SPORTS ADVISORS
NATIONAL LEAGUE
L.A. Dodgers (62-37) at St. Louis (54-48)
The major league-leading Dodgers send ace Chad Billingsley (10-5, 3.72 ERA) to the Busch Stadium bump for the second game of a four-game set against the Cardinals, who are slated to trot out Adam Wainwright (11-6, 2.95).
St. Louis got another stellar pitching performance from Chris Carpenter en route to Monday’s 6-1 victory over Los Angeles, winning for just the third time in the last eight games. The Cardinals are on positive surges of 5-1 at home, 5-1 against the N.L. West, 16-4 against teams with a winning percentage above .600. In addition, the Redbirds have owned the Dodgers lately, going 42-20 in the last 62 meetings overall and 25-8 in the last 33 at home. This is the first series of the season between the two clubs.
Despite Monday’s setback, Los Angeles remains on several positive runs, including 6-3 overall, 5-1 against N.L. Central foes, 5-3 on the road and 10-5 against righty starters.
Los Angeles has followed up a three-game skid behind Billingsley by winning three of his last four starts, including Wednesday’s 6-2 home victory over Cincinnati, with the 24-year-old allowing two runs on seven hits and one walk while striking out seven in six innings. Billingsley is 3-1 with a 3.38 ERA in 10 road starts this year, with the Dodgers winning seven of those contests, and he’s 0-1 with a 3.18 ERA in four career appearances (three starts) against St. Louis.
St. Louis has won seven of Wainwright’s last nine starts, including four of the last five. On Thursday at Washington, he yielded one run on eight hits and a walk with seven strikeouts in six innings, as the Cardinals prevailed 4-1 in a rain-shortened contest. Wainwright, who has thrown at least six innings in 19 consecutive starts and gone seven innings or more 12 times, is 3-5 in 11 home starts this year despite a sturdy 2.37 ERA.
With Wainwright throwing, the Cards are on runs of 35-16 overall, 23-3 against winning teams and 19-8 at home. Against L.A., the right-hander is 1-2 with a 4.43 ERA in six career appearances (three starts).
The Dodgers are on “over” runs of 4-2-1 overall, 9-3 on the road, 11-6 against right-handed starters, 5-1-1 with Billingsley starting and 4-0 behind Billingsley on the highway. On the flip side, the Cardinals are on “under” streaks of 9-3 overall, 6-0 at home and 6-0 against the N.L. West, and with Wainwright taking the ball, the under is on rolls of 6-0 overall, 9-3 against the N.L. West and 5-2 at home.
Finally, the under has been the play in seven of the last 10 meetings in this rivalry, with Monday’s 6-1 contest barely staying below the posted price.
ATS ADVANTAGE: ST. LOUIS
AMERICAN LEAGUE
N.Y. Yankees (61-38) at Tampa Bay (54-46)
CC Sabathia (10-6, 3.67 ERA) leads the red-hot Yankees into the second game of their three-game series with the Rays, who are scheduled to counter with lefty Scott Kazmir (4-6, 6.69) at Tropicana Field.
New York cruised to an 11-4 victory in Monday’s series opener, improving to 10-1 in its last 11 games overall and 9-3 in its last 12 on the road. Additionally, the first-place Yankees are on a bundle of positive runs, including 46-21 overall, 7-1 in the A.L. East and 16-5 against winning teams.
Tampa Bay is still on a lengthy 88-36 streak at home dating to last season and is on further upticks of 5-2 in division play and 19-8 at the Trop against teams with a winning road record. However, the Yankees now hold a 5-4 lead in this rivalry in 2009, with the road team on a 6-2 run.
New York has won two in a row behind Sabathia for the first time since claiming three straight from May 8-19. Last Thursday, the veteran southpaw gave up three runs on nine hits with no walks over seven innings en route to a 6-3 home win over the Athletics. That followed a sterling 2-1 home victory over Detroit on July 18 when Sabathia delivered seven shutout innings.
Sabathia is 6-4 with a 3.33 ERA in 11 road starts this season, and he’s 7-1 with a 2.63 ERA in 12 career starts against Tampa. However, the Rays roughed up Sabathia on June 6 at Yankee Stadium, pounding out five runs (four earned) in eight innings, eventually prevailing 9-7.
Tampa had won two in a row and five of seven behind Kazmir before Thursday’s 5-0 road loss to the White Sox, in which Chicago’s Mark Buehrle threw a perfect game. Kazmir allowed all five runs on five hits and three walks in six innings. The lefty is 1-3 with a whopping 9.50 ERA in seven home starts this year, but he’s a much more respectable 5-4 with a 2.65 ERA in 13 career outings (12 starts) against the Bronx Bombers. In an April 13 home contest with the Yanks, he allowed three runs in 6 2/3 innings of a 15-5 Tampa Bay rout.
The under for New York is on runs of 7-3-1 overall and 8-4-1 against A.L. East foes, but the over is on streaks 5-0 on the road, 5-1-1 behind Sabathia and 4-0 with Sabathia hurling on the road. For Tampa, the under is on stretches of 35-17-1 overall, 9-3 in division play and 4-1 with Kazmir throwing, but the over is 6-1 in Kazmir’s last seven home starts and 16-5 in his last 21 outings against division opponents.
Finally, with last night’s high-scoring affair flying past the total, the over has now hit in six of the last seven Yanks-Rays clashes at Tropicana Field.
ATS ADVANTAGE: N.Y. YANKEES and OVER
DUNKEL
Pittsburgh at San Francisco
The Pirates look to take advantage of a San Francisco team that is just 1-18 in Barry Zito's last 19 starts against the NL Central. Pittsburgh is the pick (+130) according to Dunkel, which has the Pirates favored by 1. Dunkel Pick: Pittsburgh (+130).
Game 901-902: Atlanta at Florida
Dunkel Ratings: Atlanta (Jurrjens) 15.611; Florida (Nolasco) 16.069
Dunkel Line: Florida by 1/2; 7
Vegas Line: Atlanta (-125); 8 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Florida (+115); Under
Game 903-904: San Diego at Cincinnati
Dunkel Ratings: San Diego (Correia) 13.130; Cincinnati (Arroyo) 13.576
Dunkel Line: Cincinnati by 1/2; 8
Vegas Line: Cincinnati (-160); 9 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Cincinnati (-160); Under
Game 905-906: Colorado at NY Mets
Dunkel Ratings: Colorado (Marquis) 15.423; NY Mets (Pelfrey) 16.147
Dunkel Line: NY Mets by 1/2; 7 1/2
Vegas Line: Colorado (-145); 8 1/2
Dunkel Pick: NY Mets (+135); Under
Game 907-908: Washington at Milwaukee
Dunkel Ratings: Washington (Balester) 13.572; Milwaukee (Villanueva) 14.367
Dunkel Line: Milwaukee by 1; 11 1/2
Vegas Line: Milwaukee (-180); 10
Dunkel Pick: Milwaukee (-180); Over
Game 909-910: Houston at Chicago Cubs
Dunkel Ratings: Houston (Oswalt) 15.338; Cubs (Dempster) 15.239
Dunkel Line: Houston by 1/2; 7 1/2
Vegas Line: Chicago Cubs (-120); No Run Line
Dunkel Pick: Houston (+110); N/A
Game 911-912: LA Dodgers at St. Louis
Dunkel Ratings: LA Dodgers (Billingsley) 15.659; St. Louis (Wainwright) 14.734
Dunkel Line: LA Dodgers by 1; 6
Vegas Line: St. Louis (-130); 7 1/2
Dunkel Pick: LA Dodgers (+120); Under
Game 913-914: Philadelphia at Arizona
Dunkel Ratings: Philadelphia (Hamels) 16.113; Arizona (Haren) 16.524
Dunkel Line: Arizona by 1/2; 9
Vegas Line: Arizona (-130); 7 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Arizona (-130); Over
Game 915-916: Pittsburgh at San Francisco
Dunkel Ratings: Pittsburgh (Morton) 14.761; San Francisco (Zito) 13.869
Dunkel Line: Pittsburgh by 1; 7 1/2
Vegas Line: San Francisco (-140); 8 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Pittsburgh (+130); Under
Game 917-918: NY Yankees at Tampa Bay
Dunkel Ratings: NY Yankees (Sabathia) 15.894; Tampa Bay (Kazmir) 14.879
Dunkel Line: NY Yankees by 1; 10
Vegas Line: NY Yankees (-145); 9
Dunkel Pick: NY Yankees (-145); Over
Game 919-920: Kansas City at Baltimore
Dunkel Ratings: Kansas City (Bannister) 14.517; Baltimore (Berken) 15.761
Dunkel Line: Baltimore by 1; 8
Vegas Line: Baltimore (-130); 9 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Baltimore (-130); Under
Game 921-922: Oakland at Boston
Dunkel Ratings: Oakland (Mazzaro) 15.277; Boston (Buchholz) 16.460
Dunkel Line: Boston by 1; 8
Vegas Line: Boston (-220); 9
Dunkel Pick: Boston (-220); Under
Game 923-924: Detroit at Texas
Dunkel Ratings: Detroit (French) 15.587; Texas (Padilla) 14.929
Dunkel Line: Detroit by 1/2; 8 1/2
Vegas Line: Texas (-120); 10
Dunkel Pick: Detroit (+110); Under
Game 925-926: Chicago White Sox at Minnesota
Dunkel Ratings: White Sox (Buehrle) 15.438; Minnesota (Baker) 15.930
Dunkel Line: Minnesota by 1/2; 10
Vegas Line: Minnesota (-125); 8 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Minnesota (-125); Over
Game 927-928: Cleveland at LA Angels
Dunkel Ratings: Cleveland (Huff) 16.713; LA Angels (Weaver) 16.151
Dunkel Line: Cleveland by 1/2; 10
Vegas Line: LA Angels (-200); 8 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Cleveland (+180); Over
Game 929-930: Toronto at Seattle
Dunkel Ratings: Toronto (Rzepczynski) 14.637; Seattle (Washburn) 14.577
Dunkel Line: Toronto by 1/2; 9
Vegas Line: Seattle (-120); 7 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Toronto (+110); Over
WNBA
Washington at Indiana
The Fever look to rebound from their defeat at San Antonio and build on their 4-1 record in their last 5 games following a SU loss. Indiana is the pick (-7) according to Dunkel, which has the Fever favored by 8 1/2. Dunkel Pick: Indiana (-7).
Game 601-602: Washington at Indiana
Dunkel Ratings: Washington 108.554; Indiana 117.037
Dunkel Line & Total: Indiana by 8 1/2; 141
Vegas Line & Total: Indiana by 7; 145
Dunkel Pick: Indiana (-7); Under
Game 603-604: Phoenix at Connecticut
Dunkel Ratings: Phoenix 112.659; Connecticut 113.424
Dunkel Line & Total: Connecticut by 1; 180
Vegas Line & Total: Connecticut by 3 1/2; 176 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Phoenix (+3 1/2); Over
Game 605-606: Seattle at San Antonio
Dunkel Ratings: Seattle 109.303; San Antonio 110.000
Dunkel Line & Total: San Antonio by 1; 135
Vegas Line & Total: San Antonio by 2 1/2; 138 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Seattle (+2 1/2); Under
Game 607-608: Los Angeles at Minnesota
Dunkel Ratings: Los Angeles 108.766; Minnesota 110.819
Dunkel Line & Total: Minnesota by 2; 148
Vegas Line & Total: Minnesota by 4; 151
Dunkel Pick: Los Angeles (+4); Under
Vernon Croy
FOR THE LARGEST SELECTION OF FREE SERVlCE PLAYS VlSlT THESPREAD.COM
Houston Astros vs. Chicago Cubs
Play: Houston Astros
FOR THE LARGEST SELECTION OF FREE SERVlCE PLAYS VlSlT THESPREAD.COM
Take the Houston Astros on the Moneyline, We are getting solid value here Tuesday night with the Astros who have Roy Oswalt (6-4, 3.66 ERA) on the mound. Oswalt has pitched solid on the road this season with an ERA of just 3.37 allowing just 56 hits over 72 innings while striking out 52 batters. Oswalt has also pitched solid over his last 3 starts with an ERA of just 2.86 while lasting an average of 7.3 innings per start. This is Ryan Dempster's (5-5, 4.09 ERA) first start since July.2 so I do not expect him to throw deep into this game and both teams bullpens are not rested since last night's game went into the 13th inning. The Cubs are just 1-5 in Dempster's last 6 starts and the Astros are a perfect 5-0 in Oswalt's last 5 starts coming into Tuesday night's game. The Cubs are 0-4 in Dempster's last 4 starts against the Astros and they are just 3-6 when he has pitched at night this season. Take the Houston Astro's Tuesday night.
Cajun Sports
FOR THE LARGEST SELECTION OF FREE SERVlCE PLAYS VlSlT THESPREAD.COM
Houston Astros vs. Chicago Cubs
Play: Houston Astros
FOR THE LARGEST SELECTION OF FREE SERVlCE PLAYS VlSlT THESPREAD.COM
Game Two of this three-game series at Wrigley Field between the host Chicago Cubs and the visiting Houston Astros is set for Tuesday night with the first pitch at 8:05PM EST. Houston even though they do not have a winning record on the road the last two seasons they have been profitable for their backers posting a record of 61-65 for +13.1 Units. During the second half of the season the last two years they have been solid going 60-41 for +23.7 Units. The Astros will send Roy Oswalt to the bump with his 6-4 record and ERA of 3.66 on the season. He will face a Cubs team that is ranked 25 in hitting averaging .252 at the plate scoring 4.3 runs per game. Oswalt is 4-2 on the road with an ERA of 3.37 and 1-0 his last three outings with an ERA of 2.86 with the Astros 3-0 behind him over that span. He is also 15-4 (+10.9) during the second half of the season the last two years and 23-4 (+18.3) when facing a winning team with a win percentage of 51 to 54 percent. Chicago will send Ryan Demptser to the hill with his 5-5 record and ERA of 4.09. Dempster is 4-1 at home this season with a 4.12 ERA but over his last three trips to the mound he is 1-1 with an ERA of 4.91 while the Cubs are 1-2 behind him over that span. The Cubs are 2-5 in his last 7 as a favorite in this price range, 1-5 in Dempster’s last 6 overall and 0-9 if he is coming off a quality start in his last outing. With support for the visitor coming from both the fundamental and technical elements we will back them here as they get the game two victory at Wrigley Field on Tuesday night.
FOR THE LARGEST SELECTION OF FREE SERVlCE PLAYS VlSlT THESPREAD.COM
Graded Selection: 2* Houston Astros 3 Chicago Cubs 1
Craig Trapp
FOR THE LARGEST SELECTION OF FREE SERVlCE PLAYS VlSlT THESPREAD.COM
New York Yankees vs. Tampa Bay Rays
Play: New York Yankees
FOR THE LARGEST SELECTION OF FREE SERVlCE PLAYS VlSlT THESPREAD.COM
The hottest team in the league winning 10 of 11 since the all star break. They exploded yesterday dismantling TB winning 11-4. Good news for the Yankees they have ace Sabathia going today trying to win his third win in a row. CC is a second half pitcher and is just starting to get warmed up. Historically Sabathia has been great vs TB with a 7-1 2.63 ERA in 12 career starts. The bats of the NYY have been smoking averaging over 8 runs the last 15 games. On the other side they face Kazmir on the mound who has not been good this year. In fact his ERA is approaching 7.00 ERA this season. Historically he has been great against the NYY but he just does not have the same velocity or command he had last year. The NYY will dominate Kazmir early and often and extend there hot streak. EASY m/l Winner. SCORE NYY 8 - TB 3
Brad Diamnd Sports
FOR THE LARGEST SELECTION OF FREE SERVlCE PLAYS VlSlT THESPREAD.COM
Play: St. Louis over Los Angeles
FOR THE LARGEST SELECTION OF FREE SERVlCE PLAYS VlSlT THESPREAD.COM
With Matt Holliday in the lineup the Cardinals match-up better with the west coast leading Dodgers. In fact, in the series Cards have won 24 of 32 at home and 41 of 60 overall. With RHP Wainwright (11-6, 2.95) throwing the Cardinals show at 6-1 off a quality start. Plus the home club is 23-3 versus a winning team overall.
Red Dog Sports
FOR THE LARGEST SELECTION OF FREE SERVlCE PLAYS VlSlT THESPREAD.COM
Oakland at Boston
Play: Under 9.5
FOR THE LARGEST SELECTION OF FREE SERVlCE PLAYS VlSlT THESPREAD.COM
These two have 82 overs and 102 unders this year. Mazzaro has 1 over and 8 unders this season while Clay Buchholz has 0 overs and 2 unders. Boston has 21 unders, 8 overs and 4 pushes in their last 33 home games. Look for an under on Tuesday.
Marc Lawrence
FOR THE LARGEST SELECTION OF FREE SERVlCE PLAYS VlSlT THESPREAD.COM
Los Angeles Dodgers at St Louis Cardinals
Prediction: St Louis Cardinals
FOR THE LARGEST SELECTION OF FREE SERVlCE PLAYS VlSlT THESPREAD.COM
The Dodgers and Cardinals resume their four-game series when Chad Billingsley takes on Adam Wainwright in St. Louis this evening. Wainwright checks in with wins in 14 of his last 20 team starts. He's also 8-2 in his career team starts in July. With Billingsley in rocky current form, look for him to drop to 0-4 in his career team starts against Wainwright and the Red Birds here tonight.
Jimmy The Moose
FOR THE LARGEST SELECTION OF FREE SERVlCE PLAYS VlSlT THESPREAD.COM
Los Angeles Dodgers at St Louis Cardinals
Prediction: St Louis Cardinals
FOR THE LARGEST SELECTION OF FREE SERVlCE PLAYS VlSlT THESPREAD.COM
The Dodgers come into this one having lost 3 of their last 4 games. Over his last 3 starts Billingsley has an ERA of 9.24. The Dodgers are 3-4 over his last 7 starts. In his three starts vs. St. Louis the Dodgers are 0-3. The Cardinals are 11-3 in their last 14 games as a favorite. St. Louis has won 5 of their last 6 home games. The Cardinals have won 7 of Wainwright's last 10 starts. In his last 27 home starts the Cardinals are 19-8. LA is 8-25 in their last 33 trips to St. Louis. Play on the St. Louis Cardinals -.
BIG AL
FOR THE LARGEST SELECTION OF FREE SERVlCE PLAYS VlSlT THESPREAD.COM
Chicago White Sox vs. Minnesota Twins
Play: Minnesota Twins
FOR THE LARGEST SELECTION OF FREE SERVlCE PLAYS VlSlT THESPREAD.COM
White Sox ace Mark Buehrle did something in his last start (throwing a perfect game) that only 17 other pitchers in history have done. Moreover, his perfect game against the Tampa Bay Rays was his second career no-hitter. To say that a letdown tonight against the Twins in Minnesota is a possibility may be an understatement. It's only been two starts, and about two weeks since Buehrle had his worst start of the season in the Metrodome on July 12, his last start before the All-Star break. It was extremely ugly and Buehrle's only loss in his last five starts. He will face the same Minnesota starter that he faced that day -- righthanded veteran Scott Baker. Since Baker's win 16 days ago, he has had two more starts (both on the road) and pitched very well, surrendering only three earned runs in 13 innings. The Twins will no doubt be happy to be back home for this series after a nine-game road trip as they are 29-20 at home vs. 21-30 on the road. That win on July 12 over the Sox was par for the course as the Twins have won nine of the last 11 games that these two teams have played at the Metrodome. Take the Twins.
Carlo Campanella
FOR THE LARGEST SELECTION OF FREE SERVlCE PLAYS VlSlT THESPREAD.COM
Colorado Rockies vs. New York Mets
FOR THE LARGEST SELECTION OF FREE SERVlCE PLAYS VlSlT THESPREAD.COM
Colorado is in the road Favorite role on Tuesday night as they start Marquis on the mound in New York. The Mets have now fallen below the .500% mark after losing 6 of their last 10 games. The opposite can be said of the red-hot Rockies, who have now won on a 5-2 winning streak and now start Marquis, who's won 2 of his last 3 trips to the mound while allowing just 3 Earned Runs in 22 Innings Pitched during those three efforts! Lay the lumber with the Rockies as they are solid in this role as we find them at 14-5 against NL teams scoring 4.3 or less runs per game following the All-star break over the last 2 seasons.
FOR THE LARGEST SELECTION OF FREE SERVlCE PLAYS VlSlT THESPREAD.COM
7* Free Play On Colorado
Bobby Maxwell
Philadelphia +110 at ARIZONA
FOR THE LARGEST SELECTION OF FREE SERVlCE PLAYS VlSlT THESPREAD.COM
Today's FREE winner comes from Arizona as I love the Phillies in this matchup with the Diamondbacks.
I like getting plus-money with the World Series MVP on the hill and him facing a punchless offense. Play Cole Hamels (6-5, 4.66 ERA) and the Phillies in this one in Arizona.
Philadelphia took Monday's game 6-2 behind the pitching of the ageless Jamie Moyer. Today they'll get it behind Hamels who will start to get into the form we became accustomed to last season.
FOR THE LARGEST SELECTION OF FREE SERVlCE PLAYS VlSlT THESPREAD.COM
Hamels has allowed three runs or less in three of his last four starts and the Phillies have won all four. In two career outings agaisnt the D'Backs, he's allowed a total of three runs in 12.2 innings in two easy wins for the Phillies.
Philadelphia is on runs of 20-7 overall, 30-14 on the road, 14-3 against right-handed starters and 7-2 against the N.L. West. With Hamels on the hill, they are on runs of 8-3 on the road, 24-9 when he pitches the second game of a series, 7-3 when he gets four days of rest and 10-4 when he faces the N.L. West.
FOR THE LARGEST SELECTION OF FREE SERVlCE PLAYS VlSlT THESPREAD.COM
Meanwhile the D'Backs are just 2-6 in their last eight against winning teams, and 3-10 at home against winning squads. Dan Haren (10-5, 2.14 ERA) is the best thing about this team, but the offense is lifeless. Play Philly in this one.
FOR THE LARGEST SELECTION OF FREE SERVlCE PLAYS VlSlT THESPREAD.COM
3♦ PHILADELPHIA
Dominic Fazzini
Philadelphia at ARIZONA
FOR THE LARGEST SELECTION OF FREE SERVlCE PLAYS VlSlT THESPREAD.COM
The Red Sox took care of business as a run line play as my complimentary selection Monday. I feel good about making it two in a row today.
Cole Hamels (6-5, 4.66 ERA) started slowly this year, but he’s been coming on lately.
The Phillies left-hander is 1-0 with a 3.00 ERA in two outings since the All-Star break, and has been stronger in the second half of seasons in his young career, going 17-9 with a 3.05 ERA after the break.
FOR THE LARGEST SELECTION OF FREE SERVlCE PLAYS VlSlT THESPREAD.COM
Hamels gave up three runs and four hits in seven innings Thursday against San Diego in his last outing.
Diamondbacks ace Dan Haren (10-5, 2.14) has been amazing all year. In his last start, the right-hander allowed more than three runs for just the second time in 20 starts, giving up four runs and eight hits in five innings, his shortest outing of the season, Thursday against Pittsburgh.
Haren is 0-1 with a 5.25 ERA in two career starts vs. Philadelphia, but the last one was in 2003, so I’m not even factoring that into my logic here.
FOR THE LARGEST SELECTION OF FREE SERVlCE PLAYS VlSlT THESPREAD.COM
With two pitchers who have been on their game taking the mound, I don’t expect many runs to cross the plate tonight. Go with the under.
FOR THE LARGEST SELECTION OF FREE SERVlCE PLAYS VlSlT THESPREAD.COM
4♦ UNDER
Jeff Benton
Chi. White Sox at MINNESOTA -125
FOR THE LARGEST SELECTION OF FREE SERVlCE PLAYS VlSlT THESPREAD.COM
The free-play run now sits at 15-6 in the month of July – including 6-1 over the past seven days –after the Mets cashed a big underdog ticket Monday. For Tuesday, I’m going to play the Twins at home against Mark Buehrle and the visiting White Sox.
FOR THE LARGEST SELECTION OF FREE SERVlCE PLAYS VlSlT THESPREAD.COM
Unless you’ve been living under the rock, you know that Buehrle tossed baseball’s 17th perfect game – and his second no-hitter – on Thursday against the Rays in Chicago. With that 5-0 win, the White Sox are now 7-1 in Buehrle’s last eight starts. However, guess where that one loss occurred? Yep, you guessed it, inside the Metrodome two weeks ago. In that 13-7 defeat, Buehrle gave up a season-high eight runs on 10 hits (including three home runs) while pitching a season-low 3 1/3 innings.
Granted, prior to that, Buehrle faced the Twins twice earlier this season and gave up one earned run in each game over a total of 13 1/3 innings, with Chicago winning 6-2 and 6-1. However, both of those games were in Chicago, where Buehrle has a 2.50 ERA in 12 starts compared with a 4.53 ERA in eight road outings. Also, going back to the end of the 2007 season, Buehrle has made four starts inside the Metrodome and given up 20 runs (19 earned) in 21 1/3 innings (8.02 ERA), with Chicago losing the last three of those contests. Buehrle has now given up more home runs (13) in the Metrodome than any other visiting ballpark.
FOR THE LARGEST SELECTION OF FREE SERVlCE PLAYS VlSlT THESPREAD.COM
As for Twins starter Scott Baker, he’s been wildly inconsistent over the past month, but he is coming off two decent outings, both on the road (three total runs allowed in 13 innings at Texas and the Angels). True, Baker has gotten hit hard by the White Sox twice this season (nine runs allowed in 11 1/3 innings) and he’s now got a bloated 6.83 career ERA in 10 starts against Chicago. Yet Minnesota has still won six of Baker’s last eight starts versus the Pale Hose (4-1 at home), including that 13-7 win over Buehrle on July 12. In fact, the Twins have scored 71 runs in those six wins – an average of 11.8 runs per contest!
Finally, this rivalry has been completely dominated by the home team the last two years, with the host taking 17 of the past 20 meetings and Chicago losing nine of its last 11 in the Homer Dome after Monday's 4-3 setback. Bottom line: Buehrle was absolutely amazing five days ago, but he’s had very little success in this venue recently, and I’m expecting him to get smacked pretty good by the Twins – not to mention reality. Play Minnesota.
FOR THE LARGEST SELECTION OF FREE SERVlCE PLAYS VlSlT THESPREAD.COM
5♦ MINNESOTA TWINS
Matt Rivers
For Tuesday take whatever you can with Chad Billingsley and the Dodgers.
FOR THE LARGEST SELECTION OF FREE SERVlCE PLAYS VlSlT THESPREAD.COM
I'm not at all calling this a mortal lock because Adam Wainwright is very good and the Cardinals after trading for Matt Holliday have become a much more dangerous team. Albert Pujols now has the protection that he has needed and Julio Lugo has filled in nicely as well helping Tony LaRussa's lineup become a lot more potent.
But with the above said if you want to give me an absolute stud in Billingsley and a Dodger team that is 25 or so games above .500 before playing their 100th game than I am all for it. Manny Ramirez may not be Albert great but he's not that far away and the blue possess probably the better overall lineup when you throw in guys like Ethier, Furcal, Kemp, Loney and a few others.
FOR THE LARGEST SELECTION OF FREE SERVlCE PLAYS VlSlT THESPREAD.COM
The bullpens are pretty even but if I had to choose, even with Ryan Franklin's great first half, I would have to side with Broxton, Troncoso and the boys from the City of Angels.
FOR THE LARGEST SELECTION OF FREE SERVlCE PLAYS VlSlT THESPREAD.COM
I fully expect a well pitched game and high quality baseball and after 9 innings the Dodgers to have a bit too much in this spot and at this price I'm all about the visitors.
FOR THE LARGEST SELECTION OF FREE SERVlCE PLAYS VlSlT THESPREAD.COM
1♦ Dodgers