Leonard Stratton
Washington Nationals +100
(LHP) Alex Wood 3-3 3.45 ERA starts for the Braves and faces the Nationals for the second time this season. Wood has had no success against teams seeing him for the second time. Wood has lost to both the Phillies and the Marlins in the month of September, both teams seeing him for the second time.
(RHP) Ross Ohlendorf 4-0 3.15 ERA goes for the Nationals today. Ohlendorf is 1-0 with a 5.73 ERA over his last 3 games, but in his last outing he only allowed 1 run on 5 hits. Ohlendorf is starting in the place of Strasburg who will not be available to pitch until Thursday. Expect him to take advantage of this opportunity. Ohlendorf has never beaten the Braves.
The Nationals spoiled Atlanta's chances of closing out the division crown on Tuesday in Washington. And the two wins yesterday continue to fuel this Nationals machine that has caught fire at the very end of the season.
The Reds are only 4.5 games ahead of the Nationals for the last wildcard spot, and the Reds have 6 games left with the Pirates. Washington firmly has all intentions on pushing as hard as they can to try to get into the playoffs. They have every part of their game peaking right now, so if they do get in, watch out!
The Braves have a history of playing some of their worst ball near the end of the season, and this year looks like no exception. From a sure fire bet to clinch first in baseball and to carry the playoff road thru Atlanta, now it's a tossup on all of them. The Braves are just not clicking right now and will be happy to get out of Washington and head to Wrigley to get back on the winning track.
Chip Chirimbes
Atlanta Braves -108
After losing a 'double dip' yesterday the Braves will be ready to slow down the hard charging Nationals who have cut Atlanta's lead from 15 games to eight. But is is too little too late. Take the Braves!
Jack Jones
Yankees/Blue Jays OVER 9
I look for a slug fest tonight between the New York Yankees and Toronto Blue Jays. These are two of the better lineups in baseball, and they'll be up against two of the worst starters in the league tonight.
Phil Hughes is 4-13 with a 5.07 ERA and 1.426 WHIP in 27 starts for the Yankees in 2013. Hughes is 5-6 with a 5.01 ERA and 1.396 WHIP in 19 career starts against Toronto as well.
J.A. Happ has certainly been a bust in the big leagues. The left-hander is 4-6 with a 5.15 ERA and 1.527 WHIP in 15 starts this season. Happ is also 2-2 with a 6.06 ERA and 1.408 WHIP in six career starts against New York.
Toronto is 15-4 OVER (+10.9 Units) in home games after scoring two runs or less two straight games over the last three seasons. The OVER is 11-4-1 in Yankees last 16 games overall. The OVER is 11-5-3 in Hughes' last 19 starts as a road underdog. Bet the OVER in this game Wednesday.
Dave Price
Oakland A's -153
The A's have won 17 of their last 22 and are in excellent position to continue their winning ways with Griffin on the bump. The A's are 4-0 in his last 4 starts, 19-5 in his last 24 home starts and 5-0 in his last 5 starts as a favorite of -151 to -200. The Angels can't be as confident with Vargas getting the ball. They've lost each of his last 3 starts while he's posted a 9.42 ERA. His clubs have also lost his last 3 starts versus Oakland. He was tagged for 5 earned in an 8-1 loss to the A's earlier this season. Griffin, on the other hand, is 2-1 with a 2.14 ERA in 3 starts versus LAA. Take Oakland.
Jeff Alexander
SF Giants -145
Look for the Giants to win a fifth straight behind Cain, who has a 3.24 ERA over his last 3 starts and a 3.56 ERA on the road. The Giants are 7-3 in their last 10 games as a road favorite and 10-4 in Cain's last 14 road starts versus losing clubs. Harang has a 5.30 ERA over his last 3 starts and a 5.54 ERA at home. The Mets are 13-44 in their last 57 games as a home underdog and 1-10 in their last 11 games as an underdog of +110 to +150. Harang's clubs have lost 6 of his last 7 starts, including his last 4.
Craig Davis
As for today's free play, I'm taking the Cleveland Indians to remain hot as they play the Kansas City Royals at Kaufmann Stadium.
The Indians were spectacular last night from the 6th inning on, scoring once in the 6th, twice in the seventh, once again in the eighth and ninth for a 5-3 come-from-behind victory when things didn't look good for them.
I expect them to build off that late-inning momentum to earn another much-needed victory as they continue to chase Tampa and Texas in the Wild Card race.
Danny Salazar takes the hill for the Tribe, and while the team is monitoring his pitch count very closely, he can still give them a very solid three or four innings... and then turn things over to a bullpen that didn't allow a single run last night over five innings.
Nothing against Bruce Chen as he's been very good this year as well, but he was rocked in Friday's loss to the Tigers, 7 hits and 6 runs in just 4 1/3 innings of work as the Royals were blasted by Detroit.
For his career, Chen has a winning record vs. Detroit but also owns a 4.33 ERA and a 1.49 WHIP... hardly staggering.
Take the Indians over the Royals as your free play of the day.
4♦ CLEVELAND
Jeff Benton
Wednesday freebie is the Over in the Rangers-Rays game.
The first pair of games in this long four game set have made their way Over the posted total by a half-run each. Tonight's game will make its way Over the total by more than a half run with Derek Holland and Chris Archer on the mound.
Both pitchers come into this game looking for a quality start, as both have been hit pretty darn hard in their recent trips to the mound.
Holland's last win comes back on August 4th, as the southpaw is 0-3 his last 7 starts, and he has allowed 12 earned runs on 17 hits in his last 8-plus innings of work!
His counterpart Chris Archer has been a little better - but not by much - of late, as he enters tonight's came off of 6 much-needed shutout innings pitched over Minnesota, but still sport a 4.61 ERA for his last 3 starts.
The Over is 7-3 the last 10 times Holland has started against Tampa Bay, and I like the Over to be the play again tonight when he makes the start against the Rays.
2♦ TEXAS-TAMPA BAY OVER
Brad Wilton
My free play winner this Wednesday night is the Cardinals to take down the Rockies on the Run Line tonight.
St. Louis bounced-back from Monday's loss with an 11-4 drubbing last night over Colorado, and I like them to get the easy 2 runs or better win tonight when Adam Wainwright and Tyler Chatwood.
Wainwright has been middling towards the end of the regular season, but is looking to turn in his 3rd straight solid start tonight when he faces a Rockies team that he has gone 4-1 with a 1.29 ERA for his career. That includes a May 11th gem that saw the righty work a 2-hitter in a 3-0 shutout win.
Chatwood is winless in his 4 starts since a stint on the DL with elbow inflammation, and his ERA in those 4 starts stands at 7.20.
With the Cards now a game up in the Central standings, look for them to stay in that position..at least for tonight.
Run line winner on St. Louis.
4♦ ST. LOUIS -1.5
Brett Atkins
My free play tonight takes us to the National League, where I like the San Francisco Giants in Queens, N.Y., taking on the New York Mets, and make note I want you listing the scheduled starting pitchers in this one: the Giants' Matt Cain and the Mets' Aaron Harang.
It's a real shame to have watched the decline of Harang's career, as he's now pitching for his second team this season, not to mention a cup of coffee in the minors at Triple-A Las Vegas.
The veteran right-hander, who started the season in Seattle, allowed three home runs in his first start as a Met, and though the Mets are sugarcoating it by saying he struck out 10 in six innings, he still isn't himself. Overall for 2013, the once-dominant junkballer is 5-12 with a 5.70 ERA. He's never really found a groove, and he certainly is nowhere near what he once was, when he pitched for the Cincinnati Reds.
I'd rather have my money on San Francisco's Cain, who has recorded five quality starts in his last six trips to the bump, and has improved vastly on the road, posting a 3-0 record with a 1.24 ERA in his last six starts away from home. He rolls into Citifield after a near-flawless seven innings of work against the National League West-leading Los Angeles Dodgers.
List both, take the Giants and enjoy this gift of a play.
4♦ SAN FRANCISCO
Chris Jordan
My free winner for tonight is on the Milwaukee Brewers against the Chicago Cubs, as the Brew Crew should have no trouble keeping its winning going, while the Cubs continue to lose.
There isn't too much difference between these two teams - in the standings. After that, however, the Brewers' dominance in this series has been apparent all season. Milwaukee has now won 32 of the last 43 meetings, dating back to July 26, 2011, including a 12-5 run this season. On the heels of last night's 4-3 win, the Brewers have won four in row against Chicago.
The Cubs are mired in losing streaks of 6-22 against righties and 0-4 as an underdog. On the other hand, Milwaukee is in on winning streaks of 5-1 at home and 4-0 against a losing teams.
Take the home team here.
3♦ MILWAUKEE
Scott Delaney
My free play is on the Toronto Blue Jays, to continue to add to the demise of the New York Yankees, who are fading fast, having lost four in a row.
With desperation setting in, the Yankees simply aren't playing the way they were last month, and it's looking more and more like an early vacation.
And though I'm not listing pitchers in this one, I can tell you I certainly don't mind the pinstripes handing the ball to Phil Hughes. The right-hander has just four victories in 2013 and is 0-6 over his last 12 appearances - a horrendous stretch that resulted in him being removed from the rotation at the beginning of the month.
Toronto has won four of the past five meetings in Rogers Centre. Take the home team here.
2♦ N.Y. YANKEES