SPORTS ADVISORES
INTERLEAGUE
N.Y. Mets (20-19) at N.Y. Yankees (20-22)
It’s a battle of southpaws in the Big Apple, as the Mets send Johan Santana (4-2, 3.10 ERA) to the hill opposite Yankees’ veteran Andy Pettitte (3-4, 4.40) as the teams try to get their Subway Series under way at Yankee Stadium.
Friday night’s series-opener was rained out, so the Mets enter the Bronx having lost four of their last six games, including dropping three of four at home against Washington this week. The Yanks, meanwhile, just lost three of four games at Tampa Bay, including Thursday’s 5-2 setback to cap the series, and they are 3-6 in their last nine games.
These two teams split their two series in 2007, with each winning three games and each taking one contest on the road. In fact, over the last three years, the series is tied 9-9, with the home team going 10-8. However, the Yankees are 18-7 in the last 25 head-to-head clashes in the Bronx.
Santana, who will make his ninth start of the season, has helped the Mets to wins in each of his last five starts, going 3-0 with a pair of no decisions. On Saturday against Cincinnati, he scattered 10 hits and allowed three runs in six innings as New York won 12-6 at home. Santana is 3-1 with a more-than-respectable 2.38 ERA in five starts on the highway this season, and he is 3-0 with a 2.66 ERA in five lifetime starts (eight appearances) against the Yankees.
The Yankees have lost Pettitte’s last four starts, including Monday when he gave up five runs on eight hits over just four innings of a 7-1 loss in Tampa Bay. He’s given up an identical five runs in three of his last four outings. On the bright side, the veteran is 7-3 with a 3.42 ERA in 16 career starts against the Mets. A year ago, though, he gave up three runs on five hits in seven innings of a 3-2 loss at Shea Stadium.
The Yankees are 7-1 in Pettitte’s last eight starts against the Mets, 65-26 with him as a home favorite, 41-19 when he goes off as a favorite and 14-4 when he faces the N.L. East.
The only positives for the Mets is they are 7-3 in their last 10 against lefties and 9-4 in their last 13 as a road favorite. Otherwise they are in slumps of 10-26 in interleague road games, 2-5 as a road ‘dog, 3-8 against A.L. southpaws and 1-5 against A.L. teams with losing records.
The Yankees are on negative runs of 2-9 as a favorite, 1-5 vs. lefties, 1-5 in interleague games and 2-5 as a home favorite. On the flip side, they are 23-5 against N.L. southpaws, 47-14 in interleague home games, 13-6 on Saturdays and 14-6 at home against teams with a losing record.
The over is 5-0 in Santana’s last five starts, but the under is 4-0 the last four times Pettitte has faced the Mets.
The “over” trends run heavy for the Mets, including 6-3 overall, 4-1 in interleague road games, 8-3 against losing teams and 18-6 on the highway against losing teams. The under, though, is 11-4-1 in the Mets’ last 16 interleague games against losing teams. For the Yankees, the under is on streaks of 40-10-1 overall, 5-0 in the Bronx, 6-1 with the Yanks as a ‘dog, 8-2 in interleague play against winning teams and 13-5 against winning teams.
ATS ADVANTAGE: N.Y. YANKEES
Houston (24-19) at Texas (21-22)
The battle for the Lone Star State continues when the Astros send ace Roy Oswalt (4-3, 5.05 ERA) to the mound at the Ballpark in Arlington to face the Rangers’ Vicente Padilla (5-2, 3.23).
The Astros have won eight of their last 11 and 18 of their last 25 overall, and on their current 10-game road trip they’ve rattled off six wins in eight tries. Meanwhile, the Rangers have won eight of their last 11 and are 5-2 on their current nine-game homestand.
The Rangers pounded out 16 runs on 17 hits in a 16-8 slugfest victory over the Astros Friday. Texas won four of six from Houston last season but over the last two seasons these two squads were all knotted up at 6-6 heading into this series.
Houston has won five of Oswalt’s last six starts and in each of the six outings he’s held the opposition to three earned runs or less. On Monday, he gave up three runs on five hits in eight innings of a 7-3 victory in San Francisco.
Against the Rangers, Oswalt is 4-3 with a 3.53 ERA in nine career starts. Last season he gave up three runs on eight hits in 6 1/3 innings, but lost 7-2. In seven of his nine starts in this rivalry, he has held the Rangers to three earned runs or less, and the Astros are 6-3 in the nine outings.
Texas has won Padilla’s last four starts and he’s allowed three earned runs or less in seven of his nine outings this season. However, on Monday he got tattooed for six runs (three earned) on seven hits over five innings, but his offense bailed him out in a 13-12, 10-inning win against the Mariners.
Padilla has struggled in 11 appearances against Houston, going 1-4 with a 4.76 ERA. Back in 2006, he gave up one run on four hits in eight innings of a 3-1 win, but when Padilla was with the Phillies, the Astros went 5-0 in five tries against the right-hander, who allowed four or more earned runs in three of the five.
Houston is 13-5 with Oswalt on the hill in interleague games, 77-34 in his last 111 as a favorite and 38-18 in his last 56 against a team with a losing record. Texas is 6-1 in Padilla’s last seven home outings and 6-1 with him as an underdog, but just 1-5 with him going on Saturday.
Overall, the Astros are on streaks of 9-3 against losing teams, 6-3 as a road favorite and 50-25 as an interleague favorite. The Rangers are on rolls of 8-1 as an underdog, 8-2 against right-handed starters and 18-7 against righties in interleague play.
While the over is 6-2 in the last seven head-to-head matchups, the under is 5-0 in Oswalt’s last five outings against Texas. Meanwhile, the over is on streaks for Houston of 8-1 in interleague games, 7-1-1 as a favorite, 10-3-1 against teams with a losing record and 14-3 against the A.L. West. For the Rangers, the under is on rolls of 10-5-2 as a home ‘dog, 5-3-1 overall and 4-1-2 on Saturdays.
ATS ADVANTAGE: HOUSTON
James Patrick Sports
Tigers vs. Diamondbacks
This pair of potential post season participants are at the back end of their respective rotations and we look for Detroit – Arizona to fly OVER the TOTAL as our Saturday selection in Major League action.
Marc Lawrence
Play On: NY Yankees w/Pettite
Note: The Pinstripes play host to their crosstown rival Mets at Yankees Stadium Saturday afternoon when they send Andy Pettite to the mound. Pettite has enjoyed hurling against the Mets in his MLB career, going 12-6 with a 3.15 ERA. He's also win five of his last six team starts on Saturdays. With the Yankees having come up winners in 13 of the last 19 games as a host in this series, look for the big lefty to come up big here this afternoon.
Marc's MLB Game of the Week plays have been on the money this season, especially in the National League where his top plays are 5-0. His MLB Game of the Week goes this Saturday and, best of all, it's a National League team in a NEVER LOST winning situation in an Interleague game. Get it now and win good again with Marc today.
Dave Cokin
Astros @ Rangers
Play: Astros -125
Roy Oswalt isn't anywhere close to his usual All Star status. The perennially tough Houston ace is lugging around an ERA that's still on the wrong side of 5. But Oswalt has been coming around some, and has actually strung together six straight quality starts. None have been spectacular, but all have been okay. Vicente Padilla has been surprisingly effective for Texas. But in his last start, he had trouble getting untracked early, barely clocking 90MPH in the opening frame. His velocity increased as he loosened up, but this could be a signal that he's on the verge of wearing down. I'm going to look for the Astros to get the jump early in this one and I'll back Houston as a moderately priced road favorite.
Greg Daraban
Houston at Texas
Last night Texas pounded the ball enroute to a 16-8 win.Astros starter Oswalt seems off his game must support the home dog in this affair.
Take Texas
Jimmy The Moose
Game: Los Angeles Dodgers at Los Angeles Angels
Prediction: Los Angeles Angels
Reason: Prior to last night's meetinge between the clubs the Dodgers had lost 6 of their last 8 games. The Dodgers are 10-29 in their last 39 interleague games. In their last 27 interleague road games they are 4-23. This afternoon the send Chan Ho Park to the mound and that's not reassuring at all. The Angels come into this one limping having lost 6 of their last 8 games prior to last night's meeting. The Angels are 14-3 in their last 17 interleague games as a favorite. The Angels are 20-8 in their last 28 interleague games overall. The Angels are 6-1 in Santana's last 7 starts. The Dodgers had lost 7 of the last 8 meetings between the clubs prior to last night's game. Play on the Los Angeles Angels -.
Matt Fargo
Toronto Blue Jays at Philadelphia Phillies
Prediction: Toronto Blue Jays
Reason: Philadelphia took the first game of this series last night to make it two in a row but I don?t expect much more. The Phillies are 7-6 over their last 13 games and they remain inconsistent as they are just 2-5 in their last five games following a win and also 3-7 in their last 10 games after plating five runs or more in its last game. The bullpen is one of the best in baseball but the Phillies are getting an ERA of just 4.68 from their starters including a rugged 6.16 ERA over their last 10 games.
The Blue Jays had their four-game winning streak snapped last night as the pitching was hit hard for the first time in a while. Emergency starter David Purcey was hammered for eight runs in just three innings but now we get back to the regular rotation tonight. The offense has been hit or miss as it has scored three runs or fewer in seven of its last nine games but the Blue Jays will be able to get the bats going tonight against a struggling starter that continues to be overvalued.
That starter is Adam Eaton. Eaton started the season with three consecutive quality starts but it has been a struggle since then as he has posted a 6.46 ERA over his last five starts. The Phillies won three of those but all were by just a single run and those were the first three. Eaton has allowed just five hits in each of his last four outings but he has averaged only 4.2 innings per start. Another big issue has been control as he has walked eight batters over his last two starts.
Toronto goes with A.J. Burnett who is coming off a quality start, his third in his last four games. The Blue Jays gave him no run support so he was handed the loss. He has performed much better on the road this season with four of his five starts being quality outings. After walking 14 over a three-game stretch, he has issued only four bases on balls over his last two games so the control is showing a huge improvement. His track record against the Phillies is no good but all of that came two and three years ago. Play Toronto Blue Jays 1.5 Units
Big Al McMordie
Chicago White Sox vs. San Francisco Giants
Play: Chicago White Sox
At 9:05 pm, our complimentary selection is on the Chicago White Sox with Mark Buehrle over the San Francisco Giants and Barry Zito. Clearly, the Giants' signing of Zito after the 2006 seaon has been nothing short of a bust. In his 41 starts for San Francisco, his team has come out on top a mere 14 times, including 0 for 7 this year! Granted, Buehrle has not been much better with 1 win in 6 starts, but his 5.81 ERA and 1.54 WHIP compare favorably to the awful 6.58 ERA and 1.79 WHIP that Zito has put up in 2008. The White Sox are 6-4 vs. southpaw starters this season, while SF is 5-6. Take the White Sox.
Ross Benjamin
Game: San Diego (Wolf) @ Seattle (Bedard)
Pick: Seattle –140
In spite of not getting good results the Mariners are hitting a sizzling .333 at home versus left-handed pitching this season. Contrarily the Padres have hit an ice cold .212 as a team versus left-handed pitching this season. The Padres are a pathetic 2-10 versus a left-handed starting pitcher this season. San Diego has struggled mightily on the road in 2008 losing 17 of 24 in that role. The Seattle starter Bedard enters the game in good form off his last 4 starts and in 3 home starts this season has posted a brilliant 1.45 ERA. The San Diego starter Wolfe enters the game in horrible form off of his last 4 starts posting a 2.05 WHIP and a 8.55 ERA all resulting in San Diego losses. Wolf is 1-4 in his team starts on the road this season with a lofty 6.35 ERA. Play on the Seattle Mariners as my free selection of the night.
Gator Report
MLB 70% Super Situations (MLB Record 11-3 +770 units)
MLB (11-3 +770) Saturday: Play Against MLB (AL) teams who average <=4.5 runs per game against a NL starting pitcher whose ERA<=3.70, with a team batting .240 or worse over their last 15 games.34-4 since 1997 (89.5%)
PLAY: Cincinnati -115
JEFFERSONSPORTS
MLB EARLY RELEASE
METS +126
Santana as a dog and he has owned yankee stadium. Another great stat is that mets hit about .25 better against lefties and the yankees hit about .40 worse against lefties. Give me the dog.
ANGELS -154
Santana at home and bats might be waking up for the halos
SEATTLE -148
I have a handicapping rule, if I get the better pitcher (after a bad outing) and I have the better hitting team, the team with more power and speed, and they knock the hell out of lefty pitchers (.333), I take em.
MINNESOTA +111
Hernandez been on fire and I got to take a small dog against an unproven rook who has struggled
WNBA
LA SPARKS+1
Jim Feist
CLE Indians and CIN Reds
Take Under
Cleveland's pitching staff has been terrific, especially the bullen, while the offense hasn't yet clicked. That's why the Indians are on a 15-3-1 under the total. The hit and miss Reds lineup won't find the going easy against Indians ace Fausto Carmona, who is 4-1 with a 2.40 ERA. Cincy is 11-7 under the total at home and starter Aaron Harang has been outstanding with a 3.32 ERA. Don't look for any offense in this Interleague game with a pair of aces on the mound. Play the Indians/Reds under the total
Chris Jordan:
Were going to back hard-throwing Roy Oswalt, as Houston has won five of his last six starts and in each of those outings hes held the opposition to three earned runs or less. On Monday, he was money, giving up just three runs while scattering five hits over eight frames of a 7-3 victory in San Francisco. He enters this Lone Star-state battle with a 4-3 record and a respectable 3.53 ERA in nine career starts against the Rangers.
And he?ll no doubt be looking to avenge last seasons 7-2 loss, in which he gave up just three runs on eight hits in 6-1/3 innings. He?s generally been quality in this series, as hes held the Rangers to three earned runs or less in seven of his nine starts against Texas; more importantly, the Astros are 6-3 in his nine starts against the Rangers.
Lay the road chalk.
5* ASTROS
Rocky Atkinson
San Diego (Wolf) @ Seattle (Bedard)
Play On: Seattle -140
In spite of not getting good results the Mariners are hitting a sizzling .333 at home versus left-handed pitching this season. Contrarily the Padres have hit an ice cold .212 as a team versus left-handed pitching this season. The Padres are a pathetic 2-10 versus a left-handed starting pitcher this season. San Diego has struggled mightily on the road in 2008 losing 17 of 24 in that role. The Seattle starter Bedard enters the game in good form off his last 4 starts and in 3 home starts this season has posted a brilliant 1.45 ERA. The San Diego starter Wolfe enters the game in horrible form off of his last 4 starts posting a 2.05 WHIP and a 8.55 ERA all resulting in San Diego losses. Wolf is 1-4 in his team starts on the road this season with a lofty 6.35 ERA.
Play on the Seattle Mariners
Bobby Maxwell
Cleveland -105 at CINCINNATI
Today's play on the diamond comes from Cincinnati as we go with the Indians to get the road win over the Reds.
Going with the hot pitcher in this one as we play the Indians' Fausto Carmona (4-1, 2.40 ERA) against the Reds and starter Aaron Harang (2-5, 3.32).
Cincinnati edged the Indians 4-3 on Friday, but expect Carmona to get the Tribe even with a big pitching performance today.
Carmona is 1-0 in his last three starts with a 1.74 ERA and only once this season has he allowed more than three earned runs in a start. On Monday he threw a complete-game shutout at the Blue Jays, winning 3-0 and allowing just five hits.
Harang gave up four runs on seven hits in an 8-7 win over the Marlins on Monday but it was the first time in four games the Reds won a Harang start. He's seen the Indians plenty in his career and been up and down. He gave up five runs in a start against the Tribe last year and then shut them out for seven innings in another.
The Tribe has won eight of 11 and six of eight overall and they are 17-5 in Carmona's last 22 starts against a team with a losing record, and 20-8 in his last 28 trips to the hill.
Cincinnati is just 2-4 in their last six interleague games and 3-7 when Harang starts on a Saturday.
Let's play Carmona and the Tribe in this battle of Ohio.
3* CLEVELAND
HotLocksports
Minnesota Twins vs Colorado Rockies
Minnesota Twins +111
Minnesota is 26-8 L 34 Interleague contests, Colorado is 0-8 their L 8 Interleague. Hernandez has pitched well with a 2.15 ERA L 3 starts while Reynolds carries in a 6.35 ERA his L 3. Rockies are struggling anywhere they play and Minny has the edge here. Twinkies for 4 units!
Lucky Leprechaun Sports
Pittsburgh Pirates vs Chicago Cubs
Chicago Cubs -240
I used this play yesterday and will come right back with it today. The Cubs this year have simply owned the Pirates, going 7-0 while scorig an average of 8.4 rpg in the process. In fact, dating back to last year the Cubs have gone 10-0 vs the Pirates, while outscoring them by 4.8 rpg, included in that stretch is a 7-0 mark at home with an average margin of victory being 5.7 rpg. The Cubs have Zambrano on the mound today and he has been tough this year going 6-1 with a 2.03 ERA, including a 4-0 mark with a 1.89 ERA at home. Big Z is also 9-5 with a 3.40 ERA in his career vs the Pirates. Pittsburgh sends Zach Duke to the mound and even though has has been decent in his last 3 starts he is still 0-1 with a 4.76 ERA in 4 road starts this year. The Cubs are scoring 7 rpg at home this year and that should be plenty enough, with Zambrano on the mound, to get a win by 2 or more.
DCI
Playoffs: 28-14 (.667)
Season: 442-337 (.567)
Western Conference Finals
Game 5, best-of-7
DETROIT 3, Dallas 2