Plus, the Tigers are an impressive 18-5 in their last 23 home games vs. a right-handed starter. Porcello is a perfect 2-0 this season against the M's and the Tigers have won 7 of his 10 home starts. Like the Tigers at home in this revenge spot for 1 unit.
Rob Homyak
5 Units on Boston Red Sox
Boston is 13-3 in Josh Beckett's last 16 road starts against a team with a losing record. Beckett last 6 starts an ERA of just 1.80 and the Red Sox are 8-1 in Beckett's last 9 starts with 5 days rest. Boston is 11-2 in their last 13 games when playing with a day off and they are 4-0 in their last 4 games as a favorite. Ricky Romero (10-5, 3.70) has struggled in 2 career starts versus the Red Sox, losing both with an ERA of 9.72. The Totonto Blue Jays are just 1-6 in their last 7 games after a day off and they are just 8-21 in their last 29 games when playing a team with a winning record.
Red Sox are 14-1 as -125 to -150 road favorites this season. Boston has won five of nine versus the Blue Jays this year
Red Sox are 78-41 (+24.1 Units) against the money line when playing against a team with a losing record over the last 2 seasons.
BECKETT is 14-1 (+12.6 Units) against the money line as a road favorite of -125 to -150 over the last 2 seasons.
Red Sox are 8-1 in Becketts last 9 starts with 5 days of rest.
Blue Jays are 16-29 (-15.5 Units) against the money line against division opponents this season.
Blue Jays are 29-39 (-13.1 Units) against the money line in night games this season.
Blue Jays are 0-4 in Romeros last 4 starts following a Quality Start in his last appearance.
Blue Jays are 0-4 in Romeros last 4 starts vs. American League East.
ROMERO is 0-2 when starting against BOSTON with an ERA of 9.72 and a WHIP of 2.521.
His team's record is 0-2 (-2.1 units) in these starts.