SPORTS ADVISORS
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Cincinnati (30-34) at Florida (34-28)
The Marlins try to make it three in a row over the Reds when they send southpaw Mark Hendrickson (7-3, 5.33 ERA) to the mound at Dolphin Stadium in Miami to take on Cincinnati youngster Edinson Volquez (8-2, 1.32).
Cincinnati had won four straight against Florida this season and seven in a row against the Fish going back to last year, including Friday’s 11-3 drubbing in the opener of this four-game series, but the Marlins bounced back with victories on Saturday (8-7) and Sunday (9-2). The Reds are now just 1-5 in the last six meetings in Florida, and the host has won 11 of the past 12 clashes between these clubs.
The Reds have lost 17 of their last 22 on the highway, including going 2-5 on their eight-game road trip that ends tonight. Cincinnati also is mired in slumps of 3-8 on Mondays, 3-15 on the road against teams with a winning home record and 6-15 against left-handed starters.
Florida is 2-1 on its six-game homestand and 7-2 in its last nine in front of the home crowd. However, despite winning the last two days, the Marlins are still just 4-8 in their last 12 overall, 3-12 in their past 15 on Mondays and just 2-4 in their last six against teams from the N.L. Central.
The Reds are 6-0 in Volquez’s last six outings, including a 2-0 win in Philadelphia on Wednesday as the right-hander blanked the Phillies for seven innings, allowing two hits and two walks with eight strikeouts. Volquez, who leads the majors in ERA, has allowed two runs or fewer in each of his 12 starts, including giving up one run or less 10 times.
Volquez is just 3-2 in six road starts despite a sparkling 0.96 ERA. Also, in his first career outing against the Marlins on May 13, he yielded a single run on seven hits in six innings of a 5-3 victory.
Hendrickson has not been sharp his last three starts, giving up 19 runs (all earned) in 14 2/3 innings of work (11.66 ERA). But the Marlins are still 5-2 in his last seven trips to the hill, as the offense has scored three runs or more in each of his 13 outings this season.
At home this year, Hendrickson is 5-1 with a 4.62 ERA. And in five career starts against the Reds, the lefty is 0-2 with an 8.49 ERA in 23 innings of work. He opposed Volquez in Cincinnati in that May 13 contest and surrendered four runs on eight hits in five innings in taking the 5-3 loss.
The Reds are 4-1 when Volquez faces a team from the N.L. East and 4-1 in his last five starts on the road. Meanwhile the Marlins are 9-3 in Hendrickson’s last 12 starts, including six straight wins in front of the home fans.
The under is 5-1-1 in Volquez’s last seven starts and 4-0 when he faces the N.L. East, however the over is 5-2 in Hendrickson’s seven home starts.
The Reds entered Florida on a 5-0 “under” streak, but they’ve hurdled the total in the first three games of this series. Also, the over is 20-6-2 in its last 28 battles against southpaw starters on the road. For the Marlins, the over is on streaks of 21-6-3 overall, 39-14-2 at home against teams with a losing record, 6-0-1 against right-handed starters, 5-0 at home, 43-16-5 against teams with a losing record, 9-0-2 on Mondays and 8-0-2 as an underdog.
Finally, the over is 6-1 in the last seven series meetings overall, and 6-0 in the past six clashes in South Beach.
ATS ADVANTAGE: OVER
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Tampa Bay (37-26) at L.A. Angels (39-25)
Two of the top three teams in the American League begin a three-game set at Angel Stadium as the Rays’ Edwin Jackson (3-5, 3.95) is set to oppose L.A. southpaw Joe Saunders (9-2, 2.63).
The Rays took two of three from the Rangers over the weekend, though they did drop Sunday’s finale 6-3. Tampa Bay is 20-10 in its last 30 overall, 10-3 in its last 13 against the A.L. West and 8-2 in its last 10 series openers. However the Rays remain under .500 on the road this year (13-16), and going back to 2006, they’re 45-101 in their past 146 road contests, and also 26-56 in their last 82 on the road against left-handed starters.
The Angels had a seven-game winning streak snapped Sunday when the A’s scored a 7-3, 12-inning victory, getting a walk-off grand slam to win it. Los Angeles, which returns home following a 5-1 road swing to Seattle and Oakland, is on hot streaks of 37-17 at home against teams with a winning record, 5-2 at home overall, 7-1 in series openers, 4-0 on Mondays and 4-1 against right-handed pitching.
The Rays swept a three-game series from the Angels a month ago in Tampa Bay, winning a pair of 2-0 contests and an 8-5 game. Despite that feat, Tampa remains just 19-46 in its last 65 contests against the Angels, including 4-24 in its last 28 visits to southern California.
Jackson is 1-2 with a 6.19 ERA in his last three starts and gave up four runs on six hits in five innings of a 5-1 loss in Boston on Wednesday. Tampa Bay has lost three of Jackson’s last four starts overall and three of his last four on the road, where the right-hander is 1-2 with a 3.81 ERA in five outings this year.
Jackson has made three career starts against the Angels (all in Los Angels), going 0-2 with a 6.00 ERA in 15 innings of work. His last trip to Angel Stadium was in September when he allowed seven runs (four earned) on 14 hits in 4 2/3 innings, losing 10-7.
Saunders, who is 4-1 at home with a 3.48 ERA, last pitched Tuesday in Seattle and held the Mariners to four runs (one earned) in seven innings of a 5-4 road win. He’s allowed three earned runs or less in six of his last eight starts. Also, he faced the Rays for the first time on May 10 and gave up one run on four hits in six innings but lost 2-0.
With Saunders on the bump, the Angels are on streaks of 24-9 overall (10-2 this year), 14-2 when he opens a series, 13-2 when he gets five days of rest, 5-1 at home and 7-3 against the A.L. East. Meanwhile the Rays are in funks of 3-13 when Jackson starts Game 1 of a series, 1-10 when he’s on the road against a team with a winning record and 14-30 in his last 44 starts overall.
The under is 16-5-1 in Jackson’s last 22 starts overall and 6-2-1 in his last nine against teams with a winning record, but the over is 4-1-1 in his last six Monday outings. With Saunders pitching, the under is on streaks of 4-1, 5-2-1 at home and 4-1 against teams with a winning record, but the over is 7-2 in his last nine when going on five days’ rest and 4-1 in his last five against the A.L. East.
The over is 14-6 in the Rays’ last 20 series openers, but the under is 9-2 in their last 11 overall, 13-3 in their last 16 against left-handed starters and 7-1 in their past eight versus teams with a winning record. For the Angels, the under runs include 20-7-1 overall, 19-8 against right-handed starters, 8-2 at home against righties, 6-1 in series openers and 7-0 at home against teams with a losing road record.
In series clashes, the over is 10-3 in the last 13 meetings in Southern California but the under is 4-1 in the last five overall.
ATS ADVANTAGE: L.A. ANGELS and UNDER
Robert Ross
Cleveland Indians at Detroit Tigers
Prediction: Cleveland Indians
Going with the proven commodity on the mound in this one. Not at all sure what Willis has left or how many pitches he will be allowed to throw. He is 5-15 against the money line when playing against a bad team (Win Pct. 38% to 46%) over the last 3 seasons. (Team's Record) while Detroit is 6-13 against the money line vs. a starting pitcher with good control (less than 1.75 BB's/start) this season. Take Cleveland!
Scott Spreitzer
Seattle Mariners at Toronto Blue Jays
Prediction: Toronto Blue Jays
I'm laying a rare price with the Blue Jays on Monday. It takes a lot for me to take a favorite of this size, but the elements are in play for an absolute blowout here. Seattle has been the worst team in baseball the past several weeks (9-27 their last 36 games), and they're starting their worst pitcher. Jarrod Washburn has an ERA of 6.67 for the season, and 7.05 on the road. It's hard to believe he's still in the rotation. It's not like he's been pitching better lately. He's allowed 15 earned runs in his last 13 2/3 innings. He's pitching worse lately! Jesse Litsch of Toronto has a 3.34 ERA for the season, which is an even better 2.97 at home. The moneyline may seem high at first glance. Be aware that Seattle is just 2-9 this year in Washburn's starts. That moneyline is actually a steal! Toronto is 11-6 its last 17 home games, and is now hosting the worst team in baseball. This game has blowout written all over it. The Blue Jays minus the price is the play.
Big Al McMordie
Cleveland v Detroit
Pick: Detroit Tigers
At 7:05pm our complimentary selection is on the Detroit Tigers over the Cleveland Indians. Detroit's lefthander Dontrelle Willis is hoping that his REAL first season with the Detroit Tigers will begin tonight. Up until now, his 2008 season (his first with the Tigers) has been forgettable, but he has been injured for most of it and is finally healthy and will get a chance to live up to his reputation tonight at home against division rival Cleveland. On June 3, Willis was limited to only four innings and then relieved by another starter, Armando Galarraga. Willis is expected to go much longer tonight so we should find out if he's back to his old form that he enjoyed for years with the Marlins. Cleveland's lefthander Cliff Lee started out the season looking like a Cy Young candidate, but has really come down to earth lately. The amazing thing about Lee's recent performance is that despite having a 6.11 ERA in his last three starts, Lee is 3-0 during this time. But the ERA numbers tell you the real story and it is very unlikely that the Indians can keep winning games in which Lee is performing this way. Although this is Lee's first start against the Tigers in 2008, he has had plenty of problems against them in the past. In his last three starts against Detroit, Lee has given up fourteen earned runs in just over sixteen innings. Take the Tigers.
SCOTT FERRALL BASEBALL FREE B's FOR MONDAY
GIANTS -130 on ML over Nationals--Cain wins in DC over Clippard and the Nats. SF has won 6 straight on the road and finish off the four game sweep of Washington. Tyler Clippard loses his first start for Nats (they've lost 7 of 8)
Angels -140 on ML over Rays--Joe Saunders over Edwin Jackson in So.Cal. The Angels just lost a heart-breaker in Oakland on Sunday and get right back up on the horse.
TAKE THE WHITE SOX (DANKS) OVER MINNESOTA(PERKINS) AS WELL ! Chicago has won 6 in a row and 7 straight at home overall. They complete their first four game sweep of the Twins in 31 years. The ChiSox are hitting .351 during their streak. They've scored 33 runs and won 12-2 on Sunday. They scored at least 10 runs in every game of the series and had over 15 hits in each game too. Needless to say--their on FIRE !
Karl Garrett
Arizona at PITTSBURGH
The Diamondbacks and the Pirates conclude their long four game set this afternoon in the Steel City, and the G-Man likes the pitchers to mow down the hitters in this game.
Play the UNDER as a couple of southpaws toe the rubber today. Arizona starter Randy Johnson has a 1.93 ERA on the road this season, and his counterpart Zack Duke is coming off an 8 inning, 2 run, home win over Houston his last time out.
2 of the first 3 in this series have played UNDER, and the D-Backs have stayed LOW in 6 of their last 8 games.
Pittsburgh had been UNDER in 5 straight prior to yesterday's rare OVER, so the G-Man sees no reason to believe we will see another OVER in this game based on the numbers I just listed above.
Pitchers rule the roost in the series finale.
Take the UNDER.
3* UNDER
Sports Gambling Hotline
Kansas City at NY YANKEES
Today we stay with the Royals-Yankees game, and look for an UNDER to come through on the afternoon card. With the weather expected to be on the hot side, have to believe the bats that have been busy over the weekend are going to struggle to make contact today against Hochevar and Mussina.
These teams have now met 6 times this season, and they are 4-1-1 UNDER the posted price. Expect another UNDER today, as Mike Mussina has been reborn. Over his last pair of starts, Moose has allowed only 3 runs over his last 12 innings of work.
KC starter Luke Hochevar has been roughed up lately, but we have to believe the heat is going to take its toll on the hitters in this game, and it will hold just UNDER the posted price.
Play the LOW.
3* UNDER
Bobby Maxwell
Cleveland -120 at DETROIT
The Tigers might have won the last two games of this series, but the Indians are winning this one behind the arm of Cliff Lee (9-1, 2.45 ERA) who is 3-0 in his last three starts and 6-1 on the road with a 2.85 ERA.
He gave up six runs in five innings on Wednesday in Texas and the Tribe still pulled out the 15-9 win. His offense has gotten him four or more runs in his last four starts and even though he's struggled against the Tigers, he hasn't seen them this season since turning his game around.
The Indians are 19-9 in Lee's last 28 road starts against teams with a losing record and 6-1 in his last seven on the highway. Meanwhile the Tigers are 2-6 on Mondays and 7-20 in their last 27 agaisnt the A.L. Central.
Cleveland is 8-2 in the last 10 head-to-head meetings and the Tribe will win this one in Detroit. Play Lee and the Indians.
4* CLEVELAND
Jim Feist
SEA Mariners and TOR Blue Jays
Take Over
Toronto has been an under machine much of the season....until lately, they are on a 6-3 run over the total. The offense has been hot, scoring 8 or more runs in 4 of those contests. They should score plenty off Seattle starter Jarrod Washburn. He's the definition of a guy who loses it all of a sudden, at 2-7 with a 6.56 ERA this season. The last three starts he has an ERA of 9.88. Seattle is 11-6 over the total the last 17 games and Toronto is a hitter's park. Play the Mariners/Blue Jays over the total
Dave Cokin
CLE Indians and DET Tigers
Take CLE Indians
Cliff Lee was unbelievable through his first several starts for the Indians. The southpaw has come back to earth lately and faces a tough lineup today as the Indians finish up their wraparound series with the Tigers. But even if Lee is faltering, he's still doing better than Dontrelle Willis, who sports an astonishing 16/3 BB/K ratio for Detroit. Granted, it's a small sample, but it's nevertheless a further descent from the problems Willis had all throughout 2007 while still with the Marlins. I can't see good things happening for Willis here, and I'm therefore willing to back Lee and the Indians to notch the victory.
DUNKEL
MLB
Cleveland at Detroit
The Indians look to snap a two-game losing streak behind ace Cliff Lee (9-1, 2.45) and take advantage of Detroit's 4-8 record at home when the total is listed at 9 to 9 1/2. Cleveland is the pick (-105) according to Dunkel, which has the Indians favored by 1. Dunkel Pick: Cleveland (-105). Here are all of today's games.
MONDAY, JUNE 9
Game 901-902: Arizona at Pittsburgh
Dunkel Ratings: Arizona (Johnson) 15.521; Pittsburgh (Duke) 14.318
Dunkel Line: Arizona by 1; 7 1/2
Vegas Line: Arizona (-130); 8 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Arizona (-130); Under
Game 903-904: Cincinnati at Florida
Dunkel Ratings: Cincinnati (Volquez) 15.774; Florida (Hendrickson) 14.538
Dunkel Line: Cincinnati by 1; 10
Vegas Line: Cincinnati (-135); 9
Dunkel Pick: Cincinnati (-135); Over
Game 905-906: San Francisco at Washington
Dunkel Ratings: San Francisco (Cain) 15.032; Washington (Clippard) 13.343
Dunkel Line: San Francisco by 2; 9
Vegas Line: San Francisco (-120); 8 1/2
Dunkel Pick: San Francisco (-120); Over
Game 907-908: Kansas City at NY Yankees
Dunkel Ratings: Kansas City (Hochevar) 14.857; NY Yankees (Mussina) 14.487
Dunkel Line: Kansas City by 1/2; 11
Vegas Line: NY Yankees (-210); 10
Dunkel Pick: Kansas City (+190); Over
Game 909-910: Minnesota at Chicago White Sox
Dunkel Ratings: Minnesota (Perkins) 14.087; White Sox (Danks) 16.979
Dunkel Line: Chicago White Sox by 3; 12
Vegas Line: No Line
Dunkel Pick: N/A
Game 911-912: Seattle at Toronto
Dunkel Ratings: Seattle (Washburn) 15.107; Toronto (Litsch) 14.708
Dunkel Line: Seattle by 1/2; 9 1/2
Vegas Line: Toronto (-160); 8 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Seattle (+150); Over
Game 913-914: Cleveland at Detroit
Dunkel Ratings: Cleveland (Lee) 14.962; Detroit (Willis) 14.033
Dunkel Line: Cleveland by 1; 9
Vegas Line: Cleveland (-105); 9 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Cleveland (-105); Under
Game 915-916: Tampa Bay at LA Angels
Dunkel Ratings: Tampa Bay (Jackson) 15.698; LA Angels (Saunders) 14.983
Dunkel Line: Tampa Bay by 1/2; 9
Vegas Line: LA Angels (-135); 8
Dunkel Pick: Tampa Bay (+125); Over
ATS Consultants
Newsletter Plays
Pittsburgh over Arizona - Best Bet (3 units)
Under in the Angels/D-Rays game - Preferred Play (2 units)
VEGAS SPORTS PIC
Washington +115*
Arizona -125*
TONY MATHEWS
Cincinnati Reds vs. Florida Marlins
Selection: Cincinnati Reds -140
Explanation: We will side with the Cincinnati Reds as they face-off against the Florida Marlins in Monday's MLB contest.
The Cincinnati Reds will use starting pitcher Edinson Volquez. Edinson Volquez has pitched very well this season. In fact, Edinson Volquez has a 1.32 ERA on the season (the Cincinnati Reds are 10-2 when Edinson Volquez has started this season). We see Edinson Volquez pitching another great game today!
The Florida Marlins will use starting pitcher Mark Hendrickson. Mark Hendrickson has struggled this season. In fact, Mark Hendrickson has a 5.33 ERA on the season. In addition, Mark Hendrickson has a 11.66 ERA in his last 3 starts. We see Mark Hendrickson pitching another bad game today.
The Cincinnati Reds are 8-1 in their last 9 meetings against the Florida Marlins, and should be able to get another win tonight!
Take the Cincinnati Reds
JR MILLER
YANKEES -1.5 -107 over Royals (OR -218)
BLUEJAYS -161 over Mariners
Mussina has not been as good lately as we expected him to be. His recent stats are only about average (according to us), but he's still somewhat better than Hochevar. We think the Yankees have the advantage on the mound today, especially considering having home field advantage, but it's the difference in recent bats that really makes us lay such big odds. The Yankees' bats have been "worth" almost 13 hits per 9 innings at bat (according to us). The Royals' bats have been "worth" only about 8 hits per 9 innings. To cut to the bottom line, our formulas are predicting the Yankees will win by 3 or more runs.....Maybe something like 7-4. We like our chances with the runline.