B!G AL's #1 BASEBALL TOTALS PLAY FOR WEDNESDAY.
At 7:05pm our selection is on the San Diego Padres and New York Yankees 'under' the total. Jake Peavy recently made his first start in almost an entire month after being on the DL with an elbow injury, and it seemed like no problem to get back to where Peavy used to be as he pitched what seemed like an effortless six innings of shutout ball while allowing only three hits and no free passes. No doubt Peavy probably could have gone much longer but was being held back by his cautious management. Tonight will be a tougher test as instead of facing the Dodgers at home, he will be going into an unfriendly Yankee Stadium to face San Diego's one-time World Series opponent. But Peavy's good enough to handle the challenge. On the other side of the diamond, more pressure will be put on young Yankee pitchers like 27-year-old righthander (and tonight's starter) Darrell Rasner since injuries continue to bite the Yankee staff (the latest being the loss of ace Chien-Ming Wang for up to 6 weeks). Fortunately for New York, Rasner has been lights out when pitching at home so far with a 2-1 record and 1.71 ERA in the Bronx (compared to a 1-3 record with a 5.57 ERA on the road). Take the 'under'
B!G AL's #1 SIDE SELECTION IN WEDNESDAY MLB ACTION
At 7:10pm our selection is on the Chicago Cubs over the Tampa Bay Rays. If there was any doubt about the Rays being a real team this season, that should have been put to bed on Tuesday night when Tampa beat the team with the best record in baseball, 3-2, in the opening game of this series. Tampa will try to make it two in a row against the Cubs but will have a much tougher test tonight as Chicago sends righthanded ace Carlos Zambrano to the mound in this one to face Tampa's righthander Andy Sonnanstine. Even though Zambrano has not been at his best recently, most of the damage to his stats was done in just one particularly bad outing against the Dodgers on June 7. Look for Zambrano to pitch much more like the player who has a 2.98 ERA and whose team has won 10 of his 15 starts. Despite the loss of all-star outfielder Alfonso Soriano, Chicago keeps on rolling and it has won six of its last eight games and holds a 3 1/2 game lead over St. Louis in the National League Central Division. Sonnanstine has a 5.32 ERA at home this season and he typically doesn't go very deep into the game as he has failed to go six innings in any of his last four starts. Take the Cubs.
Tom Freese
San Diego at New York
San Diego is 12-5 UNDER after allowing 5 or more runs in their last game and they are 9-3 UNDER 9-3 UNDER in Game 2 of s series. The Padres are 6-2 UNDER with Jake Peavy if their opponent scored 5 or more runs in their last game. The Yankees are 21-7-1 UNDER their last 29 as favorites of -110 to -150 and they are 6-2 UNDER with Darrell Rasner on the mound as a favorite. PLAY ON 'UNDER'
SPORTS GAMBLING HOTLINE
Tough to make a case against the NY Yankees right now, so we won't!
Take New York to extend their winning streak to a season-high 6 in a row tonight at home against the slumping Fathers.
San Diego is just 11-23 on the road this season, and are currently in the midst of a 2-game slide, and have also dropped 4 of their last 7 games.
The Padres were shutout last night, and will be hard-pressed to keep pace with the Yankees' offense which is now firing on all cylinders. You may say that Jake Peavy should have the decided edge over his counterpart Darrell Rasner, but take a look a Peavy's road ERA for this season, it stands at 5.40, and in his last road assignment, he did allow 4 runs in just 4 innings of work at Wrigley Field.
We have a feeling the Yanks will continue their hot-hitting, and improve on their 10-3 run their last 13 games.
Play on the Bronx Bombers.
3* NY YANKEES
Louie Mayo
(5*) Atlanta -110
(3*) Cubs -120
(1*) Red Sox +100
TONY MATHEWS
Washington Nationals vs. Minnesota Twins
Selection: Washington/Minnesota Over 8.5
Explanation: We expect a high-scoring game as the Washington Nationals face-off against the Minnesota Twins in Wednesday's MLB contest.
The Washington Nationals will use starting pitcher Jason Bergmann. Jason Bergmann has been struggling as of late. In fact, Jason Bergmann has a 7.47 ERA in his last 3 starts. We see Jason Bergmann giving up many runs once again today.
The Minnesota Twins will use starting pitcher Kevin Slowey. Kevin Slowey has also been struggling as of late. In fact, Kevin Slowey has a 7.41 ERA in his last 3 starts. We see Kevin Slowey also giving up many runs today.
The bottom line, we expect to see another high-scoring game today!
Take the Washington Nationals/Minnesota Twins Over 8.5
PlusLineSports Daily Baseball Selection
Detroit Tigers -1.5
LT Profits
Toronto Blue Jays +115
This expected pitchers’ duel is a contrast in styles, as the precise Shaun Marcum of the Toronto Blue Jays taking on the harder throwing Ben Sheets of the Milwaukee Brewers.
Still, Marcum has been very Greg Maddux-esque in his prime this season, with a 2.43 ERA and a fantastic 0.99 WHIP in 92.2 innings. He has also maintained his for extremely well, allowing exactly one run in three of his last four starts and two runs in the other outing. Marcum has been a model of consistency, allowing three earned runs or less in 12 of his 14 starts this season, and if he is in need of relief, he has the support of a Toronto pen that ranks fifth in the Major Leagues with a 3.13 ERA.
Now Sheets is obviously one of the best pitchers in the league, as he is 7-1 with a 2.72 ERA and a 1.07 WHIP. However, this may be the first time all year that he actually has a higher ERA and WHIP than his mound opponent. Still, Sheets has been unhittable at times, so do not be surprised if this is a tight contest late that will be decided by the bullpens.
This would strongly favor underdog Toronto, as the Brewers rank 19th in the majors with a 4.12 pen ERA.
Pick: Blue Jays +115
Atlanta Braves -105
Jo-Jo Reyes of the Atlanta Braves is in raging form right now, and he is one of the few Braves that have not minded pitching on the road, so he gets the call over young Eric Hurley and the Texas Rangers tonight.
Reyers allowed just two runs and five hits at Anaheim in a 5-2 Braves win in his last start, giving him three Quality Starts in his last four outing. Even more encouraging is the fact that Reyes has a nice 3.32 ERA and an outstanding 1.06 WHIP on the road this season, and the southpaw should be tough on a Texas lineup that is hitting .220 vs. left-handers over the last 10 games and has never seen him before.
Hurley is making his second Major League start for Texas, and he was only decent in his first start in what turned out to be a 6-5 Rangers loss at Kansas City. Hurley is certainly not a highly regarded prospect, and he was only 2-5 with a 5.30 ERA in AAA ball before his call-up.
As if that is not bad enough, Texas might be without clean-up hitter Milton Bradley tonight after he injured a quad muscle last night.
Pick: Braves -105
BEN BURNS
Pittsburgh Pirates @ Chicago White Sox
PICK: Chicago White Sox
REASON FOR PICK: The White Sox took yesterday's opener and this evening's 'all southpaw' matchup favors them again here. Buehrle has shaken off a sluggish start to the season and is coming off back to back gems. In both those starts, he allowed one run through eight complete innings. His most recent home start resulted in an 11-2 victory over the Twins. Not that he's needed much relief lately but it's worth noting that Buehrle is supported by a White Sox bullpen which has a stellar 2.68 ERA and 1.175 WHIP on the season. (That compares very favorably to a Pittsburgh 'pen which has a combined 5.56 ERA and 1.609 WHIP on the road.) It's also worth noting that Buehrle is 2-0 with a 1.80 ERA in two starts vs the Pirates, beating them 6-1 last year and 4-2 the previous year.
Buehrle will be opposed by Tom Gorzellany, who is 1-4 with an awful 9.23 ERA and 1.898 WHIP on the road for the year, averaging less than 4 1/2 innings per outing. As a team, the Pirates are 13-22 on the road. They played without Xavier Nady and Jason Bay yesterday and both are questionable again today. They're also now 1-3 in Interleague play, falling to 9-25 since 2006 and a money 58-97 (-34.1) their last 155. During that stretch, the White Sox were a profitable 113-91 (+17.7) in I.L. play, including a 5-2 mark this season. They're also a solid 22-11 at home - only the Red Sox and Cubs have fewer home losses. Consider laying the price with Chicago.
Priceless Picks
1 Unit Free Play on LA Angels -134
If the Mets couldn't get the job done with Santana on the hill yesterday, they won't be able to get it done with Perez today. The Angels are 17-5 in their last 22 games vs. a left-handed starter, 8-1 in their last 9 home games vs. a left-handed starter, 9-2 in their last 11 interleague games as a favorite of -110 to -150, and 14-5 in their last 19 interleague home games. The Mets are 1-5 in Perez's last 6 road starts and 1-5 in their last 6 road games. The Mets are also 8-20 in their last 28 road games vs. a right-handed starter. Bet the Halos.
Jeff Alexander Sports
1 Unit Free Play on Baltimore Orioles -154
The Astros are ice cold. They are 0-4 in their last 4 meetings in Baltimore and 0-4 in their last 4 games overall with the O's. The Astros are just 5-16 in their last 21 overall and 18-45 in their last 63 interleague games as an underdog. Houston is 0-7 in its last 7 vs. the American League East, 1-11 in its last 12 games as an underdog, and 1-8 in its last 9 road games. The Orioles are 12-4 in their last 16 games as a favorite, 6-1 in their last 7 vs. the National League Central, and 7-2 in their last 9 games vs. a right-handed starter. Bet the O's tonight.
B Burns Early total pick Under SF
B Burns Getaway Day Game of Week Phillies
The Straley Group
Cleveland Indians
Lenny Del Genio Afternoon Delight
Phillies
Scott Delaney
For Wednesday, we're siding against JustinMasterson, we’re betting against a right-hander who lost his last start, giving up three earned runs in Cincinnati. True, he lasted seven innings, but these aren’t the Reds – these are the red-hot Phils, who have provided plentiful for Kendrick, winning 10 of his last 11 starts. They’ve also cashed in 18 of the last 24 times he’s been installed as the favorite, they’re 4-1 in his last five home starts and 6-0 the last six times he’s faced a winning team.
Kendrick has continued his notable campaign for the first-place Phillies, as he’s won six of his eight decisions, and is 3-1 at home on the year. He is 2-0 in his last three starts, and turned in an awfully impressive outing in St. Louis last week, lasting seven innings and giving up just one earned run for the win. He should be able to keep the BoSox off-balance, as the defending champs are 4-11 in their last 15 road games against a right-handed starter. Lay the low chalk here as the Phils roll to a solid win over Boston.
3* PHILLIES
Kyle Baugues
MLB Best Bets
3* Philadelphia Phillies/Kendrick -115
2* San Diego Padres/Peavy Even
2* Washington Nationals/Bergmann +125