PlusLineSports
Texas Rangers vs Boston Red Sox
Boston-1.5
ARMVIN SPORTS
BUFFALO +1.5
PHILADELPHIA -3
CAROLINA/PHILADELPHIA Over 35.5
SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS +147
Jim Feist
TEX Rangers and BOS Red Sox
Take Under
Everyone's fired up about the stunning 19-17 game on Tuesday to open this series, but there's a big difference with the pitcher's on the mound in this one. Texas righty Vicente Padilla has had a decent season at 12-6. The team is 2-1 under the total his last 3 starts. Boston righty Daisuke Matsuzaka is the ace of the team, at 13-2 with a 2.90 ERA. Boston is 5-1 under the total his last 6 starts. Oddsmakers have overvalued this total, play the Rangers/Red Sox under the total.
DUNKEL
Cincinnati at Pittsburgh
The Pirates look to make it two straight over the Reds and build on their 12-7 record as a home favorite between -100 and -125. Pittsburgh is the pick (-120) according to Dunkel, which has the Pirates favored by 1 1/2. Dunkel Pick: Pittsburgh (-120). Here are all of today's games.
THURSDAY, AUGUST 14
Game 951-952: San Francisco at Houston
Dunkel Ratings: San Francisco (Correia) 14.644; Houston (Moehler) 14.353
Dunkel Line: San Francisco by 1/2; 10
Vegas Line: Houston (-150); 9 1/2
Dunkel Pick: San Francisco (+140); Over
Game 963-954: Arizona at Colorado
Dunkel Ratings: Arizona (Haren) 13.531; Colorado (Rusch) 14.744
Dunkel Line: Colorado by 1; 9
Vegas Line: Arizona (-145); 10
Dunkel Pick: Colorado (+135); Under
Game 955-956: Milwaukee at San Diego
Dunkel Ratings: Milwaukee (Sheets) 16.687; San Diego (Peavy) 15.789
Dunkel Line: Milwaukee by 1; 5 1/2
Vegas Line: San Diego (-115); 6 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Milwaukee (+105); Under
Game 957-958: Cincinnati at Pittsburgh
Dunkel Ratings: Cincinnati (Cueto) 13.377; Pittsburgh (Snell) 14.978
Dunkel Line: Pittsburgh by 1 1/2; 10
Vegas Line: Pittsburgh (-120); 9
Dunkel Pick: Pittsburgh (-120); Over
Game 959-960: Chicago Cubs at Atlanta
Dunkel Ratings: Chicago Cubs (Lilly) 16.785; Atlanta (Glavine) 14.232
Dunkel Line: Chicago Cubs by 2 1/2; 10
Vegas Line: Chicago Cubs (-130); 9 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Chicago Cubs (-130); Over
Game 961-962: St. Louis at Florida
Dunkel Ratings: St. Louis (Wellemeyer) 15.059; Florida (Olsen) 16.476
Dunkel Line: Florida by 1 1/2; 9 1/2
Vegas Line: Florida (-110); 8 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Florida (-110); Over
Game 963-964: NY Mets at Washington
Dunkel Ratings: NY Mets (Perez) 13.740; Washington (Balester) 14.571
Dunkel Line: Washington by 1; 7 1/2
Vegas Line: NY Mets (-155); 8 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Washington (+145); Under
Game 965-966: Philadelphia at LA Dodgers
Dunkel Ratings: Philadelphia (Myers) 15.090; LA Dodgers (Kuroda) 15.786
Dunkel Line: LA Dodgers by 1; 9
Vegas Line: LA Dodgers (-125); 8
Dunkel Pick: LA Dodgers (-125); Over
Game 967-968: Toronto at Detroit
Dunkel Ratings: Toronto (Litsch) 15.261; Detroit (Galarraga) 14.091
Dunkel Line: Toronto by 1; 10
Vegas Line: Detroit (-170); 9 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Toronto (+160); Over
Game 969-970: Kansas City at Chicago White Sox
Dunkel Ratings: Kansas City (Davies) 13.805; White Sox (Broadway) 15.471
Dunkel Line: Chicago White Sox by 1 1/2; 7 1/2
Vegas Line: No Line
Dunkel Pick: N/A
Game 971-972: Tampa Bay at Oakland
Dunkel Ratings: Tampa Bay (Shields) 14.913; Oakland (Gallagher) 15.023
Dunkel Line: Oakland by 1/2; 8
Vegas Line: Tampa Bay (-150); 7 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Oakland (+140); Over
Game 973-974: Baltimore at Cleveland
Dunkel Ratings: Baltimore (Cabrera) 16.844; Cleveland (Jackson) 15.313
Dunkel Line: Baltimore by 1 1/2; 12
Vegas Line: Baltimore (-110); 10 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Baltimore (-110); Over
Game 975-976: Texas at Boston
Dunkel Ratings: Texas (Hunter) 15.187; Boston (Matsuzaka) 16.802
Dunkel Line: Boston by 2; 12
Vegas Line: Boston (-280); 10 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Boston (-280); Over
Vegas Experts
Chicago Cubs at Atlanta Braves
As mentioned at the outset, yesterday's twinbill was not pretty if you were a Braves fan as the team was outscored 18-2 in the two games. The Cubs are now a perfect 5 for 5 against Atlanta this year, including a win back on 6/10 with tonight's exact pitching matchup - Lilly vs. Glavine. Atlanta has now dropped 13 of 18 at home and are a not-so-good 16-22 vs. lefties this year. With the way the crowds were yesterday, this is almost a home series for the Cubs.
Play on: Chicago Cubs
Great Lakes Sports
New York Mets at Washington
Play on: New York Mets
The New York Mets are 17-5 vs the Washington Nationals the last three years, and are 26-17 when the total is between 8 to 8.5 runs this year. The New York Mets is also 33-22 when playing on Thursday's the last three years, and are a very solid 40-28 when playing in the month of August the last three years. We look for the New York Mets to roll over the Washington Nationals in this National League divisional showdown for the road win tonight.
Tom Stryker
MILWAUKEE with Sheets (-) over San Diego
If Milwaukee wants to give Chicago a run for its money, then the Brewers must pick up wins at this stage of the season against bottom feeders like San Diego. Granted, knocking off Padres ace Jake Peavy won't be easy. However, the Brew Crew have veteran Ben Sheets on the bump and he knows how to get the job done.
Except for a start on July 29th at home against Chicago where Ben got pounded for six earned runs and 11 hits in 5.1 innings of work, Sheets has been outstanding in his other six outings. In 38.2 innings of work, "Big Ben" has been touched for only 10 earned runs and 37 hits. That breaks down to a respectable 2.33 ERA. Foreign soil hasn't been an issue for Baton Rouge, Louisiana product either. As a guest, Sheets has tossed 92.1 frames and been nicked for only 29 earned runs and 81 hits. That equates to a solid 6-2 record and a stellar 2.83 ERA!
San Diego ace Jake Peavy has great numbers at home this season. With 69.0 innings completed, Peavy has been scratched for only 11 earned runs and 47 hits. That translates into a stellar 1.43 ERA but an average 4-4 overall record. The reason why Jake can't get any "W's" in the win column is he rarely gets any run support. Peavy has made 10 starts at home this season and the Padres have scored more than four runs only once! Overall, in their own backyard and with No. 44 on the hill, San Diego is averaging only 2.2 runs per game!
This is a sweet technical spot for Milwaukee too. The Brewers have nailed 36 of their last 52 as chalk and 29 of their last 42 with Big Ben on the mound. Meanwhile, the Padres have dropped 18 of their last 22 at home and six of their last eight with Peavy pitching in his own backyard. Take Milwaukee with listed pitcher Ben Sheets.
Matt Fargo
Tampa Bay Rays at Oakland Athletics
Prediction: Tampa Bay Rays
Tampa Bay continues its road trip following another solid win last night over Oakland. The Rays have won three of four and 11 of their last 14 games to remain three games in front of Boston in the American League East. The pitching has been outstanding as the Rays have allowed three runs or fewer in nine of those games and they have posted a 3.09 ERA over that span. The Rays are 19-7 in their last 26 games after allowing two runs or less in their previous game.
Oakland continues to struggle following a dismal roadtrip where is went just 1-9. Heading home is not necessarily a good thing as the A's have lost four of five and eight of their last 10 games. Going back even further, Oakland is 4-22 in its last 26 overall. The problem is the offense as it has mustered three runs or fewer in 21 of those games, averaging only 2.67 rpg over that stretch. The A's are 1-6 in their last seven home games against a team with a losing road record.
James Shields continues to move forward with his solid pitching as he is now 10-7 with a 3.65 ERA on the year. He has tossed nine quality outings over his last 10 starts including three of four on the road. He has not had great success overall on the road but it is made up by his success during the day as he is 4-1 with a 2.49 ERA in seven starts with Tampa Bay going 6-1 in those games. Sean Gallagher has now gone four straight starts without a quality performance and he has been bother by a balky right shoulder. Play Tampa Bay Rays 1.5 Units
Ross Benjamin
Minnesota @ Baltimore
Pick: Minnesota +3.0
Any NFL preseason home favorite that is off an away underdog SU win, and is playing an opponent off a home favorite SU loss is 7-20 ATS since 1980. Play on the Minnesota Vikings plus the points.
Sean Higgs
San Francisco Giants vs. Houston Astros
Play: Houston Astros
We will back the Astros here. Giants are just 1-7 in Correia's last 8 road starts and 3-12 his last 12 overall. Mohler is 5-1 his last 6 starts, 4-1 his last 5 at home, and 3-0 his last 3 with a 1.21 era. Giants are 0-5 in their last 5 with the Astros, and just 1-5 last 6 in Houston. FREE MONEY on the Astros today
Vegas Sports Experts
10* Take Carolina +3.5 over Philadelphia (NFL Power Play)
Carolina
• 12-3 ATS in pre-season vs. NFC Conference Opponents since 1993
• 8-3 ATS in pre-season vs. NFL East Division Opponents
• 443 yards on offense in their last pre-season game
Valley Sports
MLB
Milwaukee
NFL
Carolina/Philadelphia Over
Jeff Scott Sports
HOUSTON -145 over San Francisco
The Giants are 2-9 in Correias last 11 starts as an underdog and 2-10 in their last 12 vs. a team with a winning record, while the Astros are 12-1 in their last 13 games with the total set at 9.0-10.5 and 5-1 in Moehlers last 6 starts. The Astros are on fire right now as they come in having won 14 of their last 17 games overall and 7 of their last 8 at home. Briam Moehler gets the nod for them today and he has been super of late. Overall Brian is 8-4 with a 3.83 ERA, including a 4-2 mark with a 3.99 ERA at home, but in his last 3 starts he is 3-0 with a stellar 1.31 ERA. Brian will be facing a Giants squad that is having real problems scoring right now as they have scored just 2.8 rpg in their last 12 games and just 1.6 rpg in their last 8 road games. The Giants score just 3.9 rpg on the road overall and just 3.8 rpg vs righty starters. The Astros offense has been hot of late as they come in averaging 7.1 rpg in their last 9 games, including 7.6 rpg in their current 7 game win streak. Houston has outscored opponents by 4.6 rpg in the 7 game win streak. Kevin Correia has not had a great year as he is 2-6 with a 5.21 ERA overall, while the Giants have gone just 4-14 in his starts. Kevin is also 1-4 with a 5.82 ERA on the road and 0-4 with a 7.57 ERA in day games. The Giants are 1-6 in his road starts and 0-5 in his day starts. Houston is just too hot right now to think that the Giants will be able to steal one here.
SportsKingz
MILWAUKEE
Nostradamus
Tor/Det Under 9.5
Tampa Bay -135
Pittsburgh -125
Baltimore -115
St Louis +110