Jeff Benton
20 DIME: TORONTO BLUE JAYS
Toronto lefty Brett Cecil is the real deal. In four starts since being called up from Triple-A Las Vegas, Cecil has surrendered just nine runs, 19 hits and seven walks in 26 innings (3.12 ERA, 1.00 WHIP), and over his last three starts he’s posted a 2.33 ERA and a 0.98 WHIP.
The fact Cecil comes from the left side is huge, because the Rangers have struggled to hit southpaws all season long. Texas is batting just .236 overall against lefties, including a lowly .211 on the road. And going back to last season, the Rangers have lost 45 of 64 road games when facing a left-handed starter.
Speaking of starting pitching, Rich Harden gets the ball for Texas, and while he’s been very good himself this season, he’s had no success against Toronto. And when I say no success, I mean he faced the Jays five times when he was with Oakland from 2003-2008, and the A’s won just one of those five games. And then back in the first week of this season, he lasted only 3 2/3 innings against Toronto, giving up three runs on three hits and a whopping five walks, with the Blue Jays prevailing 7-4 (Toronto took two of three in that series in Texas).
And check out what Harden has done in two career starts in the dome in Canada: 9 1/3 innings, 11 runs, 12 hits and eight walks, losing 13-5 and 4-2.
Finally, the Blue Jays come into this contest having won 16 of 21 as a favorite, 12 of 15 as a home favorite, 12 of 15 against teams with a winning record and eight of 11 versus right-handed starters. They’re also 7-3 against Texas in the last 10 meetings north of the border.
Look for Cecil to dominate the punchless Rangers offense, while Toronto – which has scored at least five runs in nine of its last 15 games – will eventually get to Harden (who has pitched more than six innings just once all year) and then an inconsistent Rangers bullpen. Lay the cheap price.
Wayne Root
No Limit - Cardinals
Power Play Wins
St. Louis Cardinals -123
Rocco Vincintore Guaranteed Selections
PREFERRED PLAYERS CLUB BASEBALL RUN LINE DOMINATOR
Detroit +1.5 -145
Dr Baseball Guaranteed Selections
TRIPLE PLAY BASEBALL WINNER
NY Yankees w/Burnett -178
The Yanks are what I call a team dominator as they are now 27-5 at home versus the Twins. They qualify in six different situations I use to grade out a game. Yanks in a rout as Burnett in his last four starts versus the twins, totaling just over 25 inning's has allowed just 8 earned runs!
Dr Baseball Guaranteed Selections
HOME RUN BASEBALL DOMINATOR
Atlanta w/Kawakami -125
Derek Mancini
30 Dime Brewers
Mike Lineback
4* (POD) Tampa Bay Rays Team OVER 4.5 -120
4* Atlanta Braves -123
4* Detroit Tigers +1.5 -145
4* Kansas City Royals +1.5 -140
4* Parlay Colorado Rockies -240 / Tampa Bay Rays -180
Craig Davis
100 Dime ST. LOUIS CARDINALS
Here it is... my one and only play of the day and it's a BIG one. The best thing in the world for me heading into this selection is the fact the Cardinals just got swept, at home, by the Houston Lastros while the Reds enter tonight's game off a 5-game (and counting) winning streak. It's also a good thing that the Cardinals scored just 10 runs in three games against Houston pitching because you can never keep this lineup down for long. The Reds, on the other hand, have been tearing the cover off the ball during their five-game winning streak, scoring 35 runs in those five games, including a couple of shutouts in their last two wins over Pittsburgh. So you see, I'm expecting "normalcy" to reign supreme tonight when the Cardinals come calling.
St. Louis has already taken four of six from the Reds this year, winning two of three in each three-game series (one at home, one in Cincinnati), winning those four games by a combined 29-12 score. So not only are the Cardinals beating the Reds, they're demoliohing them by more than doubling their total run output in four wins. The two Cincinnati wins were a 3-2 home win and a 2-1 road win earlier in the year. Last season, the Cardinals took 8 of the 14 head-to-head matchups, including seven of their eight wins by 3 runs or more. Tony LaRuss'a bunch won three of the four series openers with Cincinnati last season and have actually been very good in "Game 1" of regular season series', winning 30 of their last 39 in the first of a three-game or four-game series. They've also won 13 of their last 19 games played on Friday.
So, tonight's pitching matchup is an interesting one, to say the least. On one hand we have little-known Jaime Garcia, a middle-relief pitcher that was promoted to the rotation this year for the first time since becoming a Cardinal. Garcia was average, at best, in the bullpen, but since he's come up into the rotation it's like he's a different pitcher. 3-2 through six starts with a 1.18 ERA and a 1.08 WHIP overall and 2-2 with a 1.88 ERA on the road... so hostile environaments don't seem to phase this 25-year-old. He's pitched in Pittsburgh, Milwaukee, Philadelphia and San Francisco, so it's not like he pitched against chump change either. He's pitched at least six innings in every start (but he's gone a full seven a few times) and has NEVER allowed more than two earned runs in any game. He also blanked the Mets and Braves over seven innings of work in each game. This guy may not be a seasoned veteran, but he's given his team the opportunity to win every game he's started and there's no reason to think he won't do the same again tonight.
On the other hand we have Aaron Harang, a pitcher who would probably rather be seeing any other team than St. Louis. He's already lost to the Cards twice this season (6-0 and 11-6) and lost his only meeting with them last year... so that's three straight losses to the Redbirds and a 7-12 career record against them. His ERA is up near 5.00 in 22 career starts, and considering he's been strugoling so fart this year, that only strengthens my case against him. Harang has allowed three earned runs vs. St. Louis in both meetings this year and is currently sitting with an ERA above 6.00 and a WHIP of 1.46, not to mention his 1-2 record and 5.18 ERA when he pitches at home. When Harang pitches, the Reds are just 4-11 in the last 15, 2-7 at home, 2-8 against teams from the NL Central, 1-4 in series openers and 0-5 on Fridays. Cincy is just 3-7 in Harang's last 10 starts vs. the Birds (1-4 in the last five), including those two losses this year we've already talked about.
First place in the Central is on the line tonight, and if the seasoned veterans like Chris Carpenter and Brad Penny can't get the job done, the Cards will have to count on a youngster like Jaime Garcia to get them back in the win column. Cards win tonight by at least three.
Steam On-Line Guaranteed Selections
INSIDE LATE STEAM BASEBALL WINNER
St Louis w/Garcia -122
Ben Burns
8* Jays Under
7* SFG
6* NYY
7* Bruins
Executive
250% Milwaukee -1.20
Seabass
50* Flyers
50* Tex
50* Lad
50* Balt
50* Tb -1.5
100* Laa (steam)
100* Chw under
100* Phil over
BASEBALL PROPHET
PLAY OF THE DAY
Phillies/Brewers over 9 -120
LEANS
Indians/Orioles over 8.5
White Sox/Royals over 9
A's/Angels over 8.5
Giants -140