James Patrick Sports
New York vs. Dallas
The Arena League Football Play-offs kick off on Friday evening and our selection is Dragon’s – Desperados UNDER the TOTAL.
Marc Lawrence
Play On: LA Angels w/Saunders
Note: The Halos take on the Dodgers in a battle of cross town rivals Friday evening when Joe Saunders matches serves with Chan Ho Park. Surprisingly, Saunders has been a better hurler away from home this season where is 1.89 ERA is more than two full runs better than his 4.05 home ERA. He's also 13-4 in his last 17 road team starts. With Park just 3-7 in his last ten team appearances against the Angels, look for the Halos to improve to 13-3 behind Saunders here tonight.
Jimmy The Moose
Atlanta Braves at Toronto Blue Jays
Prediction: Toronto Blue Jays
Atlanta has lost 2 of their last 3 games while the Blue Jays have won 3 of their last 4 games. Atlanta is 19-40 in their last 59 road games. The Braves are 8-21 in their last 29 road games vs. a team with a winning home record. Jurrjens is on the mound and the Braves have lost 5 of his last 7 road starts. The Jays are 12-4 in their last 16 interleague home games vs. a right-handed starter. Toronto is 9-3 in their last 12 interleague home games vs. a team with a losing record. Toronto has won the last 4 meetings between the clubs. Atlanta is 1-5 in their last 6 trips to Toronto. Play on the Toronto Blue Jays -.
Big Al Mcmordie
San Francisco Giants at Oakland Athletics
Prediction: Oakland Athletics
At 10:05 pm, our member selection is on the Oakland A's over the SF Giants. In their history, the A's are an incredible 70-32 at home in Interleague action, and Oakland has a big advantage on the mound tonight. The A's will hand the ball to Dana Eveland, who is 5-5 on the season, but has a very good 3.51 ERA. His mound opponent will be Kevin Correia, who has been dreadful this year with an ERA north of 5 runs per game, including 7.60 over his last three starts. These two pitchers hooked up back on June 15, and Eveland led the A's to a 5-3 win, as he gave up just one earned run in 6 2/3 innings, while Correia was bombed for five runs in 5 1/3 innings. Take Oakland.
DOCS
Philadelphia Phillies @ Texas Rangers
PICK: Under
Ameriquest Field is the site for this Interleague series between the Phillies and the Rangers. Both clubs are known for their strong offenses, but we expect a pitcher’s dual to breakout and thus we will side with the under. Both pitchers have better stuff then what their numbers would indicate and the fact that Kason Gabbard is left handed gives him a major edge since most of the Phillies pop comes from the left side of the plate in Howard and Utley. Brett Meyers will be his opponent and he can throw the ball hard and expect him to rack up the strikeout on Friday. We will not worry about who wins this game and just collect with the under.
Scott Ferrall
Texas -105 over Philadelphia--The Rangers send Gabbard to the hill against Myers. This guy is jinxed for the Phils at 3-9 with a 5.51 ERA. The Rangers will light him up in Arlington.
KANSAS CITY -120 over St.Louis--Meche over Pineiro at Kaufmann in KC. The Royals are on fire lately. They've won 9 of 10 and five straight. The Royals will be .500 at home after they win this one
MINNESOTA -125 over Milwaukee--The Twins are tearing it up right now. Blackburn over McClung here and the Twins move to 10 games over .500 at the Homerdome with the win. Minnesota has won 9 straight games.
Oakland -155 over San Francisco--Eveland gets lucky here and beats the Giants because their starter Correia sucks balls. He's 1-5 with a gigantic ERA of 5.20. TAKE THE OVER 8.5 RUNS
San Diego -145 over Seattle--Washburn has been torture to watch pitch for the Mariners at 2-7 and 5.52 ERA. I'm on WOLF and the OVER 7.5 RUNS
ANGELS -130 over Dodgers--Saunders is going to dance on the Dodgers shitty bats. The Angles have won 7 of 10 and are flat out better than their LIPSTICK CITY RIVALS
Mets +125 over Yankees--Pelfrey grows up big time with this shocker. That means they get the sweep in the double dip. They'll win at Shea in the afternoon and then stun them at the Boogie Down Bronx. I think the Ponson experiment isn't going to work and Giese isn't very good. Pelfrey's been tough lately.
LUCKY LEPRECHAUN SPORTS
NY YANKS -137 over NY Mets (GAME 1)
The Mets are 10-21 in their last 31 interleague games as a dog of +110 to +150, and 2-10 in Pelfreys last 12 starts with 4 days of rest, while the Yankees are 40-14 in their last 54 interleague home games and 40-17 in their last 57 interleague home games vs. a right-handed starter. A little over 5 weeks a go the NY Yankees were not playing good ball and they went into Shea Stadium with a 20-22 overall record. The Mets took advantage and beat the Yanks in both games by a combined 18-6 count. After that they Yanks were beat in game 1 of their next series with Baltimore by a score of 12-2. Since then all the Yanks have done is go on a 22-11 run, scoring 5.6 rpg and allowing just 4.2 rpg over that stretch. The pitching is getting better for NY as they have allowed 2 runs or fewer in 10 of their last 20 games, including 1 run or fewer in 9 of those games. Today Dan Giese gets his 2nd starts for the Yanks an he was impressive in his first start, allowing 0 ER on 4 hits, no walks and 5 K's in 6.2 innings of work. He did lose the game 6-0 thanks to an error, which resulted in 3 UER in the 7th inning. Mike Pelfrey has struggled for much of the year, posting a 4-6 record with a 4.30 ERA, including a 2-2 mark with a high 6.25 ERA on the road, while allowing an OBP of .444 and a WHIP of 2.05 in his road starts. You don't want to allow that many baserunners when facing this rejuvenated offense. Overall the Yanks have scored just 4.7 rpg, but as I stated above they have put 5.6 rpg on the board in their last 33 games, including scoring 5.8 rpg in their last 16 at home. The Mets offense comes in in a real funk as they have a .228 BA and are scoring just 3.7 rpg in their last 7 games overall, plus they are hitting just .246 and average 4.5 rpg vs righty starters this year. The Yanks are looking for revenge here for that earlier sweep at Shea and they should get it behind another strong effort from both Giese and their offense.
Karl Garrett
Cubs at WHITE SOX -110
Late day today on the South Side, the G-Man will look for the White Sox to return the favor from a 3-game sweep they suffered at Wrigley last weekend.
The Cubs are only 16-20 away from the Friendly Confines, and are coming off losses in 2 of their last 3 against Baltimore.
The White Sox just took 2 of 3 at Dodger Stadium, and they are 24-11 at home thus far this season.
I will agree the pitching matchup favors the Cubs in this one, as Ryan Dempster has just owned it of late, and is fresh off an 8 inning, 1 run domination of the Pale Hose, while Jose Contreras has been absolutely bombed of late, including an ugly 3 inning, 9 run shell job on the North Side just last weekend.
Still, the G-Man is thinking a turnabout is fair-play this afternoon, and I will go with the White Sox to take the series opener at home.
2♦ WHITE SOX
Chris Jordan
Colorado at DETROIT -135
To his defense, Ubaldo Jimenez has been pitching well lately. In fact, Jimenez, who earned his first win since April 8, has a 1.35 ERA over his last 20 innings. Nevertheless, those games were all at home and when you see his highway numbers, it’s an entirely different story. The right-hander is 0-5 with a 6.75 ERA, and that won’t cut it for a team that has lost four straight and enters Motown to face a pack of hungry Tigers.
I’d much rather back Eddie Bonine in this one, as he comes in off a solid showing in San Diego, where he lasted seven innings and gave up just two runs in his second Major League start. He seems to have become quickly confident in his defense, and that’s a good thing, as it means he has no problem shooting the pill directly over the strike zone. He has the garden variety arsenal, but he adds a knuckler when needed, and it’s certainly the X-factor when he’s toeing the rubber.
Looking inside the number, we certainly have the advantage with the jungle stripes, as they’re on winning runs of 8-1 at home, 12-3 overall, 22-6 at home against the senior circuit, 23-4 against losing teams from the National League and 4-1 against the NL West. On the other hand, the Rockies are mired in losing streaks of 6-23 on the road, 3-11 in Jiminez’s last 14 starts and 0-9 in his last nine on the highway. This is a steal, so bank the Tigers.
4♦ TIGERS
Sports Gambling Hotline
Atlanta at TORONTO -125
Tonight take the Blue Jays over the Braves.
Atlanta comes into this game just 11-27 on the road this year, and tonight's starter Jair Jurrjens is just 2-3 on the road this year with a 3.98 ERA.
Jurrjens has pitched well of late, but Toronto has been htting the cover off the ball on this homestand, as they just scored 26 runs in taking 2 of 3 off the Cincinnati Reds to improve to 20-18 at home this season.
Starter Dustin McGowan is 4-1 through 5 starts at the Rogers Centre, and his ERA is a scant 1.73 in his home park.
With the way McGowand has been throwing at home, and the way the Braves keep finding ways to lose on the road, we have to back the Blue Jays in tonight's spot.
Play on Toronto.
4♦ TORONTO
SPORTS ADVISORS
INTERLEAGUE
N.Y. Mets (38-39) vs. N.Y. Yankees (42-36)
The Mets and Yankees kick off a four-game interleague series with a unique split-stadium doubleheader. Game 1 is scheduled for this afternoon at Yankee Stadium, with rookie Dan Giese (1-2, 0.64 ERA) set to oppose the Mets’ Mike Pelfrey (4-6, 4.30). In the nightcap at Shea Stadium, Pedro Martinez (2-1, 6.57) is scheduled to match up against newly acquired Yankee Sidney Ponson (4-1, 3.88)
The Mets, who were idle on Friday, are coming off Thursday’s 8-2 home win over Seattle. The Mets have are a middling 8-6 in their last 14 games. On the bright side, they’ve won 10 of their last 14 interleague games. Also, they swept a rain-shortened two-game series at Yankee Stadium six weeks ago, winning the two contests by a combined score of 18-6.
The Yankees, whose series finale at Pittsburgh on Thursday was postponed because of rain, have followed a seven-game winning streak by losing three of their last five. Despite the recent inconsistency, Joe Girardi’s club is still on a 22-11 overall run, going 13-5 at home during this run (9-6 on the road). Also, the Bronx Bombers have won eight of their last 11 interleague games overall and 40 of their last 54 interleague home games.
Giese made his first big-league start on Saturday against the Reds, allowing three unearned runs on four hits over 6 2/3 innings, losing 6-0. Including relief appearances, the right-hander has allowed four runs (one earned) on 10 hits and one walk in 14 innings – with 13 of those innings coming at home.
The Mets are 4-1 in Pelfrey’s last five starts overall, including 4-0 as an underdog. During this five-game stretch, the right-hander has given up two runs or fewer four times. On Sunday at Colorado, he scattered three hits and five walks over 5 2/3 scoreless innings of a 3-1 road win. Pelfrey is 2-2 with a 6.25 ERA on the road in 2008.
Ponson, who was acquired from Minnesota last week, hasn’t pitched since June 4, when he allowed six runs (two earned) on eight hits in four innings, losing 15-9. The veteran right-hander has just one quality start in his last six outings.
Martinez gave up a season-high six runs on nine hits in just 4 1/3 innings in Sunday’s 7-1 loss at Colorado. Four of the Martinez’s five starts have come on the highway, but the one home start was a gem: two runs (one earned) allowed in six innings of a 4-2 win over Texas. Since signing with the Mets, Martinez has faced the Yankees three times, giving up just three runs in 22 innings, but the Mets have lost two of the three contests.
The over is 4-0 in the last four series meetings overall and 4-0 in the last four clashes at Shea Stadium. Also, the over is 5-2 in Martinez’s last seven starts against the Yankees, 7-0 in Ponson’s last seven starts overall (3-0 on the road), and 4-1-3 in the Mets’ last eight interleague games.
ATS ADVANTAGE – GAME 1: OVER
ATS ADVANTAGE – GAME 2: N.Y. METS and OVER
Chicago Cubs (49-30) at Chicago White Sox (43-35)
The Cubs’ Ryan Dempster (9-2, 2.63) looks to shut down the ChiSox for the second time in five days when he squares off against Jose Contreras (6-6, 3.96) as these rivals open a weekend set at U.S. Cellular Field.
The Cubs swept a three-game series from their rivals to the south last weekend, winning the three contests at Wrigley Field by a combined score of 22-11. However, Lou Piniella’s team fell flat after the sweep, losing two of three at home to the Orioles, including Thursday’s 11-4 defeat. The Cubs are just 16-20 on the road this year, compared with 33-10 at home. However, they are still 20-9 in their last 29 overall.
After their debacle at Wrigley Field, the White Sox traveled west and took two of three from the Dodgers, capped off by Thursday’s 2-0 victory. Ozzie Guillen’s club is 24-11 at home this season, including 20-6 in the last 26.
Going back to last season’s six interleague matchups, the Cubs are on an 8-1 roll against the White Sox, including sweeping all three games at U.S. Cellular a year ago.
Dempster dominated the Sox in Sunday’s 7-1 victory in the series finale, scattering 10 hits and the one run over eight innings. The right-hander is 0-2 on the road despite a 2.48 ERA, with the Cubs losing four his six starts on the highway.
Contreras got rocked for nine runs (all earned) on 10 hits (three home runs) in just 3 1/3 innings in Saturday’s 11-7 loss to the Cubs at Wrigley Field. The White Sox are 0-4 in his last four starts against the Cubs. Also, at home this year, the veteran righty is 3-3 with a 3.04 ERA
The under is 7-1 in the last eight head-to-head meetings at U.S. Cellular Field, 5-1 in the last six clashes overall, 7-1 in Dempster’s last eight starts overall (3-0 last three) and 11-4 in Contreras’ 15 starts this year (6-1 at home). Also the under is on runs of 4-0 for the White Sox overall, 9-4-1 for the Cubs in interleague road games, 36-18-5 for the Cubs against right-handed starters and 14-4-2 for the Cubs on Friday
ATS ADVANTAGE: UNDER
L.A. Angels (48-31) at L.A. Dodgers (36-42)
Joe Saunders (11-3, 3.03) goes for his major league-leading 12th victory of the season when he leads the Angels into Dodger Stadium for a three-game Freeway Series against the Dodgers. The Halos, who were idle on Thursday, are 5-1 on their current nine-game interleague road trip, the lone blemish being Wednesday’s 5-4 loss at Washington.
The Angels own baseball’s best road record at 26-13, going 10-2 in the last 12 as a visitor. Mike Scioscia’s club is also on hot streaks of 9-2 against the N.L. West, 25-10 in interleague play, 7-1 in interleague road games and 20-9 as a favorite.
The Dodgers fell to 14-39 in their last 53 interleague games (6-9 this season) with Thursday’s 2-0 loss to the White Sox. Additionally, Joe Torre’s squad is in the midst of negative streaks of 18-43 as an underdog, 4-12 as a home ‘dog, 4-10 in series-openers, 2-9 against the A.L. West and 0-9 versus southpaws.
The Angels took two of three from the Dodgers in Anaheim in mid-May, and they’re 9-2 in the last 11 series meetings. However, the home team is 16-4 in the past 20 clashes.
With Saunders on the hill, the Halos are on impressive streaks of 26-10 overall, 14-3 when he opens a series, 6-1 when he works on the road, 8-1 when he pitches on Fridays and 4-0 in interleague play. Also, Saunders is 6-1 with a 1.89 ERA on the road this season, including Saturday’s 6-2 win at Philadelphia in his most recent outing.
Park got a no-decision in the Dodgers’ 7-2 home loss to Cleveland on Sunday, even though the veteran right-hander yielded just a single run on three hits in five innings. Park is 1-0 with a 0.78 ERA in nine appearances (23 innings) at home this season.
In his first career start against the Dodgers on May 16, Saunders scored a 4-2 victory, allowing two runs on five hits over 7 1/3 innings. Meanwhile, Park is 5-7 with a 5.75 ERA in 18 career starts versus the Halos.
With Park starting, the under is on runs of 31-15-7 overall and 25-9-3 at home. Also, with Saunders on the hill, the under is 6-2 in his last eight overall, 4-1 in his last five as a road favorite and 4-0 in interleague play.
Furthermore, the under is on streaks of 5-2 in this rivalry, 4-0 for the Dodgers overall, 13-5 for the Dodgers at home, 41-18-5 for the Angels overall, 25-12-3 for the Angels as a favorite, 18-7-2 for the Angels on the road, 12-4 for the Angels in series openers and 8-1 for the Angels on Fridays.
ATS ADVANTAGE: L.A. ANGELS and UNDER
Dave Cokin
MIL Brewers and MIN Twins
Take MIN Twins
Seth McClung has been a big surprise for the Brewers, but his last start sent off alarm bells. McClung's old enemy, shaky control, was back on the scene and I think that's a negative indicator that's worth fading. It doesn't hurt that solid rookie Nick Blackburn foes for the Twins, and I'm obviously not hesitant to back a team with nine straight wins. The Twins are the Friday free play.
Jim Feist
SEA Mariners and SD Padres
Take SEA Mariners
Seattle got a jolt, with a new manager plus taking two out of three at the NY Mets. They were dogs of +155 and +175 in the two wins. Starter Jarrod Washburn looks to continue the good karma and he has a 2.04 ERA his last three starts. Last place San Diego has a losing record at home and all kinds of problems. After a hot start, San Diego lefty Randy Wolf has cooled off, with a 4.24 ERA his last three starts. A good spot for the visitors, Play the Mariners!
John Martin
New York Yankees vs. Pittsburgh Pirates
1 Unit on New York Yankees -137
I love the Yankees’ chances to win tonight with Mike Mussina over Paul Maholm. The Yankees have now won 7 of their last 8 meetings with the Pirates, including last night’s 10-0 statement victory. Don’t look for New York to just call off the dogs tonight. Mike Mussina has been a pleasant surprise for the Yankees this year, going 10-5 with a 3.93 ERA in 2008. He’s 5-1 with a solid 3.50 ERA on the road this season as well. The last time Mussina faced the Pirates it resulted in a complete-game-shutout where he allowed just 5 hits in a 9-0 Yankees’ victory. Look for Mussina to bring back some of those memories tonight as he shuts down the Pirates on the road. Cash in with the Yankees as the favorite.
Steve Janus
Philadelphia Phillies vs. Texas Rangers
Play: Texas Rangers
The Rangers have been pounding right-handed pitching at home of late and they've turned that hitting into a 6-1 record in their last 7 home games against RHPs. The Rangers have also been enjoying success at home in interleague play, winning 8 of their last 11. As much as the Rangers have been successful at home lately, the Phillies have been unsuccessful on the road. Philadelphia is 1-6 in their last 7 games overall and they are 0-6 in their last 6 games as a favorite. Philly's starting pitcher, Brett Myers, has been awful for the Phills on the road. When Myers is favored on the road, the Phillies have lost 9 in a row, and they are just 1-10 when Myers pitches on the road in any situation this year. The high-octane Texas offense should tear it up Friday.