Mike Lundin
Boston Red Sox vs. Miami Marlins
Play: Boston Red Sox -118
The Red Sox had won seven straight in the series before losing 5-4 in extra-innings last night. I'm looking for the Red Sox to re-establish their dominance today when they send left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez to the mound. He's 1-1 with a 2.84 ERA in his last three starts and 3-2 with a 2.86 ERA in six road starts for the year. The Fish will turn to another southpaw in 25 year old rookie Adam Conley. He'll make his mere second start in the big leagues and has tossed just 7 1/3 innings in three relief appearances since being recalled on August 1 over which he's being tagged for a total of four runs.
Notes
Miami is 1-5 in its last six games vs. a left-handed starter.
Miami is 2-11 in its last 13 interleague games as an underdog.
Boston is 4-0 in Rodriguez's last four starts as a favorite.
Andrew Lange
Oakland at Toronto
Play: Under 9
We don't associate velocity with RA Dickey but his recent uptick has coincided with his best stretch of baseball over the last two seasons. Over his last five starts, Dickey has posted a 0.99 ERA and .183 BA against. He's also keep the ball in the park with only one home run allowed despite three of those five starts taking place in the Rogers Centre. Dickey has a chance to shine again as Oakland has shown little in the way of offensive punch. Since the All-Star break, the A's offense has been abysmal having averaged only 3.3 runs per game, .224 BA, and a .623 OPS. Dickey shut them down back in late July with an 8.1 IP, 2 ER effort in Oakland. Recently acquired Aaron Brooks gets his third start of the season after coming over from the Royals. He looked sharp in his first two outings, allowing only two earned runs in 14.1 innings vs. Houston and Cleveland. Even more impressive is Brooks' 15-1 K-to-BB ratio. It'll be tough to navigate Toronto's offense but coming from the right side, I give Brooks a good shot at a quality start. After an opener of 9, we've seen nothing but under money. Grab the key number now as we agree with the market move.
Bob Balfe
Indians -120
The Yankees bats were red hot a week ago, but have cooled and it looks as if they are heading into another slump. Carlos Carrasco has been a horse this year and is having himself a fine season. Luis Severino pitched excellent in his only outing this year, but there is no comparing these two pitchers just yet. At this price Carrasco holds tremendous value.
GoodFella
Baltimore +105
We cashed a big play going against these Orioles last night. Today, we play on them. Last night they had their stud closer NOT available and he is rested and ready to go this afternoon. Seattle used their top two bullpen arms last night & their best set up man C.Smith threw a lot of pitches....NO Nelson Cruz for the M's this afternoon as well & SEA starter Iwakuma has been roughed up at SAFECO Field this season. O's SP Gausman can be extremely tough when he has his command & I definitely see an edge for these O's in the very important bullpen(s) for this game & I definitely like the Orioles lineup depth as well here. We'll just see what happens here, and I am on the ORIOLES this afternoon.
Dave Price
Cleveland Indians -117
The New York Yankees are ice cold right now. They have gone 0-4 in their last four games overall while scoring a combined 5 runs in the process. The Cleveland Indians are red hot, going 3-0 in their last three games while scoring a combined 30 runs, or an average of 10 runs per game. They have scored 39 runs in their last 4 games to boot. That spells bad news for Yankees' starter C.C. Sabathia, who has been awful over the past 3-plus seasons. Sabathia is 4-8 with a 5.34 ERA and 1.415 WHIP in 21 starts this season, and 0-0 with a 5.94 ERA and 1.500 WHIP in his last three starts. Danny Salazar has been one of the best starters in baseball this year. Salazar is 9-6 with a 3.37 ERA and 1.069 WHIP in 20 starts. That includes 1-1 with a 1.31 ERA and 0.774 WHIP in his last three starts. The Yankees are 2-8 in Sabathia's last 10 starts as an underdog of +110 to +150. The Indians are 4-1 in the last 5 meetings.
Jack Jones
Chicago Cubs -167
I've backed the Chicago Cubs with a lot of success lately. I'll continue to roll with them as Wednesday's free pick even at this price of -167. The Cubs are playing their best baseball of the season, going 11-1 in their last 12 games overall to take over the final wild card spot in the National League.
Chicago has the edge on the mound in this one behind Jason Hammel, who is 6-5 with a 3.17 ERA and 1.049 WHIP in 21 starts this season, and 1-2 with a 3.18 ERA and 1.006 WHIP in 10 home starts. Hammel has never lost to the Brewers, going 7-0 with a 2.18 ERA and 1.127 WHIP in nine career starts.
Matt Garza has been awful all season for the Brewers, going 6-12 with a 4.95 ERA and 1.479 WHIP in 20 starts and one relief appearance. He has been at his worst on the road, going 3-5 with a 6.40 ERA and 1.692 WHIP in nine starts away from home.
The Brewers are 15-38 in their last 53 games vs. a starter with a WHIP less than 1.15. Milwaukee is 1-8 in its last nine vs. a team with a winning record. Chicago is 10-1 in its last 11 games vs. a right-handed starter. The Brewers are 0-5 in their last five meetings.