SPORTS ADVISORS
NATIONAL LEAGUE
St. Louis (68-53) at L.A. Dodgers (71-49)
The Dodgers look to make it two in a row when they send Clayton Kershaw (8-7, 2.91 ERA) to the mound in the rubber match of a three-game series against the Cardinals and red-hot Adam Wainwright (14-7, 2.62).
Los Angeles followed up Monday’s 3-2 defeat to St. Louis with a 7-3 pounding last night, ending their four-game home losing streak and the Cardinals’ five-game overall win streak. The Dodgers are 61-27 in their last 80 games as a home favorite, but most recently, they’re still mired in slumps of 4-7 overall, 3-6 against the N.L. Central and 3-6 versus right-handed starters.
Even with Tuesday’s loss, St. Louis is still 9-2 in its last 11 overall and is on additional upticks of 4-1 on the road, 8-2 against the N.L. West (4-1 last five) and 8-1 against left-handed starters. However, the Cardinals have now dropped eight of their last 11 as an underdog.
St. Louis continues to own this rivalry, having won 38 of the last 56 meetings overall, including nine of the last 13 in Los Angeles. This year, the Cards are 4-2 against L.A.
Wainwright pitched eight scoreless innings in Friday’s 9-2 home rout of the Padres, and he’s not only delivered 10 consecutive quality starts, he’s held all 10 of those opponents to two earned runs or fewer. Since the start of July, the right-hander is 6-2 with a 1.21 ERA in nine outings, including 4-0 with a 1.24 ERA in four road starts. For the season, he’s 9-1 with a 3.41 ERA in 11 starts as a visitor.
With Wainwright pitching, the Cardinals are on a slew of lengthy hot streaks, including 38-16 overall, 25-10 on the road, 18-5 as an underdog, 9-0 as a road underdog, 24-3 versus winning teams and 6-0 on Wednesday. Against the Dodgers, he’s 2-2 with a 3.26 ERA in seven games (four starts), including a 10-0 home win on July 28.
Kershaw is coming off Friday’s 4-1 loss at Arizona as he allowed all four runs in 4 1/3 innings. The Dodgers have lost five straight games behind Kershaw after going 7-0 in his previous seven starts. However, L.A. is 12-5 in Kershaw’s last 17 as a home favorite and 7-3 in his last 10 against the N.L. Central.
Despite a 1.86 ERA, Kershaw is just 3-3 in 13 home starts, with the Dodgers going 7-6. Kershaw dominated St. Louis back on July 29, pitching eight scoreless innings at Busch Stadium, and he left with a 1-0 lead but Dodgers closer Jonathan Broxton blew the save and L.A. eventually lost 3-2 in 15 innings. In three career starts versus the Cardinals, Kershaw has allowed just three runs in 21 innings (1.29 ERA).
For the Cardinals, the “over” is on runs of 7-3-3 overall, 6-1-2 on the road, 4-0-1 against lefty starters, 10-3-2 in Wainwright’s last 15 road outings and 7-1-1 in his last nine as an underdog. However, the under is 5-0-1 in St. Louis’ last six Wednesday contests, 9-5 in its last 14 against the N.L. West and 7-2-1 in Wainwright’s last 10 starts overall.
The over is 10-4-1 in L.A.’s last 15 home games, but otherwise the team is on “under” surges of 4-1-1 on Wednesday and 6-2 when Kershaw is favored. Finally, the under is 8-4 in the last 12 overall meetings in this rivalry, including 4-1 at Dodger Stadium.
ATS ADVANTAGE: NONE
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Boston (67-51) at Toronto (55-62)
The Blue Jays try to halt a three-game losing skid when they send ace Roy Halladay (13-5, 2.65 ERA) to the hill opposite the Red Sox and Clay Buchholz (1-3, 4.45) as these rivals resume their three-game series continues at the Rogers Centre.
Boston overcame one of Josh Beckett’s worst performances of the season and outlasted the Blue Jays 10-9 in Tuesday’s series opener. However, the Sox are still just 5-9 in their last 14 games overall, including 2-8 on the road, and they’re on further slides of 1-10 as an underdog (0-9 as a road pup) and 1-6 against the A.L. East.
Toronto has lost two in row, four of five and 10 of 16 overall, going 2-4 at home during this stretch. The Blue Jays are in additional slumps of 6-13 as a favorite, 1-5 against the A.L. East and 1-4 on Wednesday.
Boston holds a slim 6-4 edge in the season series with Toronto, but the home team is still 7-3. Prior to Tuesday, the losing team had scored three runs or fewer in the first nine meetings between these squads.
Buchholz is coming off his first two quality starts in more than a year, giving up a total of four runs (three earned) in 13 innings against the Yankees (road) and Tigers (home). However, he got zero offensive support, losing 5-0 to New York star CC Sabathia and 2-0 to Detroit ace Justin Verlander. The Red Sox are now 5-17 in Buchholz’s last 22 starts overall, 3-12 in his last 15 on the road, 1-5 in his last six on Wednesday and 3-8 in his last 11 versus the A.L. East.
Buchholz beat the Blue Jays 4-1 in Toronto in his first big-league start of the season July 17, allowing the single run on four hits in 5 2/3 innings as he improved to 1-2 with a 3.31 ERA in four career games (three starts) against the Jays.. However, he’s just 1-2 with a 5.95 ERA in four road starts in 2009.
Halladay is 2-0 with a 1.69 ERA in his last two starts, pitching eight innings each against the Orioles (7-3 home win) and Rays (5-2 road victory). The veteran right-hander has gone at least seven innings in eight straight starts and he’s 8-3 with a 2.57 ERA in 13 home efforts, including five complete games. Behind their former Cy Young winner, the Blue Jays are on positive runs of 56-19 at home, 48-22 against divisional rivals, 111-52 as a favorite and 7-2 in when he faces the Red Sox in Canada.
Halladay has been mediocre versus the Red Sox in his career, going 13-12 with a 4.33 ERA in 38 lifetime appearances (35 starts). However, that includes a complete-game 3-1 home win on July 19, with Halladay scattering six hits while striking out seven. He has a 1.82 ERA in his last five starts versus Boston going back to last April.
Despite last night’s shootout, the Blue Jays are on “under” runs of 12-6-3 at home, 14-7-1 against the A.L. East and 6-1 against right-handed starters. Also, with Halladay pitching, the “under” is on streaks of 5-1-1 overall, 5-0-1 against winning teams and 4-1 versus Boston. Similarly, the Red Sox carry “under” trends of 5-2 on the road, 10-5-1 against A.L. East competition, 20-7-2 as an underdog and 16-5 as a road pup.
Finally, the under is still 6-2 in the last eight meetings overall in this rivalry, all in Toronto
ATS ADVANTAGE: TORONTO and UNDER
VEGAS EXPERTS
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Boston Red Sox at Toronto Blue Jays
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Boston has lost each of the last three times they've faced Halladay here North of the Border, including a complete game, six-hit effort back on 7/19. For whatever reason, the Red Sox do not perform well on the artificial surface (13-29 L2 years) and starter Buchholz has seen the team lose 16 of his previous 21 starts overall. That includes 12 of 14 at night and 11 of 14 on the road. Since 1997, Toronto is 94-44 in this building when Halladay starts.
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Play on: Toronto
Cajun Sports
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St Louis Cardinals vs. Los Angeles Dodgers
Play: St Louis Cardinals
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This is the third and final game of the Cardinals and Dodgers three-game series at Chavez Ravine. The Cardinals are ranked 15 in hitting with a batting average of .262 averaging 4.5 runs per game on the year while the Dodgers are ranked 3 in hitting with a batting average of .276 averaging 4.9 runs per game. The teams are much closer in the pitching department with the Cardinals ranked 4 with an ERA of 3.73 with opponents hitting .262 against them. The Dodgers are ranked 2 in pitching with an ERA of 3.63 with opponents hitting for a .233 average. Combine these factors and these teams are relatively close overall put Adam Wainwright on the bump as an underdog and we have solid value with the Cardinals tonight. Wainwright is 14-7 this season with an ERA of 2.62 with the Cardinals 17-8 (+4.9) behind him on the hill. He has been overwhelming on the road this season posting a record of 9-1 with an ERA of 3.41 with the Cards 10-1 (+9.0) when he starts on the highway. He is 8-0 (+9.0) when playing against a team with a winning record in the second half of the season over the last 2 seasons, 10-1 (+9.1) versus teams outscoring opponents by 0.5 or more runs per game on the season the last 2 seasons, 11-1 (+10.0) when the money line is +125 to -125 this season, 8-1 (+8.1) as a road underdog of +100 or higher the last 2 seasons, 8-1 (+8.1) as a road underdog of +100 to +150 the last 2 seasons and 7-0 (+7.1) on the road when the money line is +125 to -125 this season. The Cards are playing extremely well and they are sending an ace to the bump which should translate into a nice underdog win on Wednesday night in LA.
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Graded Selection: 2* St. Louis Cardinals 3 Los Angeles Dodgers 2
Marc Lawrence
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Arizona Diamondbacks at Philadelphia Phillies
Prediction: Under
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The Diamondbacks and Phillies meet in the middle of this two-game series in Philadelphia tonight when Dan Haren matches serves with Cliff Lee in a battle of staff aces. Haren enters tonight's contest in commanding KW form with 6 walks and 55 strikeouts in his last nine road starts. Meanwhile. Lee has cashed in each of his last six starts while also in commanding KW form with 6 walks against 37 strikeouts in those games. With these two teams having played UNDER the total in all three games this season in this series, we'll look for more of the same here this evening.
MATT FARGO
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New York Yankees @ Oakland Athletics
PICK: Over 9
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New York and Oakland snuck over last night and the run production should be much more tonight. Oakland has faced A.J. Burnett and C.C. Sabathia in the first two games of this series and now it finally catches a break. As for the Yankees, it has been an up and down roadtrip as far as run production but the road has been good for a while. Over the last 26 road games, New York has averaged exactly 6.0 rpg which is very solid. Chad Gaudin makes his first start for the Yankees and it happens to come against his former team that he pitched with back from 2006-2008. He has appeared in two games for New York out of the bullpen with mixed results as he has a 5.40 ERA and 1.80 WHIP. When he pitched for San Diego, he started 19 games, going 4-10 with a 5.13 ERA and 1.53 WHIP. That included eight starts at pitcher friendly Petco Park and it was far from friendly for him as he went 1-6 with a 6.30 ERA and 1.95 WHIP. Facing the A’s lineup may not seem too daunting but they have hit .284 over their last 10 games including .301 against right-handed pitching. Oakland counters with Brett Anderson who has been pretty solid this season with a 4.55 ERA and 1.33 WHIP and his recent form has been much better. The problem is he is coming off one of his worst starts of the season as he allowed seven runs in five innings against the White Sox and now faces the Yankees for the third time this season. The first two starts did not go well as he allowed a combined nine runs in 12 innings, posting a 6.75 ERA and 1.75 WHIP in those games. The Yankees are killing lefties this season, hitting .291 overall including .299 on the road. The ‘Over’ is 7-3-1 in the Yankees last 11 road games while the ‘Over’ is 5-2 in the A’s last seven home games. Also, the ‘Over’ is 10-2 in the A’s last 12 games after allowing five runs or more in their previous game so it has been a contagious effect with the pitching. New York is 16-8 to the ‘Over’ against the American League West this season including 5-2 to the ‘Over’ in its last seven against Oakland.
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3* Over New York Yankees/Oakland A’s
Rob Vinciletti
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Colorado Rockies vs. Washington Nationals
Play: Over 9½
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The Rockies are 11-1 to the over off a road win in a certain hit range.This game also qualifies in nice 70% system that plays on the over for road favs off a road favored 1 run win if both teams scored 4 or less runs.In the pitching matchup the Rockies have J.Marquis going tonight.While he has been stellar all year,he has gone over the total in his last 3 starts.Washington sends another youngster in Balester to the mound tonight.In his 5 starts this year he has not had an easy go of it.He has an elevated 6.00 era and has been hit hard.Colorado is also 6-1 over as a road favorite in this range,while the Nationals have gone over in 6 of their last 9 vs winning teams.Back the over here and wait till game time as this total may get down to nine flat.
Brad Diamond Sports
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Play: Philadelphia (Lee) over Arizona
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Always difficult going against right-hander Danny Haren at this price, but the Phillies have their ace going down at the Bank on Wednesday night. The Phillies are 3-0 in Cliff Lee’s teams starts, while the veteran is carrying a super 1.12 ERA (0.92 WHIP) for support. The Diamondbacks are 3-13 on the road versus left-handers and should find the former Cy Young award winner a difficult task here.
Dominic Fazzini
Seattle at DETROIT
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Tigers ace Justin Verlander (13-6, 3.28 ERA) is damn near perfect at Comerica Park this year, going 7-1 with a 2.11 ERA in 11 home starts, including wins in seven consecutive outings.
He has struggled in his last two home outings, however, giving up five runs in each of his last two starts. The right-hander was awesome in his last outing, however, allowing just four hits in eight scoreless innings Thursday in a 2-0 at Boston.
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I expect him to follow through with a solid outing today against the Mariners, who he is 6-2 with a 3.35 ERA against in eight career starts.
Ian Snell (0-1, 8.78) takes the mound for Seattle, which has lost four of its last five games. The right-hander is winless in three outings since being traded from Pittsburgh to the Mariners, and he allowed eight runs and nine hits in six innings Thursday against the Yankees.
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Snell also is 0-2 with a 4.50 ERA in two starts against Detroit. He gave up two runs and 10 hits in seven innings against the Tigers on June 12 in a 3-1 loss while stilll with the Pirates.
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I don't expect Snell to last as long in today's game, and Verlander should hold Seattle's bats in check. Take the Tigers on the run line.
4♦ DETROIT -1½
Bobby Maxwell
Minnesota at TEXAS -135
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Going back to the Rangers with tonight's FREE play as they host the Twins at the Ballpark at Arlington.
Texas has got to be mad about Tuesday's game as the Rangers built a lead only to blow it all as the Twins rallied and ended up winning the game 9-6. Tonight, this one is an easy call as I go with Texas behind veteran Kevin Millwood (9-7, 3.31 ERA).
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Millwood is a dominating 7-1 at home this season with a 2.46 ERA and his ERA over his last three starts is 1.98. On Friday he held the Red Sox to one run on three hits in 5.2 innings but his bullpen collapsed and the Rangers fell 8-4 when Boston put up six runs in the ninth. Millwood has had four straight starts of allowing two runs or less.
Millwood didn't look good last year against the Twins, but in 2007 he dominated them, allowing three earned runs in 13.2 innings of work. Texas is 21-8 when Millwood starts at home, 5-1 when he's a favorite and 19-7 when he's a home favorite.
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Scott Baker (10-7, 4.54) goes for Minnesota and last time he worked on the road he gave up six runs on nine hits in 4.1 innings of an 8-7 loss in Detroit. The Twins are just 1-4 when Baker pitches on Wednesday, 1-7 when he's a road 'dog and 1-8 when he's a 'dog anywhere.
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As a team, Texas is on rolls of 17-6 at home, 16-6 as a favorite, 10-2 as a home favorite and 7-2 on Wednesdays. Play the Rangers tonight as they make it look easy against Minnesota.
3♦ TEXAS
JIM FEIST
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KANSAS CITY ROYALS / CHICAGO WHITE SOX
Take KANSAS CITY ROYALS
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The visitors have a young ace here, the home team has an aging starter who is close to being out of the rotation. Zack Greinke (11-7) has a 2.33 ERA with 174 KS in 166 innings. Jose A. Contreras (4-11) goes for the up and down White Sox, and he has been mostly down, with an ERA over 10 his last three starts. A good spot for the visitors. Play the Royals.
DUNKEL
LA Angels at Cleveland
The Angels look to take advantage of a Cleveland team that is 0-6 in Jeremy Sowers' last 6 home starts against teams with a winning record. LA is the pick (-135) according to Dunkel, which has the Angels favored by 1. Dunkel Pick: LA Angels (-135).
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Game 901-902: Arizona at Philadelphia
Dunkel Ratings: Arizona (Haren) 15.575; Philadelphia (Lee) 15.108
Dunkel Line: Arizona by 1/2; 6 1/2
Vegas Line: Philadelphia (-175); 7 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Arizona (+165); Under
Game 903-904: Milwaukee at Pittsburgh
Dunkel Ratings: Milwaukee (Gallardo) 13.548; Pittsburgh (Maholm) 14.768
Dunkel Line: Pittsburgh by 1; 9 1/2
Vegas Line: Milwaukee (-170); 8
Dunkel Pick: Pittsburgh (+160); Over
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Game 905-906: Colorado at Washington
Dunkel Ratings: Colorado (Marquis) 17.124; Washington (Balester) 15.681
Dunkel Line: Colorado by 1 1/2; 10 1/2
Vegas Line: Colorado (-170); 9 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Colorado (-170); Over
Game 907-908: San Francisco at Cincinnati
Dunkel Ratings: San Francisco (Zito) 15.384; Cincinnati (Arroyo) 14.691
Dunkel Line: San Francisco by 1/2; 9 1/2
Vegas Line: Cincinnati (-120); 8 1/2
Dunkel Pick: San Francisco (+110); Over
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Game 909-910: Atlanta at NY Mets
Dunkel Ratings: Atlanta (Jurrjens) 15.636; NY Mets (Parnell) 14.747
Dunkel Line: Atlanta by 1; 8 1/2
Vegas Line: Atlanta (-170); 8
Dunkel Pick: Atlanta (-170); Over
Game 911-912: Florida at Houston
Dunkel Ratings: Florida (West) 14.869; Houston (Bazardo) 15.322
Dunkel Line: Houston by 1/2; 9
Vegas Line: Florida (-120); 9 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Houston (+110); Under
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Game 913-914: Chicago Cubs at San Diego
Dunkel Ratings: Cubs (Harden) 14.374; San Diego (Latos) 13.491
Dunkel Line: Chicago Cubs by 1; 6
Vegas Line: Chicago Cubs (-150); 7
Dunkel Pick: Chicago Cubs (-150); Under
Game 915-916: St. Louis at LA Dodgers
Dunkel Ratings: St. Louis (Wainwright) 16.530; LA Dodgers (Kershaw) 15.286
Dunkel Line: St. Louis by 1; 8 1/2
Vegas Line: LA Dodgers (-125); 7 1/2
Dunkel Pick: St. Louis (+115); Over
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Game 917-918: Kansas City at Chicago White Sox
Dunkel Ratings: Kansas City (Greinke) 14.765; White Sox (Contreras) 15.167
Dunkel Line: Chicago White Sox by 1/2; 10 1/2
Vegas Line: Kansas City (-140); 8 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Chicago White Sox (+130); Over
Game 919-920: LA Angels at Cleveland
Dunkel Ratings: LA Angels (Weaver) 17.221; Cleveland (Sowers) 16.119
Dunkel Line: LA Angels by 1; 11
Vegas Line: LA Angels (-135); 10
Dunkel Pick: LA Angels (-135); Over
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Game 921-922: Boston at Toronto
Dunkel Ratings: Boston (Buchholz) 14.489; Toronto (Halladay) 15.564
Dunkel Line: Toronto by 1; 7
Vegas Line: Toronto (-160); 8
Dunkel Pick: Toronto (-160); Under
Game 923-924: Baltimore at Tampa Bay
Dunkel Ratings: Baltimore (Tillman) 14.126; Tampa Bay (Niemann) 15.164
Dunkel Line: Tampa Bay by 1; 8 1/2
Vegas Line: Tampa Bay (-235); 9 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Tampa Bay (-235); Under
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Game 925-926: Seattle at Detroit
Dunkel Ratings: Seattle (Snell) 15.071; Detroit (Verlander) 16.246
Dunkel Line: Detroit by 1; 6 1/2
Vegas Line: Detroit (-300); 8 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Detroit (-300); Under
Game 927-928: Minnesota at Texas
Dunkel Ratings: Minnesota (Baker) 15.556; Texas (Millwood) 15.979
Dunkel Line: Texas by 1/2; 11
Vegas Line: Texas (-140); 9
Dunkel Pick: Texas (-140); Over
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Game 929-930: NY Yankees at Oakland
Dunkel Ratings: NY Yankees (Gaudin) 15.335; Oakland (Anderson) 15.929
Dunkel Line: Oakland by 1/2; 8
Vegas Line: NY Yankees (-125); 9
Dunkel Pick: Oakland (+115); Under
WNBA
Minnesota at Los Angeles
The Lynx look to take advantage of a Los Angeles team playing back-to-back nights and is just 1-6 ATS in its last 7 games following a SU win.. Minnesota is the pick (+5) according to Dunkel, which has the Sparks favored by 4 1/2. Dunkel Pick: Minnesota (+5).
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Game 601-602: New York at Connecticut
Dunkel Ratings: New York 110.214; Connecticut 113.991
Dunkel Line & Total: Connecticut by 4; 133 1/2
Vegas Line & Total: Connecticut by 5 1/2; 144
Dunkel Pick: New York (+5 1/2); Under
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Game 603-604: Minnesota at Los Angeles
Dunkel Ratings: Minnesota 108.737; Los Angeles 113.040
Dunkel Line & Total: Los Angeles by 4 1/2; 163 1/2
Vegas Line & Total: Los Angeles by 5; 151
Dunkel Pick: Minnesota (+5); Over
Vernon Croy
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New York Yankees vs. Oakland Athletics
Play: New York Yankees
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We are actually getting great value here Wednesday night with the Yankees who are 6-1 in their last 7 games against a lefty starter. The Yankees are 5-1 in their last 6 road games against a team with a losing record and they are 41-18 in their last 59 games after a win. Chad Gaudin (1-0, 5.40 ERA) makes his first start for the Yankees after making a couple of solid relief appearances for them. Brett Anderson (7-8, 4.55) takes the mound for the Athletics and he was lit up in his last start allowing 9 hits and 7 earned runs over just 5 innings at home against the White Sox. I look for the Yankees to hit Anderson hard tonight and give Gaudin plenty of run support since they already faced him twice this season. The Yankees averaged 9 hits per game against Anderson this season and 4.5 earned runs per game. Take the New York Yankees Wednesday night.
Rocketman
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Arizona @ Philadelphia
Play: Arizona
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Two very good pitchers going here tonight but we're getting very good value with the dog and Haren. Arizona is 10-3 this year after 3 or more consecutive losses. Dan Haren is 12-7 with a 2.50 ERA overall this year, 6-2 with a 2.96 ERA on the road and 2-1 his last 3 starts. Cliff Lee is only 4-6 at home this year. Lee has a 7.20 ERA overall vs Arizona since 1997. Diamondbacks are 6-1 in Harens last 7 road starts. We'll recommend a small play on Arizona tonight!
Bob Harvey
LAA Angels at Cleveland Indians
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Jered Weaver and the Los Angeles Angels look for their fifth straight win as they battle Jeremy Sowers and the Cleveland Indians Wednesday night at The Jake.
Jered Weaver is coming off his worst performance of the season. He was rocked for eight runs and nine hits in just 3.1 innings against Baltimore in a 16-6 loss. Not even the fact that Weaver enjoys the majors’ third-best run support (6.65 per game) could help him that night against the Birds.
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Mike SciosciaThat performance was the exception and certainly not the rule for Weaver who has enjoyed a solid season and enters tonight’s game with a 12-4 record and a 4.14 ERA.
It almost seems sacrilegious to talk about anything other than the Angels offense which continues to post staggering numbers. Team Anaheim has scored 65 runs and is hitting .388 during its current 7-1 run. What makes this Angels team so dangerous is that every batter in the line-up is a threat to reach base or to knock in a run. Mike Napoli had two hits last night to raise his average to .300 meaning all nine starters are hitting .300 or better. That’s an incredible statistic for anytime of the season but especially this late in the season. The Angels are a pitchers worst nightmare.
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Los Halos lead the majors in runs with 679 (an average of nearly six runs per game). They lead MLB in hitting with a .291 average and for the first time this year the offense is completely healthy. After missing a large stretch of the season Vlad Guerrero is back to being, well, Vlad Guerrero. Vladdy is hitting .392 with six home runs and 10 RBI’s during that stretch. As you might remember, I was opposed to Mike Scoscia dropping Guerrero into the cleanup spot following his stint on the DL. My knee-jerk reaction was “bad for chemistry and a bad move” or words to that effect. However Mike Scoscia reminded me again why he’s a manager of the year candidate and why I’m better off sticking to my blog.
The job of slowing the Angels down tonight goes to Jeremy Sowers who is 4-8 with a 4.88 ERA and has clearly outpitched Weaver over a three-game stretch. However with Guerrero and Torii Hunter back in the lineup, the Angels figure to be even tougher on lefthanders and should improve on their .289 season road average against southpaws. Lately though it hasn’t mattered who the opposistion trots out to the mound. Lefthanders or righties, the Angels are an equal opportunity offensive juggernaut.
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Go with the Angels tonight. That’s a nice price for Weaver especially if he bounces back to form. I also recommend a look at the Over. It was at 10 at most books at the time of publication. Both plays are as square as it gets but the Angels have been making it look easy since the All-Star break. I don’t figure anything will change tonight.
Pick: Angels -120
BIG AL
Seattle Mariners at Detroit Tigers
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The Over's have been cashing in Tigers games started by Justin Verlander at home, and with Ian Snell on the hill for the Mariners that trend should continue in Detroit tonight.
Our Wednesday night MLB selection is on the Seattle Mariners and Detroit Tigers going over the total at Comerica Park.
Justin VerlanderAfter having a very good start in his American League debut for the Mariners following his trade from the Pirates at the deadline, righthanded veteran Ian Snell has gone progressively downhill in his last two starts, both of which were at his home ballpark, known for being very friendly to pitchers. The last one against the Yankees was particularly ugly as Snell surrendered eight earned runs on nine hits in just six innings taking the loss at home.
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The most troubling thing about Snell this season is that unlike the past three years when he's had a strikeout- to-walk- ratio of around 2:1, so far in 2009 his ratio is about 1:1 (61 Ks and 56 BBs), numbers that will make life very difficult for any major league starter.
Seattle looks to continue its run-scoring ways tonight after exploding for 10 runs on 15 hits against the Yankees on Sunday afternoon. Four of Justin Verlander's last five home starts have gone over the total and a total of 52 runs have been scored in those five games. Take the Over.
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Pick: Mariners-Tigers Over 8½