Wunderdog
Boston at New York Yankees
Pick: New York Yankees -118
Boston is trying to put the nail in the coffin of their hated rivals. But we think New York pride steps up tonight. Six games back of the Sox, New York simply must win here to keep reasonable hopes alive. The Yankees hit rock bottom last night with A-Rod going 0-for-5 and losing 7-3. That's why we like them here. They face a losing pitcher in Paul Byrd who hasn't looked good since being acquired from the Indians. Despite last night's seven-run performance, the Red Sox average just 4.6 runs per game on the road this season, on their way to a losing record. They are 24-31 on the road against RHP and really should be a bigger dog here. We'll take the Yankees at the short price in the must-win.
BlackMagicSports
1 Unit on Seattle Mariners +1.5 +115
Seattle has held the Minnesota Twins to just 4 runs in two games in their current 3-game series. The won both games, and now the Mariners have won 4 of their last 5 games overall. Getting Seattle on the +1.5 Run Line as an underdog today is simply a price that I’m not going to pass up. Ryan Feierabend pitched well in his only home start this season, allowing just 5 hits and 1 earned run while striking out five batters. The Mariners are 4-1 at home against the Twins this season, yet they are a huge underdog today. Minnesota is a terrible road team and it’s showing with this series. Minnesota is 33-47 after scoring 2 runs or less over the last 2 seasons. Even if the Twins win this game by one run, you still win your bets! Cash in with the Mariners on the +1.5 Run Line tonight.
MIKE ROSE
3* Diamondbacks/Padres over 7.5
Fairway Jay
3* Diamondbacks/Padres over 7.5
Teddy Covers
3* Diamondbacks/Padres under 7.5
Maddux Sports
3 units on Florida -115
3 units on Minnesota -170
3 units on NY Yankees -115
Info Plays
3* on Milwaukee Brewers +134
Milwaukee is 10-4 against the Cardinals this season, including 6-2 when playing at St. Louis. Last night’s 12-0 win over the Cardinals was the fifth straight win for the Brewers at St. Louis. The Cardinals are scoring just 4.1 runs per game against lefty starters this season. The Brewers are 24-11 after allowing 2 runs or less this season. We’ll Play On - Any team (MILWAUKEE) - after two straight games where they had 15 or more hits, with a hot bullpen whose ERA is under 2.00 the last 5 games. This is a 45-17 ML System hitting 72.6% since 1997. We’ll take the hotter team right now which is clearly the Brewers at a great value. Bet Milwaukee on the road.
Lenny Del Genio
Game: Milwaukee Brewers at St Louis Cardinals PM
Prediction: St Louis Cardinals
Tony La Russa, the Cards have always been a great bounce-back team. And following yesterday's 12-0 debacle, there is plenty of bouncing to do this evening. St. Louis is 36-23 off a loss this season to begin with, including 15-6 if the loss was by four or more runs. This is such a critical game in the Wild Card race for the home team, who has dropped six of eight at home to their division rivals. Adam Wainwright is 5-1 with a 2.79 ERA at home this year and will lead the focused effort. Milwaukee is just 5-15 on the road after scoring 9 or more runs. Take St. Louis.
Ben Burns
Game: Milwaukee Brewers at St Louis Cardinals
Prediction: St Louis Cardinals
The price on St. Louis has dropped into a reasonable range, where I now believe we're getting some solid value. This is a big game for the Brewers but it's absolutely critical for the Cardinals. Even if they are already counting themselves out of the playoff race, the Cards should be highly motivated to get some payback after getting embarrassed 12-0 yesterday. With Adam Wainwright on the mound, the Cards should be able to bounce back with a victory. Wainwright, who showed absolutely no rust after a stint on the disabled list, is 5-1 with a stellar 2.76 ERA and 1.023 WHIP at home this season. On the other hand, Parra hasn't been nearly as good on the road. The Cardinals have always been excellent at bouncing back from a shutout loss. They're 16-7 their last 23 in that situation and a highly profitable 50-29 (+17.9) the past decade. Consider ST. LOUIS
Stephen Nover
Los Angeles Dodgers @ Washington Nationals
PICK: Washington Nationals
At this price and with this pitching matchup, the Dodgers are worth fading.
Los Angeles is 1-7 in its last eight games. Sure Washington has a horrible offense, ranking 30th in runs scored. But the Dodgers are in a horrendous hitting slump. They rank 25th in runs and have scored only 15 runs during their last eight games. They haven't scored more than three runs in any of their last eight games.
Greg Maddux gets the start for Los Angeles. Outside of Petco Park this season, the 42-year-old Maddux has a 6.16 ERA. He's not a big strikeout pitcher and the Dodgers' defense has gotten considerably worse.
Los Angeles' bullpen also hasn't been performing well. Closer Jonathan Broxton has a 7.88 ERA in his past eight outings.
Washington is 17-10 this season when Tim Redding is on the hill. Redding is off a strong performance against the Phillies on Thursday. He gave up just one run on three hits in six innings. He gives the Nationals a strong chance to win against a struggling club with a starter that has been terrible on the road.
Larry Ness
Florida Marlins @ Atlanta Braves
PICK: Florida Marlins
After an impressive 12-7 (3.10 ERA) season in '06, Florida's Josh Johnson made just four starts in '07 (15.2 IP / 13 ERs / 7.47 ERA), going 0-3 before undergoing Tommy John surgery on Aug. 3. He began the '08 season on the DL because of nerve irritation in his arm and didn't return to the Marlins' rotation until July 10. However, he threw 88 pitches over five innings in his first appearance since July of 2007, allowing three runs, three hits and no walks while striking out six. The Marlins won that game, as well as his next five starts (Johnson was 3-0), before losing his last two outings. Johnson did not pitch poorly in those games though, going six innings and allowing three ERs in each outing. Tonight, he'll face a pitcher (Mike Hampton) who has had even more injury problems. Hampton missed the previous two seasons due to elbow operations and had his 2008 debut pushed back almost four months by other injuries. His first start came on July 26 at Philadelphia, as he allowed eight hits and six ERs over four innings of a 10-9 Atlanta loss (he did not get a decision). He looked pretty bad in his first four starts of '08, allowing 34 hits and 19 ERs in 20 innings (8.10 ERA) but over his last two, has a 3.75 ERA. However, he has allowed 15 hits and three walks over 12 innings in those two games, which is a lot of base runners to allow. Florida has now lost four of seven games on its current nine-game road trip, losing last night in Atlanta when the Braves scored four times in the bottom of the ninth for a 10-9 win. The Marlins are now six games behind NL East-leading Philadelphia but the win by the Braves was just their third in the last 15 overall games. Atlanta, which opened the year playing very well at home, has dropped 13 of its last 17 contests at Turner Field. In a 'battle' between two pitchers on "the comeback trail," I'll go with Johnson and the Marlins.
3Daily Winners
Oakland Athletics vs. LAA Angels
Play: LAA Angels
Joe Saunders and his Angels mates are is 29-11 against the money line in night games since he became a spot starter back in 2006 and they are 10-3 this year at the Big A. They will face LH Gio Gonzalez and are 24-12 against lefties in 2008. The Halos are backed by this remarkable system today - PLAY ON home favorites like the Angels, with a money line of -175 to -250, with a team batting average of .265 or worse on the season (AL), after a win by four runs or more. This system is 22-3, 88 percent since 2006. The freight is heavy, but nothing good comes cheap in baseball this time of year.
Black Widow Sports
1* on Twins/Mariners U 9
Minnesota’s Glen Perkins features a 1.64 ERA over his last 3 starts and Seattle’s Ryan Feierabend offers a 1.80 ERA at home this season. The Mariners and Twins have combined to score just 11 runs in their first two games of this series, both going UNDER the number. The UNDER is 13-3 in Paul Nauert’s last 16 games behind home plate. Nauert has a big strike zone behind home plate, giving the pitchers the advantage. Both teams are struggling to score runs right now and that trend will continue tonight. Take the UNDER 9 runs here.
BIG AL
BASEBALL PENNANT CHASE PUNISHER
MARLINS
kbhoops
5 units Texas Rangers +100 **POD**