Tony Karpinski
Minnesota Twins vs. Kansas City Royals
Play: Minnesota Twins
Break out the brooms today in KC, as Minnesota just owns this Kansas City club this year. With their win last night, Minnesota is 7-1 in games played at Kansas City, and 9-2 overall in the season series. You want more domination? The Twins are 18-9 at Kauffman Stadium since 2006, and 30-18 overall versus the Royals in that same span.
Baker will go against Meche, and while Baker has been hit hard of late, he has turned in some solid numbers against Kansas City, winning his last 4 starts against them, allowing just 7 runs in 30 innings of work. Gotta stick with the Minnesota momentum today.
Steven Budin
25 DIME PLAY
LOS ANGELES ANGELS
ANTHONY CAPONE
MINNESOTA TWINS vs KANSAS CITY ROYALS
Play: MINNESOTA TWINS -110
There is not much to be said about this play so I will keep it as simple as possible . As much respect as I have for the talented Gil Meche there are just some teams that can't beat other teams.This is the case in this series as the Twins own the Royals . Gil Meche has lost to the Twins 3 of the last 4 times he has faced them . The last 2 years the Twins have a (14-5) record vs KC , and have won 5 straight and 7 of the last 8 in this series .Scott Baker has pitched very well this season goung (7-3) with a 3.86 ERA .Meche has been lights out his last 3, but it's not going to do him much good here as he has lost to the twice this year already . Twins Win !
Larry Ness
NL Game of the week 15*
LA Dodgers
Las Vegas Insider
Chicago White Sox
Tom Freese
Los Angeles at San Francisco
Los Angeles is 5-0 their last 5 Sunday games and they are 4-0 their last 4 games when playing Game 3 of a series. The Dodgers are 7-2 in the last 9 starts made by Chad Billingsley as a favorite and they are 6-2 their last 8 games vs. losing teams. San Francisco is 12-26 their last 38 home games and they are 4-22 their last 26 games as home dogs. The Giants are 7-19 when starter Matt Cain faces a division rival and they are 10-27 with Cain if he is off a quality start. PLAY ON LOS ANGELES
Craig Trapp
Houston Astros vs. Cincinnati Reds
Play: Cincinnati Reds
Today take CIN over HOU. Pitching for CIN is Harang. He is coming off the DL to make his first start today. Look for him to give them a boost and win one here. Harang has won his last six decisions against the Astros, posting a 3.00 ERA in that seven-start stretch. He's 8-5 with a 3.99 ERA in 17 career starts against Houston. Score CIN 4 - HOU 2!
Brian Gabrielle
Take Tony Stewart (+450), 1/6th unit. This week, we hit the series' second and final road-course event, in Watkins Glen. Stewart has won three of the past four races at this track and has four victories here overall in his nine tries at the Glen. Now, you could make the argument that the No. 20 team isn't the same since Stewart announced he's leaving Joe Gibbs Racing at the end of the season, and many fans have reported hearing Tony the Tiger and his crew chief, Greg Zipadelli, cursing one another out during races on their radio channel. But last week at Pocono, Stewart finished a solid second and started to look like his old self again. If he's going to win a race this year, it might just have to be this Sunday's.
Take Robby Gordon (+1000), 1/6th unit. Gordon has finished in the top five at Watkins Glen in five of the past six seasons, including one win. There's no question he's pretty much a hanger-on at just about every other track style on the Sprint Cup circuit, but at road courses, he' has to be considered a favorite. Ride him this week.
Take Kyle Busch (+800), 1/6th unit. Normally, I wouldn't think of taking the Shrub at a road course, but considering the way he went through the field at Sonoma like crap through a goose, it's a wise bettor who respects the younger Busch at all track types this season. Yeah, he's coming off a crummy effort at Pocono, but that's just about the only track where he's struggled this year. Sonoma excellence doesn't always translate to greatness at Watkins Glen, but I'm willing to take that chance.
ROSS BENJAMIN
Boston @ White Sox
Play: White Sox -125 (15*)
The Boston starter Buchholz has gone 1-7 in his team starts on the road this season with a terrible 7.68 ERA. In spite of winning on Saturday the Red Sox are a suprisingly bad 17-37 in their last 54 on the road versus a team with a winning percentage of better than .500. The White Sox starter Floyd has been a terrific 10-2 with a 2.93 ERA in his 2008 home team starts. Floyd is 7-0 in his last 7 team starts when pitching on 4 days rest. Chicago has been a very profitable 37-15 in their last 52 games as a favorite. Play on the Chicago White Sox as my 15* AL Game of the Week.
BIG AL
MAJOR LEAGUE UNDERDOG OF THE YEAR!
At 2:10pm our selection is on the Kansas City Royals over the Minnesota Twins. 29-year-old righthander Gil Meche is finally putting up the kind of numbers that Kansas City hoped he would when it signed him as an expensive (for the Royals) free agent from the Mariners after the 2006 season. Meche has now won his last four starts and has a 1.71 ERA during that stretch, numbers that would match him up with just about any elite starter in the league. And Meche certainly also has the capability to blow batters away, occassionally putting up double-digit strikeouts. Meche is looking for some payback against the Twins as he had back-to-back starts against them in the beginning of April, and did not fare very well in either. But last season, Meche had a lot of success against the Twins, posting a 3.05 ERA in three starts against them. 26-year-old righthander Scott Baker will get the start for Minnesota and Baker really struggled in his last start against the Mariners, an outing that was perhaps his worst of the year when he gave up nine hits and six earned runs in slightly more than five innings. In 2008, Baker's road ERA is nearly two runs higher than his ERA in Minneapolis (4.68 vs. 2.83), and that won't help him any this afternoon at Kauffman Stadium. As of this writing (at midnight, Saturday night), the Twins are favored -120 at Olympic; -114 at CRIS; -115 at the Hilton; and -120 at the Mirage. From my perspective, the wrong team is favored in this one, and there's great value with Kansas City. Frankly, I wouldn't be surprised if others recognize the value here, and the line moves toward the Royals tomorrow. But regardless of whether KC is an underdog (as they are now) or even a slight favorite, it's a solid bet. MLB Underdog of the Year on the Royals.
Locksmith Sports
1 Unit on Cleveland Indians -135
Cleveland goes for the road sweep today behind the 15-2 Cliff Lee and I like them to get it. The Indians are a dominant 22-7 in the last 29 meetings in this series, 10-3 in Lee's last 13 road starts, 4-0 in Lee's last 4 starts with 5 days of rest, and 23-9 in Lee's last 32 starts after allowing 2 runs or less in their previous game. The Blue Jays won't be able to hold down the Tribe behind inexperienced starter Scott Richmond. Put your money on the best pitcher in baseball today.
PlusLineSports
Tampa Bay vs Seattle
Tampa Bay-1.5 +127
Ben Burns
Total of the month
NYY / LAA Under
Players of America
Cleveland Indians vs. Toronto Blue Jays
The Play: Toronto Blue Jays +135.0
Star Value: 1* (10 Units)
No excuses, period. We've been completely off our game these past two days and its now time to be a bit more discipline and ease our way back into things...the smart way. We haven't had many moments like this since our debut on the net, but they do come and go in this hobby and it all comes down to how you respond in the end...so stick with us. Time off is a good thing in any aspect of life, so step away from the table if need be, or keep on trucking. We're taking a look at three games, all for 1* wagers on Sunday afternoon...
Our first release comes to us from Canada where the Blue Jays are set to host the Cleveland Indians at 1:05PM EST. This price on the Jays seriously just looks to good to pass up. It is not often, actually practically never, that we would convince ourselves to bet against this guy on the mound for Cleveland today...but the situation and price is to good to pass up. With that being said, we've got a nice lean on Toronto and this is why.
The Blue Jays elect to put some fresh blood on the mound, right hander Scott Richmond. Scott has thrown only 11 innings for Toronto this season and in those 11 innings hasn't been spectacular. However, this Jays offense is not looking to get swept by a bottom-feeding AL Central team like Cleveland. Yes, Cleveland has taken the last two from the Jays in Toronto, but you have to pick your poison with that team. They truly are hit or miss. Cleveland's bats have been some of the worst all season long. They've got some power in Sizemore and a streaky hitter in Shoppach, but past that they struggle to score runs. As we mentioned, Cliff Lee will start for Cleveland. Cliff has been indescribable all season long. He's 15-2, great ERA, great WHIP and all of that good stuff. His numbers are terrific and he should be leading the pack for the CY Young award this season. However, the Indians seemingly forget how to hit when he pitches. He receives VERY LITTLE run support and takes on a ton of the work himself. In all honesty, this should be another one of those low scoring, 4-2, 3-1 type games like we've seen with this series so far. That's what Cleveland wants anyway.
We picked out an incredible price to hit Cliff Lee on this past week in Tampa Bay, now we've found a nice one to bet against him on. He is overvalued here and Toronto is capable of squeaking this one out or blowing them out...either way getting the win. We like the home team here for 10 units. Toronto at home is the play.
TREND OF THE GAME:
- The Indians are 3-12 in their last 15 Sunday games.
Toronto 5, Cleveland 2
Houston Astros vs. Cincinnati Reds
The Play: Cincinnati Reds -120.0
Star Value: 1* (10 Units)
Our next one will probably bring a lot of headshakes, but thats something we have to deal with...not you. The Reds host the Astros once again at Great American Ballpark and we're going to cash on these guys whether its today or the next time out with Volquez. Houston is a good team, but they are not world beaters like they've been portraying to the world be beating Cincinnati. Anyways, at 1:15PM, Dusty Baker will have his team set to play ball in downtown Cinci.
For the Reds, Harang will start the show. This guy's stats do not do justice. His record is 3-11 overall, but do not shy away from this. He gets hit, but as we've followed each loss of this team closely, he gets ZERO run support and a big time lack of defense...mostly out of coincidence. Aaron is a good pitcher...he proved that last year. He is worth some money to this organization and other prospective teams...and everyone knows that. It takes some guts or some glory to bet on a guy with a 3-11 record, an ERA of 4.76 and a WHIP of almost a buck and a half...but we're doing it. We lost a rather large play on this team a couple of days ago and in our opinion the time to rebound and find a great spot is one just like this.
Left hander Wandy Rodriquez will start for Houston. Wandy comes in 6-5 overall pitching just 96 innings. He has an ERA a point shy of 4.00 and a WHIP of 1.36. Wandy has some solid command, and is a hard working pitcher for Houston. A big hit in the line up for Houston comes with Carlos Lee being placed on the 15 day disabled list yesterday. Carlos left Saturday's game after getting hit by a pitch in the hand. He was diagnosed with a broken left pinkie finger and is expected to miss six to eight weeks. A big time hurt for Houston...and maybe enough to turn the tables on this joyride. These teams seem to have taken different turns in their last ten games. Houston has gone 7-3 and Cincinnati just 2-8. Again, it sets this up perfect. Teams come in and play great ball one night, and look like a minor league team the next in the MLB so you have to pick and choose your spots. We'll we're picking and choosing. Ride with us or against us on this one...that's your decision, but we'll be on the Reds again for 10 units at home.
Cincinnati 6, Houston 4
Texas Rangers vs. Baltimore Orioles
The Play: Texas Rangers +125.0
Star Value: 1* (10 Units)
Our last selection is one that we lost in a blow out last night, the Texas Rangers. Yep, we're going to ride this train again. Texas is a better team than that one that "played" in Baltimore last night. That was not Ranger baseball and that will not happen again tonight. The first pitch for this one is set to be thrown at 1:35PM EST from Camden Yards in Baltimore.
Texas will give the seams to left hander Matt Harrison. Matt comes in 3-2 overall, 2-1 in his last three outtings. He's thrown only 30 innings this year. When Matt's command is down, he is a difficult to pitcher to hit because his style seems to fool batters at the plate. Texas has something to prove after last night. This team does NOT get shut out often, especially to one they know their superior to. Truthfully, this Texas offense may explode today. There is no reason for the line to be this short, so we're exploiting it.
For Baltimore, the newbie Chris Waters will get the nod. Chris comes in pitching just 8 innings for Baltimore. He looked solid in those innings giving up no runs, but eight innings doesn't tell the story in this league. This O's bullpen is shaky, and very scary. They have an ERA of 6.37 in there the last three games, along with a WHIP of 1.80. Baltimore played something out of this world last night, because their offense isn't that good. They must have eaten their Wheaties, and maybe again today, but we're not going to fall for it...sorry.
Texas is the play for us here. There are a ton of eye opening statistics that can be collaborated here, but plain and simple we like the Rangers. A 10 unit wager is in store in Baltimore on Texas as they come in looking for some type of self respect after that shut out last night.
TREND OF THE GAME:
- The Orioles are 12-40 in their last 52 Sunday games.
Texas 8, Baltimore 2
Gamblers World Tip of the Day
Atlanta Braves vs. Arizona Diamondbacks
Prediction: Arizona Diamondbacks
JB's Computer Picks
Detroit Tigers -150
Milwaukee Brewers -180
Los Angeles Angels -135