Marc Lawrence
Milwaukee Brewers at Cincinnati Reds
Prediction: Cincinnati Reds
The Reds and Brewers open a three-game series in the Queen City tonight when Bronson Arroyo matches serves with Manny Parra. A quick check of ERA's shows Parra's 4.50 ERA on the road to be nearly a full run worse than at home while Arroyo's home ERA in more than 3.5 runs better than his road ERA this season. With Arroyo back in commanding KW form with 1 walk and 14 strikeouts in his last three starts, look for him to improve to 10-5 at home in August here this evening.
Jimmy The Moose
New York Yankees at Texas Rangers
Prediction: New York Yankees
The Yankees bats came alive yesterday as they beat the Angels for the 2nd staright day. New York is 9-3 in their last 12 games as a favorite. The Yankees are 14-3 in their last 17 games as a favorite. After a tough start Joba has won his last 3 starts and the Yankees are 8-3 when he takes the mound. The Rangers are coming off another series win but they face a team they really struggle against. The Rangers are 6-21 in the last 27 meetings between the clubs. New York is 29-10 in their last 39 trips to Texas. Play on the New York Yankees -.
Big Al McMordie
Minnesota Twins vs. Seattle Mariners
Play: Minnesota Twins
At 10:10pm our complimentary selection is on the Minnesota Twins over the Seattle Mariners. Things are looking up for the Twins. Sure, their division rival, the White Sox, might have picked up future Hall-of-Famer Ken Griffey Jr. from the Reds at the trade deadline last week, while the Twins sat tight and didn't make any moves, but this team has plenty of reasons to be optimistic and feel good about their chances. First, on Sunday afternoon we could hear a giant sigh of relief coming from the Twin Cities as lefthander Francisco Liriano made his long-awaited return to the Twins rotation a very successful one as the 24-year-old threw six shutout innings at home against the Indians. Secondly, with the victory Sunday, the Twins have now taken their 3rd consecutive series (all against division teams) and have a 7-3 record during that time. Finally, as if all of this weren't good enough, Minnesota now gets to go into Seattle and play the worst team in the league for three games, followed by a three-game series in Kansas City against the Royals. Safeco Field has been a very friendly place for Minnesota, as it is 6-1 in the last seven games there. Take the Twins.
Investment Playmakers
New York Yankees at Texas Rangers
Pick:Over 9.5
With a combined ERA of 7.34 these two pitchers face off with a 9.5 line. Yanks bats are hot and we feel it is time for Padilla toget blown up after such a great season thus far.Take the Over.
Dwayne Bryant
Minnesota Twins at Seattle Mariners
Pick: Minnesota Twins -122
The Twins are hot, fresh off a sweep of the Indians and now sitting on top of the AL Central. Their confidence should remain sky-high in Seattle, where they've won six of the last seven meetings.
Minnesota lefty Glen Perkins gets the start. Perkins is coming off two subpar outings against the White Sox and Yankees, but that should not take away from the solid season he is having. Perkins has the advantage of facing Seattle for the first time in this matchup.
Seattle starter Miguel Batista (4-11, 6.43) continues to suffer through a brutal stretch, as he is 1-7 with a 7.11 ERA in 18 appearances (10 starts) since May 16. The right-hander's 6.67 ERA in his 18 starts is the worst among major leaguers with at least 15 starts in 2008. Pitching at home doesn't seem to help, as Batista owns an 8.26 ERA, 2.06 WHIP and .422 OOBP in eight home starts this season.
Take Minnesota
Gator Report
MLB 70% Super Situations
MLB Monday:Play On MLB (AL) favorites with a money line of -175 to -250 with a team batting average <=.265 against a starting pitcher whose ERA <=4.20, in the second half of the season, 40-3 SU since 1997 (93%) PLAY: Toronto -190
MLB Top Angles
MLB Monday:MILWAUKEE is 11-1 against the money line in road games in the second half of the season this season.
MLB Monday:TAMPA BAY is 10-0 against the money line in home games versus a starting pitcher who throws more than 6.5 innings per start this season.
MLB Monday:HALLADAY is 11-0 against the money line vs. AL teams scoring 4.2 or less runs per game on the season over the last 3 seasons. (Team's Record)
Bobby Maxwell
N.Y. Yankees at TEXAS +145
We know the Yankees have Joba Chamberlain (4-3, 2.24 ERA) on the mound today and he's been almost unhittable lately, but we're banking on this explosive Texas offense to be able to do some damage against the young New York starter.
Texas hits .303 at home and tonight has Vicente Padilla (12-5, 4.52) on the mound who for some reason has been the beneficiary of some big-time offense by the Rangers. They average 6.8 runs a game when he goes to the mound and they are 23-8 in his last 31 starts overall and 9-3 in his last 12 starts in front of the home fans.
New York had been really struggling before beating the Angels Saturday and Sunday. The Yankees had dropped five of six before rallying for two straight wins.
Texas has one of the most explosive offenses in baseball and it'll fun to see who wins the battle of Chamberlain vs. the Rangers' Josh Hamilton, who is hitting everything. We're going to play the home team to win this one. Go with Texas.
3♦ TEXAS
Sports Gambling Hotline
Minnesota -120 at SEATTLE
The Twins have gotten hot once again, while the White Sox have gone cold, and voila...Minnesota is now in first in the AL Central division!
Minnesota's win yesterday was their 7th in their last 9 games, and we will back them tonight in their series opener at Safeco Field.
Seattle's win yesterday was just their 2nd in their last 6 games, and starter Miguel Batista appears to be just going through the motions right now. Batista is 3-9 with an ERA near 7, and at home it's worse, as his Safeco ERA stands at 9.45!
Minnesota starter Glenn Perkins has allowed a whopping 9 runs over his last 12 innings, but Perkins is a nice 8-3 for the campaign, and has kept the ERA in relative check at just over 4.
This is the first meeting of the season between the teams, and Minny did collect 5 wins in 6 tries at Seattle last season.
Play on the Twins to snag the opener.
4♦ MINNESOTA
Steve Merril
Boston Red Sox vs. Kansas City Royals
Play: Boston Red Sox
Boston’s Clay Buchholz is a talented prospect who is better than his 5.94 ERA and 1.68 WHIP would seem to indicate. These overall season numbers are skewed by two terrible outings in early May right before he went on the disabled list. Buchholz performed well once he returned from the DL with nine starts at AAA Pawtucket where he sported a 2.47 ERA and 1.21 WHIP with a 43-17 strikeout/walk ratio. Buchholz also had a 2.44 ERA and 0.97 WHIP in 24 minor league games last year with a powerful 171-35 strikeout/walk ratio, along with a solid 1.59 ERA and 1.06 WHIP in 4 big league appearances. He has struggled in his past four major league starts, but he should improve as the season progresses and my pitcher performance ratings predict a solid outing for Buchholz tonight against a below average Kansas City offensive squad. Meanwhile, my pitcher performance ratings predict a correction for the Royals' Gil Meche who is due for a return to the norm after three strong starts in a row. Keep in mind Meche had a mediocre 4.64 ERA and just a 9-11 SU team record in his first 20 starts this season, before the recent success.
Tom Freese
Boston at Kansas City
Kansas City has won 6 of their last 7 games and they are 5-0 in the last 5 starts made by Gil Meche. The Royals are 6-2 their last 8 home games vs. the Red Sox. Boston is 5-11 their last 16 games when playing Game 1 of a series and they are 1-7 in the last 8 road starts made by Clay Buchholz. The Red Sox are 0-4 with Buchholz as road favorites and they are 4-8 their last 12 games vs. righty starters.
PLAY ON KANSAS CITY
Tom Stryker
Cleveland vs Tampa Bay
Pick: CLEVELAND +113
Tampa Bay got a nice gift yesterday when Detroit's relievers failed to close the Devil Rays out. Off that lucky victory, Tampa's struggling offense will find things very difficult against one of the American League's best left-handed arms.
In his last start at home versus Detroit, Lee got pounded for six earned runs and 10 hits in only 5.0 innings of work. That was easily his worst performance of the season. Still, the southpaw out of the University of Arkansas has been awesome on foreign soil all season long. As a guest, Cliff has been nicked for 25 earned runs and 79 hits in 83.2 frames. That equates to a solid 8-2 record and a respectable 2.69 ERA. Lee has already mastered this soft Tampa Bay lineup too. Back on July 11th, Cliff pitched a goose egg against the Devil Rays allowing NO earned runs and five hits in 6.0 innings of work.
The history book certainly favors the Tribe in this contest too. Cleveland has cashed 47 of their last 66 in this series and, with Lee on the bump, the Tribe has cashed 15 of their last 21. The price is definitely right here men. Take Cleveland with Lee. Thank you and best of luck, Tom Stryker.
JB's COMPUTER PICKS
Cleveland Indians +110
Colorado Rockies -230 * * *
Los Angeles Angels -210
BEST BET ***
PlusLineSports Daily Baseball Pick
Minnesota Twins vs Seattle Mariners
Minnesota Twins -1.5 +125
Players of America
Cleveland Indians vs. Tampa Bay Rays
The Play: Cleveland Indians +120.0
Star Value: 1* (10 Units)
Welcome back. A very needed rest with a few days off, but now we're ready to put the foot back on the peddle. Monday's action brings a couple opportunities to the table, so here we go...
At 7:10PM EST, the Cleveland Indians head to Florida to open up a series with the Tampa Bay Rays. These two teams seem to be at the opposite ends of the spectrum, but there is a nice little window of opportunity here tonight on the underdogs.
Cleveland at this price with this man on the mound is simply outrageous. I don't care if they are the worst team in the universe and are playing the MLB All-Stars...give us Cliff and the Tribe. Cliff Lee comes in for the Indians inarguably one of the best in baseball this year. The lefty is a stellar 14-2, and in those two losses had a simple lack of run support from his offense. Lee is 2-0 his last three times out with one no decision. On the year he has a impeccable WHIP of 1.06 along with a 2.58 ERA in almost 150 innings pitched. The guy's stats are amazing. Cleveland has loosened up a bit and started playing a little better baseball since the trade deadline as they've held their own with division rival Tigers and Twins as of late. These Indians have been sort of the laughing stock of the MLB this season letting down a lot of people with their performance. We don't want to say their turning the season in, but they surely aren't looking to be in the push for anything here in a couple of months. That hasn't seemed to stop them from playing hard and you can never accuse guys like Grady Sizemore, Kelly Shopach, Jhonny Peralta, David Dullucci, Ben Francisco and others of not playing hard. They earn their paycheck regardless of the wins and losses.
On the other side, the Rays have elected to put right hander Matt Garza on the mound against Cleveland. Matt comes in 9-6 on the season with an ERA up near 3.60. He's 2-1 his last three appearances and has pitched quite well in those outings. Everyone seems to know the ins and outs of this Tampa squad with their recent success so far this season, so I guess we won't sit here and preach that to all of you.
Cleveland has dominated this team this year, and owned the series between the two. They are 4-0 heads up this year with convincing 13-2, 5-0, 8-4 type wins with Cliff Lee getting the 5-0 shut out on July 11th. Value is value and that's how you bet bases. We're snatching up the +120 here on a stud in the spotlight. Look for a slight "upset" (if that's what you want to call it) as the Indians handle the Rays Monday night. 10 units on the Tribe.
TRENDS OF THE GAME:
- The Indians are 6-2 in their last 8 meetings in Tampa Bay
- The Indians are 47-19 in their last 66 meetings with Tampa Bay
Cleveland 6, Tampa Bay 2
Washington Nationals vs. Colorado Rockies
The Play: Over 9.0
Star Value: 1* (10 Units)
At 9:05PM EST the Nationals travel to Coors Field to take on the Rockies in Colorado. Washington comes in 30 games under the .500 mark at 40-70 and the Rockies seem to be making some kind of push at 50-62 overall.
The Nats are giving the ball to the right handed Tim Redding who comes in 7-6 overall with an ERA of 4.38. Tim has thrown 12 games over the total already this season, and expect this one to be no different. He has given up nearly 150 hits in just 129 innings. Also, in his last three games, two have gone over the total. Washington's available bullpen has an averaged ERA of 4.08 with a WHIP of 1.40 so that means you can't always count on these guys to keep a game in line.
In the other dugout, the Rockies are putting righty Aaron Cook on the mound. Aaron comes in 14-6 overall with an ERA up over 3.50. Aaron too has thrown a fair share of games over the total this season (10). In Cook's last three starts, every game has gone soaring over the total number. Colorado's bullpen the last three games has an ERA of 5.20 and a WHIP of 1.50. The available pitchers in the pen have an ERA of over 4.00 too.
Things set up nicely here between these two for a play on the OVER. Our official umpires have not yet been listed, but looking at the teams alone...there is enough information for us to lay it down. This OVER figure seems to have opened at 9.5/+105 in most places, but is now available at 9/-110 (normal juice). We're looking for this one to be a slugfest in that small field in Colorado and these two teams shouldn't have any problem putting up some runs. 10 units on the OVER.
TREND OF THE GAME:
- The OVER is 9-3-1 in these two team's last 13 meetings
Colorado 8, Washington 5
Jim Feist
CLE Indians and TB Rays
Take Over
Cleveland lefty Cliff Lee has had a brilliant season, but he's cooled off of late, with a 4.09 ERA his last three starts. The team is 2-0-1 over the total in those games. The Indians have had the number of Tampa Bay righty Matt Garza, who is 0-2 with a 5.85 ERA against Cleveland. Tampa Bay is an excellent, indoor hitter's park and this total is low. Play the Indians/Rays over the total!