Michael Cannon
NY Yankees at TAMPA BAY -140
Take the Rays for the home win over the Yankees this afternoon.
I know this is a pretty steep price, especially considering the opponent, but this pitching matchup warrants it.
Scott Kazmir will start for the Rays and the left-hander is without a doubt a top of the rotation pitcher. He's 1-1 in two starts this year, but he?s pitched very well against the Yankees in his career.
Kazmir is 2-3 with a spectacular 3.00 ERA in eight lifetime appearances against the Yankees. That ERA is all the more impressive when you consider the talent gap between these two teams over the years.
The Yankees will start Ian Kennedy, who has been nothing short of a disaster in the rotation.
The right-hander is 0-2 with an 8.37 ERA in six games this year and has walked more batters than he's struck out.
Take the Rays as they grab the home win behind their ace.
3* TAMPA BAY
PlusLineSports Daily Baseball Pick
San Diego Padres vs Chicago Cubs
Chicago Cubs -1.5
Alex Smart
Colorado Rockies @ Arizona Diamondbacks Under 8.0
The Colorado Rockies and the Arizona DBacks prepare to send two top notch hurlers to the hill to face each other , tonight in Chase Field. The Rockies thrower Aaron Cook, is on a six game winning streak, and has garnered a stingy 2.26 ERA on the season,looking very much like the most consistent contributor in his teams rotation at the moment. The DBacks will return fire, with the ace of their staff, Brandon Webb who has won all 8 of his starts this year, while recording a extremely viable 2.41 ERA. Considering the pitching matchup, a low scoring confrontation is on the agenda. Final notes & Key Trends: Under is 7-0 in Rockies last 7 road games vs. a right-handed starters like Webb. Play under Play under
David Malinsky 3*
Athletics (RL) @ Indians (RL)
PICK: Athletics (RL)
In a game in which runs are not going to be easy to come by, with another cool afternoon in Cleveland and the wind blowing in, we will buy in with Greg Smith and a rested Oakland bullpen to do no worse than “hang” in this one against a troubled Cleveland offense that will be without Victor Martinez.
Smith’s 2-2/3.00 base numbers do not fully show how effective he has been. He has more strikeouts (35) than hits allowed (33) over 45 innings, and since having some control problems in his debut it has been just 10 walks over 39 innings over his last six starts. And while he has not won since April 24th it is not a result of his own performances (only seven runs on 12 hits over 20 innings allowed in the last three starts), but rather the fact that the A’s were shut out in two of those three games behind him. That is part of what takes us in this direction, rather than calling for the outright win, as the Oakland offense may need a pass through the lineup before getting comfortable against Aaron Laffey. But with Smith on good form, and a solid bullpen having all key arms ready to go, we can cash this ticket by shutting down the Indians. That will not be difficult.
In half of the Cleveland games this season the offense has been held to three runs or less. With Martinez sidelined and Travis Hafner and Ryan Garko slumping there is little punch in the middle of the order, and the guys at the bottom of the lineup simply are not going to produce this season. In the first look against an emerging left-hander those struggles should continue, especially with Smith’s dominance of left-handed batters (.163, with no home runs in 43 at-bats) helping to keep Grady Sizemore in check at the top of the order, making it even more difficult for the Indians to put anything together.
Larry Ness
Chicago White Sox @ Los Angeles Angels
PICK: Los Angeles Angels
REASON FOR PICK: The Angels won the first two games of this four-game series with the White Sox but lost 6-1 last night, in John Lackey's 2008 debut. It sure wasn't Lackey's fault, as he pitched seven innings, allowing six hits and just one run. However, with the score tied at one-all in the eighth, reliever Scot Shields failed to retire a batter (three hits and one walk), as the White Sox came up with a four-run inning. Tonight's the final game, featuring a pitching matchup of Vazquez and Garland. Vazquez had a nice "bounce-back" year in '07 with Chicago, going 15-8 with a 3.74 ERA. He's done a nice job in '08 so far, opening 4-3 with a 3.63 ERA in eight starts. Of course Garland spent eight years with the White Sox (2000-07), winning 18 games in both the '05 (the team's World Series year) and '06 seasons. He was signed as a free agent by the Angels during the off-season and enters this game 4-3 with a 4.30 ERA in eight starts. He got 'rocked' at home vs Oakland on April 28 (6 IP / 10 hits / 7 ERs) but has since had two excellent starts. He's gone eight innings in each of his last two outings, allowing just seven hits and one ER in a 3-1 home win over Baltimore and a 2-0 loss at Tampa Bay (he left that game with it tied 0-0). The Angels won more home games (54) than any team last year and just 'killed' right-handed starters, going 75-47. That included a mark of 31-8 in night home games vs righties, in which LA averaged 6.7 RPG. While the Angels haven't approached those type of numbers in the early going of this year, I still respect this team at home, especially when facing a righty. As for the White Sox, they were a poor 34-47 on the road last year and are just 10-13 this year away from Chicago. That includes a 6-12 record vs right-handed starters on the road, with Chicago averaging only 3.7 RPG. I expect Garland to shut down his former teammates and for the Angel bats to get to Vazquez. Take the Angels.
Doc's Sports
New York Yankees vs. Tampa Bay Rays
Take Under 8½
It is getaway day, as the Yankees will complete this four games series @ Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, FL. The first two games of this series stay under and that is also how we expect this one to go. The Yankees have struggle to score runs and will be without A-Rod and Posada and have the Mets on deck. Ian Kennedy has struggled this season but his best performance of the year came in the Bay and expect him to repeat that performance on Thursday. We will not worry about who wins this game and just collect with the under. Don’t miss out on Doc’s Sports Interleague Game of the Year (6-unit pick). This game goes on Saturday and is a must have play for any big game hunter. We have already collected on our NL Game of the Year and this is the perfect compliment for this pick!
Wunderdog
Game: Pittsburgh at St. Louis
Pick: St. Louis -133
Joel Pineiro has apparently resurrected his career in St. Louis. He cam up with Seattle and dominated at the start, but then fizzled and was tossed around, but has found a home in St. Louis. Pineiro has really dominated this Pirate lineup as he is 3-0 with a 1.74 ERA against them. Pineiro had a shaky first outing in '08, but has pitched to a 2.73 ERA in his last five, and the Cards have won four straight with him on the hill. Ian Snell won 14 games in '06 and has regressed since then. The Pirates remain a liability to their backers on the road where they have cashed just 7 of 20, while the Cards have been impressive at home with a 15-8 mark. Lots of value on the Cards here and we will back them on their way to another home win.
Info Plays
3* on Reds/Marlins OVER 9.5
The OVER is 10-4 in the last 14 meetings between these teams. There is no doubt tonight’s game is going OVER the number with two of their worst starting pitchers on the mound. Play Over - Home teams where the total is 8.5 to 10 (CINCINNATI) - with a starting pitcher whose strikes out 3 or less batters per start, with a struggling bullpen whose ERA is over 6.00 the last 15 games. This is an 81-39 Totals System in favor of the OVER hitting 67.5% over the last 5 seasons. Matt Belisle is 12-1 OVER 12-1 OVER (+11.0 Units) vs. teams whose hitters strike out 7 or more times/game over the last 2 seasons. Cincinnati is 21-9 OVER (+11.7 Units) after a game where the bullpen was hit hard for 4 or more runs over the last 2 seasons. Bet the OVER 9.5 runs.
Priceless Picks
1 Unit on Rockies/D-backs UNDER 8
With two red hot aces going head to head, we'll make a play on the Under here. The Under is 7-0 in Rockies last 7 road games vs. a right-handed starter, 5-0 in Rockies last 5 during game 3 of a series, and 5-0 in Rockies last 5 road games with the total set at 7.0-8.5. The Under is also 5-0 in Cook's last 5 starts overall. The Under is 6-0-1 in Diamondbacks last 7 games following a win, 8-1 in Webb's last 9 starts during game 3 of a series, and 5-1 in Webb's last 6 starts with 6 days of rest. Neither team is going to get much of anything at the plate tonight so we'll take the UNDER.
Jeff Alexander Sports
1 Unit on Braves/Phillies UNDER 9
The Braves have had a terrible time scoring runs on the road and especially against lefties so they will do nothing to contribute to this thing going over tonight. The Under is 6-0 in Braves last 6 games vs. a left-handed starter, 5-0 in Braves last 5 games vs. a starter with a WHIP less than 1.15., 22-5-1 in Braves last 28 games following a win, 8-2 in James' last 10 starts as an underdog, and 11-4-1 in James' last 16 starts vs. a team with a winning record. The Under is 11-4 in Phillies last 15 games following a loss, 15-3 in Phillies last 18 when their opponent scores 5 runs or more in their previous game, and 7-1 in Hamels' last 8 home starts vs. a team with a winning record. We'll take the UNDER tonight.
Ben Burns
MLB Milwaukee Brewers -129 4 units
MLB San Francisco Giants -133 4 units
MLB Astros/Giants Under 8 4 units
MLB Tampa Bay Rays -143 4 units
Larry Ness' 15* Getaway Day Game of the Week
SF Giants
Erin Rynning
MLB Playmaker: Washington +160
Gavazzi Hoops + Baseball
4% Spurs under
MLB Pass
Cash & Profit Experts
MLB
Toronto/minnesota Over 8 -115 (pod)
St Lou. Cards -132 (comp)