Chris Jordan
Milwaukee at ATLANTA -120
I know Milwaukee startled the Braves last night, and I know Dave Bush carried a no-hitter in the eight inning in his last start, but the sun shines on a dog’s ass every once in awhile, right? Back to reality David, as the Braves are going to remind you of the 3-7 season you’re having, and the 5.26 ERA you’ve produced over 12 starts.
Milwaukee’s right-hander is 0-5 on the road this season, along with an 8.35 ERA, while the Brewers are a dismal 6-21 in his last 27 road starts. Lay the chalk in this one, as the Braves are a value in this contest.
3* BRAVES
Bobby Maxwell
Chicago White Sox +110 at L.A. DODGERS
Chicago is coming off that ugly three-game sweep at the hands of the Cubs over the weekend and now they hit the road against a Dodgers' team that has really struggled in interleague action. We're going to go with the White Sox in this one to add to the Dodgers' interleague woes.
The Dodgers are 14-37 in their last 51 interleague contests and they just lost two of three at home to the Indians.
The White Sox have beaten the Dodgers five straight times dating back to the 2003 season including taking two of three in Los Angeles in that 2003 season.
Mark Buehrle (4-6, 4.28 ERA) is on the mound for the White Sox and he's been red-hot the last three starts, going 2-0 with a 1.50 ERA. He's only given up four earned runs in his last 24 innings of work and last time out Chicago beat the Pirates 8-2 as he gave up two runs on four hits in eight innings. He's faced the Dodgers twice in his career and given up two runs on 12 hits in 15 innings of work.
Derek Lowe (5-6, 3.90) pitches for Los Angeles in this one, and he hasn't been so good against the White Sox. Last time he saw them he was a member of the Red Sox and gave up five runs on seven hits in 6.2 innings but the offense got Boston a 6-5 win.
Chicago is 7-2 in its last nine against N.L. teams with a losing record and 15-6 in its last 21 against any team under .500. The White Sox are also 4-1 in Buehrle's last five interleague starts.
We're going with the White Sox to get the best of the struggling Dodgers tonight. Play Chicago.
4* CHICAGO WHITE SOX
Info Plays
3* on Washington Nationals +136
It’s going to be tough for the Angels to get up emotionally for this series after sweeping the Phillies in their last series. It’s a great spot for the Nationals to steal one from the Angels tonight. Shawn Hill’s 2.31 ERA in 4 home starts this season is the stat we are in love with. Play On - Home teams (WASHINGTON) - with a starting pitcher whose gives up 7 or more hits/start, with a team batting average of .245 or worse on the season (NL). This is a 73-35 ML System hitting 67.6% since 1997. Hill’s home success will continue tonight as he shuts down this potent Angels’ batting order. Bet Washington at home.
Black Widow Sports
1* on Chicago White Sox +109
The Chicago White Sox will come into this series against the Dodgers with revenge on their minds. They got embarrassed by the Cubs after getting swept in their last series and Ace Mark Buehrle is just the guy that can get them off the hide. Buehrle owns a 1.20 career ERA against the Dodgers after pitching a complete game shutout in his last start against L.A. Buehrle is 2-0 with a miniscule 1.50 ERA over his last 3 starts. The Dodgers are 1-9 (-10.1 Units) against the money line vs teams who strand 6.9 or less runners on base per game this season. The Sox will have plenty of base runners against Derek Lowe tonight and their RBI guys will knock ‘em home as they have done so well all season. Take the White Sox on the Money Line.
Black Magic Sports
1 Unit on Atlanta Braves -122
Atlanta looks to bounce back at home tonight after getting beat 4-1 by the Brewers Monday. The Braves have been one of the best home teams in the league so this shouldn’t be a problem tonight. Atlanta’s Charlie Morton has yet to start a home game this season, but he has been solid on the road with a 1-0 record and a 4.91 ERA. Dave Bush has been absolutely putrid on the road for the Brew Crew. Bush is 0-5 with a monster 8.35 ERA through six road starts this season. The Braves own a 27-13 home record on the season so you can see why Atlanta is the play tonight. Cash in with the Braves as the favorite.
Scott Spreitzer's IL HAMMER GAME OF THE YEAR! (Won Line Error GOY)
My IL Hammer Game of the Year is a play on the Tigers on Tuesday night. Kenny Rogers is on a serious heater. Combined with Detroit's outstanding offensive numbers in tonight's situation, makes for a strong PLAY-ON spot. First of all, the Tiger bats are slamming righties at home this season, scoring an average of 6.9 runs per game in night outings. Put up a few runs in this one and Rogers should have little trouble making it stand. The veteran southpaw has allowed just four earned runs and 34 base runners in his last five starts, spanning 36 innings of action. That's a smoking hot, 1.00 ERA and 0.94 WHIP! The Tigers have won six straight games at Comerica and they're 12-3 in their last 15 games, overall. They're also on a strong 7-2 interleague run. Jim Leyland, a good friend of Tony LaRussa, has been anything but hospitable when the Cards have rolled into Motown. Detroit has swept each of their last two regular season home series with St. Louis, winning by an average score of 8.2 to 4.5! The Redbirds are just 3-9 overall, in regular season action against Detroit, and Braden Looper has experienced very little success. The Cardinal righty sports a hefty 7.45 ERA in seven career appearances against the Tigers. Detroit is making a heckuva run and I expect it to continue tonight. I'm laying the price with the Tigers, my Interleague Hammer Game of the Year.
PlusLineSports Daily Baseball Selection
LA Angels Runline -1.5
Jim Feist
MIL Brewers and ATL Braves
Take MIL Brewers
Milwaukee starter Dave Bush is off his best start of the season, taking a no-hit bid into the eighth inning before it was broken up by the Blue Jays. He has a 1.93 ERA against the Braves and faces an Atlanta team ravaged by injuries. They've tumbled to fourth place in the NL East. Starter Charlie Morton has a 4.91 ERA and is prone to walking batters. Milwaukee has won 8 of 11 games. Play the Brewers!
Dave Cokin
LA Angels and WAS Nationals
Take LA Angels
Eight straight free play winners for me. The Angels just keep on winning as well, while the Nationals just keep on losing. Tonight looks like more of the same. Jon Garland hasn't been especially outstanding for the Halos, but he's usually reliable enough to keep his team in the game. Washington's Shawn Hill has okay home numbers, but he's in brutal form right now. Hill's last two starts have seen him surrender an astonishing 22 hits in only 8.2 innings. Hill looks nothing like the pitcher we saw last year, and I wonder if there's still some lingering problem from his off-season surgery. In any case, the Angels are the only side I can play here.
DUNKEL
NY Yankees at Pittsburgh
The Pirates took two out of three from Toronto to start their current homestand and look to build on that against a Yankees team that is 3-5 as a road favorite between -125 and -150. Pittsburgh is the underdog pick (+135) according to Dunkel, which has the Pirates favored straight up by 1/2 a run. Dunkel Pick: Pittsburgh (+135). Here are all of today's games.
TUESDAY, JUNE 24
Game 951-952: Milwaukee at Atlanta
Dunkel Ratings: Milwaukee (Bush) 14.748; Atlanta (Morton) 15.781
Dunkel Line: Atlanta by 1; 10
Vegas Line: Atlanta (-120); 9 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Atlanta (-120); Over
Game 953-954: San Francisco at Cleveland
Dunkel Ratings: San Francisco (Sanchez) 14.002; Cleveland (Laffey) 15.975
Dunkel Line: Cleveland by 2; 10
Vegas Line: Cleveland (-165); 8 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Cleveland (-165); Over
Game 955-956: NY Yankees at Pittsburgh
Dunkel Ratings: NY Yankees (Rasner) 14.244; Pittsburgh (Gorzelanny) 14.566
Dunkel Line: Pittsburgh by 1/2; 8 1/2
Vegas Line: NY Yankees (-145); 9
Dunkel Pick: Pittsburgh (+135); Under
Game 957-958: Arizona at Boston
Dunkel Ratings: Arizona (Davis) 13.966; Boston (Masterson) 15.652
Dunkel Line: Boston by 1 1/2; 8 1/2
Vegas Line: Boston (-165); 9 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Boston (-165); Under
Game 959-960: St. Louis at Detroit
Dunkel Ratings: St. Louis (Looper) 15.261; Detroit (Rogers) 16.949
Dunkel Line: Detroit by 1 1/2; 9
Vegas Line: Detroit (-145); 9 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Detroit (-145); Under
Game 961-962: Cincinnati at Toronto
Dunkel Ratings: Cincinnati (Arroyo) 14.169; Toronto (Burnett) 15.138
Dunkel Line: Toronto by 1; 7 1/2
Vegas Line: Toronto (-140); 8 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Toronto (-140); Under
Game 963-964: Tampa Bay at Florida
Dunkel Ratings: Tampa Bay (Sonnanstine) 14.425; Florida (Olsen) 15.578
Dunkel Line: Florida by 1; 9 1/2
Vegas Line: Florida (-110); 9
Dunkel Pick: Florida (-110); Over
Game 965-966: LA Angels at Washington
Dunkel Ratings: LA Angels (Garland) 15.878; Washington (Hill) 13.721
Dunkel Line: LA Angels by 2; 7 1/2
Vegas Line: LA Angels (-140); 8 1/2
Dunkel Pick: LA Angels (-140); Under
Game 967-968: Seattle at NY Mets
Dunkel Ratings: Seattle (Batista) 13.703; NY Mets (Perez) 15.726
Dunkel Line: NY Mets by 2; 9
Vegas Line: NY Mets (-165); 9 1/2
Dunkel Pick: NY Mets (-165); Under
Game 969-970: Texas at Houston
Dunkel Ratings: Texas (Hurley) 14.148; Houston (Moehler) 15.503
Dunkel Line: Houston by 1 1/2; 9 1/2
Vegas Line: Houston (-120); 10
Dunkel Pick: Houston (-120); Under
Game 971-972: Baltimore at Chicago Cubs
Dunkel Ratings: Baltimore (Guthrie) 15.809; Cubs (Gallagher) 15.066
Dunkel Line: Baltimore by 1; 9 1/2
Vegas Line: Chicago Cubs (-125); No Run Line
Dunkel Pick: Baltimore (+115); N/A
Game 973-974: Colorado at Kansas City
Dunkel Ratings: Colorado (De La Rosa) 15.827; Kansas City (Greinke) 14.744
Dunkel Line: Colorado by 1; 9 1/2
Vegas Line: Kansas City (-155); 8 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Colorado (+145); Over
Game 975-976: Minnesota at San Diego
Dunkel Ratings: Minnesota (Slowey) 15.451; San Diego (Peavy) 16.051
Dunkel Line: San Diego by 1/2; 8
Vegas Line: San Diego (-155); 7
Dunkel Pick: San Diego (-155); Over
Game 977-978: Philadelphia at Oakland
Dunkel Ratings: Philadelphia (Moyer) 15.530; Oakland (Blanton) 14.951
Dunkel Line: Philadelphia by 1/2; 9 1/2
Vegas Line: Oakland (-120); 9
Dunkel Pick: Philadelphia (+110); Over
Game 979-980: Chicago White Sox at LA Dodgers
Dunkel Ratings: White Sox (Buehrle) 14.567; LA Dodgers (Lowe) 15.073
Dunkel Line: LA Dodgers by 1/2; 7 1/2
Vegas Line: LA Dodgers (-125); 8
Dunkel Pick: LA Dodgers (-125); Under
TONY MATHEWS
Philadelphia Phillies vs. Oakland Athletics
Selection: Philadelphia Phillies -105
Explanation: We will side with the Philadelphia Phillies as they face-off against the Oakland Athletics in Tuesday's MLB contest.
The Philadelphia Phillies will use starting pitcher Jamie Moyer. Jamie Moyer has been pitching very well as of late. In fact, Jamie Moyer has a 1.96 ERA in his last 3 starts. We see Jamie Moyer pitching another great game today.
The Oakland Athletics will use starting pitcher Joe Blanton. Joe Blanton has been having huge pitching problems as of late. In fact, Joe Blanton has a 7.56 ERA in his last 3 starts. We see Joe Blanton pitching another bad game today.
The Philadelphia Phillies should be able to beat the Oakland Athletics tonight!
Take the Philadelphia Phillies!
JOHN FINA
Selection: St. Louis/Detroit Under 9.5
Today we expect a low-scoring game as the St. Louis Cardinals do battle with the Detroit Tigers. One reason why we expect a low-scoring game is because both these teams will be sending to the mound solid starting pitchers. This says it all... The St. Louis Cardinals Starting Pitcher (Felix Hernandez) has a 1.23 ERA in his last 3 starts, while Detroit Tigers Starting Pitcher (Johan Santana) has a 1.23 ERA in his last 3 starts. As you can see, both these pitchers will most likely give up very few hits and runs today. The Under is 9-4-2 in the St. Louis Cardinals last 15 road games, while the Under is 9-2-2 in the Detroit Tigers last 13 games following a win. When all the facts are added up, this one points to a low-scoring game! Take the St. Louis Cardinals/Detroit Tigers Under 9.5!
TONY WESTON
We head down to Florida where the Marlins host their interstate rival Tampa Bay Rays.
This will be an entertaining game as the teams kickoff their second series in about two weeks. From June 13-15 the teams played down in Tampa where the Rays took that series 2-1.
In that series tonight's starting pitcher for the Rays, Andy Sonnastine pitched a fairly strong game as he allowed three earned runs in 5 1/3 innings of work as the Rays beat up the Marlins 7-3.
Including that game Sonnastine has been pretty strong on the road this season as he?s 4-1 in six road starts with a 4.38 ERA. For the season he's 8-3 with a 4.92 ERA. Over his last 10 starts the Rays are 8-2 and have won each of his last four starts.
Scott Olsen, the Marlins scheduled starter for tonight, is 3-3 at home this season and the Marlins are only 1-5 in his last six starts overall, including a 1-2 mark in his last three starts at home.
Olsen will get drilled and the Marlins will get chased at home.
Take Tampa on the road tonight.
3* RAYS
ARMVIN SPORTS
MINNESOTA TWINS +140
WHITE SOX/DODGERS Over 8
Matty O'Shea
BAL +115 vs CHC
We finally get to see Carlos Zambrano's replacement on Tuesday, and the fact of the matter is that Sean Marshall would not be in the majors if the Cubs ace wasn't on the DL right now. Marshall struggled earlier this season in relief, as Chicago lost six straight games in which he made an appearance. The Orioles are hitting .274 against lefties this year and will be making their first-ever appearance at Wrigley Field. I expect them to be highly motivated by this factor similar to the Reds playing at Yankee Stadium last weekend. The Cubs are also coming off a huge three-game sweep of their crosstown rivals over the weekend and will be due for a major letdown here. That's why I am betting Chicago's 14-game home winning streak will come to an end and will back Baltimore in this spot.