Karl Garrett
Don't expect the brooms to come out today, as Cliff Lee won't need any bullpen support today.
Lee is a perfect 6-0 for the season, and is coming off a complete game shutout of the Toronto Blue Jays.
Edinson Volquez has been the "ace" of the Cincy staff at 6-1, but he has benefitted from being an "unknown" to the senior circut. Volquez is a known commodity to the Indians from his days with the Texas Rangers, and chances are the snake-bit Tribe are going to have a breakout game against him today.
At least that is what the G-Man thinks!
Take the Indians to avoid the 3-game sweep.
2* CLEVELAND
Chris Jordan
Play the Blue Jays over the Phils in Interleague play early today, as Toronto's Shaun Marcum will rely on the location of his pitches for success in this one, just as he has all season en route to a 4-2 mark on the year and a 2.22 ERA.
Marcum has been near-brilliant in his last three starts, giving up just two earned runs over 24 innings of work - and that includes a complete-game win over red-hot Tampa Bay, and two scoreless outings against always-tough lineups in Cleveland and Chicago.
The Jays have won five of six on the diamond after yesterday's 6-3 win in Philly, look for the winning to continue today.
3* Blue Jays
Drew Gordon
Looking for the Royals to get back on track behind one of their best in Zach Greinke this afternoon. Royals and Fish have split the series thus far, with Florida Olsen throughly outpitching Bannister yesterday, but things will be a lot different this afternoon, as rookie Burke Badenhop gets the start for Florida.
Badenhop was solid through the month of May, going 1-0 with a 4.08 ERA, but like most rookies, he's shown plenty of inconsistency this season, allowing 13 runs in 13 innings as a starter in April. He's had some issues getting deeper into games, and will have ZERO room for error against the Royals Greinke, who's also young, but far more polished than Badenhop.
Speaking of Greinke, he's 4-1 with a lockdown 1.93 ERA on the season, allowing 3 runs or fewer in ALL 8 of his starts! He pitched well enough to win in his last one, allowing 2 runs on 9 hits over 6 innings against the Tigers, but he received no decision after exiting with the game tied 2-2 in the 6th. If anything that'll serve to motivate the young ace, who's locked down some of the better batting orders in the AL this season, and he'll do it again in Interleague play this afternoon.
Bottom line, Royals get right back to their winning ways behind Greinke this afternoon. Badenhop has been good, but there's no question Greinke will outpitch the rookie in this one. Neither offense has been great, but in winning 5 of their last 6, Kansas City has shown some pop at the plate, and I expect that to continue this afternoon! Royals roll!
Take Kansas City behind Greinke over Florida and Badenhop in afternoon Interleague action.
3* KANSAS CITY
VEGAS EXPERTS
NY Mets at NY Yankees
Granted, their hitting has been non-existent, but entering today's play, the New York Yankees are 21-5 Under if favored this season. They have their ace on the hill, Chien-Ming Wang, who himself is 31-14 Under in his career if priced between -125 and -175. The Bombers are averaging just a hair over three runs per game vs. southpaws this season and must face Oliver Perez, who handled them twice last season.
Play on: Under
John Ryan
Cleveland Indians at Cincinnati Reds
Ai Simulator 3* graded play on the Reds. Supporting this graded play is a system that has produced a record of 35-5 for 88% and has made 29 units since 1997. Play against any team that is a bad AL offensive team scoring <=4.5 runs/game and is now facing a good NL starting pitcher sporting an ERA<=3.70 and is a cold hitting team batting .240 or worse over their last 15 games. Simple, brief and quite strong.
Play on: Cincinnati Reds
EZWINNERS
MLB
5 STAR: (906) CINCINNATI (+$107) over Cleveland
(Listing Volquez only)
(Risking $500 to win $535)
3 STAR: (904) FLORIDA (+$105) over Kansas City
(Listing Badenhop only)
(Risking $300 to win $315)
2 STAR: (909) WASHINGTON (+$128) over Baltimore
(Listing Lannan only)
(Risking $200 to win $256)
1 STAR: (901) PITTSBURGH (+$153) over Chicago
(Action)
(Risking $100 to win $153)
1 STAR: (917) HOUSTON (+$122) over Texas
(Action)
(Risking $100 to win $122)
NBA
1 STAR: (533) CLEVELAND (+8) over Boston
(Risking $110 to win $100)
DUNKEL
MLB
The Rangers go for the sweep behind starter Kason Gabbard, who is 6-0 with a 2.70 ERA in home games. The Astros will have to rely on Brandon Backe, who is 0-4 with a 9.13 ERA in his four interleague starts. The Rangers are the pick (-135) according to Dunkel, which has Texas favored by 2. Dunkel Pick: Texas (-135). Here are all of today's games.
SUNDAY, MAY 18
Game 901-902: Pittsburgh at Chicago Cubs
Dunkel Ratings: Pittsburgh (Dumatrait) 16.099; Cubs (Marquis) 15.849
Dunkel Line: Pittsburgh by 1/2; 11
Vegas Line: Chicago Cubs (-160); No Run Line
Dunkel Pick: Pittsburgh (+150); N/A
Game 903-904: Kansas City at Florida
Dunkel Ratings: Kansas City (Greinke) 17.348; Florida 16.611
Dunkel Line: Kansas City by 1; 9
Vegas Line: Kansas City (-125); 8 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Kansas City (-125); Over
Game 905-906: Cleveland at Cincinnati
Dunkel Ratings: Cleveland (Lee) 17.024; Cincinnati (Volquez) 16.746
Dunkel Line: Cleveland by 1/2; 7
Vegas Line: Cleveland (-115); 7 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Cleveland (-115); Under
Game 907-908: Toronto at Philadelphia
Dunkel Ratings: Toronto (Marcum) 14.856; Philadelphia (Kendrick) 15.544
Dunkel Line: Philadelphia by 1; 10
Vegas Line: Philadelphia (-110); 9 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Philadelphia (-110); Over
Game 909-910: Washington at Baltimore
Dunkel Ratings: Washington (Lannan) 15.705; Baltimore (Guthrie) 15.465
Dunkel Line: Washington by 1/2; 8
Vegas Line: Baltimore (-135); 8 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Washington (+125); Under
Game 911-912: Oakland at Atlanta
Dunkel Ratings: Oakland (Duchscherer) 15.314; Atlanta (Reyes) 15.634
Dunkel Line: Atlanta by 1/2; 8
Vegas Line: Atlanta (-115); 9
Dunkel Pick: Atlanta (-115); Under
Game 913-914: Milwaukee at Boston
Dunkel Ratings: Milwaukee (Villanueva) 13.729; Boston (Beckett) 16.625
Dunkel Line: Boston by 3; 10
Vegas Line: Boston (-230); 9 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Boston (-230); Over
Game 915-916: Tampa Bay at St. Louis
Dunkel Ratings: Tampa Bay (Jackson) 15.364; St. Louis (Lohse) 14.256
Dunkel Line: Tampa Bay by 1; 9 1/2
Vegas Line: Tampa Bay (-105); 8 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Tampa Bay (-105); Over
Game 917-918: Houston at Texas
Dunkel Ratings: Houston (Backe) 14.838; Texas (Gabbard) 17.045
Dunkel Line: Texas by 2; 11 1/2
Vegas Line: Texas (-135); 11
Dunkel Pick: Texas (-135); Over
Game 919-920: Minnesota at Colorado
Dunkel Ratings: Minnesota (Slowey) 15.042; Colorado (Francis) 16.178
Dunkel Line: Colorado by 1; 8 1/2
Vegas Line: Colorado (-150); 10
Dunkel Pick: Colorado (-150); Under
Game 921-922: LA Dodgers at LA Angels
Dunkel Ratings: LA Dodgers (Lowe) 14.450; LA Angels 15.592
Dunkel Line: LA Angels by 1; 8
Vegas Line: LA Angels (-120); 8 1/2
Dunkel Pick: LA Angels (-120); Under
Game 923-924: Chicago White Sox at San Francisco
Dunkel Ratings: White Sox (Danks) 15.441; San Francisco (Cain) 14.838
Dunkel Line: Chicago White Sox by 1/2; 7
Vegas Line: Chicago White Sox (-110); 8
Dunkel Pick: Chicago White Sox (-110); Under
Game 925-926: San Diego at Seattle
Dunkel Ratings: San Diego (Estes) 14.379; Seattle (Hernandez) 15.309
Dunkel Line: Seattle by 1; 9
Vegas Line: Seattle (-165); 8 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Seattle (-165); Over
Game 927-928: Detroit at Arizona
Dunkel Ratings: Detroit (Robertson) 14.782; Arizona (Johnson) 14.664
Dunkel Line: Detroit by 1/2; 8 1/2
Vegas Line: Arizona (-140); 10
Dunkel Pick: Detroit (+130); Under
Game 929-930: NY Mets at NY Yankees
Dunkel Ratings: NY Mets (Perez) 14.723; NY Yankees (Wang) 16.534
Dunkel Line: NY Yankees by 2; 9
Vegas Line: NY Yankees (-155); 8 1/2
Dunkel Pick: NY Yankees (-155); Over
NBA
Cleveland at Boston
The Celtics look for another Game Seven win at home, but are only 1-5 ATS in this series. The Cavaliers are the pick (+8) according to Dunkel, which has Boston favored by just 7. Dunkel Pick: Cleveland (+8). Here are all of today's games.
SUNDAY, MAY 18
Game 533-534: Cleveland at Boston
Dunkel Ratings: Cleveland 120.082; Boston 127.117
Dunkel Line & Total: Boston by 7; 170
Vegas Line & Total: Boston by 8; 174
Dunkel Pick: Cleveland (+8); Under
NHL
Philadelphia at Pittsburgh
The Flyers look to avoid elimination after a Game Four win (4-2) and come into the contest with a 19-11 mark after a victory by 2 or more goals. Philadelphia is the underdog pick (+220) according to Dunkel, which has the Flyers favored straight up by 1/2 a goal. Dunkel Pick: Philadelphia (+220). Here are all of today's games.
SUNDAY, MAY 18
Game 59-60: Philadelphia at Pittsburgh
Dunkel Ratings: Philadelphia 12.596; Pittsburgh 12.270
Dunkel Line & Total: Philadelphia by 1/2; 6
Vegas Line & Total: Pittsburgh (-260); 5 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Philadelphia (+220); Over
Mr. A's
Houston Astros (24-20) at Texas Rangers (22-22)
Houston's Brandon Backe (2-5, 4.62 ERA) has lost his last two starts and is 0-2 with a 9.00 ERA in five career starts against the Rangers. The Astros are 0-5 in Backes last 5 road starts.
Texas' Kason Gabbard (1-0, 2.12) will make his first start against the Astros. The southpaw is 0-0 with a 1.64 ERA in his last 3 starts. The Rangers are 5-0 in Gabbards last 5 home starts.
Right-hander Brandon Backe has struggle on the mound against the Rangers, while Texas' Gabbard has pitched exceptionally well at home. He has never lost a start at home in his career. Houston is 1-5 in their last 6 interleague games away from home.
The Texas Rangers have won nine of their last 11 games overall and five of the last six against Houston. Take the Rangers tonight at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington.
Texas Rangers - 140
NBA
Boston Celtics - 8
GINA
Los Angeles Dodgers (22-20) at Los Angeles Angels (25-20)
The Angels’ will send Jered Weaver to the mound. The right-hander is 2-0 with a 1.50 ERA in two career starts against the Dodgers. Weaver pitched sound in his last start, allowing just a single and two walks over seven innings, in a 2-0 win versus the White Sox on Tuesday. The Dodgers' will counter with Derek Lowe. The right-hander has struggle the last three times on the hill, 0-2 with an 8.27 ERA. Lowe is 6-5 with a 2.86 ERA in 27 career appearances, including 11 starts against the Angels. Go with the Angels. Even with Saturday's 6-3 lost, they have taken eight of the last 10 meetings against the Dodgers and six of the last seven at Angel Stadium.
Los Angeles Angels - 120
(4) Cleveland Cavaliers (52-42) at (1) Boston Celtics (73-22)
The Boston Celtics are back in Beantown. The home team in this series has won all six games. In fact, the Celtics have won all seven postseason home games, going 5-2 against the spread. Cleveland surprisingly went the seven in this battle, but LeBron James and his crew will be going on vacation following today’s key Game 7 fight at TD Banknorth Garden. However, the Celtics have covered just one of the last five games at home versus the Cavaliers. Look for LeBron to go down with pride and give Boston a hard fought fight. Take the points!
Cleveland Cavaliers +8
JeffMoney
Orioles -140 (pod)
Angels -125
Alex Smart
Texas Rangers -130
The Texas Rangers are playing some great ball at the moment winning 13 of their L/17 games and have an opportunity for their first sweep of the season, this Sunday as they face, Houston Astros hurler Brandon Backe . It must be noted that the Astros are 0-5 in Backes last 5 interleague starts and are 0-4 in his 5 away starts this season.The Rangers starting pitcher Kason Gabbard has seen his team win 9 straight home starts. With that said lets play on the red hot Rangers to bring home the dough! Play on the Rangers
LT Profits
Tampa Bay Rays -105
The Tampa Bay Rays and the St. Louis Cardinals have split the first two games of this series, but we look for the Rays to take this rubber match with the hot Edwin Jackson on the mound.
Tampa Bay has been criticized in recent years for continually pitching Jackson every five days and watching him get rocked, but to their credit, their patience with him is bearing fruit this season. Jackson may be just 2-3 personally, but he has a nice 3.47 ERA in 49.1 innings, and the Rays as a team are 5-3 in his starts. Most importantly, he has allowed one run or less in five of his starts, and he is working on an impressive streak of 15 consecutive scoreless innings over his last two outings, allowing just 11 hits in the process.
Also, this will be Jackson’s first career start vs. the Cardinals, so he should be doubly tough on a Cardinals lineup that has never faced him before. If he is in need of relief for whatever reason, he has the support of a Tampa Bay bullpen that ranks third in the American League with a 3.17 ERA, making the Rays one of our Bullpen System plays here. This system is now 39-37, +5.07 units so far this year after averaging +97 units the last three seasons.
The Cardinals are starting Kyle Lohse, who has regressed quickly after an abnormally great start to the season. Lohse allowed two runs or less in five of his first six starts, but he is now returning to his normal level with a bloated 10.06 ERA and 1.76 WHIP in his last three outings. Also, the St. Louis bullpen has been anything but reliable which it proved again yesterday. The Cardinals have a bullpen ERA of 4.33, ranking 24th in the league.
The Rays are still 8-2 in their last 10 games even with yesterday’s loss, and we look for them to get back on the winning track behind Jackson and the pen this afternoon.
Pick: Rays -105
Pittsburgh Pirates +150
The Pittsburgh Pirates have suddenly gone 9-3 in their last 12 games, and they get the call at this excellent price today vs. the shaky Jason Marquis and the Chicago Cubs.
Marquis is 1-3 with a poor 5.26 ERA and 1.73 WHIP for the season, and in a year where Chicago is nine games over .500 at 26-17, they are just 3-4 in the games that Marquis has started. As if that is not bad enough, has is not getting any better, instead posting an ugly 7.88 ERA and a hideous 2.06 WHIP while going 0-3 in his last three starts. He has also allowed 14 earned runs over 13.1 innings in his last three career starts vs. the normally light-hitting Pirates.
Pittsburgh is playing good ball, and today’s starter Phil Dumatrait has been serviceable in his three starts so far. The Bucs are 3-0 when he has taken the hill, and he is coming off of probably the best start of his brief career, as he allowed three runs on only four hits in six innings in an 8-4 win at St. Louis.
The Pirates must feel good about snapping a 10-game losing streak to the Cubs by beating Carlos Zambrano here yesterday, and we now look for them to make it two wins in a row, again at a big price.
Pick: Pirates +150
Tony Karpinski
Tampa Bay Rays vs. St Louis Cardinals
Play: Tampa Bay Rays
Tampa Bay Rays Edwin Jackson has been pitching well but hasn’t received a win in his last two starts. That despite allowing no runs in 15 innings of work in his most recent two outings. That changes this afternoon as Jackson will handcuff these inconsistent hitting Cardinals, losers of eight of their last 11 games, as the Rays take this rubber game at Busch. Too much speed on the bases and the Rays get the win.
Nelly
Cleveland (Lee) – over Cincinnati (Volquez)
Cliff Lee has been as dominant as a pitcher could possibly be through the first six weeks of the season. The run won’t last all season but given that he plays for a good team Lee should be backed until the trends reverse or the value disappears. In this match-up the Indians play as just slight favorites over a hot Reds team but the overall body of work strongly favors the Indians. Edinson Volquez has great numbers on the season which contributes to the low line today but he does walk a significant amount of hitters and the Tribe will have more familiarity with him than most NL teams have had as Volquez has pitched with Texas the last three years. Volquez has good stuff but his numbers are more likely to be a hot early fluke than Lee’s. Cincinnati has won five straight games but they have seen some good fortune and that success is not likely to continue.
Tom Freese
Detroit at Arizona
Arizona is 7-1 OVER off a loss and they are 14-3-2 OVER their last 19 Interleague home games vs. losing teams. The Diamondbacks are 4-0-1 OVER the last 5 home starts made by Randy Johnson. Detroit is 10-1 OVER vs. a team that 2 runs or less in their last game and they are 4-0 OVER in Game 3 of a series. The Tigers are 7-0 OVER with Nate Robertson vs. a team that scored 2 or less runs in their runs in their last game. PLAY ON 'OVER' Johnson vs. Robertson
Jorge Gonzalez
The Angels have owned the Dodgers in inter league play on their home field having won nine of their last 11 games. The Dodgers had to juggle their starting rotation to give Brad Penny a day because of stiffness in his arm. Derek Lowe will have to start on one day less rest. That will be good news for the Angels. Lowe has struggled lately with a record of 0-2 with a 7.59 ERA in four starts since beating Arizona on April 23. Pitchers Jered Weaver has fared well against the Dodgers with a record of 2-0 with an ERA of 1.50. Take the Angels to bounce back here with a win over the Dodgers.
Ben Burns
San Diego Padres at Seattle Mariners
Prediction: Seattle Mariners
The Mariners have been one of the few teams that have hurt me this season, providing me with more losing tickets than winning ones. Behind a big game from Bedard, they won for me yesterday though and I feel that they're ready to turn things around. The Mariners should certainly enjoy a significant advantage on the mound on what promises to be a beautiful afternoon in the Pacific Northwest. After yesterday's win, outfielder Raul Ibanez, who has an eight-game hitting streak, summarized the upbeat mood of the team by saying: "I think this team is ready to break out. I think this is the time. I've actually felt that way for a few games. I feel like it's right there." In addition to getting some key clutch hits yesterday, the Mariners continued to be encouraged by what they see from closer J.J Putz. Last season, Putz had a 1.88 ERA and 40 saves. He was shaky and/or hurt for most of the early part of this season though, contributing to Seattle's problems. However, he's now delivered five consecutive scoreless outings, giving the team the confidence that they can begin to rely on him again.
While it seems like he's been around for a long time, Felix Hernandez still only just turned 23 six weeks ago. Hernndez has a 3.37 ERA on the season and despite some recent struggles, he remains one of the bright young pitching stars of the American League.
Conversely, Shawn Estes is 35 and clearly on the downside of his career. Yes, he did win his last start. However, that was his first victory in years and a 1.501 WHIP with only two K's, shows he was mediocre, at best. Note that Estes has had to battle back from major elbow surgery and that he began this year in the minors. Additionally, note that he's 0-2 with a poor 5.28 ERA and a horrific 2.348 WHIP in three career starts vs. Seattle, most recently walking seven batters in six innings in a loss here in 2001. Estes is supported by a San Diego bullpen which has struggled on the road (4.82 ERA and 1.594 WHIP heading into weekend) and by a lineup which has scored the fewest runs in the entire major leagues. With the Mariners now at 24-14 (+10.4) in Interleague play the past three seasons, let's "lay the wood."