Bob Balfe
MLB Baseball
Phillies -145 over Rockies
Dunkel
Today's MLB Picks
Colorado at Philadelphia
The Rockies showed there was no hangover from their wild one-game playoff on Monday night as they rode a strong performance from Jeff Francis yesterday to a 4-2 win in the opener. While the Phillies led the league in runs scored (892) this season, they couldn't generate much offense with the heart of the order (Utley, Howard and Rollins) going a combined 0-for-11 with 8 Ks. It doesn't look to get much easier today for the Phils facing Colorado rookie Franklin Morales. Morales gave the Rockies a lift down the stretch as they went 6-2 in games he started, including 3-0 on the road. With the Rockies now having won 15 of their last 16, they look like a good underdog pick (+147) today according to Dunkel, which has Colorado favored by 1. Dunkel Pick: Colorado (+147). Here are all of today's games.
Gina's - free
Thursday, October 4th, 2007, 3:07 p.m. est.
Colorado Rockies at Philadelphia Phillies, 3:07 pm
(L) Franklin Morales (0-0) vs. (R) Kyle Kendrick (0-0)
Colorado sends rookie Franklin Morales to the hill. Morales has allowed just three runs in his last four starts and Colorado has won his last five starts, including 8-2 victory against the Phillies in Philadelphia. The Phillies counter with Kyle Kendrick. The right-hander has pitched great at home. Kendrick has won nine of his last 11 starts at Citizens Bank Park, but has never face the Rockies.
The hot Rockies have won 15 of their last 16 games, including five straight on the road. Go with the surging Colorado Rockies.
Colorado Rockies + 140
Mr. A's - free
Thursday, October 4th, 2007, 6:37 p.m. est.
New York Yankees (94-68) at Cleveland Indians (96-66)
(R) Chien-Ming Wang (0-0) vs. (L) CC Sabathia (0-0)
New York sends Chien-Ming Wang to thee hill. The right-hander is 6-1 with a 2.67 ERA in his last eight starts and is 2-1 with a 3.72 ERA. in three career starts.
Cleveland counters with CC Sabathia. The right-hander is 5-0 with a 2.45 ERA in his last six starts and is 11-4 with a 3.13 ERA in 19 starts at Jacobs Field. The southpaw is a horrible 1-7 with a 7.13 ERA versus the Yankees in eight career starts.
Cleveland has lost all six meetings versus New York this season and the last five meetings played at Jacobs Field.
Take the NY Yankees to win their sixth straight against the Indians. Cleveland has lost lefty CC Sabathia last 6 starts versus the Yankees.
Oddsmakers:
New York as a -120 home favorite with the total listed at 8½ 'over'.
New York Yankees
Vernon Croy
Colorado Rockies vs. Philadelphia Phillies (MLB) - Oct 4, 2007 3:05 PM EDT
Play: Money Line: 143 Colorado Rockies Pick Title: Vernon Croy's Thursday Afternoon NLDS Free Play
1 Unit, Take Colorado ML, We are getting great value here once again Thursday afternoon with the red hot Rockies who are swinging the bats very well at the right time of the year. Franklin Morales (3-2 ERA 3.43) has pitched solid on the road this season with an ERA of just 2.05 over 5 starts and he is 1-0 against the Phillies with an ERA of 0.00 over 5 innings this season while allowing just 3 hits. Morales opponents are hitting just .209 against him on the road this season and he has pitched very solid over his last 3 starts with an ERA of just 1.59 over 17 innings. Kyle Kendrick (10-4 ERA 3.87) gets the start for the Phillies and he has struggled against the Rockies this season with an ERA of 7.00 over 2 starts against them while lasting an average of just 4.5 innings per start. Kendrick's opponents are hitting .276 against him at home this season and you simply can't go against the Rockies today since there is great value here. Have a great Thursday, Vernon Croy
Ats Lock Club
4 units on the NY Yankees (-115) over the Cleveland Indians, 6:30
4 units on the Chicago Cubs (-125) over the Arizona D-Backs, 10:00