SAPKOWSKI
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CHI Cubs
MIL Brewers
Free picks
CHI White Sox
ATL Braves under 8.5
Jeff Scott Sports
4 UNIT PLAY
Oakland/ NY Yanks Under 9
The Under is 16-5 in Athletics last 21 during game 1 of a series and 13-3-1 in Smiths last 17 starts overall, while the Under is 10-3-1 in Yankees last 14 home games with the total set at 9.0-10.5 and 7-1-1 in Mussinas last 9 starts as a home favorite of -151 to -200, plus the Under is 10-3 in the last 13 meetings in New York. Joe Blanton was to make this start, but his trade to Philly has Put Greg Smith in this spot and tyhat gives us a reall good chance at getting the under in this one. Greg comes in with a solid 3.43 ERA overall, with just 6.7 rpg being scored in his starts, including a 3.86 ERA on the road, with those starts averaging 6.8 rpg, plus he has a 3.14 ERA at night, with those games averaging just 5.4 rpg. Greg also has a nice 2.25 ERA in his last 3 starts, with those games averaging just 6.3 rpg. Mike Mussina has also had a good year, posting a 3.61 ERA overall, including a 3.72 ERA at home and a 3.64 ERA at night. Mike's home starts this year have averaged 8.1 rpg, including an average 4.6 rpg in his last 5 starts at home. Mike also has a 2.93 ERA in his last 7 starts, with those games averaging just 5.9 rpg. Both teams come in struggling offensively as the Yanks have put up just 3.9 rpg in their last 14 games, while the A's have averaged just 4 rpg in their last 16 games and just 3.2 rpg in their last 9 on nthe road. Both pitchers are rolling right now and have both been involved in many low soring games thsi year and with the way the offenses are struggling I don't see that changing here.
2 UNIT PLAY
Pittsburgh/ Colorado Over 10.5
The Over is 13-3 in Pirates last 16 road games vs. a left-handed starter and 5-0 in Snells last 5 starts as a road underdog, while the Over is 5-1 in Rockies last 6 games with the total set at 9.0-10.5. I had to make a play on the Over in at least one game in this series and that will be tonight. It is well known about the high scoring affairs the Pirates get in to on the road, as the over is 31-11, with an average of 11.9 rpg being being scored in their road games. The Pirates score 5.3 rpg on the road and 5.2 rpg vs lefty starters, plus they come in averageing 5.4 rpg in their last 9 games, with those 9 games averaging 12.3 rpg. The Pirate offense will square off vs Glendon Rusch, who is making just his 3rd start of the year. In his 2 starts Glendon has allowed 6 ER on 14 hits and 1 walk in just 10.2 innings of work Throw in his bullpen stats and his overall ERA is 6.25 on the year. Glendon also owns a 4.96 ERA in 15 career starts vs Pittsburgh, plus he has a career ERA of 5.28 when pitching at Coors Field. Ian Snell gets the ball for the Pirates and he has been struggling this year, as he comes in with a 5.92 ERA overall, including an 8.14 ERA on the road, which includes a 13.23 ERA in his last 4 raod starts. Ian's road starts average 13.1 rpg overall, including 15.8 rpg in his last 4 starts away from home. The Rockies do have some offensive injuries, but this team still scores 5.3 rpg at home, including 7.9 rpg in their last 8 at home, with those last 8 home games averaging 15.4 rpg. Two horrible pitchers on the mound, coupled with one of the best scoring road teams and a hot hitting home team, is certainly a recipe for an easy win on the Over here.
1 UNIT PLAY
CHISOX -1.5 (+130) over Kansas City
The Royals have not fared that badly on the road this year as they are 21-29 overall, but of their 29 losses 24 of them were by 2 or more runs and they have been outscored by 3.7 rpg in the losses. The Royals also don't play well in Chicago as they have a 14-42 record in their last 56 meetings here and have lost their last 5 games here by 2 runs or more. The Royals score 4 rpg on the road this year and just 3.7 rpg within the division. KC also doesn't score much for Zach Greinke as they put just 3.6 rpg for him in his road starts. The Sox have been awesome at home going 32-13, while outscoring their opponents by 1.9 rpg, including outscoring them by 4.2 rpg in their 32 home wins. Chicago is also 26-12 within the Division, including a 18-4 mark, while outscoring their opponents by 2.6 rpg in their divisional home games. The Sox are also on a run of 14 staright divisional home wins, outscoring opponents by 3.9 rpg over that stretch. Zack Greinke comes in with a 4-5 mark on the road and a 4.20 ERA and he has struggled in his career at US Cellular Field, going 0-5 with a 6.62 ERA. Mark Buehrle got off to a rough start this year, but has has settled down lately going 4-2 with a 1.55 ERA in his last 7 starts. His last start was against these same Royals and he allowed no ER on 6 hits and no walks in 7.1 innings of work, but lost got the loss due to 2 UER. In his career Mark is 16-7 vs the Royals with a 3.31 ERA and the Sox are 8-1 in his last 9 starts vs them, with Mark posting a 3.00 ERA over those 9 games. The Sox just dominat at home and should have no problems winning this one by 2 or more runs
EZWINNERS
3 STAR: (916) SAN FRANCISCO (+$116) over Milwaukee
(Listing Cain only) (Risking $300 to win $348)
2 STAR: (907) CHICAGO (-$111) over Houston
(Listing Lilly only) (Risking $222 to win $200)
2 STAR: (920) BALTIMORE (-$118) over Detroit
(Listing Guthrie only) (Risking $236 to win $200)
CFL
3 STAR: (413) WINNIPEG (+9) over British Columbia
(Risking $330 to win $300)
WUNDERDOG
WNBA
Connecticut at Chicago
Pick: OVER 146.5
After opening 8-1, and looking like the class of the WNBA, Connecticut has fallen hard and fast. The Sun has now gone just 2-6 over their last eight dropping four in a row. The biggest problem has been the lack of intensity on the defensive end where the Sun has now given up an average of 80 ppg in those last eight games. The Sky hasn't been shy about offense at home where they put up 76.5 ppg. Offensively the Sun is scoring, but just not committed on defense, so we like this one to top the posted total.
MLB
Los Angeles at Arizona
Pick: Arizona +104
The Dodgers have not exactly been a force as a favorite on the road where they have logged an 8-10 record. Heroki Kuroda has saved his best starts for LA where the Dodgers are 5-3. The road has been a different story where the Dodgers have been just 3-6 dropping four of his last five starts. Doug Davis has really feasted against the Dodgers where he owns a career 1.33 ERA in 41 innings against them. We like the home dog in this one.
MICHAEL CANNON
Kansas City at CHICAGO WHITE SOX -150
The ChiSox have won 11 of their last 13 home games and are 32-13 on the year at U.S. Cellular, the fourth-best record in the majors.
Mark Buehrle will start for Chicago and he?s had good success against Kansas City in his career, going 16-7.
The Royals will counter with Zack Greinke, who is just 2-7 with a 4.50 ERA in 15 career games against the White Sox. The right-hander has been shelled for an 0-5 record and 6.62 ERA in seven lifetime games at U. S. Cellular Field.
The White Sox have beaten the Royals five straight times at home, outscoring them 34-11.
Take the White Sox as they grab the home win.
2♦ CHICAGO WHITE SOX
SPORTS GAMBLING HOTLINE
Cubs -115 at HOUSTON
Tonight we go with the Cubbies to hand the Astros another loss.
Chicago went to the break by winning 5 of their final 7, while Houston could only muster a 4-6 clip over their last 10 games before the break.
The Cubs Ted Lilly is in search of win #10 on the season, and he does own a 2-0 mark against Houston the last 3 times he's climbed the hill against them, working 19 innings while allowing 6 runs to score.
Brian Moehler has split his last pair of starts, but he has allowed 9 runs in just 12 innings of work, and he has also dropped his lone decision against the Cubs earlier this year, as he allowed 3 to score in just 5 frames of work.
Chicago is the class of the Central Division, while the Astros will be just playing the season out in the second half.
Play on the Cubs.
5♦ CUBS
KARL GARRETT
Toronto +130 at TAMPA BAY
Going against the Rays tonight, as I think the Tampa free-fall will continue against AJ Burnett.
Burnett came within 2 outs of blanking the Yankees on the Sunday before the break, as the veteran righty notched his 10th win of the season.
Toronto has won 6 of their last 8 games, while we all know about the 7 game Rays losing streak. I don't think a couple of days off is going to be the solution for this team, as the pressure of the playoff chase certainly looks to be in their skin for the remainder of the campaign.
Tampa Bay may be 5-1 in the season series, and starter James Shields may be 3-0 over his last 5 starts against the Blue Jays, but let's see if the Rays know how to end the slide.
I don't think the end of the slide is coming tonight.
G-Man on the underdog Jays!
2♦ TORONTO
TOM FREESE
Toronto at Tampa Bay
Toronto is 7-3 UNDER in Game 1 of a series and they are 10-3 UNDER with A.J. Burnett on the mound vs. winning teams. The Blue Jays are 5-1 UNDER with Burnett after allowing 2 or less runs in their game and they are 16-6-1 UNDER with Burnett on four days rest. Burnett is in excellent KW form with a better than 4 to 1 strikeout to walk ratio in his last 3 starts. Tampa Bay is 29-11-1 UNDER their last 41 games as favorites of -110 to -150 and they are 9-4 UNDER their last 13 home games vs. losing teams. Starter James Shields is in excellent KW form with a better than 5 to 1 strikeout to walk ratio in his last 3 starts. These teams gone 8-1 UNDER the last 9 meetings at Tampa Bay. PLAY ON 'UNDER'
MATT RIVERS
Friday let's take a rare total and go over in Colorado.
No, Coors Field is not the insane hitters' park that it used to be thanks to that humidour but I do see runs being at a plenty today.
Ian Snell has had some success in the Big Leagues and at times is very good but right now something is just not right with him. The righthander has been getting absolutely torched of late and even with the terrible play of late the Rockies should have their hitting shoes on a bit here.
On the bump opposing Snell is lefty Glendon Rusch who has been there and done that and actually shocked the world in outdueling Ben Sheets as the huge dog last week but come on, it's still Glendon Rusch, a guy who has had a ton of problems at times. Rusch has total implosion potential and could get absolutely shelled by the solid Pirates offense. Bay, Nady, Sanchez, McClouth, Doumit and the Bucos have been great this season and we could easily see 1.2 innings for Rusch and five or six earned runs.
I would be wholeheartedly shocked to see either hurler last past the fourth or fifth inning and in the end both teams should get at least five runs which is all we need.
I am not a totals guy at all as they are crap shoots but if there is ever a game that could end up 12-10 I really think this is it.
Gina
Kansas City Royals at Chicago White Sox
The White Sox are 11-2 in their last 13 games at home and have won the last five versus Kansas City in Chicago. The Royals have dropped five of its last 7 road games
Kansas City's Zack Greinke (7-5, 3.48) is 2-7 with a 4.50 ERA in 15 career outings, including 12 starts against the White Sox.
Chicago's Mark Buehrle (6-8, 3.68 ERA) is 16-7 with a 3.29 ERA, in his career against the Royals.
Go with the White Sox at U.S. Cellular Field. Kansas City has lost seven of their last 8 games against Chicago and has been unsuccessful in the Windy City, just 14 wins in the last 56 against the White Sox. To boot, right-hander Zack Greinke has also struggle at U.S. Cellular Field, going 0-5 with a 6.62 ERA in seven career appearances, including five starts.
Chicago White Sox -155
NICK PARSONS
Kansas City Royals @ Chicago White Sox
Pick: Chicago White Sox -155
The White Sox are a bit pricey here but they still appear to be worth the juice so we'll lay it here on Friday! Chicago is a fantastic 32-13 at home this season and they're hosting a Royals club that is just 21-29 on the road so far this season. Also, Kansas City averaged less than four runs per game in their last four games before the All Star Break and that's not likely to get the job done against a White Sox club that has been knocking the cover off of the ball. The ChiSox are averaging six runs per game in their last eight games! The White Sox have a .477 slugging percentage at home and that's good enough to rank 4th out of all 30 teams in the majors this season! Conversely, note that the Royals have a .304 on base percentage on the road and that ranks last among all American League teams. As you can see, Kansas City could get throttled here! Even though Zack Greinke has done a fairly good job this season he has not fared as well on the road where he is 4-5 with a 4.20 ERA this season. Greinke is also just 2-7 in his career against the White Sox with a 4.50 ERA versus Chicago. As for Mark Buehrle of the White Sox, he continues to be the workhorse of the staff. He leads the team in innings pitched and he's produced seven quality starts in his last eight outings. The ChiSox southpaw is also 16-7 in his career against the Royals. Look for Buerhle to continue his dominance tonight and lay the price with the White Sox!
SCOTT RICHENBACH
1* (regular play) Chicago Cubs Money Line (-) @ Houston
Short and sweet on this side play write-up for Friday. We are simply catching a lot of value here with the far superior team and the far superior pitcher. Yes, Ted Lilly is coming off of a very rough outing but you can?t put too much weight into that start. The wind was blowing out at Wrigley Field and it was a ?hell day? for any pitcher as home runs were flying out all game long. Note that prior to that start Lilly had gone 4-1 in his last seven starts while the Cubs were 5-2 in those outings. Lilly allowed just 16 earned runs in those seven starts even though he averaged nearly seven runs per inning. It is that kind of workmanlike effort that we expect from the veteran southpaw tonight! That will be enough to get the job done against the floundering Astros whom, by the way, Lilly has pitched well against in his career!
Houston is just 4-8 in July and that record was even embellished by the benefit of playing the Nationals in a three game series! Truly things have not gone well for the Astros and sending Brian Moehler to the mound won?t help matters for Houston tonight. He is unlikely to get much run support as Houston has averaged just four runs per game their last eleven games. Moehler is facing a Cubs team that is 5-2 in their last 7 games and the Cubbies have averaged over 5.5 runs per game during this stretch. Moehler is starting to fade as we expected him too. The problem is that he has pitched ?over his head? so far this season and we felt certain that a dropoff was on the way. As expected he?s allowed nine earned runs in his last two outings and he?s walked as many as he?s struck out. Moehler already faced the Cubs earlier this season and he took the loss in a game where the damage could have been much worse too. Moehler did not fare well then against the Cubs and there is no reason to expect anything different tonight. Although he didn?t allow a homer in his most recent start he had previously allowed six homers in his last five starts and he?s not known for working deep into games either. That will expose a suspect Astros bullpen and the Cubs should roll behind a strong starting pitch edge with Lilly outclassing Moehler in this one. Play the Chicago Cubs on the money line as a regular selection.
STEPHEN NOVER
Los Angeles Dodgers @ Arizona Diamondbacks
PICK: Arizona Diamondbacks
Arizona is hard to back on the road, but at Chase Field they hit and play much better.
The Diamondbacks are eight games above .500 at home. They are batting .283 and averaging 5.0 runs at Chase Field, compared to hitting .223 on the road and averaging less than four runs per game.
The Dodgers are going with Hiroki Kuroda, who has been outstanding lately. Keep in mind, though, Kuroda has pitched his best ball at spacious, pitcher-friendly Dodger Stadium.
Kuroda has surrendered six earned runs in two of his last three road starts, failing to reach the third inning in either one. The Dodgers are without star closer Takashi Saito, whose career may be over after he suffered a right elbow injury.
Jonathan Broxton is LA's new closer. He's been a solid setup man, but has never been asked to be a full-time closer. The Diamondbacks' bats picked up right before the All-Star break. Arizona scored 25 runs and batted .314 in its last four games before the All-Star Game.
Arizona starter Doug Davis has been solid since returning from thyroid surgery. He'll be pitching with extra rest. He's 13-10 in his career when having had six or more days rest.
The Diamondbacks have won 76 percent of the time during Davis' past 25 home starts. Davis tamed the Dodgers back in April during his one start versus them this season. Davis held Los Angeles to two runs and six hits in six innings.
The Dodgers are 26th in runs scored and 27th in home runs.
Larry Ness
San Diego Padres @ St. Louis
PICK: St. Louis
REASON FOR PICK: The Cards hit four solo HRs off Jake Peavy last night and it was good enough for a 4-3 win. Kyle Lohse won his NINTH straight decision to move to 12-2 (3.35 ERA) on the season. This from a man who had gone 32-48 with a 4.93 ERA over the past four seasons. All in all it's be quite a surprising seasons for the Cardinals, who were coming off a 78-84 season in 2007. The Cards will enter this game with the NL's second-best record, at 54-43. Braden Looper, in his second season as a starter, is once again giving the Cards a solid effort. He went 12-12 with a 4.90 ERA last year in 30 starts (Cards were 16-14) and this year he's 9-7 with a 4.25 ERA in 19 starts (team is 10-9). He'll face a San Diego team which is the NL's second-lowest scoring team (353 runs / 3.68 per game), owning MLB's second-worst team batting average (.246). San Diego starter Greg Maddux has felt the full brunt of San Diego's lack of offense in '08. Maddux won his 350th career game back on May 10 but in his 12 starts since, as yet to collect another win. During that stretch he's allowed two ERs or less eight times (4.11 ERA) but is 0-5 with the team going 6-6. The problem has been that during that 12-game stretch, the Padres have scored three runs or less, 11 times. It's hard to back the Padres here, as they enter this game 37-59 with MLB's worst moneyline mark (minus-$2,529). They are 14-29 on the road and when one considers that while Maddux owns a 2.52 in 11 home starts, he has a 5.71 ERA in nine road starts. Backing the Padres in this one makes little sense. Take the Cards.
Matty O'Shea
Red Sox +135
You won't see the defending World Series champs this big of an underdog too often. In fact, they are 3-5 as an underdog of +130 or higher this year. So why am I playing them in this situation? Because of their outstanding success against LA's John Lackey, who is 1-6 in 11 career starts against the Sox with a 6.27 ERA. In fact, the Angels have also dropped 11 of Lackey's last 12 starts vs. Boston (from today's Pregame Cheat Sheet). Lackey has simply not looked like himself in his last 2 starts either, surrendering 12 runs and 23 hits in 11.2 innings of work. While Boston's Clay Buccholz has struggled this season, I still believe this play is worth of a shot with a small wager tonight.