SPORTS ADVISORS
AMERICAN LEAGUE
New York (56-45) at Boston (60-43)
Right-hander Josh Beckett (9-6, 3.98 ERA) takes the hill for the Red Sox to open a three-game weekend set against the archrival Yankees at Fenway Park. Boston, returning from a six-game West Coast swing, bounced back after a three-game sweep against the Angels last weekend to win three in a row at Seattle. The Sox are 36-11 at home this season and have won eight of their last 10 behind Beckett at Fenway.
New York, which will counter with right-hander Joba Chamberlain (2-3, 2.52), is on a six-game winning streak, having swept Oakland and Minnesota at home after coming back from the All-Star break. The Yanks are also 20-8 in their last 28 games against winning teams.
Boston leads the season series between these two 5-4, and the Red Sox are 4-0 in Beckett’s last four starts against New York.
The Red Sox are a middling 5-5 in Beckett’s last 10 starts, with the 28-year-old taking the loss in a 4-2 road setback against the Angels on Saturday, allowing four runs on nine hits in eight innings.
The Yankees are 6-2 in Chamberlain’s last eight starts. On Saturday, the 22-year-old yielded just one run on six hits in six innings as New York beat Oakland 4-3. Chamberlain has given up two earned runs or less in seven of his nine starts this season.
Despite his 4.82 ERA at Fenway this season, Beckett has a 5-1 record in seven home starts, and he’s 7-3 in with a 5.75 ERA in 11 career starts against the Yanks, winning all three starts this season against New York. Chamberlain is 1-2 with a 1.74 ERA in 14 appearances (three starts) on the road this season, and he’s 1-0 with a 3.48 ERA in four career appearances (one start) against Boston.
The under has cashed in four of the last five for Boston and is 6-1 in New York’s last seven roadies and 20-7-2 in the Yanks’ last 29 games overall. On the flip side, the total has gone high in four of Beckett’s last five home starts against New York, and in this rivalry, the over is 22-7 in the last 29 clashes at Fenway.
ATS ADVANTAGE: BOSTON
Chicago White Sox (57-43) at Detroit (52-49)
The A.L. Central-leading White Sox trot out right-hander Gavin Floyd (10-6, 3.52 ERA) to open a three-game set against the Tigers at Comerica Park. Chicago followed up a three-game losing skid by winning two straight at home against Texas on Tuesday and Wednesday, racking up 10 runs in each game en route to 10-2 and 10-8 victories. The Sox have dropped 13 of their last 18 road games, but they are on runs of 6-0 following a day off and 19-7 in division play.
Detroit, which will give the ball to left-hander Nate Robertson (6-8, 5.69), is on a four-game winning streak, taking Thursday off after sweeping a three-game series at Kansas City. The Tigers have won six of their last seven series openers and are 20-8 in their last 28 games at Comerica.
Chicago has a 5-4 edge in the season series between these teams, and they are 5-1 facing Robertson in Detroit. But the Tigers have won the last three games, sweeping a home series June 10-12.
Floyd was on a 6-1 run before cooling off with losses in his last two starts. On Saturday against Kansas City, he allowed three runs (one earned) on four hits in six innings of a 9-1 home loss, on the heels of a 7-2 setback at Texas in which he allowed six runs on five hits in just 2 2/3 innings.
Robertson is 0-2 with three no-decisions in his last five starts, getting rocked for seven runs on eight hits in only 2 1/3 innings Saturday in an 11-10 loss at Baltimore.
Floyd is 3-4 with a 5.40 ERA in eight road starts this year, and he’s 3-0 with a solid 2.43 ERA in six career starts against Detroit. He beat the Tigers in back-to-back starts in April, including throwing 7 1/3 innings of one-hit shutout ball in a 7-0 home rout April 12. Robertson, meanwhile, is 3-3 with a 4.45 ERA in nine home starts this year, and he’s 6-6 with a 5.02 ERA in 18 career starts against Chicago.
In this division rivalry, the under is on a 35-17 run overall and is 40-17-3 in the last 60 battles in Detroit. However, the over is 7-1 in Chicago’s last eight games, 17-5 for the Sox in their last 22 division games and 8-3 in Robertson’s last 11 starts for Detroit.
ATS ADVANTAGE: CHICAGO WHITE SOX
BRAD DIAMOND SPORTS
Play on: Baltimore over LA Angeles
The fading Orioles get a chance to bounce back at home against the traveling Angels on Friday night in what should be an interesting set of games. The Birds hurler lefty Brian Burres has a nice life time mark of 2-0 with a 2.84 ERA against Los Angeles, whereas cagey lefty Joe Saunders throws a mark of 3-0, but a 5.62 ERA versus Baltimore. With the O’s a super 72% in game #1 of a series, I’ll back the Orioles to reverse form here.
Marc Lawrence
Play On: L.A. Angels
Note: When the Angels take on the Orioles in the first of a three-game series in Baltimore Friday night it will be with Joe Saunders battling Brian Burres. Saunders has cashed in 13 of his last 19 road starts. He's also 5-1 in his career team starts and 8-2 in his career team starts on Fridays. On the flip side, Burres is just 2-4 during July and has dropped each of his last three home starts. With that, look for the Halos to improve to 13-4 in this series against the Birds here tonight.
James Patrick
Padres vs. Pirates
San Diego has captured 13 of 17 meetings in this series and has won 6 of 10 in the Steel City. The Bucs are just 3-15 in starter Duke’s Friday starts and we look for the Padres to continue their winning ways against the Pirates. Our selection in Major League Baseball is San Diego Padres.
Jimmy The Moose
Arizona Diamondbacks at San Francisco Giants
Prediction: Arizona Diamondbacks
Arizona has struggled on the road this season while the Giants have struggled at home. The Diamondbacks are 5-2 in their last 7 games as a favorite. Arizona sends Haren to the mound tonight and they have won 7 of his last 9 starts. The D'Backs have won 4 of his last 5 road starts. In his last 14 starts as a favorite the D'Backs are 10-4. San Francisco is 4-9 in their last 13 games. In their last 26 games as a home dog they are 5-21. The Giants are 8-18 in their last 26 home games vs. a team with a losing road record. The Giants are 1-4 in Sanchez's last 5 home starts. Pitching edge tonight goes to Arizona. Play on the Arizona Diamondbacks -.
Scott Ferrall
TORONTO -155 over Seattle--Batista is flat out aweful for M's--jump on the Jays
New York Yanks +110 at Fenway over Sox--JOBA STEPS UP BIG TIME IN BOSTON--tops Beckett, but it won't be easy. Yanks are on fire !
White Sox +110 at Detroit--Gavin Floyd stuns Robertson and Tigers at Comerica
Angels -135 over Orioles--Joe Saunders is just too good for this Baltimore lineup
Dodgers -180 over Lannan and the lowly Nationals
Philly -125 over Braves--Kendrick gets the Phils back in the inw column after a crappy series in NY against Mets where they lost first place in the NL East
Bobby Maxwell
Colorado at CINCINNATI -145
The Rockies kick off their 10-game road trip tonight in Cincinnati against one of the best young pitchers to come around in a while in Edinson Volquez (12-3, 2.49 ERA). The Reds' young sensation is tough to get to at home.
For the season, Volquez is 6-0 with a 2.82 ERA in 10 starts in front of the home fans and Sunday he gave up four runs in five innings against the Mets and Cincinnati lost in 10 innings, 7-5. Today he gets a much easier lineup to face in the Rockies who have lost nine of their last 11 on the road and are a major league worst 14-36 away from home.
Colorado has Aaron Cook (12-6, 3.58) on the mound tonight and he's coming off three runs in six innings against the Pirates on Sunday as the Rockies got an 11-3 win. In five appearances against the Reds, Cook has a 7.11 ERA and last time he saw the Reds he gave up five runs on 10 hits in 5.1 innings.
The Rockies are just 14-38 in their last 52 on the road while Cincinnati is 9-1 in their last 10 Friday games and 7-2 in their last nine as a favorite. The Reds are 4-2 in the last six between these two in Cincinnati and they'll get this one behind Volquez. Play the Reds.
4♦ CINCINNATI
Info Plays
3* on Houston Astros +150
Wandy Rodriquez takes a hungry Astros’ team into Milwaukee to take on a Brewers’ squad in a letdown spot. The Brewers are fresh off a 4-game sweep of the Cardinals where everything went their way. Milwaukee won’t be so fortunate tonight against the Astros’ best starter in Wandy Rodriquez. In 14 starts this season, Rodriquez is 5-3 with a 3.31 ERA. Rodriquez allowed just 1 earned run in his last start against Milwaukee in seven strong innings. Brewers’ starter Manny Parra has struggled against Houston, allowing 5 earned runs or more in two of his last 3 starts against them for a 6.46 ERA in his career. Houston is 52-32 in road games vs. good power teams - averaging 1.25 or more HR's/game in the second half of the season since 1997. Rodriquez has given up just 9 home runs in 82 innings this season so he won’t be the victim of the long ball tonight. Bet Houston on the road.
Black Magic Sports
1 Unit on Tampa Bay Rays -110
Tampa Bay will be looking to revenge last night’s loss to the Kansas City Royals. A poor performance at the dish was their downfall, but they won’t allow the Royals to steal two games in a row Friday. Edwin Jackson has revived his career in 2008. In eight road starts, Jackson has managed a 2-2 record and a 3.72 ERA. The biggest reason for his road domination has been the fact that Jackson has allowed a mere 2 home runs in over 48 innings of work. Brian Bannister has been awful as of late for the Royals, going 0-1 with a 9.82 ERA through his last three outings. The Royals are 3-13 vs. an AL starting pitcher whose ERA is 4.00 to 4.70 this season. K.C. is 22-40 vs. AL teams allowing 4.7 or less runs/game on the season this season. The Rays have won 9 of their last 11 Friday games and appear more focused than ever heading into the weekend. Cash in with Tampa Bay as the favorite.
Jason Lowry
Atlanta Braves vs. Philadelphia Phillies
Play: Philadelphia Phillies
We are taking the Phillies at home against one of the worst road teams in all of the MLB in the Atlanta Braves. On top of that the Phillies have a 71% system at their back, as you should play against - Road teams when the money line is +125 to -125 (ATLANTA) - average hitting team (AVG = .255 to .269) against an average starting pitcher (ERA=4.20 to 5.20) -NL, with a starting pitcher whose gives up 0.5 or less HR's/start. (45-18 over the last 5 seasons.) Plus starter Kyle Kendrick is 14-3 against the money line in night games this season. Take the Phillies!
Steve Janus
LAA Angels vs. Baltimore Orioles
Play: LAA Angels
You have to love following the Angels on the road this year because they have the best road record in baseball, yet you still get the benefit of a lower line on them simply because they are on the road. LA has won 7 of their last 8 overall and they've gone 13-6 with starter Joe Saunders pitching on the road. A pretty amazing stat is that, when Saunders starts a game for the Angels, their record is 35-16 in his last 51 starts. That's the kind of trend that works in our favor! The Orioles are just 1-7 in their last 8 games against the AL West and they've lost 5 in a row at home against a winning team when SP Brain Burres takes the mound.
Bob Harvey
LAA Angels vs. Baltimore Orioles
Play: LAA Angels
The Angels have a lot of plusses on their side heading into tonight’s game in Baltimore. Los Halos own the majors best road record at 31-18. They’ve won two straight and seven of their last eight. They lead second place Oakland by ten-games in the AL West, they’ve got the best closer in baseball and tonight’s starting pitcher, Joe Saunders, has never lost to the Orioles. How’s that for impressive? Saunders, who is 12-5 on the year with a 3.05 ERA, grew up in Springfield, Virginia about 60 miles from Camden Yards. He grew up as a huge Orioles fan and just happens to have a 3-0 record against them.
Baltimore scored just two runs in two losses to Toronto on Thursday and have lost three-in-a row. The Orioles will go Brian Burress against the Halo’s. He’s 7-6 this season with a 5.02 ERA. The lefty fared well last year against the Angels going 2-0 with an ERA under 3.00.
The Angels are the cream of the crop in baseball right now. They’ve been getting it done with pitching up to this point and now their offense is starting to show signs of life. That figures to be “double trouble” for the Birds.
Jeff Scott Sports
2 UNIT PLAY
LA Angels -130 over BALTIMORE
The Angels are 12-3 in their last 15 games as a road favorite of -110 to -150 and 14-4 in Saunders' last 18 starts during game 1 of a series, while the Orioles are 11-28 in their last 39 games vs. a left-handed starter and 3-13 in Burres' last 16 starts as an underdog of +110 to +150. The Orioles have been reeling of late as they are just 4-12 in their last 16 games, including 3-7 in their last 10 at home. The Orioles offense has scored just 1 run in a game 5 times in their last 10 games and have averaged just 4.4 rpg over that stretch, plus they have averaged just 3.8 rpg in their last 20 games vs the Halos. Joe Saunders has had a good year for the Angels, going 12-5 with a 3.05, including a 6-3 mark with a 2.23 ERA on the road, plus he is 3-2 with a 2.74 ERA in his last 6 starts and 7-45 with a 2.99 ERA at night. Joe is also 3-0 vs the O's, even though he has a 5.63 ERA vs them. The Angels offense scores just 4.3 rpg on the road, but they have been hot of late, with a .314 BA and a scoring average of 6.1 rpg in their last 7 overall. Brian Burres is having an ok year, as he has a 7-6 mark with a 5.02 ERA overall, including a 4-3 mark with a 5.93 ERa at home. The Angels are the best road team in the league and they come in winners of 7 of their last 8 overall, while the O's are headed in the opposite direction. Look for the Halos to prevail in this one with the better pitching and better offense, as Baltimore's slide continues.
Las Vegas Sports Advisors
Boston -124 5*
LA Angels -134 5*
Arizona-133 5*
Jim Feist
SEA Mariners and TOR Blue Jays
Take TOR Blue Jays
Miguel Batista has been a far cry from the pitcher of last season that was 15-11 with a 4.31 era. So far this season, he's 3-9 with a 7.23 era and has walked more batters (50) then he's struck out (46). Furthermore, Batista is just 1-5 on the road! John Parrish has started three games this year for the Blue Jays and they have won all three. Parish is 1-0 at home with a 2.77 era in two starts. Parish is a young pitcher, but he's showing he has what it takes to win at this level while Batista seems to have lost that winning feeling.