Jim Feist
LA Angels @ WAS Nationals
Take Under
A couple of weak offensive teams meet in a huge pitcher's park in Washington. Neither pitcher has ever faced the opponent. LA is a team built on pitching and defense, riding a 38-16 run under the total. Angels ace John Lackey is having a super season with a 1.73 ERA. He faces a light hitting Washington team ranked dead last in the NL in runs scored. Washington is 20-13 under the total at home. Don't look for much offense. Play the Angels/Nationals under the total!
Dave Cokin
COL Rockies @ KC Royals
Take KC Royals
The Royals have been red hot, and they're even hitting the ball these days. The callup of Mike Aviles has been of substance and David DeJesus is on fire. Getting some runners on for Jose Guillen has really paid off. The KC pitching isn't bad to begin with with Meche and Greinke, and Brian Bannister, tonight's starter, has been very tough at home. The Royals are on roll, they're at home and the Rockies are 12-25 on the road. Put me down for a call on the Royals.
Inside Las Vegas
Milwaukee (Sheets) -115**
Boston / Arizona UNDER 9 -125*
STEVE JANUS
Seattle Mariners vs. New York Mets
Play: New York Mets -167
The Mets continue to play well against the AL in interleague play as they are 9-2 in their last 11 interleague games. The Seattle Mariners are still one of the worst teams in baseball and they will have a tough night at the plate against Johan Santana.
DUNKEL
Seattle at NY Mets
Seattle's Felix Hernandez has won his last four starts with a 0.95 ERA over that span and will look to take advantage of New York's 1-3 record when the total is listed at 7 or less. The Mariners are the underdog pick (+150) according to Dunkel, which has Seattle favored straight up by 1/2 a run. Dunkel Pick: Seattle (+150). Here are all of today's games.
MONDAY, JUNE 23
Game 901-902: Milwaukee at Atlanta
Dunkel Ratings: Milwaukee (Sheets) 14.493; Atlanta (Reyes) 16.035
Dunkel Line: Atlanta by 1 1/2; 9 1/2
Vegas Line: Milwaukee (-110); 8 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Atlanta (+100); Over
Game 903-904: Arizona at Boston
Dunkel Ratings: Arizona (Haren) 15.044; Boston (Beckett) 14.573
Dunkel Line: Arizona by 1/2; 8 1/2
Vegas Line: Boston (-160); 9
Dunkel Pick: Arizona (+150); Under
Game 905-906: LA Angels at Washington
Dunkel Ratings: LA Angels (Lackey) 16.023; Washington (Bergmann) 13.576
Dunkel Line: LA Angels by 2 1/2; 7 1/2
Vegas Line: LA Angels (-155); 8
Dunkel Pick: LA Angels (-155); Under
Game 907-908: Seattle at NY Mets
Dunkel Ratings: Seattle (Hernandez) 14.947; NY Mets (Santana) 14.482
Dunkel Line: Seattle by 1/2; 8
Vegas Line: NY Mets (-160); 7
Dunkel Pick: Seattle (+150); Over
Game 909-910: Colorado at Kansas City
Dunkel Ratings: Colorado (Francis) 15.212; Kansas City (Bannister) 15.358
Dunkel Line: Kansas City by 1/2; 9
Vegas Line: Kansas City (-110); 8 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Kansas City (-110); Over
JB's Computer Plays
Boston Red Sox -175
Los Angeles Angels - 180
Milwaukee Brewers -120
Mr. A's
Arizona Diamondbacks at Boston Red Sox
The Red Sox have won 18 of their last 22 games at home and will send Josh Beckett (7-4, 3.87 ERA) to the mound. The right-hander is 4-0 in five starts at home this season and Boston has won seven of Beckett’s last 8 home starts, 10 of his last 11 interleague starts. Take the Red Sox at Fenway Park. The struggling Diamondbacks will have a tough assignment against Boston at home and Beckett. Arizona has lost their last three games, six of their last eight and right-hander Dan Haren (7-4, 3.26) is 0-3 with a 4.60 ERA in three starts at Fenway.
Boston Red Sox -175
Jeff Alexander Sports
1 Unit on Angels/Nationals OVER 7.5 Runs
The Over is 5-1 in the last 6 meetings head-to-head meetings between these teams. The Over is 19-7-1 in the Nationals last 27 interleague home games vs. a team with a winning record, and 6-0 in Bergmann's last 6 starts following a team loss in their previous game. The Over is also 13-5-3 in the Angels last 21 interleague games vs. a team with a losing record and 7-1-1 in the Angels last 9 interleague road games vs. a team with a losing record. This line sticks out like a sore thumb to me. Bet the over as the oddsmakers have set the bar too low.
Scott Ferrall
BOSTON -175 over Arizona--The D'Backs have dropped three straight and the Red Sox avoided the Cards sweep at Fenway with a dramatic win in 13 innings Sunday. Beckett is 4-0 in five starts at home this yr. TAKE THE UNDER 8.5 RUNS--Haren starts for Ariz-he's won his last two starts.
KC -110 over Colorado--The Royals have won four straight interleague series. KC has won 7 of 8 games and rallied from 7 runs down on Sunday to beat SF 11-10. You've got to take Bannister and keep rolling with them baby !
Vegas Experts
Los Angeles Angels at Washington Nationals
Two teams and pitchers heading in opposite directions here. The Angels just swept the Phillies, in Philadelphia no less, and starter John Lackey is 3-0 with a 1.86 ERA in his last three starts. Meanwhile, the Nats have dropped five of their last six and starter Jason Bergmann has lost three straight decisions garnering a 6.58 ERA in the process. He also hasn't won a home start this season. Angels remain a MLB best 24-12 away from home.
Play on: LA Angels
LT Profits
Arizona Diamondbacks @ Boston Red Sox Under 8.5
Runs should be scarce when Josh Beckett and the Boston Red Sox host Danny Haren and the Arizona Diamondbacks on Monday night.
Beckett has lowered his ERA to 3.87 after a bit of a rough sport this season, and he has an excellent 1.13 WHIP in 86 innings with 89 strikeouts. He now has four Quality Starts in his last five outings including hurling seven scoreless innings while allowing just six hits vs. the Cincinnati Reds last week. He also pitched very well in his last start vs. Arizona last year, allowing two earned runs and five hits in eight innings.
Haren has also done well in his first year with the Diamondbacks, as he actually has a lower ERA (3.26) and WHIP (1.00) than Beckett does year-to-date while pitching more innings (96.2). While Haren is not as much of a strikeout pitcher, his good 0.96 groundball/flyball ratio will serve him well in Fenway Park. He has also allowed two earned runs or less in four of his five career starts vs. the Red Sox.
It also helps each pitcher that Arizona is batting a pathetic .208 vs. right-handers on the road and Boston has seen its team batting average drop since David Ortiz went out (.266 last 10 games), so look for a safe Under tonight.
Pick: Diamondbacks, Red Sox Under 8.5
Milwaukee Brewers @ Atlanta Braves Under 8.5
Now it is no secret that Ben Sheets of the Milwaukee Brewers is one of the best pitchers in baseball, but Jo-Jo Reyes of the Atlanta Braves is also in great current form, so runs should be hard to come by tonight.
Reyes allowed just one run and five hits vs. a very potent Texas Rangers lineup in his last start, marking the fourth Quality Start in his last five starts and the third time in that span that he allowed two runs or less. Reyes also tossed a gem the first time he faced Milwaukee this season, allowing only one run and two hits in seven innings.
If Reyes does need some help, the Atlanta bullpen received a boost recently with the return of closer Mike Gonzalez. Even without Gonzalez until last week, the Braves pen is ties for ninth in the Major Leagues with a 3.52 ERA.
Sheets has been his usual dominant self this season, currently sitting at 8-1 with a 2.74 ERA and 1.09 WHIP. He has held opponents to just a .270 On Base Percentage so far, and he has already proven that he can handle the Braves lineup, as he has four Quality Starts in his last five appearances against them.
Finally, the Under is 17-8 in the last 25 head-to-head meetings between these clubs in Atlanta, and we look for that pattern to continue here.
Pick: Brewers, Braves Under 8.5 (-120)
John Ryan
Seattle Mariners vs. New York Mets
Play: Seattle Mariners
Ai Simulator 3* graded play on Seattle – Supporting this graded play is a system that has gone 43-25 having made 31.1 units since 2002. Play against all favorites with a money line of -125 to -175 starting a well rested pitcher who is working on 5 or 6 days rest and is now facing an opponent with a hot starting pitcher sporting a WHIP <= 1.000 over his last 5 starts. Seattle starter Felix Hernandez finally yielded some ER in his last start after going 21 scoreless innings. Still, it was an impressive winning start allowing just 1 BB and recording 9 K’s. Mets starter Santana has allowed 7 home runs in 6 home starts this season and has lost 2 of his last 3 starts mostly attributed to lack of run support. I realize that Santana is a perfect 7-0 when facing Seattle, but all good things come to an end. Take the Mariners
MATT RIVERS
For Monday take the Diamondbacks at Fenway
Let me just say that there is really only one play that I love today and that is in the game from Turner Field so make sure you purchase that fire-hot lock. But with a gun to my head I will take my chances with the snakes plus this number in Beantown.
Obviously Boston is a juggernaut and despite the rare series loss to the Cardinals are still more than capable to do some damage today against the struggling and ice cold boys from the desert. But with Big Papi still out and against a guy in Dan Haren who is more than capable I will back the visitors and take this fairly healthy price.
Josh Beckett is definitely a stud and looked great in that last start and may very well here against a reeling opponent but Haren is a former American Leaguer (A's) who should hold his own as well today as the guy is really really good. The Arizona starter is not chopped liver and was a Cy Young candidate a season ago.
Arizona has talent with Young, Upton, Reynolds and others and plus this number with a quality hurler in Haren is enough to make a small play on the Diamondbacks!
ARMVIN SPORTS
SEATTLE MARINERS +157
ROCKIES/ROYALS Over 8.5
Brandon Banks
Milwaukee Brewers vs Atlanta Braves
Play: Atlanta Braves +102
Braves send hurler Jo-Jo Reyes (3-4, 4.05), to the bump Monday.Reyes has delivered back-to-back quality starts. The left-hander held Texas to two runs -- one earned -- and five hits in seven innings of Atlanta's 5-2 win Wednesday. Reyes is 0-1 with a 2.92 ERA in two career starts against the Brewers. He held them to one run and two hits while striking out nine in seven innings on May 28, but didn't get any help from his offense in a 1-0 loss. The Braves are one of the best hitting teams in the NL averaging 6.38 runs per game against right handers and they have an OPS of .800. They are also one of the better home teams with a 27-12 record at Turner Field. When evaluating bullpens I give the Braves a slight edge. They have a 3.43 home ERA compared to Milwaukee's 4.10 road ERA. The Brewers have had their struggles on the road this year posting a 16-21 record away from Miller Park. Although Ben Sheets has been stellar to say the least it's tough to pass up the Braves as the home underdog.