Sports Experts 17
Cincinnati Reds at San Francisco Giants
Pick: San Francisco Giants
Today the Giants hand the ball to a guy that hasn´t pitch since last 2 years Eric Surkamp (last game pitched 9/28/11 against Colorado, losing 3-6). By the Reds is Tony Cingrani with a 3-1 record this season but there´s one thing that make Sports Experts 17 decide to go with the San Francisco Giants tonight and is the fact that Cingrani last win was back in June 11th 2013 against the Chicago Cubs, since that day he just had a complete game against the Brewers and he lose 0-2, so there´s no much difference between this two pitchers, so we take the home team to win this game.
Greg Shaker
Miami +146
If you actually listen to anything that I say, you heard me touting the fact that Strikeout pitchers tend to struggle just before the Allstar Break. The Miami Pitcher is one of those, and he did have a couple of iffy games just before the break. Actually they were not so bad, allowing just 8 hits in 12 innings. But his K/BB Ratio was way down. This guy who has 103 K's in less than 105 Innings got 9 K's and issued 7 BB's during that 2 game stretch. But guess what? He's got 10 days of rest and that arm he has just got energized! That's bad news for Rocky Hitters who can seem to hit much of anything right now, batting near the .230 mark over their last 10 while playing some of those game right here at the Premier Hitting Park in the World! Yes I know that Chacin is on the hill, yes I know that Miami has been Piss Poor this year. But the Marlins are doing more right as of late and Chacin is experiencing some mid season control issues. We know that Fernandez is ready to go and should give us good innings. After all, he has had 11 Quality starts in a row. At this price, I got to smoke the Cuban.
Nelly
Chicago Cubs + over Arizona Diamondbacks
Patrick Corbin has enjoyed a great season with an 11-1 record and a 2.35 ERA but the Cubs are a team that has given him problems, scoring four runs against him in June. Corbin has inflated statistics as his xFIP of 3.50 suggests a pitcher closer to the league average and he has allowed four or more runs in four of his last 10 starts. While the Cubs have sold off two of their top pitchers in recent weeks this is a team with a 16-14 record in the last 30 games and strong offensive numbers in the last month, featuring the 7th best team wOBA over the last month while flexing some home run power. In the last 10 games the Cubs have scored over four runs per game while batting .260, numbers that blow away what Arizona has been doing. The Diamondbacks have hit .195 in the last 10 games while scoring just 2.6 runs per game. Arizona has a losing record over the last month, recently surrendering the NL West lead and the Diamondbacks are only +6 in run differential on the year. Chicago despite being nine games below .500 is only -13 in run differential on the season and since May 1 the Cubs are 16 runs superior to Arizona in that measure. Travis Wood has allowed three or fewer runs in nine straight starts and he owns a 2.91 ERA on the road this season with a 0.92 WHIP. In six of seven road starts this season Wood has delivered a quality start and his numbers are not far off from Corbins despite the great rift in record. With huge dog value a Cubs team that is playing pretty well is worth a look as Arizona continues to slump.
Craig Davis
Today's free play is on the Arizona D'Backs on the run line to try and battle their way through a tough stretch to get back into first place.
Do you realize the D'Backs are out of first for the first time since the middle of May?
Partially because they haven't played up to potential and partially because the Dodgers are red hot.
Patrick Corbin (11-1, 2.35 ERA) will try to get his team back on track as one of the best pitchers in the National League looks to rebound from his All Star outing.
After a five-start winless streak, Corbin is 2-0 with a 1.23 ERA and 20 strikeouts in his last two games, which has me believing he's back on track.
Travis Wood (6-6, 2.79) counters for the Cubs, who give him very little run support (which helps our side tremendously).
He has just one win in his last eight starts despite allowing only three earned runs or less in each of those outings.
Having said that, Wood hates pitching against the D'Backs. He's 0-3 with an 8.40 ERA in his last three starts against Arizona.
Take the Diamondbacks as your free play of the day.
1♦ ARIZONA -1.5
Jeff Benton
Your Tuesday freebie is the Braves to follow up their win on Monday with another win on Tuesday over the Mets.
Atlanta got both of their runs in last night's 2-1 win in the top of the ninth to break New York's heart.
I think that win will have a carryover effect on tonight's outcome.
It is time for Kris Medlen to break the funk that he is in, as Medlen is on an 0-2 slide with a whopping 10 runs allowed in under 10 innings of work.
Medlen is facing a New York team that he has owned, going 4-0 in his 7 career starts versus the Metropolitans with an ERA of just 2.36, and all 7 of those games have wound up being Atlanta victories.
New York will give Carlos Torres the ball for his second career start after 10 relief appearances.
Have to figure Medlen rights his ship, and the first place Braves get the better of the Mets once again here on Tuesday.
2♦ ATLANTA
Brad Wilton
My comp play release for Tuesday will be to play Miami and Colorado to hold Under the total at Coors Field.
After getting blanked 3 straight games, Miami "erupted" for 3 runs last night as they held on for a 3-1 win - and Under.
Look for another lower-scoring game tonight with Jose Fernandez and Jhoulys Chacin on the mound.
Jose Fernandez' last 5 starts have all played Under the total, and the rookie righty has allowed 3 runs or less in each of his last 8 assignments.
As for Chacin, he has allowed 2 runs or less in 6 of his last 7 starts.
Miami has played 6 straight Unders, while Colorado has now been Under the total in 7 of their last 8 ball games.
The Under is the play tonight at Coors Field.
4♦ MIAMI-COLORADO UNDER
Brett Atkins
After improving to 48-31 with my complimentary winners last night with the Detroit Tigers on the road in Chicago against the White Sox, I'm playing the Tampa Bay Rays in Boston against the Red Sox.
The Rays have sole possession of first place in their sights after last night's series-opening win in Beantown, as they pulled within a half-game of the Red Sox and now have a chance to move into first place for the first time since April 6.
And what I like most about the Rays' current run, is that it's somewhat been done quietly, with so much attention being focused on the Dodgers over the weekend and then Ryan Braun yesterday. Tampa Bay is rolling along and I don't think many realize it's on the brink of taking over first place.
The Rays, who have lost just twice in 20 games since June 28, are catching way too much money - I don't care who is pitching for them. Play the road pup in this game.
2♦ TAMPA BAY
Chris Jordan
I want you playing the Pittsburgh Pirates in Washington D.C. tonight, against the Nationals, as I love the Bucs to get it done behind the arm of Gerrit Cole. We're just going to list him ONLY though, as I'm basing most of this off him, and the rest on the fact the Pirates are out to prove the first half was no fluke.
As I told you yesterday with my 200♦ Bonus Dog, in which I didn't list either pitcher, I thought it was ludicrous to catch money with the best story in baseball over the first half of the season.
Washington was just swept at home by the Dodgers, and apparently isn't ready for the second half. I won't get long-winded here, but lo and behold, look who is ready to play - the Pirates. And tonight they'll get it done with Cole on the hill.
The Pirates' right-hander started his MLB career with plenty of fire, winning the first four starts of his career in impressive fashion, knocking off the Giants, Dodgers, Angels and Brewers. Since then he is 0-3 and has seemingly lost control of the command, as he hasn't been able to pitch consistently in games to get the win.
Nevertheless, he still hasn't allowed more than three earned runs in an outing, and still has a respectable 3.89 ERA for the season, and a rather impressive 25-to-9 strikeout-to-walk ratio over his seven-start career. Thing is, over the fist seven starts of his tenure in the bigs, Cole has allowed six runs in the first innings, and nine total in his other 34-2/3 innings combined.
With Cole being off since July 14 - that's 9 days to rest his arm, scout and prepare for the second half - I like his chances to dominate tonight.
5♦ PITTSBURGH
Scott Delaney
On the heels of an easy FREE winner on the Cincinnati Reds last night in San Francisco, I want you playing the Atlanta Braves in Queens, N.Y. tonight, as I like the National League East leaders to get it done over the Mets.
I really don't have a lot to say after watching my Pay-After play go down last night the way it did. I had the Mets with Dillon Gee, who was on no-hit alert online for a bit, while the Mets led 1-0. Then, out of nowhere, the Braves creep up and steal a 2-1 victory.
I basically think the Braves grabbed the mental edge in the game and is better suited for the investment after winning in the manner they did last night. It's a simple nod toward logic with this game. Play the road team and lay the cheap price.
1♦ ATLANTA