David Malinsky
Royals (RL) @ Indians (RL)
PICK: Royals (RL) 4*
The marketplace is just getting silly with this one. With so many major favorites cashing tickets in recent days we now see the Indians reaching as high as -260, and that means a corresponding adjustment to the Run Line that now allows us to take Zach Greinke and the Royals at +1.5 and + vigorish. That is too good to pass up.
First, with a Total of 7.5 shaded to the Under, a +1.5 is worth a small fortune. When runs are going to be hard to come by, it is a natural logical progression And note just how good of a job Greinke has done of keeping the Royals in the hunt this season – they are 18-7 as +1.5 behind him. His last outing against the Yankees in the Bronx was one of his better efforts of the season (19 of 21 batters retired came either via a strikeout or a ground ball), which means plenty of confidence here against a mediocre Cleveland lineup. And after a rare bad outing by the better arms in the Kansas City bullpen last night, we do not mind putting them right back into play here.
Yes Cliff Lee is having a special season, and should be on his way to a Cy Young award. But the Indians are just 5-5 as -1.5 in his home starts, and they just do not bring enough to be in this line range.
Alex Smart
Marlins (RL) @ Giants (RL)
PICK: Marlins (RL)
The Marlins lost last night to the Giants, in disappointing fashion to fall high five games behind the division lead,. Now in desperation mode, the Marlins will very motivated and primed close a three-game series against the Giants at AT&T Park with a win.
Josh Johnson (3-0,3.38 ERA) the Marlins starting pitcher this afternoon against the San Francisco Giants, since returning from Tommy John surgery, has not allowed more than 3 runs in his 7 starts.. The 6 '7' inch hurler has looked powerful striking out 36 batters in 42 innings of stellar work. His team has only lost once during that 7 game stretch, and they even had a chance to take that tilt. Johnson has lost both of his career starts in his vs the Giants, but that is of little concern since he recorded a 1.93 ERA in those games. Meanwhile, his pitching opponent, 29 year old rookie Matt Palmer (0-1, 23.14 ERA) was crushed in his MLB debut, after a solid minor league career. He has said, he is going to come right at the Marlins , in his second career mlb start . However, with that said, going after a good fastball hitting team like Florida is never a good thing, and Im expecting he pays the piper again in this spot. . Play on Florida
LT Profits
New York Yankees @ Toronto Blue Jays Under 8.5
The New York Yankees and the Toronto Blues Jays easily went Under in the first two games of this series, and given this pitching matchup, expect more of the same today.
Simply put, Roy Halladay of Toronto has been the best pitcher in baseball this season. He actually deserves a much better fate than his 14-9 record, considering that his eight Complete Games are more than any other team in the majors, and that he has a fantastic 2.64 ERA and 1.04 WHIP in 191 innings.
Halladay has also always had success vs. the Bronx Bombers, going 12-5 with a 2.88 ERA in 25 career starts against them. He is a perfect three for three in Quality Starts vs. the Yankees this season, including a masterpiece the last time he faced them, a Complete Game two-hit shutout right here in this stadium last month.
The key to this Under however is Sidney Ponson of the Yankees. While you always know what you will get with Halladay, the same cannot always be said about Sir Sidney. However, Ponson is in nice form right now, as he has three Quality Starts in his last four starts and allowed just four runs in 7.2 innings in the other outing.
Ponson is facing a Toronto lineup that has struggled for most of the season, and has scored a total of three runs the first two games of this series. Look for his solid run to continue, thus ensuring a rather safe Under.
Pick: Yankees, Blue Jays Under 8.5
Matt Foust
Toronto Blue Jays -171
The Yankees and Blue Jays close out their three games set tonight at the Rogers Centre in Toronto. The two clubs split the first two games of the series and this evening’s rubber match will give the winner a possible leg up on a third place finish in the AL East. Granted, not the desired outcome, but it may the best either club can do with less than a month and a half left in the season.
We are going with the Blue Jays here tonight in spite of the juice. If it were not for the Yankee name the Blue Jays would probably be a -200 or more in this game. So, we’ll count it a value that they are at a -171.
Toronto sends Roy Halladay to the hill tonight and he is having a brilliant season. Of late he has been over-powering (allowed just seven earned runs in his last five starts), and he has always been a nemesis to the Yankees. Toronto is 5-0 versus New York in the last five games that Halladay has started against the Yankees in the Rogers Centre. Toronto is 4-1 in Halladay’s last five against New York at any location. Halladay has yielded just nine earned runs to the Yankee lineup in the last five in Toronto and he has worked 35 innings.
The Yankees will counter Halladay with right hander Sidney Ponson. Ponson is having a decent year and may have resurrected his career in the process, but he is still a back of the rotation innings eater. He has also faded some recently (19 earned runs allowed in his last five starts or 29 innings pitched).
New York will almost certainly get to the bullpen before the Blue Jays in this game and that has not been a good thing for the Yankees on the road. The New York bullpen is sporting a 4.25 ERA away from Yankee Stadium. Halladay, if he even turns it over to the pen (eight complete games this season), will hand things over to the best group of relievers in baseball (2.51 home ERA).
Finally, this season, Halladay is 5-0 as a home favorite versus New York when the Yankees send a right hander to the mound.
Take the Blue Jays -171
Tony Karpinski
Colorado Rockies vs. Los Angeles Dodgers
Play: Over
Colorado is playing better, winning 9 of their last 13 road games. And they’ve been doing it with offense, scoring 24 runs in a 3-game sweep at Washington, a tough hitter’s park. LA is 9-5 over the total the last 14 games, with a vastly improved offense with newcomers Casey Blake and Manny Ramirez. They will score in this afternoon's game. These teams are 6-3 over the total when they’ve met this season. Play the Rockies/Dodgers over the total on Thursday. Play on the OVER
Craig Trapp
Kansas City Royals vs. Cleveland Indians
Play: Cleveland Indians -1.5
Cliff Lee will look to win his seventh straight decision and continue his unexpectedly brilliant season when the Indians go for a three-game sweep of the visiting Kansas City Royals on Thursday afternoon. Lee (17-2, 2.43 ERA) has turned in a career year, claiming nearly 30 percent of Cleveland's 58 victories. He leads the AL in wins, winning percentage and ERA, and has allowed two or fewer runs in 18 of his 24 starts. Look for Lee to dominate again today and win easy. SCORE CLE 5 - KC 1
Tony Stevens
Washington Nationals vs. Philadelphia Phillies
Play: Philadelphia Phillies -1.5
KBhoops
5 units Kansas City +1.5 +115
5 units Kansas City +235
The Experts Guaranteed Selections
ULTIMATE EXPERTS BASEBALL DIAMOND CLUB TOTALS WINNER
Kansas City and Cleveland OVER 7.5
Rick George Guaranteed Selections
6* San Diego-Arizona UNDER 8
A freak outburst by the these 2 last night, looking for Webb who has a 1.57 ERA his last 23 innings to shut down the padres and keep this one under the total. Thank you and good luck tonight.
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Your Thursday Back to Back Winner!
D-BACKS ALL THE WAY TONIGHT!
This is a NO BRAINER! Brandon Webb is 18-4 with a 1.57ERA over his
last three starts, and he's notoriously DOMINATED the Padres. It's very
simple. I know what the moneyline is, and I know it doesn't pay out very
good... BUT, it's like I've told you before, WHO CARES what the moneyline
is... It only matters if you lose. There's nothing wrong with putting more money
on someone you know is going to win, rather than going for the team with
better odds just to justify spending your money. Bottom Line... D-Backs will
win tonight. **** Also, I won't be releasing any picks until Monday. I'm taking
a little VACATION! Good Luck, and see you Monday.
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Disclaimer: THE BOOKIE PAYS YOU has only averaged about an 80%
winning average over the last six weeks as of 8/21/08 and over the last
four months an approx. 71% winning average. SO ONLY BET MONEY
YOU CAN AFFORD TO LOSE. The handicapper above had a losing streak
of "morning delivered" bets of about three in a row during the last four
months and the longest they ever had was four in a row of losses.
So bettor beware !!! LOL !!! ;D
Erin Rynning
MLB Playmaker: Cubs/Reds over 9
MLB Atlanta Braves
MLB Colorado Rockies
ATS Lock Canadian
3 units Edminton -3
Pointwise NFLX Phones
4* New England (tomorrow)
3* Washington (Sat.)
3* Tennessee (tomorrow)
3* Green Bay (tomorrow)
2* NY Jets (Sat.)
Players of America
Colorado Rockies vs. Los Angeles Dodgers
The Play: Los Angeles Dodgers -105.0
Play Description: Run Line (-1.5)
Star Value: 1* (10 Units)
Our only release yesterday cashed as the Fish and the Giants covered the total and then some. Hopefully a nice way to ease back into things. Thursday there are a couple on the board we'll be looking at.
First we'll be taking the Dodgers as they host the Rockies at home for an afternoon game. The Rocks got the best of LA last night as they squeaked out a late win. LA comes in two games above the even mark at 64-62. Playoff implications are bursting inside that clubhouse right now and Torre and company need to keep a handle on things. This one is a little pricey so we'll lay 1.5 runs on the run line.
Right hander Derek Lowe will start for the Dodgers. Lowe hasn't gotten the respect he deserves, mostly because of his record. He comes in 9-10 overall with a WHIP of 1.23 and an ERA of 3.98 in over 160 total innings. He's 1-1 in his last three appearances and hasn't really been himself. Lowe will pitch well at home in today's day game, and rest assured that red hot bullpen of the Dodgers will take care of the rest. The pen for LA has an ERA of 1.66 in their last three games, top in the majors as of late. For the season the bullpen is still solid at 2.85. Both of these teams are 6-4 in their last 10 overall, but a little redemption has to be on the mind of Manny and the crew here this afternoon.
The Rockies are thinking about doing what they did last year.not happening. A fluke of all flukes took place last season when that team went to the WS and they aren't good enough to do it again this year. Jorge De La Rosa is the scheduled starter for Colorado. He comes in heaving just 87.2 innings. His ERA in those innings is a rocketing 6.26 with a WHIP of 1.61. His last three times out have been a complete disaster. He's 1-1 in 17 total innings with a WHIP of 1.77 and an ERA of 7.38. Look for the Dodgers to get after this guy EARLY.
A nice situational play here on LA this afternoon. There is no reason not to lay a run and a half to increase some odds. We'll be on the Dodgers for a 1* / 10 unit wager at 3:10PM EST.
TREND OF THE GAME:
-The Dodgers are 9-3 in their last 12 home games
Los Angeles 6, Colorado 3
Minnesota Twins vs. Los Angeles Angels
The Play: Los Angeles Angels -155.0
Star Value: 1* (10 Units)
Our second and final release will come from California too.this time from the AL. The Angels return home to host the Twinkies and we like the Halos. These guys have battled with rival TB as of late, and they've fought their hearts out every game with some unfortunate innings. It's is a blessing in disguise for this team to be back in front of a home crowd. Overall, Anaheim plays very well at home. Their 37-22 in LA this season.
LAA will give it to studded star John Lackey. Lackey is 10-2 overall this season with a very impressive WHIP of 1.12 and an ERA of 3.22. He is 1-0 in his last three starts too. The Twins will put a good pitcher themselves on the mound in Scott Baker. This will be a nice match up. Baker is 7-3 overall this season with a WHIP of 1.21 and an ERA of 3.91. This should be a nice defensive battle. It's sort of easy for Minnesota to "keep pace" in that weak AL Central when they've been playing home, but let's see how they do traveling across the country to face the best team in the league. No more stats, trends or reasoning.we're going to lay the chalk with Anaheim for a 1* / 10 unit wager tonight.
TRENDS OF THE GAME:
-The Angels are 21-8 in their last 29 games on grass
-The Angels are 15-6 in their last 21 games following a win
-The Angels are 12-5 in t heir last 17 Thursday games
-The Twins are 1-7 in their last 8 meetings with the Angels
Anaheim 3, Minnesota 1