Chris Jordan
Chicago White Sox at TAMPA BAY -125
Unbelievable, as I find myself in un-chartered waters today – taking a team with Edwin Jackson on the hill, and listing him as well. But such is the case in this pitching rematch with John Danks, from April 20, when Chicago won 6-0 in Tampa. Revenge will be sweet for a Devil Rays team that has gone 24-10 since its series with the Sox last month, and that still holds a slim lead over the Red Sox.
Chicago is 5-12 in Danks’ last 17 starts, while it is 5-15 as a road pup in this price range, 0-4 in its last four against the A.L. East and 1-5 in Danks’ last six starts against the A.L. East. On the flipside, Tampa is 8-0 in its last eight at home against winning teams, 21-7 in its last 28 at home, 5-2 in Jackson’s last seven starts at home and 4-1 in its last five against a southpaw.
2* DEVIL RAYS
Jim Feist
SF Giants and ARI D'backs
Take Under
The struggles of San Francisco lefty Barry Zito have been well documented. He just turned 30 years old, and is he washed up? Likely not at that age, plus he has a 3.12 ERA his last 3 starts as he begins to turn things around. San Fran averages just 3.6 runs per game on the road and faces the Big Unit, who is 2-0 with a 2.50 ERA his last three starts. The D-backs are 7-4 under the total the last 11 games. Don't look for a lot of runs, play the Giants/Diamondbacks Under the total!
JEFFERSONSPORTS
MLB EARLY RELEASES FOR THURS
OAKLAND-120
OAKLAND UNDER 8
WASHINGTON+113
CUBS-144
Gator Report
MLB 70% Super Situations (MLB Record 15-9 +475 units)
MLB (15-9 +475) Thursday: Play Against MLB (NL) home teams with a money line of -100 to -150 with a team batting average <=.255 against a team with a bullpen ERA <=3.75, with a starting pitcher whose gives up 5.5 or less hits per start.40-17 the last 5 seasons (70.2%)
PLAY: *Los Angeles Dodgers -105
MLB Thursday: Play Against MLB (NL) road underdogs with a money line of +125 to +175 with a team batting average <=.255 against a team with a bullpen ERA <=3.75, with a starting pitcher whose ERA is 5.70 or worse on the season. 43-8 since 1997 (84.3%)
PLAY: ***Chicago Cubs -140
MLB Thursday: Play Under MLB home teams with a bullpen whose WHIP is 1.150 or better on the season, starting a pitcher who is working on 7 or more days rest.44-15 Under since 1997 (74.6%)
PLAY: **Toronto / Oakland UNDER 8 (-110)
Matt Fargo
Game: Minnesota Twins at Kansas City Royals
Prediction: Minnesota Twins
There is no reason to jump off Minnesota now. The Twins continue to hang around in the American League Central despite what was to be a rebuilding season. They are 27-25 and trail the White Sox by just two games in the division. Minnesota took two of three in Detroit in the first series of this roadtrip and it has won three straight after taking the first two games of this set. The Twins have been division killers, winning 12 of their last 15 within the Central and they have taken six of the first eight from Kansas City this year.
Kansas City is playing some of the worst baseball in the league as it has dropped 10 straight games which is the league?s longest active losing skid. The Royals were just a game under .500 but now they possess the 4th worst record in baseball. Hitting has been horrendous as they are batting just .232 over their last 10 games. Even worse has been the pitching as Kansas City has allowed six runs or more in nine of its last 13 games. Even though they are not huge chalk like the last two nights, it is still a ridiculous number.
The Twins send Kevin Slowey to the hill who is coming off his first win of the season. He allowed no runs on four hits in six innings against the Tigers. It was his 4th start since coming back from the disabled list and easily his best and his longest. He has an ERA of 4.21 which is average but more importantly here is the fact that he has a WHIP of 1.17 showing he does not allow baserunners. Giving up the long ball has been his problem with six allowed but the Royals are dead last in baseball with a mere 26 dingers.
It has been an up and down start for Luke Hochevar. He tossed three quality outings in a four-game span but his last two starts were not nearly as effective. He allowed four earned runs in six innings in both of his last two starts as the Royals were outscored 13-0 in those contests. He has now allowed four earned runs in three of his last four starts while posting a 1.40 WHIP. The Twins are hitting .287 against righties over their last 10 games and have won four straight against right-handed starters. Play Minnesota Twins 1.5 Units
Vegas Experts
Chicago White Sox at Tampa Bay Rays
Here's a game destined to go Under. Eight of the last ten series meetings here in Tampa have gone Under, including the last two where the loser was shut out each time. White Sox starter Danks is 8-1 Under this season when the total is 8.5 or higher while the Rays' Jackson is 12-2 Under in the same situation. Danks carries in a 1.76 road ERA and the Rays score just 3.6 runs per game vs. lefties. Tampa is 16-5 Under at home vs. the AL Central.
Play on: Under
Tony Karpinski
Chicago White Sox vs. Tampa Bay Rays
Play: Tampa Bay Rays
Chicago White Sox at TB (MLB Baseball Action) 7:10pm ET Neither the Chicago White Sox nor the Tampa Bay Rays were expected to be leading their respective divisions almost two months into the season. With those expectations exceeded, two of the AL's early surprises open a four-game series Thursday night in St. Petersburg. Tampa Bay's 21-9 home mark is second-best in the AL. Longoria is batting .389 (7-for-18) with two homers and eight RBIs in his last five games, while Iwamura went 6-for-13 in the Texas series. Upton, meanwhile, is 6-for-11 against Chicago pitching this season. I like Tampa's speed on the bases and playing at home, they are very tough. Play the TB RAYS
John Ryan
San Francisco Giants vs. Arizona D-Backs
Play: San Francisco Giants
Ai Simulator 3* graded play on San Francisco – Supporting this graded play is a system that has gone 55-52 and has made 48.2 units since 1997. Play on NL road dogs with a money line of +150 or more and with a starting pitcher whose ERA is 5.20 to 5.70 on the season and starting a well rested pitcher who is working on 5 or 6 days rest. These are the true money making systems that exploit false favorites. As I have mentioned on so many occasions, systems like this one are analogous to playing Black Jack and being paid +182.1 (the average play for this system) for every winning hand. Although Zito has lost his premier form of a few seasons ago, he is starting to show much better consistency. Over his last 3 starts he has a 3.12 ERA and has allowed just 1 HR in 17.3 IP. In his last start at Florida he limited a good hitting team to just 4 hits and 1 ER over 6.3 IP. Randy Johnson is pitching well, but he does have a losing career record against SF and has three straight no decisions. Further, Johnson is 32-29 (-37.4 Units) against the money line versus teams outscored by opposition by 1 or more runs/game on the season since 1997. Take SF.
Karl Garrett
Atlanta at MILWAUKEE
The G-Man gave you a winner last night on Milwaukee, as the Brewers held on for a 1-0 win. Today I like the Brew Crew to complete the sweep of the road-anemic Braves at Miller Park.
Atlanta's loss last night drops them to a woeful 6-18 on the road this season, and I don't see a win on the horizon today.
Milwaukee is starting to heat up, as the Brewers have now won their last 3, and 6 of their last 9 games, while compiling a 13-9 mark at home.
Jorge Campillo left his last start with a blister on his pitching hand, and I am not so sure he will be able to work deep into this game.
Seth McClung will counter for the Brewers, and his first start out of the bullpen was a success, as he picked up a solid 5 inning, 2 run win over Washington.
Milwaukee is 6-2 at home versus Atlanta the last 2-plus season's, and the G-Man likes them to break out the broom this afternoon on Getaway Day.
1* MILWAUKEE
Brandon Lang
15 Dime - Reds Run Line
5 Dime - Lakers
Ben Burns' Western Conf. Finals GAME OF THE YEAR!!
I'm laying the points with the LA LAKERS. I have a great deal of respect for the defending champions and they've been very good to me throughout these playoffs. That being said, I feel that their season will come to an end tonight. As you're probably aware and as I mentioned in my analysis of Tuesday's game, the Spurs are an older team which benefited from several extra days of rest throughout the first two rounds. They're not enjoying that luxury in this round though and the grind of playing every other night, combined with the fact that they had to go the full seven vs. the Hornets, appears to have caught up with them. Perhaps more important than the Spurs' physical fatigue is the emotional exhaustion that I expect them to be feeling after a grueling and emotionally draining Game 5 loss. For starters, the Spurs know that Tuesday's loss was a backbreaker. Despite never leading in their series vs. the Hornets (until they won it in Game 7) the Spurs never had to deal with losing at home. That's happened now though and they know that winning three straight against this very strong Lakers team, two of them at LA, is truly going to be a monumental task. A big part of the reason why I feel that the Spurs will have trouble 'bouncing back' on the road is the manner in which they lost Game 4. Trailing all night, several times they battled all the way back, only to have the Lakers pull away again. Then, to battle all the way back one last time, only to not get the foul call at the end of the game, that's a tough pill to swallow - even for a team with the poise and experience of the defending champs. Of course, winning at LA is no easy task, regardless of what the Spurs' mindset is. The Lakers have won 13 straight games here, including a 30 point (101-71) destruction of the Spurs here in Game 2 of this series. Some teams regularly experience a letdown when coming off an upset victory in their previous game. The Lakers aren't one of those teams. Indeed, they've gone 11-1 SU and 9-3 ATS the last dozen times that they were coming off a SU win as an underdog in their previous game. Phil Jackson will make sure that his team "smells the blood in the water" tonight and I look for a convincing double-digit victory to close out the series. *Western Conference Finals Game of the Year.
Templer's Sports Picks
Arizona
Rocco Spacamuro
100* Spurs +8
RedZone Sports
Spurs
Arthur Ralph
Minn Twins
Cappers Access
Lakers
Cubs
Joe Wiz
Astros
Royals
Totals4u
Chisox/TB Over
Glen Mcgrew
Reds
Global Sports Picks
ATLANTA BRAVES
Mike Wynn
NY Mets -110
Platnium Plays
Twins -105
The Vegas Steam Line
SAN FRANCISCO/ARIZONA UNDER
Huddle Up
Cubs Marquis -140
Nevada Sharp Shooter
BRAVES
Razor Sharp
TORONTO +115
#1 Sports
ST. LOUIS CARDINALS
Big Time
ASTROS /CARDINALS UNDER 8.5
The Scout
Milwaukee
The Super Scout
Nationals +113
HotLocksports
Atlanta Braves/Milwaukee Brewers Under 9.5
PlayByPlayInc.
SAN ANTONIO/LA LAKERS Over 193.5
Pups and Chalk
BRAVES -105
ARMVIN SPORTS
PADRES -121
Inside Sports Report
St. Louis -110
Dustin Hawkins
St Louis Cardinals -101
JEFF BENTON
TWINS
NICK JONES
Lakers vs Spurs UNDER 193.5
GUARANTEED LOCKS
LAKERS
Paul Leiner
10* Braves -110
Sean Higgs
Los Angeles Dodgers vs. New York Mets
Play: New York Mets
That's why the call me MONEY people. Easily cashin our NL East Total of the Week on the Mets Over. Today will go right back to Shea and take the Mets here. Penny is just 5-12 with a 6.21 era lifetime vs the Mets. Mets are 4-1 the last 5 in NY. Dodgers are 1-4 in Pennys last 5 starts as an underdog. Penny is 0-3 with a 9.13 era his last 4 starts.
Rocketman
San Francisco Giants vs. Arizona D-Backs
Play: Arizona D-Backs
San Francisco is 1-6 this year when playing with a day off. Arizona is 20-5 this year against division opponents. Arizona is 20-7 this year when playing against a team with a losing record. San Francisco is scoring only 3.7 runs per game overall this year, 3.5 runs per game on the road and 3.3 runs per game against right handed starters this season. Arizona is scoring a whopping 6 runs per game at home this year. Arizona bullpen has a 3.26 ERA overall this year and a 3.46 ERA at home this season. Haren is 5-0 with a 2.27 ERA at home this year. Arizona has won 4 of 5 against San Francisco this year. We'll recommend a small play on Arizona tonight!
John Fina
Selection: St. Louis Cardinals -110
Today the Houston Astros will be on the road as they take on the St. Louis Cardinals. We will side with the St. Louis Cardinals! One reason why we will side with the St. Louis Cardinals is because they will be sending to the mound the starting pitcher who has been pitching a lot better as of late. This says it all... The Houston Astros Starting Pitcher (Roy Oswalt) has a poor 6.30 ERA in his last 3 starts, while St. Louis Cardinals Starting Pitcher (Kyle Lohse) has a solid 2.84 ERA in his last 3 starts. In addition, the St. Louis Cardinals have proven they can beat the Houston Astros. In fact, the St. Louis Cardinals are 7-3 in their last 10 meetings against the Houston Astros. Take the St. Louis Cardinals!