Dave Cokin
DET Tigers and TEX Rangers
Take TEX Rangers
Veteran teams that are out of the race are teams you want to look to fade down the stretch. The Tigers definitely qualify on this count. They're playing really sloppy ball right now, and there just doesn't seem to be much spirit on this team. The Rangers can't pitch or catch the ball, but they sure can hit. More importantly, this team is playing hard virtually every night and they refuse to quit. I'll take the team that wants it more, especially with the price where it is. The Rangers are the choice.
Jim Feist
OAK Athletics and MIN Twins
Take Over
Minnesota is an excellent hitter's park, with it's artificial carpet plus the baseball carries indoors. Oakland starter Justin Duchscherer gets that challenge handed to him. He's been very good, just not lately, with a 4.15 ERA his last three starts. He's also 0-2 with a 4.73 ERA against the Twins. Minnesota righty Nick Blackburn also has an ERA over 4 his last 3 starts. Minnesota is on an 8-2 run over the total, plus 2-0 over in Blackburn's last 2 starts. Oddsmakers made this total a bit too short, play the A's/Twins over the total.
EZWINNERS
3 STAR: MILWAUKEE (-1.5)(-$130) over Houston
(Action)
(Risking $390 to win $300)
2 STAR: (952) PITTSBURGH (+$125) over NY Mets
(Action)
(Risking $200 to win $250)
2 STAR: (953) SAN FRANCISCO (+$182) over Atlanta
(Listing Zito only)
(Risking $200 to win $364)
PlusLineSports
White Sox -1.5
Players of America
Boston Red Sox vs. Baltimore Orioles
The Play: Boston Red Sox -115.0
Star Value: 1* (10 Units)
A small card for Monday, but it is officially time to kick off a new week.and a new hot streak. We've steamrolled through the first 2/3rd's of this MLB season and it is now time to close things out with a bang. We have given a bit more back than we would have like in the past couple of weeks, but its Go Time now. Be sure to keep up to date with our Record Archive page for full season statistics and results.
On Monday, one team is vastly underpriced. That team is typically a public, square favorite, but this really is a situational play. The Red Sox travel to Camden Yards to face the hosting Orioles at 7:05PM EST. These teams were on opposite ends of the spectrum on Sunday. The BoSox are coming off a thrashing at home to Toronto, and a little redemption and self assurance has to be on the mind of these guys. Baltimore on the other hand went into Detroit and opened up a can on the Tigers, 16-8. If any of you watched that Tigers game, the announcers actually got one thing right. "This Baltimore team is legit, no questions there.but they are not this good." With that being said, Boston IS that good. They are high-time favorites to win the hardware this season, and home or away, today is a great spot to wager on them.
The 71-52 Red Sox will give the red and white to lefty Jon Lester. Lester has been better than just a spot in the rotation for these guys all season long. Heck, he is probably their ace. Lester is 11-4 overall with a WHIP of 1.29 and a very solid ERA of 3.25 in over 160 total innings pitched. Lester is 2-1 in his last three outings giving up just 20 hits for a WHIP of 1.16 and an ERA of 3.81. The Sox are 7-3 in their last ten overall. Boston has this Baltimore squad's number as of late, defeating them two of the last three times. Boston is relatively healthy all the way around. Paplebon will be back and ready to go in the pen, too. The Red Sox will be without Mike Lowell tonight as he has been placed on the 15 day DL to undergo an MRI next week.
The O's elect to put right hander Jeremy Guthrie on the mound Monday night. Jeremy comes in 10-9 overall. His numbers are comparable to Lester's and his ERA is also solid at 3.20. Jeremy is capable of coming in and putting in some good work, but at some point he needs to hand things over to that streaky bullpen of the Orioles. This is where many teams in this league struggle. The Oriole's bullpen has a combined ERA of 8.17 in their last three games. That is not a typo.an 8.17 ERA for the BULLPEN in the last three games, and a WHIP of 2.06. The projected available pitchers in the pen have an ERA of exactly 6.57. This is trouble for Baltimore players, fans and backers. How can you put any type of faith in a team who struggles so bad to close out games? It's easy to grab and hold on to wins when your offense explodes like last night, but that just doesn't happen too frequently. This is Major League Baseball, not Arena Football.
Simply put, Boston at this price is a bigger bargain than ten-for-one pork chops at your local grocery store. Look for the Red Sox to get back on track and come out firing on all cylinders Monday night. Their playing for position now, something Baltimore is not. Bean Town -115 (opener) is the play for 10 units, a 1* wager.
TRENDS OF THE GAME:
- The Red Sox are 7-3 in their last 10 road games
- The Red Sox are 24-6 in Lester's last 30 starts on grass
- The Red Sox are 39-14 in the last 53 meetings with the Orioles
Boston 7, Baltimore 2
TONY MATHEWS
Detroit Tigers vs. Texas Rangers
Selection: Detroit/Texas Over 12
The Detroit Tigers will use starting pitcher Kenny Rogers. Kenny Rogers has been having huge pitching problems as of late. In fact, Kenny Rogers has a 7.56 ERA in his last 3 starts. We see Kenny Rogers giving up many runs once again today.
The Texas Rangers will use starting pitcher Scott Feldman. Scott Feldman has also been having huge pitching problems as of late. In fact, Scott Feldman has a 6.60 ERA in his last 3 starts. We see Scott Feldman also giving up many runs once again today.
The bottom line, we should see many runs scored today!
Take the Detroit Tigers/Texas Rangers Over 12
JOHN FINA
Selection: Houston/Milwaukee Under 7.5
Today we see a low-scoring game as the Houston Astros do battle with the Milwaukee Brewers. One reason why we see a low-scoring game is because both these teams will be sending to the mound solid starting pitchers. This says it all... The Houston Astros Starting Pitcher (Randy Wolf) has a 3.00 ERA in his last 3 starts, while the Milwaukee Brewers Starting Pitcher (CC Sabathia) has a 1.11 ERA in his last 3 starts. As you can see, both these teams will be sending to the mound solid starting pitchers. To say the least, we should see a low-scoring game today! Take the Houston Astros/Milwaukee Brewers Under 7.5
DUNKEL
Boston at Baltimore
The Red Sox try to shake off yesterday's blowout loss to Toronto, but run into a Baltimore team that is 8-4 at home behind starter Jeremy Guthrie. The Orioles are the underdog pick (+115) according to Dunkel, which has the Orioles favored straight up by 1. Dunkel Pick: Baltimore (+115). Here are all of today's games.
MONDAY, AUGUST 18
Game 951-952: NY Mets at Pittsburgh
Dunkel Ratings: NY Mets (Maine) 14.442; Pittsburgh (Maholm) 14.525
Dunkel Line: Pittsburgh by 1/2; 7 1/2
Vegas Line: NY Mets (-140); 8 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Pittsburgh (+130); Under
Game 953-954: San Francisco at Atlanta
Dunkel Ratings: San Francisco (Zito) 12.996; Atlanta (Campillo) 14.667
Dunkel Line: Atlanta by 1 1/2; 8
Vegas Line: Atlanta (-185); 8 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Atlanta(-185); Under
Game 955-956: Houston at Milwaukee
Dunkel Ratings: Houston (Wolf) 15.171; Milwaukee (Sabathia) 15.947
Dunkel Line: Milwaukee by 1; 7
Vegas Line: Milwaukee (-270); 8
Dunkel Pick: Milwaukee (-270); Under
Game 957-958: Boston at Baltimore
Dunkel Ratings: Boston (Lester) 15.272; Baltimore (Guthrie) 16.487
Dunkel Line: Baltimore by 1; 7 1/2
Vegas Line: Boston (-125); 8 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Baltimore (+115); Under
Game 959-960: LA Angels at Tampa Bay
Dunkel Ratings: LA Angels (Garland) 17.387; Tampa Bay (Sonnanstine) 15.883
Dunkel Line: LA Angels by 1 1/2; 8 1/2
Vegas Line: Tampa Bay (-130); 9 1/2
Dunkel Pick: LA Angels (+120); Under
Game 961-962: Detroit at Texas
Dunkel Ratings: Detroit (Rogers) 14.541; Texas (Feldman) 15.789
Dunkel Line: Texas by 1; 10 1/2
Vegas Line: Detroit (-115); 11 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Texas (+105); Under
Game 963-964: Oakland at Minnesota
Dunkel Ratings: Oakland (Duchscherer) 14.822; Minnesota (Blackburn) 15.764
Dunkel Line: Minnesota by 1; 9
Vegas Line: Minnesota (-135); 8
Dunkel Pick: Minnesota (-135); Over
Game 965-966: Seattle at Chicago White Sox
Dunkel Ratings: Seattle (Washburn) 14.976; White Sox (Buehrle) 16.734
Dunkel Line: Chicago White Sox by 2; 9 1/2
Vegas Line: Chicago White Sox (-210); 8 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Chicago White Sox (-210); Over
Vegas Sports Experts
The VSE NFL Power Play for Monday is
10* Take New York Giants (-2) over Cleveland (NFL Power Play)
New York
• 2-0 SU & ATS in pre-season vs. AFC North Opponents
• 2-0 SU & ATS in pre-season as a home favorite the last 3 years
• 3-1 ATS in pre-season when the total posted is 35 points or less
• 3-1 SU & ATS in pre-season after allowing 14 points or less
PRICELESS PICKS
1 Unit on Tigers/Rangers UNDER 12 Runs
The oddsmakers have gotten a little carried away with this number. The Under is actually 7-2-2 in the last 11 meetings between these two teams in Texas . The Under is also 4-1 in Rogers' last 5 starts vs. the Rangers, 4-0 in Rogers' last 4 starts vs. the American League West, and 6-1 in Rogers' last 7 starts vs. a team with a losing record. The Under is 5-1 in Feldman's last 6 starts vs. a team with a losing record, the 4-0 in Feldman's last 4 starts with 5 days of rest, and 9-3 in Feldman's last 12 starts overall.Bet the UNDER tonight.
Bobby Maxwell
Boston at BALTIMORE +110
Boston has been a roller coaster ride with its offense lately, either pounding out tons of runs or struggling for three or four games at a time. The Red Sox scored 37 runs in a three-game sweep of the Rangers and then scored just five runs in a two-game sweep at the hands of the Blue Jays over the weekend.
Toronto won Sunday 15-4 and knocked Josh Beckett around. And now this team begins a nine-game road trip when they haven't been very solid on the road all year, going just 28-35 on the highway.
Tonight the Orioles have Jeremy Guthrie (10-8, 3.13 ERA) on the mound and he is 7-1 with a 2.51 ERA in his last 11 outings and has a 1.23 ERA in his last four starts - all victories. Wednesday he held the Indians to one run in seven innings of a 6-1 victory.
Baltimore is back home after a 4-3 road trip and a Sunday victory in Detroit that saw them get 22 hits and 16 runs in a 16-8 victory. So the confidence with the bats will be there.
Jon Lester (11-4, 3.25) goes for Boston and he is 4-0 career against the Orioles with a 3.25 ERA. Still, I think his offense is going to let him down tonight. Play Baltimore to get the home victory.
3♦ BALTIMORE
Sports Gambling Hotline
LA Angels +110 at TAMPA BAY
Tonight we like the Angels to get the win against the Rays.
This could very well be an October preview, and after getting swept in a 3 game set earlier this year at Tampa, expect the Angels to make a statement tonight against the Rays.
Jon Garland is a perfect 3-0 in his last 4 starts against Tampa, and he did work 8 frames without allowing a run in his May start at Tampa, but did not factor in the decision.
Andy Sonnanstine was lucky to escape his last start against LA with a no decision, as he was rocked for 5 runs in 5 innings of work back in May.
Garland has done his best work away from Anaheim this season, as he is 7-2 on the road this year.
We just get the feeling that after struggling this past weekend in Cleveland, the Angels will come out strong tonight.
Play on Los Angeles.
Karl Garrett
Oakland at MINNESOTA -130
Tonight I like the Twins to drill the A's.
Minnesota continues to impress, as the Twins enter riding a 4-game winning streak, while Oakland continues to struggle, losing 16 of their last 19 games.
This is the first meeting of the year between the teams at the Metrodome, and this isn't exactly Oakland's favorite place to visit, as the Athletics are just 1-9 their last 10 games played in Minnesota.
Justin Duchscherer sports a 2.82 ERA on the road this year, but his 3-5 road ledger indicates he doesn't usually get much support. His counterpart Nick Blackburn is looking for his 10th win of the season, and Blackburn is 6-2 with a 2.90 ERA at home this season.
Go with Minnesota to continue their roll.
5♦ MINNESOTA
BEN BURNS
Annihilator
Browns / Giants Under
AL Total of the Week
Mariners / White Sox Under
Nostradamus
Mets/Pitt Under 8.5
SF/Atl Under 8.5
Oak/Minn Over 8
Cleveland +3