JeffMoney
Blue Jays -135 (pod)
Braves -110
Pistons -5
JIMMY BOYD
1 Unit on Houston Astros +101
Houston has played good ball at home all season and that will continue today against the struggling Brett Myers. The Phillies are 0-5 in Myers' last 5 starts, 1-7 in his last 8 road starts, and 0-6 in his last 6 starts as a road favorite. The Astros are 8-1 in their last 9 home games against a righty starter, 10-3 in their last 13 home games, and 5-1 in their last 6 as a home dog. The ?stros are also 5-1 in Moehler?s last 6 starts. All Astros in this one.
Yankee Capper
3 Units - Washington Nationals
Vernon Croy
Indians
PlusLineSports
New York Yankees -1.5
Lpw Sports Forecast
Mets/ Rockies Over
Bob Akmens
10* TOP-PLAY: DETROIT -170 vs Pittsburgh
BRYAN LEONARD
Texas Rangers @ Cleveland Indians
PICK: Under
The Rangers haven't fared well vs left-handed starters this season and tonight they face off with what could be the hottest lefty in the majors. Although Cliff Lee dropped his last decision at Cincinnati the Reds were fortunate as bloop hits seemed to find holes. That's not likely to happen again so we're not about to jump off the Lee bandwagon just yet.
Lee will go against Scott Feldman for the Rangers and the young righty has done nothing but impress. He has produced four quality starts in his five starts on the season. His groundball tendencies should work well in this ballpark after having to pitch in the homerun park in Arlington on a regular basis. Cleveland had gone 11 straight games without producing four runs or more until their offensive outburst yesterday. With their best hitter Victor Martinez not at 100% we don't expect an offensive repeat. The Indians have only scored 30 total runs in Lee's eight starts on the season. We look for another low scoring game after the slugfest yesterday.
PLAY UNDER
Scott Rickenbach
Pittsburgh Penguins @ Detroit Red Wings
PICK: Over
Look for the layoff for these two clubs to have a significant impact on the way this game plays out. The Red Wings and Penguins have both had too much time off since their last game action in the conference finals. It is simply a scheduling quirk of the Stanley Cup Finals and it is something that we feel is offering up significant line value with the over in this match-up. Because of the layoff, neither team is going to be as crisp or as sharp as they’d like to be. This means that some turnovers with the puck and some mistakes on passes can be expected here. This should lead to some solid scoring opportunities for each club and, the fact is, neither one of these clubs need much help in the scoring department!
Detroit is averaging just under 3.5 goals per game in the postseason while the Penguins are averaging just under 4 goals per game in the playoffs. While the odds makers are putting out a 5.5 on this total we know that these teams have combined to average at least 7 goals of offense per game in this postseason. This is why the value is with the over in this match-up. There are simply too many offensive talents on each club for the defense to contain. Also, the fact that play could be a little sloppy here in Game One could lead to some “fluke” offensive chances that would certainly help to insure that this game gets over the total. Play OVER the total in Detroit as a regular selection.
LARRY NESS
Milwaukee Brewers @ Washington Nationals
PICK: Washington Nationals
REASON FOR PICK: The Brewers were on a nine-game road losing streak before visiting Pittsburgh on Tuesday to begin a three-game set. What's more, the Pirates had won seven of their last eight home games and had dominated the Brewers in PNC Park since the stadium opened in 2001, winning 42 of the 62 games played there between the two teams. Milwaukee's pitching staff owned a 3.82 ERA in 20 home games in '08 but entering this series, had a 5.48 road ERA. So what happened? Milwaukee beat the Pirates 7-2 and 4-1 in the first two games! However, normalcy has since returned, as the Pirates avoided a three-game sweep with an 8-4 win on Thursday and then Milwaukee lost last night in Washington, 5-1. As I do so often when getting involved with Milwaukee games, let me remind everyone again of the Brewers home/away dichotomy these last two seasons ('06 and '07). Milwaukee's two-year mark has them 99-63 (plus-$1,950) at home but a pathetic 59-103 (minus-$3,818) on the road! Milwaukee is now 11-17 (minus-$460) on the road heading into tonight's game and will send Seth McClung to the mound, who will be making his first start since 2006. McClung made 73 appearance (32 starts) with Tampa Bay in 2005 and 2006, going 13-23 with a 6.44 overall, as the Rays (then Devil Rays) were only 11-21 in those 32 starts. He was with Milwaukee last year but made only 14 relief appearances, pitching just 12 innings. He's made 11 relief appearances this year, going 1-1 with a 3.54 ERA over 20.1 innings. Washington has its fair share of problems at the plate but McClung is sure not a tough 'test!' Going for Washington is John Lannan, who is 4-4 with 3.40 ERA in nine starts in 2008. He's had a few poor starts but overall, he's allowed two ERs or less in SIX of his nine starts this year. He enters this game on a pretty good roll, having given up one ER or none in FIVE of his last seven starts, posting a 4-2 record with a 2.55 ERA over that span. Why not take a chance with him here vs the poor-traveling Brewers who will have a pitcher making his first ML start since June 18, 2006. By the way, that start came in Philadelphia vs the Phillies, with McClung allowing eight hits and six ERs over 4.2 innings of an 8-5 loss. Go Nats!
Alex Smart
Oakland Athletics +135
The Oakland As are always a dangerous home underdog, and tonight, against the visiting Red Sox nothing will be different, as was the case last night when they pulled off a 8-3 win , delivering a +130 cash bonus to their backers . Josh Beckett the ace of the BoSox pitching staff, is currently not performing at his best , and despite of a 3-1 record in his May starts has garnered a bloated 5.20 ERA. With that said, I think he is susceptible to a beat down at the moment, making the As the right side at another value price. Final notes & Key Trends: Beckett is 2-2 with a 5.55 ERA in four career starts versus Oakland. Play on Oakland
LT Profits
Arizona Diamondbacks -110
Randy Johnson of the Arizona Diamondbacks turned back the clock in his last start vs. the normally potent Detroit Tigers lineup, and if that start wasn’t a mirage, look for him to continue his past success vs. the Atlanta Braves here.
Johnson tossed seven scoreless innings vs. Detroit, allowing six hits and striking out five. That outing marked only Johnson’s second Quality Start of the season, but Arizona as a team has won his last five starts, so at the very least he has pitched well enough to keep them in games.
He certainly has a proven track record vs. Atlanta, holding the Braves scoreless in three of his last four career starts against them including a perfect game in this stadium. If Johnson reverts to his more modest form prior to his last outing, at least the D-Backs rank fourth in the National League in bullpen ERA at 3.25, making them a Bullpen System play today.
Now Atlanta’s Jorge Campillo was brilliant in first start in three years vs. the Mets last week, allowing only three hits in six scoreless innings. However, we feel that Johnson is more likely to duplicate his last performance than the less proven Campillo, especially considering that the Arizona offense finally showed some signs of life while putting up 11 runs last night.
The Diamondbacks are 7-1 in the last eight head-to-head meetings here in Atlanta, and we look for them to extend that success today.
Pick: Diamondbacks -110
Milwaukee Brewers EV
Even though the Milwaukee Brewers have struggled on the road, the Washington Nationals are a sub-.500 team at home at 12-13, and we simply refuse to believe that John Lannan is as good as he has looked.
Lannan was never that highly regarded, which makes his 3.40 ERA in nine starts this year that much more surprising. However, he has alternated Quality Starts with bad starts in each of his last four outings, and if that pattern continues, he would be in line for a bad outing today. We are looking for exactly that, as it is inevitable that Lannan’s ERA will rise to its proper level, given his rather limited talent.
Seth McClung is making his first start of the year for Milwaukee, but he has pitched well out of the bullpen, with a 3.54 ERA in 20.1 relief innings. He did show some nice flashes when starting for the Tampa Bay Rays two years ago, and this is a nice spot for his first National League start, given that the Nationals are batting a woeful .218 as a team in their last 10 games.
Meanwhile the Brewers have crushed left-handed pitching to the tune of a .342 average in their last 10 contests, show they should get to the soft-tossing southpaw Lannan tonight.
Pick: Brewers EV
Marco D´Angelo
Today's Pick: DETROIT TIGERS
After getting bombed at home on Friday night expect the Tigers to bounce back big tonight behind the pitching of Robertson. TAKE DETROIT.
POINTSHAVERS
OK, back to favorites. Yesterday, we think the road trip was a factor in the Royals flat start. However, today we've got a guaranteed winner with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays at home against the Baltimore Orioles.
The Devil Rays have won 13 out of 14 home games; and, they have won three straight against the Orioles. The Devil Rays beat the Orioles 2-0 yesterday behind RHP Matt Garza (3-1 W-L, 4.06 ERA). Today the Rays will send Edwin Jackson (2-3 W-L 3.29 ERA). Lately, Jackson has been HOT -- Jackson has an 0.44 ERA in his last three starts for the Rays.
Today, he'll face an Orioles team that plays fantastic baseball at Camden Yards; but, they still continue to struggle on the road (10-16 Road W-L). The Orioles will send Steve Trachsel (2-4 W-L 6.75 ERA) to the mound today. We've scouted Trachsel this year, and we haven't been impressed with his stuff. He may start the game OK; but, we expect him to be throwing batting practice to the Devil Rays around the 5th inning. This is a huge advantage for the Devil Rays playing at a "hitter's park" Tropicana Field.
Again, we're posting a HOT team with a favorable matchup. This play has been a consistent winner all season.
Take Tampa Bay Devil Rays (-170)
Gavazzi Hoops + Baseball
3% Boston Celtics +5
3% Detroit/Minny over
2% Baltimore/TBay under
2% Cinci/SanDiego under
"5 inning play"
2% Colorado Rockies
Paul Leiner
500* NBA Det -5
100* Red Sox -130
25* Philly -115
10* Atl PK
Tommy Rider
Yankees 5 Units
Bob Balfe
NBA Basketball
Boston/Detroit Under 175
Both teams play great playoff defense. Last game was a rare explosion of points in the second half. Look for Both teams to settle in and play solid defense tonight. Boston has not played well on the road in these playoffs so I expect their scoring to be down. This is one of those games that looks too easy to take the Pistons so be careful. Look for both clubs to keep this game Under the total.
Major League Baseball
Rangers/Indians Over 8 -120
Feldman/Lee
Savannah Sports
2 Units on Washington -120