SATURDAY PREMIUM SERVICE PLAYS

RatedPicks

Seattle Mariners -105
Cleveland Indians/Chicago W.Sox OVER 9
Tampa Bay Rays +136

Seabass MLB
20* Dodgers
20* Boston Run Line -1 1/2
30* Cubs
50* Houston
50* Mets

VegasWiseguySports

MLB - Atlanta -150
MLB - St. Louis -130
MLB - Boston Over 10.5

PRIMETIME SPORTS ADVISORS

Mets -120
White Sox Over 9.5 +100

charlie sports

mlb. mets @ washington under 9 runs (500*).
mlb. angels+140 (30*)
mlb. twins-110 (20*)
mlb. mets-135 (20*)
mlb. oakland-125 (10*)
mlb. san diego+115 (10*) free play

GenieGoldenGames

NHL - Detroit Over 5.5
MLB - LA Dodgers -150
MLB - Detroit -145

Root

CC - Oakland
Mill - NY Mets
NL - Seattle

Brandon Lang

15 Dime Mets

5 Dime Twins

5 Dime Dodgers

Free pick - Diamondbacks

15 Dime Mets (List pitchers Maine over Lannan) - The Mets own the Nationals, it's that simple, and better than I liked the boys from Queens to win yesterday, I am banking on them once again to get it done today. Specifically with John Maine taking on John Lannan. New York's red-hot right-hander will win his fifth straight start against the lowly Nationals. Fact is, it doesn't matter who throws for New York, as it's had no concern in seven games against the Nats this season thanks to a 2.81 ERA in winning six of those matchups.

Maine, who was 0-2 with a 7.47 ERA in his first three starts, is 3-1 with a 2.40 ERA in his last five games, including a strong showing against these same Nats on May 25, when he allowed just one run and four hits in six innings of a 5-2 victory for the Mets. Maine has a stifling 1.52 ERA while the Nationals have a bleak .143 batting average in four straight wins against them. He is now 7-2 with a 3.79 ERA in 11 career starts against Washington, so confidence goes a long way in this one. Especially since Washington's weak lineup has scored just one run in each of its last three contests.

He should get the run support we'll need against Lannan, who gave up five runs and eight hits in five innings in that same May 25 clash. The southpaw is 1-3 with a 5.79 ERA in six starts against the Mets, so I'm looking for big ups from the New York lineup. The Washington rotation has been stinking it up pretty good the past couple weeks, as it hasn't had a starter last more than six innings over its last 12 games, losing 10 of those contests.

All New York once again boys.

5 Dime Twins - Off the extra-inning win last night, the Twins will come in hyped up for this one, so we'll bank on the road team to get it done to make it three in row and five out of six. Love Nick Blackburn, who became one of Minnesota's more reliable starters in May. He's had three straight quality starts, and they've come against rather fiesty opponents - Tampa, Boston and the ChiSox. He closed the month of May against those three, allowing just three earned runs over 20 innings of work. Look for him to keep Ichiro and company off-balance with that effective sinker, while working every corner of every angle with that nasty four-seamer. He is 1-0 with a 3.50 ERA in three career starts against the M's, and I think he's primed for win No. 2 against them.

5 Dime Dodgers - Take the home team after an inspiring win over the Phils last night. This is a battle of arguably the N.L.'s top two teams, and we have to believe the Dodgers will come ready to play for a Saturday night showdown, now that the series is tied 1-1. Hiroki Kuroda was impressive in his first start in nearly two months, tossing five solid innings and allowing two runs. He fanned six and displayed the normal velocity we expect from his heater. And lest we forget, Kuroda comes beat the Phils last year in the playoffs. The Dodgers roll in on winning runs of 5-1 against NL East teams, 5-1 when Kuroda is installed as a favorite and 4-1 in his last five home starts. They've also won 13 of their last 18 Game 3s of a series and 22 of their last 30 against righties. All Dodgers tonight.

Rocco Spacamuro

100* Mariners

Steven Budin

25 DIME RUN LINE RELEASE

Houston Astros -1.5

Bob Balfe

Astros -150 over Pirates
Oswalt/Maholm

Craig Davis
Saturday's Lineup
60 Dime ---- RED SOX -1 1/2 RUN LINE (With Holland and Lester as listed pitchers)
15 Dime ---- YANKEES -1 1/2 RUN LINE (With Sabathia as listed pitcher)

BOSTON RED SOX (on the run line -1 1/2) (must list both Holland and Lester) --- Wow, it couldn't have played out better for us, could it have? The Red Sox looked like puke last night, scoring just one run against Kevin Millwood and the Rangers, suffering a 5-1 setback at Fenway Park. A setback to the Rangers at Fenway??? Yes, it's true, and I'm shocked because it doesn't happen often. That's why I've rated this play so highly today... because I don't believe Texas has a chance in heck to keep this game within five runs today. Boston rarely loses to Texas to begin with (25-9 in the last 34 meetings), but it's even worse when these two meet in Fenway Park. Boston has taken 34 of the last 43 from Texas at Fenway and have done it by an average of over five runs per game. Tonight will be no different. Prior to last night's loss, Boston had taken 9 of the previous 10 meetings by an average of 5 runs per contest.

Jon Lester takes the hill for Boston tonight, and although he's only started against the Rangers three times in his career, he's 1-0 with a 4.40 ERA in those three starts. You see, for whatever reason, Lester has gotten some great run support when facing the Rangers and I don't see it any differently tonight. The Boston bats were quiet in Game 1 of this series vs. ace Kevin Millwood, but I can't imagine in a million years Derek Holland being able to keep them quiet tonight (more on him in a minute). Lester has been up and down so far this year, but his last start was definitely encouraging. Lester beat the Toronto Blue Jays 8-2, scattering 3 hits and one earned run over six innings while striking out 12 batters. At home, Lester has started 35 games and has compiled an 18-4 record, posting an ERA of 3.53.

Now, back to Holland. As many of you know who have been following me this baseball season, I absolutely hate pitchers who are bounced back and forth between the rotation and the bullpen. It sucks. Holland fits that mold. He's started just two games so far this year with an 0-1 record and a 1-2 overall record in all games pitched (including bullpen). Holland was roughed up in those two starts, including allowing 5 earned runs in five innings of work. Holland's season ERA is 6.33 and his WHIP is an atrocious 1.59, not to mention the fact he fatigues as the game wears on and begins laboring far earlier than most starting pitchers. His numbers get worse the longer he pitches, so our hope today is that the Red Sox get to him early and force Ron Washington to get to his bullpen earlier than normal. Holland stinks and so does the Texas bullpen.

Boston is 7-1 in their last eight home games vs. teams with a winning record, 5-0 in Lester's last five starts vs. a team with a winning record and 22-4 in Lester's last 26 starts as a home favorite. This game will be decided by the 6th inning as I expect the Red Sox to absolutely bombard the Rangers at home tonight.

NY YANKEES (on the run line -1 1/2) (must list CC Sabathia) --- CC Sabathia is now finally pitching in post-season form, allowing just nine earned runs in his last five games for a current ERA of 3.46. Sabathia seems to own the Rays in his career, too, winning seven times in 11 starts with only one loss. He's also struck out 73 batters in 81 innings of work vs. Tampa Bay while allowing the Rays to hit just .229 in those 11 starts. Sabathia has yet to face the Rays this year as a member of the Yankees, and now that they own the best record in the American League they plan on protecting it.

Right now the Yankees and Red Sox, as expected, are tied atop the American League East division as we head into the summer months. New York has won 10 of their last 13 home games while the Rays have continued to struggle on the road, winning just 12 times in 29 games. They send David Price to the hill, having pitched just 9 innings as a starter. Price made a name for himself in the 2008 playoffs, but for some reason wasn't thought to be "ready" to be promoted to the starting rotation this year until just recently. Though his 3.00 ERA is currently better than Sabathia's, let's also keep in mind he hasn't gone past the 6th inning yet and likely isn't ready to run his pitch count up. I'll take my chances against an Evan Longoria-less offensive lineup and a pitcher who hasn't yet proven himself as a full-fledged starter.

Dave Malinsky

3* Houston
4* Mets
4* Arizona

RAS

1 Unit Seattle Under 140.5
1 Unit Minny -2
1 Unit Phoenix -2