WUNDERDOG
WNBA
Houston at Minnesota
Pick: Minnesota -4
This Minnesota team has to be looking to play this one with a chip on their shoulder. Minnesota dropped one at home last time out to Atlanta that was winless on the road. Houston has really struggled all season long on the road where they are just 3-9 in 12 games. This is a Houston team that played through a hot streak going 8-2, and it was during this streak they won all three of their road games this season. Otherwise this Comets team is 1-9, and has now dropped their last two games. You have to like Minnesota at home coming off a brutal loss against a Comets team that has not done much winning outside of their streak, especially on the road where they have not won at all.
MLB
Arizona at Philadelphia
Pick: Philadelphia -1.5 runs +160
The Phillies were a hot team then ran cold, but now have won three straight and are back on track. The Phillies have been tough all season long against LHP, and have won 11 of their last 15 at home against southpaws. The only thing that keeps Arizona in the hunt is that the NL West has been so mediocre. The D-Backs have trouble staying in games on the road, and when they face .500+ teams on the road they are a woeful 4-16! Randy Johnson is a fraction of what he once was, as the D-Backs have just one road win to show for his seven starts. With an abysmal “Unit” on the hill for the D-Backs plus the way the Phillies' lineup has pounded LHP, especially at home, Phillies get a comfortable win in this one.
Black Magic Sports
1 Unit on White Sox/Rangers OVER 10
Two of the hotter teams in the league square off Saturday in what will be a high-scoring affair in the American League. Texas is 32-18 OVER vs. an AL team with a team batting average of .265 or worse this season. Texas is 27-12 OVER vs. an AL team with an on base percentage .330 or worse this season. The White Sox don’t put a ton of base runners on, but when they do they knock them home via the long ball. The main trend that stands out here is that Texas is 19-4 OVER against AL Central opponents this season. Cash in with the OVER 10 runs tonight.
IndianCowboy
Seattle Mariners @ Kansas City Royals
3 units (Play of the Day) Under 8.5
I can give you a long winded write-up on this ballgame, but here is the gist of it. Washburn is on a massive under trend as he is playing extremely well of late and probably wants another team to take notice of him here so he can get the hell out of Seattle which is now going to rebuild with Sexson gone. Having said that, I think this team plays better without Sexson Washburn is 6-1 to the under of late and lost to Greinke earlier this year as Wash usually has a bounce-back after a 4+ ERA start and Greinke did win his last start on the road and has given up just 3 runs in about 20 innings at home of late, lean on the under here.So, in short, you have Washburn that has pitched 5 straight consecutive quality starts, Greinke is at home where he has been rock solid, both teams have not been knowin for their hitting prowess this year and this game is likely to dip under given these circumstances. The under is 7-0 in Wash's last 7 starts and 6-0 of late when he is an underdog.
RED DOG
5* AFL GOY Cleveland Over 117.5
DOC'S GOM
WHITE SOX
Matty O'Shea
CWS -1.5 (+135) vs TEX
Analysis: The White Sox are coming off a disappointing 7-2 loss at Texas in the series opener on Friday, but they have not lost consecutive games to American League opponents on the road since June 12th at Detroit. Chicago will send former Ranger John Danks to the mound, and he is an impressive 3-1 in eight road starts with a 1.48 ERA. I expect Danks to be very focused in this start, and Texas is hitting just .255 against lefties this season. Meanwhile, Kevin Millwood will toe the rubber for the Rangers, and he has not gone more than five innings in his last three starts. Millwood is 1-3 lifetime vs. Chicago, and he also has not pitched at home since June 5th. Look for the Sox bats to get to him early en route to an easy win and back them on the runline as my Double Dime AL TV Play O' The Week.
TOR / NYY Over 9
Analysis: Both of these teams should erupt in this matchup after being held in check for the most part on Friday night. New York's Darrell Rasner is 1-5 on the road with a 6.39 ERA while Toronto's Jesse Litsch is 1-2 lifetime against the Yankees with a 6.27 ERA. The OVER is 7-2 in the last nine games for the Blue Jays against AL East opponents, and I expect a high-scoring affair here. Bet the OVER as my Single Dime AL Total Play O' the Day.
WAS / HOU Over 8
Analysis: The Nationals have been hitting lefties pretty good in their last 10 games at .283 and face Houston's Wandy Rodriguez, who is 2-1 lifetime against them with a 5.34 ERA. Rodriguez has been known to struggle on the road, and the total has gone OVER in each of his last two starts. The OVER is also 2-0 in Washington starter Colin Balester's two starts this season, so look for the OVER to cash for the fifth time in six meetings as my Single Dime NL Total Play O' the Day
Joe Gaffney
San Francisco Giants vs. Chicago Cubs
Pick: Chicago Cubs 8 unit mlb play
VERNON CROY 20 Unit MLB NL Smash of the Month
Florida Marlins vs. Los Angeles Dodgers
Pick: Los Angeles Dodgers
20 Units, Take the L.A. Dodgers ML, This pick falls into one of my top MLB systems and Hiroki Kuroda (5-6, 3.39 ERA) has pitched solid for the Dodgers at home this season with an ERA of just 1.71 over 6 starts. Kuroda has allowed just 26 hits over 42 innings at home this season while lasting an average of 7 innings per start and he has allowed 0 earned runs over his last 2 outings. The Dodgers bullpen has pitched solid at home this season with an ERA of just 2.45 over 139.3 innings and the Dodgers opponents are hitting just .229 against them at home this season while averaging just 3.3 rpg. Florida's opponents are hitting .292 against them over their last 7 games while averaging a whopping 7.4 rpg and this is the Marlins 10th straight road game. Take the Dodgers as my MLB NL Smash of the Month.
Anthony Capone
5 Dimes Astros -125
5 Dimes Marlins +120
5 Dimes A'S /Angels Under 7.5
Winners Inc. Guaranteed Selections
5000* BASEBALL CRUSHER
Cleveland w/Ginter +125
Rocky Atkinson
NYM (-140) vs COL
NASCAR
#99 Carl Edwards vs #48 Jimmie Johnson
Play On: 3* #48 Jimmie Johnson +110
My 2nd favorite driver today would be Jimmie Johnson. Johnson has no wins, 4 Top 5 finishes and 5 Top 10 finishes in 6 starts here in Chicago. Johnson has an average finish of 9.2 here in Chicago which is 2nd best among all drivers. Past two seasons, Jimmie Johnson's average finish at track type - INTERMEDIATE SPEEDWAY is 13.1. In 7 races, he has 0 wins and 3 top 10 finishes. We'll play Jimmie Johnson to finish ahead of Carl Edwards for 3 units tonight! Thanks and good luck, Rocky
#20 Tony Stewart vs #11 Denny Hamlin
Play On: 3* #20 Tony Stewart -145
For starters, I think Tony Stewart has the best shot of winning this race. Stewart has 2 wins, 5 Top 5 finishes and 5 Top 10 finishes in his 7 starts here in Chicago. Stewart has an average finish of 11.0 here in Chicago. Stewart is the defending race champion from last season and I feel like he'll get er done again here this weekend. We'll play Tony Stewart to finish ahead of Denny Hamlin for 3 units tonight! Thanks and good luck, Rocky
#88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. vs #24 Jeff Gordon
Play On: 3* #24 Jeff Gordon +115
Looking at my pick for the 4th spot we turn to Jeff Gordon. Gordon has 1 win, 4 Top 5 finishes and 5 Top 10 finishes in his 7 starts in Chicago. Gordon has an average finish of 10.0 in Chicago. Past two seasons, Jeff Gordon's average finish at track type - INTERMEDIATE SPEEDWAY is 6.1. In 7 races, he has 1 win and 6 top 10 finishes. This is the best among all drivers. Jeff Gordon's average finish over the past 10 races is 11.6. In 10 races, he has 0 wins and 5 top 10 finishes. We'll play Jeff Gordon to finish ahead of Dale Earnhardt Jr. for 3 units tonight! Thanks and good luck, Rocky
#2 Kurt Busch vs #12 Ryan Newman
Play On: 3* #12 Ryan Newman +100
Rounding out my Top 5 and sitting in the 5th position is Ryan Newman. Newman has one win, two Top 5 finishes and three Top 10 finishes in his 6 starts in Chicago. Newman has an average finish of 18.8 in Chicago. We'll play Ryan Newman to finish ahead of Kurt Busch for 3 units tonight! Thanks and good luck, Rocky
TEDDY JUNE
5* MLB Game of the Day is the Minnesota Twins
Vegas Insider Capping
5* Tigers -110
3* Blue Jays +110
3* Arizona/Philly over 9.5 -110
3* Dodgers -125
3* CFL Sask/Ham Under 43 -110
Comp Play: White Sox -105
Brandon Lang
SATURDAY
20 Dime Cubs Run Line - How nice was it of Chicago to make Rich Harden feel at home. His Wrigley Field debut comes against a team he absolutely owns, as he has a 0.81 ERA against the Giants in four career games. That includes the six shutout innings he threw against them last month. Over 21-1/3 innings, a mere five hits have been hit against him. In June, while with Oakland, he struck out nine and surrendered just one hit. Now in some instances this might not be a good thing for Chicago, as the Giants just saw him and it could be argued they’re now familiar with him. But given the situation, given the whereabouts and given the Cubbies this season, I don’t think we’ll have a problem with the right-hander toeing the slab for us.
He’s been lights out all season for Oakland, producing a 5-1 mark in 12 starts on the year, to go along with a 2.34 ERA. True he’s coming off a loss on the South Side last Sunday, but he’s pitched well enough to win his last two times out, and could very easily still be undefeated. The Cubs will give him plenty of support in facing Kevin Correia, who is 0-3 with a 4.50 ERA on the highway, and who just faced the m on July 2. So much for the familiarity theory working against us, right? What’s good for the goose is good for the gander, and if there’s any team that is working the scouting report well right now, it’s the Cubbies, who have won four of five. Bank on them to steamroll the Giants, who have lost five straight.
5 Dime Reds - Edinson Volquez regained his form his last time out, and got back on the winning track by baffling the Nationals. I know there are some who believe he’s cooled off his last three starts, but hey, he was due for a bit of a letdown. He’s over it, and in comes an impressive 5-2 road mark with a 2.36 ERA. The Brewers have dropped three of five now, while the Reds coming in on a two-game spurt, and I don’t know if Seth McClung has enough to keep the likes of Adam Dunn at bay. It all comes together for the Reds tonight, from all angles – offense and defense – as they get the best of Milwaukee.
5 Dime Cardinals - Right-hander Todd Wellemeyer will bank on a return to his earlier form, while the Redbirds will undoubtedly feed off last night’s 6-0 victory over the Bucs. I know he hasn’t won since June 5, but he really hasn’t pitched all that bad. Not when you look at the big picture. And since he’s already made three starts against the Pirates this year, and is 2-0 with a 2.70 ERA against them, the confidence will be brewing when he steps on the hill. St. Louis is on a 6-0 run in its last six games as a road favorite, while it’s 7-3 in its last 10 against a right-handed starter. Not too shabby, right? Take the Redbirds here.
5 Dime Indians - We play the numbers in this one, as the demise of the Devil Rays continues. Tampa is now on skids of 0-5 overall, 1-4 in Matt Garza’s last five road starts and 0-6 the last six times he’s faced a team that is sporting a losing record. On the flipside, the Tribe comes in on a 21-7 run in its last 28 home games against winning teams, 5-2 in its last seven at home against righties and 7-3 as a home pup. But it’s not all about the stats and trends, as the fact remains the Yankees exposed the Devil Rays for the frauds they are, and the Indians are playing for pride by continuing to send Tampa in that downward spiral.
Winners Inc. Guaranteed Selections
5000* BASEBALL CRUSHER
Cleveland w/Ginter +125