Sports Gambling Hotline
NY Yankees at TAMPA BAY
Tonight we like the UNDER in the Yankees-Rays contest.
Get a load of this; these teams have met 12 times this season, and 10 of the 12 have stayed UNDER the posted total!
It helps that you have two of the hotter pitchers in the league toeing the rubber, as Mike Mussina comes into this one with a 6-1 road mark, and a 3.34 road ERA. Mussina has also worked 12 innings against the Rays this year while allowing just 2 runs to score.
Matt Garza will oppose, and he is coming off 8 scoreless in a home win over Toronto, as Garza upped his Trop Field mark to a sparkling 7-2 with a scant 2.47 home ERA!
Garza has also thrown 7 scoreless at the Yanks in a win back on May 12th.
Both teams have been playing some OVERS of late, not tonight!
Play on the UNDER.
4♦ UNDER
Vegas Experts
Los Angeles Angels at Detroit Tigers
The Tigers are still a force against lefties, averaging 5.1 runs per game against them and here at home they are hitting .294 as a team and average 5.5 runs/contest. Lost in the Angels great season has been the recent poor pitching of Joe Saunders, who has been shelled for 12 runs and 17 hits over his last 7+ IP, a span that has seen him lose two starts. LA is 73-44 Over on the road when playing with a day off.
Play on: Over
JB's Computer Picks
Boston Red Sox -280 * * *
Toronto Blue Jays +100
Florida Marlins -155
Best Bet ***
Gina
Los Angeles Angels at Detroit Tigers
The Tigers have lost six of their last 8 games, six of its last eight at home and have dropped 17 of the last 25 meetings at Comerica Park. The Angels have won seven of the last 9 games versus Detroit.
Los Angeles' Joe Saunders is struggling. The southpaw hasn't won since July 30 and is 0-2 with a whopping 11.57 ERA in his last three starts. However, Detroit's right-hander Chris Lambert was horrible in his major league debut. Lambert allowed six runs and two homers in just 2 2/3 innings in a 10-4 defeat against Cleveland last Tuesday. Go with the Angels. The Tigers do have problems against left-handed starters, 0-5 in their last 5 games.
Los Angeles Angels -145
LT Profits
Toronto Blue Jays -105
We are actually quite high David Purcey of the Toronto Blue Jays despite his year-to-date numbers, and we feel this is a nice price at home vs. the Minnesota Twins.
Yes, Purcey is 2-5 with a 5.53 ERA, but he is just now starting to develop into the pitcher we expected him to be, with three Quality Starts in his last four outings. More importantly, has last start was his best one yet, as he tossed a Complete Game while allowing just five hits with 11 strikeouts vs. the Tampa Bay Rays. He should be tough on a Twins lineup that has never faced him before.
Minnesota is actually six games under .500 on the road at 31-37, and the performance of their starter Glenn Perkins mirrors that of the team. Perkins is a very deceptive 5-1 on the road, as truth be told, he has really not pitcher well away from home with a 4.03 ERA and a high 1.40 WHIP. He allowed four earned runs and eight hits vs. the last place Seattle Mariners in his last start, and if Purcey pitches as well as we expect, Perkins does not figure to get the same run support that he has been receiving.
Finally, do not forget that the Toronto bullpen has the lowest ERA in the major leagues at 2.88, making the Jays even more attractive at this cheap price at home.
Pick: Blue Jays -105
Chicago White Sox -115
The Chicago White Sox are still 9-2 in the last 11 head-to-head meetings with the Cleveland Indians despite losing here last night, but we look for the Sox to resume their winning ways here now that they are no longer facing Cy Young Award favorite Cliff Lee.
The Cleveland starter tonight, Fausto Carmona, garnered some Cy Young votes himself last year, but he has not nearly been as good this year following arm surgery. Carmona is 7-5 but with a high 4.50 ERA and 1.60 WHIP. Even worse, he has a 5.08 ERA here at home and has just two Quality Starts in his last five outings.
Meanwhile, John Danks is 10-7 with a nice 3.30 ERA for Chicago, and he has been even better on the road, where he is 6-2 with a scintillating 2.87 ERA in 13 road starts. Danks has allowed exactly one earned run in each of his two starts vs. Cleveland this year, allowing a total of two runs and only six hits in 14.2 innings!
Throw in a White Sox bullpen that has an ERA (3.76) nearly 1.50 runs lower than the Indians pen (5.15), and the pitching advantage becomes even greater for Chicago here.
Pick: White Sox -115
Tom Freese
Oakland at Kansas City
Kansas City is 11-5 their last 16 home games vs. lefty starters. The Royals are 5-1 with Zack Greinke in his last 6 starts vs. losing teams. Greinke has allowed 4 or less runs in 19 of his 27 starts this year. Oakland is 16-35 their last 51 games and they are 7-21 their last 28 road games. The A's are 6-24 their last 30 games vs. righty starters and they are 5-13 their last 18 games vs. AL Central teams.
PLAY ON KANSAS CITY
Frank Rosenthal
901 BRAVES+140 SB
905 PIRATES+140 SB
910 BREWERS-135 SB
914 DBACKS-115 SB
925 YANKS+110 SB
930 KC-140 SB
Dwayne Bryant
Atlanta Braves at Florida Marlins
Play: Florida Marlins -154
Atlanta has lost four in a row and 17 of its last 21 to fall 20 games under .500 for the first time since 1990. The Braves have also dropped five straight and 10 of their last 11 on the road. Atlanta's Charlie Morton gave up two runs and four hits in six innings in a 4-2 win on Thursday. Morton, a right-handed rookie, had posted a 10.24 ERA in losing his previous three starts.
Florida's Anibal Sanchez is 2-1 with a 3.00 ERA in his three home starts this season, and 10-2 with a 2.28 ERA in 13 career starts at Dolphin Stadium. He owns a 3.15 ERA in three career starts against the Braves, all in Atlanta.
Take Florida
Karl Garrett
LA Angels -130 at DETROIT
Tonight I am sticking in the Motor City, and going with the Angels over the Tigers.
Joe Saunders will try once again for his 15th win of the year, and after a pair of home starts that saw him get shelled for 12 runs in just 6 innings of work, I think he will be glad to be away from home where he does sport an 8-3 mark with a road ERA of 2.64.
Lambert will get his first start of the year for the Tigers, and the fact the Angels are 4-2 in the season series, coupled with Detroit's dismal 2-6 mark their last 8 games leads me to believe the Halos will spoil Mr. Lambert's plans at notching his first big league win this evening.
Gotta lay the lumber on the road tonight, as Saunders gets his 15th win!
3♦ LA ANGELS
Tony Stevens
BOSTON RED SOX -1½
Orioles are 1-5 in their last 6 when their opponent scores 5 runs or more in their previous game. Orioles are 2-12 in their last 14 vs. a team with a winning record. Orioles are 1-6 in their last 7 games on grass. Orioles are 1-7 in their last 8 after allowing 5 runs or more in their previous game. Orioles are 1-7 in their last 8 games following a loss. Orioles are 0-4 in their last 4 road games. Orioles are 0-6 in their last 6 during game 2 of a series. Orioles are 0-4 in their last 4 overall. Orioles are 1-4 in Lizs last 5 starts vs. a team with a winning record. Orioles are 1-4 in Lizs last 5 starts vs. American League East. Red Sox are 6-1 in Lesters last 7 starts vs. Orioles. Red Sox are 4-1 in their last 5 vs. American League East. Red Sox are 6-0 in Lesters last 6 starts following a team loss in their previous game. Red Sox are 12-1 in Lesters last 13 home starts vs. a team with a losing record. Red Sox are 5-1 in Lesters last 6 Tuesday starts. Red Sox are 21-5 in Lesters last 26 starts vs. a team with a losing record.
Dave Malinsky
3* HOUSTON ASTROS +180
On Sunday we were all set to play a 6* Over ticket in the scheduled Carlos Zambrano start against the Phillies, and the best place to start here is in how we were setting that one up – “The markets love Carlos Zambrano, and they should, when a pitcher works as well as he has for so many seasons. But the Zambrano being priced in this game is not the one that will actually take the mound. He has worked to an awful 8.34 over his last four starts, with 28 hits, including six home runs, and 14 walks, allowed in just 22.1 innings. And it is not as though it has been tough competition getting to him, with the last two against the Pirates and Reds, two of the weakest lineups in the N.L. these days. The issue is simple – the radar guns do not lie as his fastballs lack zip. First, from Zambranbo himself - "I'm trying to throw as hard as I can, and you see the gun ... Everybody goes through these, and I just have to wait for my arm strength and my arm power to come back, so I can do a good job for my team …I don't feel any pain in my arm at all. If I felt pain, I'd tell them. I don't want to pitch through pain, like I did in Tampa Bay [on June 16]. They knew it, I knew it. I said [at that time] I can't throw like this and I needed a little rest, and everything worked better. It's just a dead arm now." And from pitching coach Larry Rothschild - "He's pitched a lot of innings in the last six, seven years. You can compare him with a lot of people, but I don't know anyone who has logged the pitches and innings that he has. Hopefully, it's just something he's going through and he rebounds and it becomes a dead issue.” So does a 48-hour rest mean a change in form? We will have to see before we believe, and that means outstanding value to take a hot Houston team plus the exorbitant price being offered in this one. The Astros are on a 6-0 run right now, and have more than held their own against the top of the division since the All Star break, going 8-4 against these Cubs, the Brewers and the Cardinals. And note that even before those August doldrums set in the Astros got excellent reads of Zambrano in a July 19th win at home, forcing him into a season high of six walks. They are a loose and confident bunch right now, and with Roy Oswalt’s solid Monday outing giving the bullpen a breather, there are plenty of fresh arms to put in play behind Brandon Backe in this one. Backe will bring a chip on his shoulder after having his worst outing of the season, and one of the worst of his career, from this mound a month ago, but he worked into the seventh in beating the Reds and Mets in his last two starts, which has his confidence back where it needs to be.
Matt Rivers
TORONTO BLUE JAYS
Minnesota is obviously the team that needs this game more as they are right there in the playoff picture but at home I will still gladly back Toronto here up North. Glen Perkins has better numbers than Dave Purcey as the young Toronto Southpaw has been inconsistent in these first few starts but the kid has a ton of potential and has shown that a few times recently. I am calling this pitching matchup a wash and to have a lefty on the bump against Minnesota's studs in Mauer and Morneau who are lefty bats certainly does not hurt at all. Ron Gardenhire has done another amazing job with a very mediocre overall squad when it comes to talent but his team has been struggling a bit of late as they have been on the road a ton and losing games in Seattle and Oakland that they should have won. Now traveling all the way back across the country and going up to Canada will not be an easy task and especially not against a Toronto team which has been playing some good ball of late with Wells and Rios finally doing something unlike earlier in the season. These guys just took two of three at Yankee Stadium and seem to be playing fairly strong down the stretch. Throw out the starters as they are pretty much equal and throw out the closers as both BJ Ryan and Joe Nathan are great. In the end to not lay money at home with the Jays is a decent enough play here and one that I will make in a small manner.
Alex Smart
Chicago White Sox -110
The Chicago White Sox lost the opening game of their current three game series with the Cleveland Indians 5-0 yesterday , as Cy Young award candidate Cliff Lee (20-2) shut them down. The Pale Hose will now be primed and very motivated for a bounce back, effort, as they send a reliable thrower, John Danks (10-7, 3.30 ERA) out to the hill . The White Sox lefty has no record in two starts against the Indians this season ,however, he has allowed only two runs in 14 2/3 innings of work in those tilts. The graduate of Round Rock High School and former Gatorade Texas High School player of the year, despite of losing his last two starts, almost always gives his team at a chance at victory and I'm betting nothing will change this Tuesday. It must be also noted that Danks has pitched his best on the road this season, recording a 6-2 record along with a 2.87 ERA in 13 away starts .
Meanwhile, his pitching opponent from the Tribe Fausto Carmona ( 7-5 4.50 ERA) despite of a current 2 game win streak, has allowed 33 runs in his L/ 38 innings of work since coming off the disabled list back in late July, and almost always looks like a candidate for a beat down , because of his shabby control. The 6'4 native of the Dominican Republic owns a 2-3 record along with a 5.09 ERA in six starts and two relief appearances against the White Sox in his career, and I am predicting another sub par effort is on the agenda. In this spot.
The White Sox have to keep pace with a win tonight, as they are now tied, with the Minnesota Twins for first place in the Central division. The way the Twins have played this season, the south siders , can not afford to lose many more games , in what is now, fast becomging, the most important part of their current campaign. With that said, I am recommending we back the ChiSox as they crank into in desperation mode!
Final notes & Key Trends: White Sox are 9-2 in the last 11 meetings . Indians are 2-6 in Carmonas last 8 starts vs. a team with a winning record . White Sox are 7-3 in Danks' last 10 starts vs. a team with a losing record . Play on the Chicago White Sox
Players of America
Chicago White Sox vs. Cleveland Indians
The Play: Chicago White Sox -105.0
Star Value: 1* (10 Units)
A complete story of our final third of the MLB season in a nutshell last night. We steamrolled through the first two thirds and things have really slowed down as of late. As we veer into the final stretch and post season play, we'll begin to focus more on key match ups across the board. The MLB regular season has brought a very nice overall profit in thus far (+563.70 units to date), but bigger things are planned ahead with the post season just a hop, skip and jump away. A solid, undefeated day in collegiate football saved us from an all around disaster. Here is Tuesday's action.
Our first event takes place at Progressive Field where the Cleveland Indians are set to host AL Central foe the Chicago White Sox. Cleveland has been on quite the heater as of late. They finally have started to swing the sticks and their pitching behind Cliff Lee has been well above average. With the season winding down, it's rather unlikely that the Tribe can make any sort of post season push, but that doesn't stand for their opponent tonight. The White Sox come into this game a half a game up in the division over the Twins, and they are right where they want to be.
The White Sox will put lefty John Danks on the mound to start. Danks comes in a solid 10-7 overall with a WHIP of 1.24 and an ERA of 3.28. Danks has been a very, very solid nucleus in this rotation all season long. He pitches well, throws hard and has a very commanding arsenal of pitches. The Sox have dropped six of their last ten overall, and as we all know this is NOT the time of year to be slumping. After Danks handles business, he'll be handing things over to a very, very strong bullpen. That bullpen of Chicago has a combined, average ERA of just 3.65 on the season in over 330 total innings pitched. This Chicago team is ready. They are ready to make a statement and pull ahead. Some say Twins, we say Sox.
Cleveland will start the powerful right handing heaver Fausto Carmona. Simply put, Carmona HAS NOT been the same man he was a year ago. He was plagued with injuries this season and has really never returned to his true form at all. He's a mediocre 7-5 on the season with a 1.60 WHIP and a 4.50 ERA. Cleveland has had big time troubles with run support in the past this year. We've constantly harped about this squad being a major let down, and quite truthfully.they still are. Their on a little spurt right now, but Chicago is the better team. Carmona is very, very capable of getting shaken up early with a few big hits, and from there that Cleveland bullpen is not capable of taking a game over in the 5th or 6th inning.
Chicago is the play here. They'll remain atop of the division with a win in Cleveland on Tuesday, and laying the small price should not be a problem. A 1* / 10 unit wager on Danks and the Sox to take care of the Tribe on the shores of Lake Erie.
TREND OF THE GAME:
-The White Sox are 9-2 in their last 11 meetings with the Indians
Chicago 5, Cleveland 2
Houston Astros vs. Chicago Cubs
The Play: Chicago Cubs -185.0
Star Value: 1* (10 Units)
Next, we'll be on one of those games that makes the customers just shake their head. Everyone hates laying major chalk, and rightfully so. However, sometimes there is value in that chalk. Dissecting match ups and exploiting that value is the difficult part. Well, on Tuesday night we found one. The Cubs host the Astros yet again at Wrigley field and it is about time for a Chicago win after two straight, embarrassing losses.
The big man in the middle will be Carlos Zambrano for Chicago. He's hyped up by the media and talked about all across the baseball world, but he really seems to live up to it. Now we know that the Cubs have already sketched their name in the post season slate, but baseball doesn't end two days into September. They need to stay fresh, stay on top of the game and the clubhouse knows that. Back to Z, Carlos comes in a very impressive 13-5 overall. He has thrown nearly 170 total innings in 2008 accumulating a WHIP of just 1.30 and an ERA of 3.52. Zambrano is 1-0 in his last three starts for the Cubbies too. Chicago has been steaming hot lately at 8-3 in their last 11. The fans know that it's definitely time for a victory tonight, starting at 8:05PM EST.
Houston elects to put right hander Brandon Backe on the mound. Brandon comes in 9-12 overall with a WHIP of 1.52 and an ERA of 5.42. He's gotten pretty roughed up his last three times out. His ERA in those three games has soared to 7.55 in just 19 total innings. Like the Cubs, Houston has been playing some solid baseball too. They are 8-2 through their last ten games, but out of the picture playoff wise unless some big time drama takes place. Backe threw against this Cubs team on August 6 in Wrigley and got absolutely shelled. The Cubs won that game 11-4 and the closest Houston came in that game was in the first 0-0. A while back (April 6), Zambrano and the Cubs met Backe and the Astros at Wrigley once again. The Cubs took the decision in that game too, 3-2.
Chicago has too much class, too much pride and just flat out too much raw talent to keep losing games to inferior teams at home. This is precisely why Vegas has set the opening line where it is. Laying the chalk should be worry free, and we'll do it for a 1* / 10 unit wager. The Cubs will handle Houston in front of an eager home crowd in Wrigley tonight.
TRENDS OF THE GAME:
-The Cubs are 7-2 in their last 9 games following a loss
-The Cubs are 25-9 in their last 34 games on grass
-The Cubs are 25-9 in their last 34 overall
-The Astros are 4-10 in their last 14 meetings in Chicago
Chicago 6, Houston 4
Seattle Mariners vs. Texas Rangers
The Play: Texas Rangers -145.0
Star Value: 1* (10 Units)
Finally, we'll be chasing down the Rangers as they host the Mariners in Texas once again. It was a fluke of a game last night, back and forth. The Rangers had a middle game lead, and threw it away with some poor decision making late. As we sat here and said yesterday, Seattle is awful. We refuse to change our stance on that due to one game, one loss. The Mariners played harder, smarter and with more consistency last night, but bad teams don't do that back to back nights.
Texas will start right hander Brandon McCarthy. Brandon has yet to receive a decision for the Rangers, but comes in with a solid ERA of 1.80. The Mariners will start Ryan Feierabend who is 0-1 for Seattle with a WHIP of 1.73 and an ERA of 6.00. If you want a glossy write up on this game, just look at last night's. There is no reason Texas couldn't have won that game, besides completely rolling over. Why won't they do that again tonight you might ask? Well, even if they do play to that caliber tonight, they are still fully capable of beating Seattle. The Mariners hit like they haven't done all season on Labor Day. The bullpen still has that inflated ERA and all that jazz.
Texas. Another juicy game, but worth the price in our eyes. A 1* / 10 unit wager on the Rangers laying the smack down on Seattle at home.
TRENDS OF THE GAME:
-The Rangers are 9-4 in their last 13 Tuesday games
-The Mariners are 16-35 in their last 51 meetings in Texas
Texas 10, Seattle 4
BOOKIE PAYS YOU:
Play heavy on the Red Sox