Players of America
San Francisco Giants vs. Chicago Cubs
The Play: Chicago Cubs -140.0
Star Value: 3* (30 Units)
A nice little afternoon game at Wrigley Field on Friday as the slumping San Francisco Giants take on the division leading Chicago Cubs. The Cubs are drowning their sorrows after a shootout resulted in a loss last night with the Reds and the Giants the same as they were dropped by the Mets in convincing fashion (7-3).
The Giants elect to put righty Matt Cain on the rubber and that isn't saying much. Cain has struggled this season going 5-7 thus far. From an interest point of view, the Giants are a pathetic 4-14 in their last 18 Friday games this season and have really struggled to put the bat on the ball. These two teams are split down the seam this season at 2-2 but look for that to change and the better team to emerge the victor Friday afternoon.
Jason Marquis has been a bit better than skeptics might have predicted this season carrying a respectable 9-7 record overall. Yes, yes, we're all aware of the big loss with Soriano to this squad, but believe it or not they are finally adapting without their leader and starting to look like a winning team again. An afternoon game at Wrigley is no cake walk for any opponent, and coming off a loss to an inferior team, the Cubs win this one.
With that being said, let's lay a little more chalk than usual here and clock up an early win to start the weekend. Cubbies for a 1* selection in a shoot out.
TREND OF THE GAME: The Cubs are 18-5 in Marquis' last 24 home starts.
Chicago 7, San Francisco 3
Minnesota Twins vs. Detroit Tigers
The Play: Detroit Tigers -150.0
Star Value: 1* (10 Units)
This Friday night the Twins travel to Motor City to continue their four game skid with the Tigers of Detroit. As we remain in the heat of divisional play, things start getting a bit tenser this time of year as squads start carving their position in the standing columns. The AL Central just happens to be wide open for the taking, but with a lot of ball to be played it's these types of "playoff-like atmosphere" ones that begin to mean something.
The Twins and Tigs went 11 long innings on Thursday with Minnesota coming out on top in the end. The Twins, however, are a subpar 18-23 on the road this season. The Tigers on the other hand are 27-17 in front of their home fans at Comerica Park. Second baseman Matt Tolbert will be out indefinitely for a few months as he will undergo thumb surgery and right field superstar Michael Cuddyer is also listed on the 15 day disabled list with a finger sprain. These two loses alone are a big blow to the Twins on both sides of the ball. Left hander Glen Perkins will be handed the hardball on Friday as he comes in with a legit 5-2 record but an ERA up over 4.25. One very key ingredient to point out in this game on Friday is the bullpens of both teams. Minnesota's bullpen has an ERA of 8.56 in their last three games which is atrocious. Detroit on the other hand has a solid 3.82 bullpen in their last three outings. Look for Detroit to exploit this weakness, too.
For the Tigs, right hander Armando Galarraga will be throwing out the first pitch with a win loss record of 7-2 on the year and a WHIP of 1.16 along with an ERA under 3.25. Meeting 11 times this year already, Detroit is behind at 4-7 but got the victory last time out against Perkins. Armando has yet to pitch against the Twins this season.
Look for Detroit to thirst for a little revenge after the heart breaker last night. With a potent offense capable of exploding in any inning, CoPark should be rockin' with a solid crowd as the Tigers grab a victory proving to be the better team in this one.
TREND OF THE GAME: The Tigers are 20-5 in their last 25 home games.
Detroit 6, Minnesota 3
Tampa Bay Rays vs. Cleveland Indians
The Play: Under 8.5
Star Value: 1* (10 Units)
Here is a no brainer Friday night. This one might seem too simple for the sharps, but we're on it. The "world-beating" Rays head to Cleveland to face the Indians who have been more than a disappointment to professionals this season. Cleveland picked up their first win in ages against this Tampa Bay team last night in a convincing blow out at Progressive Field.
For Friday, the UNDER between these two squads looks meaty. Two big time studs are in the spotlight on Lake Erie, righty James Shields for the Rays and CY Young candidate Cliff Lee for the Tribe. Shields comes in leading this Tampa Bay to destiny so far this season with a 7-5 record and an impressive ERA of 3.64. Lee on the other hand is an eye-popping 11-2 with a WHIP of 1.04 and an ERA of less than 2.40. Pretty darn good numbers if you ask me. Both of these guys like a defensive struggle and both have all stars backing them up in the field. Lee has kept games under ten times already this season, and Shields eight.
There is more than the pitching dual tonight between these two. The infamous Wally Bell will be calling the balls and strikes in Cleveland. Mr. Bell has officiated 15 games this MLB season already, TWELVE of which have stayed under the total! On top of that, we know the Indian woes when it comes to offensive. OK, so they came out of their slump a bit last night and scored 13, big whoop. This team's all around batting average is in the mid .200's and each night out it's a crap shoot on whether they are going to score more than a run or two. The constantly inconsistent offensive of this squad has landed them in the sewer of not only the AL Central, but the entire MLB.
This one should be a doosy, and a well played baseball game on Friday. Look for a low-scoring, hard fought battle between these two squads. Give us the under on the shores of Lake Erie Friday for a 1* wager.
TREND OF THE GAME: The UNDER is 11-4-1 in these two team's last 16 meetings.
Cleveland 3, Tampa Bay 1
New York Yankees vs. Toronto Blue Jays
The Play: Under 8.0
Star Value: 1* (10 Units)
Another star-studded dual in Toronto on Friday as the Yankees head to Toronto and get back to some American League play. Two very good heavers toe the rubber in this one, and like the above we should have a very tight one all the way to the end.
The Yankees put the young right hander Joba Chamerlain on the mound Friday who has been pretty solid this season. He has started four games and went 2-2 and his ERA is steady at 2.45. The highly touted Roy Halladay will be the Yankees opponent and this guy is a flat out stud. He is 10-6 this year, with several of his losses coming from a lack of run support. Roy has a whip of 1.04 and an ERA of 2.88. These pitchers have combined for 22 decisions this year and 14 of those have resulted in under winners. The Yankees have been under the total 56 times this season, and the Blue Jays 49. Expect this trend to continue.
This one will be another defensive battle. Lay the standard juice on this one and don't be surprised if there are goose eggs on the board come the seventh. The UNDER for a 1* selection here.
TREND OF THE GAME: Combined, the Yankees and Blue Jays have settled under the total 106 times this season.
New York 2, Toronto 0
LARRY NESS
Seattle Mariners @ Kansas City Royals
PICK: Seattle Mariners -113
What a difference a year makes. The Mariners won 88 games last year and were MLB's second-biggest "money-makers" against the moneyline, going plus-$1,924. However, they enter this final weekend of action prior to the All Star break with an AL-worst 35-56 record and a moneyline mark of minus-$1,984, which ranks them 28 among MLB's 30 teams.The Royals are not exactly "world beaters" either, checking in at 41-52 and a closer look reveals that KC is just 28-47 (.373) vs AL foes, after subtracting the team's impressive 13-5 interleague mark. The Mariners just released Richie Sexson and had to put pitcher Erik Bedard back on the DL but the good news is that Felix Hernandez is now off the DL, after spraining an ankle back in late June. Hernandez had a terrific '07 season (team was 21-9 in his starts and his moneyline mark of plus-$1,020 ranked him fourth among all starters LY) and just prior to going on the DL, had been pitching "lights-out!" Over his last five starts, Hernandez has allowed 20 hits and just four ERs in 33 innings (1.09 ERA), going 4-0 (team was 5-0). He'll match up against Luke Hochevar of KC, who is a much better home pitcher (3.89 ERA) than road pitcher (6.49 ERA). That being said, I'm going to 'ride' Hernandez in this one and take the Mariners.
Chris James Sports
Chicago White Sox
Tonight is the first game of the series between the White Sox and the Rangers and it should be an interesting one as we have the best offense in the league going against a pitcher who has been pretty dominant as of late. The White Sox send Gavin Floyd to the mound whos is 10-4 with a 3.22 ERA on the year. Over his last 8 starts Floyd is 6-1 with a 3.55 ERA and over his last 3 starts he is 2-1 with a 3.37 ERA. Floyd has been average on the road with a 3-3 record and a 4.38 ERA. However, the White Sox as a team have been hot lately going 4-1 in their last 5 games and 6-1 in their last 7 games as a road favorite. I really see the White Sox scoring alot of runs tonight and beating up on the Rangers pitching staff. The Rangers send Luis Mendoza to the mound who has really struggled. He is 1-3 on the year with a 7.54 ERA. In his last start against the Angels he only pitched 1.1 innings while giving up 8 earned runs. He is averaging 27 walks/hits per nine innings pitched over his last three starts. The Rangers are 0-5 as a team in Mendoza's starts this year compared to the White Sox going 12-5 in Floyd's starts this year. The White Sox are 6-0 in Floyd's last 6 starts as a favorite and 36-15 in their last 51 games overall as a favorite. Look for Floyd to put together a decent outing on the road and the White Sox to really beat up on Mendoza and the Rangers bullpen who has a 5.67 ERA over the last 3 games. Play the White Sox.
Oddswiz
Tampa Bay Rays vs. Cleveland Indians
Play: Cleveland Indians
Baseball is a game of streaks. Here we have one monster streak just having come to an end with the Indians snapping a 10 game skid. The Rays on the other hand are in the midst of what looks like it will be their longest losing streak season to date and at the worst possible time, before the break. This looks like a good spot for the Indians to take two in a row, as bad as they are, and as good as the Rays have been. The Indians send Lee to the hill tonight and he's been their shining star all year with an 11-2 record and a 2.43 era. Look for the Rays troubles to continue tonight in Cleveland.
Pupsnchalk Sports
Chicago White Sox vs. Texas Rangers
Play: Chicago White Sox
The Chicago White Sox will become the latest team to improve on their offensive numbers with a visit to Arlington Park this evening as they begin a weekend set with the Texas Rangers.
Luis Mendoza will take the hill for the Rangers off a rough outing and we can expect him to struggle once again this evening. Mendoza was tagged for 9 hits and 8 earned runs in only 1 1/3 innings of work, allowing 3 homers in the process in the Rangers 9-6 loss the Halos. He has yet to make it past the fifth inninng this year and will be making his first start against the Pale hose. I'm not sure if Mendoza should even be starting but he gets the call due to the Rangers depleted starting staff.
Gavin Floyd of the White Sox will put his 10-4 record and 3.22 ERA on the line when he takes the hill this evening against one of the most productive lineups in baseball. Floyd has yet to face the Rangers this year. He allowed three earned runs in his only start against them last year, a 4-3 loss in Arlington. Despite the White Sox road struggles they are 6-1 in their last 7 road games with the chalk.
The Rangers bullpen was once again forced in to early duty last night as the Rangers couldn't complete their comeback against the Halos and lost 11-10. With Mendoza on the mound we can expect to see the bullpen early once again tonight. The Rangers bullpen has an ERA of 4.49 with a whip of 1.39 on the season and have been overworked. They've issued out 165 walks on the season, second most in the majors. The Rangers will be spent after a grueling four game series against their division rivals.Play on the Chicago White Sox for 1 unit.
Andre Gomes
WNBA: Premium Play
San Antonio vs Atlanta
Play: Over 152,5
Atlanta has managed at Minnesota to conquer their second win in a row, after having lost all their first 17 matches of the season. The way they have done it shows how weird the WNBA has been in the last few weeks. After being down at half time by 26-38, the team came back and won the match by 73-67. Today they will face the best team in the league right now, San Antonio. One of the things that has been frequent this season is that Atlanta when playing on the road, pushes up the tempo of the game, as that's the only way they can be competitive. They are 6-2 Over on the road this season thanks to that. They are also 9-3 Over in a 150-159,5 range this season. The Dream are a really motivated team right now and that is visible on their shooting %'s, as it is on their number of turnovers, which has decreased a lot in their last few games. Their last game at Minnesota went under, but the team scored 47 points in the second half!
San Antonio is on a winning streak of six games and in their last few games, their offense has been perfect, consistently scoring 80 points or more. This will be a back to back game for them, but it will be different that the typical b2b match, as yesterday at Chicago they were already up by 65-44 at the end of the third quarter. Actually the team didn't reach the 80 points mark, as they rested their best players and only scored 10 points in the last quarter. Also two of their main stars weren't brilliant last night. Becky just shot 3-9 FG and scored 12 points, while Young shot 3-9 FG and scored 8 points. Today a bounce back from these two players is more than expected, especially at in the game at Atlanta, Becky scored 25 points and Young 16. Today I expect Atlanta to push up the tempo, something they have done on the road against the best teams of the league, while San Antonio won't have problems in scoring, something they have been doing very well lately. Take the over in here.
Pick: 3 units (Regular Play) Over 152.5
Anthony Capone
5 Dimes White Sox -113
Teddy June
5* MLB Game of the Day is the Toronto Blue Jays
ROBERT FERRINGO
1.5-Unit Play. Take Chicago Cubs (-155) over San Francisco
The Cubs are a great road team and Jason Marquis is a great road pitcher. The Cubs are 42-11 in Wrigley and 18-6 in Marquis’ last 24 home starts. Matt Cain just loses. He is 16-38 in his last 54 starts and 2-15 on the road against a team with a winning record.
1-Unit Play. Take Philadelphia (-145) over Arizona
1-Unit Play. Take Los Angeles Dodgers (-150) over Florida
1-Unit Play. Take ‘Under’ 8.5 Florida at Los Angeles Dodgers
1-Unit Play. Take ‘Under’ 8.0 Tampa Bay at Cleveland
1-Unit Play. Take ‘Over’ 9.0 Minnesota at Detroit
Bob Balfe
Major League Baseball
Pirates +110 over Cardinals
Duke/Lohse
Savannah Sports
2 Units on San Diego -142
Ben Burns
4* Indians
4* Phillies
4* Padres
Jeff Benton
10 Dime: INDIANS (over Rays)
5 Dime: ROCKIES (over Mets)
BOB AKMENS
7* Royals/Mariners Under 8.5
3* WNBA Washington/Detroit Over 145.5
3* CFL BC Lions/Winnepeg Under 47.5
SCOTT RICHENBACH
1* (regular play) OVER the total in New York Mets vs Colorado
We love match-ups like this one! Just like yesterdays game in Texas, were seeing a downward move on this total. Yesterdays total in Texas was a 9.5 that dropped to a 9 because everyone was so enamored with John Lackey of the Angels and Scott Feldman. As we wrote here yesterday, both of those pitchers had reasons that they were over-rated and, as a result, there was value with the over. The game ended up with 21 runs scored and was the highest scoring game on the board. Of course todays game is unlikely to be a repeat of those lofty totals but, at the same time, there is great value with this over. The line actually was an 8.5o early on. Throughout the morning on Friday, the total has moved all the way to as low as an 8u. Just like yesterday?s ?false mover? this is giving us great line value.
The key here is everyone is buying into Oliver Perez of the Mets and Aaron Cook of the Rockies in this match-up. While we know what these guys are capable of when on, neither one is likely to be on top of their game tonight. More on that in a moment but, first off, note that the Mets and Rockies are the two highest scoring teams in the majors this month. Each team has scored 69 runs in their ten games this month. That is essentially an average of 7 runs per game and yet were dealing with a total of just 8 on this game. Once again, it?s screaming with value! Perez is coming off of back to back strong starts for the Mets but he previously was struggling badly. We realize that part of what has helped Perez is an adjustment on the mound. With the advice of the pitching coach, he changed his positioning on the rubber and the results have been great. However, Perez has also made his last two starts in big games. The first once against the rival Yankees while the next was against the NL East rival Phillies. We mention this because Perez has a knack for stepping up in big games but faltering in less important games. Needless to say, the Rockies and their 14-33 road record are not too impressive for Perez. Watch him underestimate this opponent tonight and then get clobbered as the Rockies lineup is now both healthy and hot and they have a number of hitters, including Colorado pitcher Aaron Cook (3 for 5), whom have enjoyed success against Perez in his career!
Of course the flip side of this equation is that we also expect the Mets to enjoy plenty of success at the plate tonight. If you look closely at Cooks starts over the last ten weeks or so, you will see that hes actually been hit hard in 10 of his last 14 starts! His most consistent stretch of work actually came early this season and, since then, the sinker-baller has been hit quite hard in many of his outings. Note that the Mets are loaded with left-handed bats and switch-hitters. Many left-handed sticks like to hit the low ball and that?s why Cook has traditionally struggled more against lefties than righties in his career. The Mets should enjoy plenty of success at the plate tonight. They are hot and they pound Cook for 6 earned runs on 12 hits in 7 innings of work three weeks ago in Colorado. Look for more of the same tonight. Play OVER the total in the New York Mets game as a regular selection.
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