Wednesday Service Plays

Sports Advisors

Chicago Cubs (95-61) at N.Y. Mets (87-70)

Oliver Perez (10-7, 4.10 ERA) takes the mound for his most important start of the season as he tries to get the Mets one step closer to the playoffs with a win over the Cubs, who will hand the ball to ace Carlos Zambrano (14-6, 3.77).

Behind another outstanding pitching performance from ace Johan Santana, New York snapped a three-game losing skid with Tuesday’s 6-2 victory over Chicago. The Mets pulled to within 1½ games of the Phillies in the N.L. Central while remaining one game ahead of the Brewers in the wild-card race. Jerry Manuel’s club is on runs of 25-12 at home, 5-1 against the N.L. Central and 20-7 when playing on Wednesday.

Chicago, which locked up its second straight division title on Saturday and clinched home-field advantage throughout the National League playoffs with Monday’s 9-5 win over the Mets, is on streaks of 9-3 overall, 20-7 on the road and 11-5 against the N.L. East. Also, with Zambrano on the hill, Lou Pineilla’s squad is on runs of 7-3 overall, 36-15 on the road and 5-0 versus the N.L. East.

The Cubs are now 3-1 against the Mets this season, with their three wins coming by the combined score of 24-7. However, New York is 10-4 in the last 14 meetings at Shea Stadium (5-1 in the last six).

Zambrano delivered the Cubs’ first no-hitter since 1972 back on Sept. 14, blanking the Astros 5-0 in a neutral-site game in Milwaukee. However, he followed that up with his worst start of the season Friday, giving up eight runs (all earned) in 1 2/3 innings, losing 12-6 to the Cardinals at home. Big Z is 7-4 with a 3.77 ERA on the road, with Chicago winning his last four starts on the highway.

Perez has given up three earned runs or fewer in seven of his last nine outings, with New York going 7-2 during this stretch, including Friday’s 9-5 win at Atlanta. The southpaw is 4-2 with a 4.27 ERA in 15 starts at Shea, nine of which the Mets have won.

Zambrano is 4-1 with a 2.91 ERA in seven appearances (six starts) against the Mets, including a 7-1 home victory on April 21 when he gave up just the one run on five hits in seven innings. Meanwhile, Perez is 1-3 with a 4.97 ERA in seven starts against the Cubs, the most recent coming in 2005 when he was with the Pirates.

The over is 7-0-1 in Perez’s last eight starts overall, 4-0 in his last four at home, 8-2 in Zambrano’s last 10 overall, 3-1 in his last four as a visitor, 4-1 in his last five against New York and 11-5 in his last 16 against the N.L. East.

The over is 12-3-1 in the last 16 head-to-head clashes between the Cubs and Mets, including 8-1 in the last nine at Shea. The over is also on streaks of 12-5 for the Cubs against the East, 6-1 for the Mets overall, 14-5-1 for the Mets at home and 37-17-3 for the Mets versus the N.L. Central,

ATS ADVANTAGE: OVER

AMERICAN LEAGUE

Chicago White Sox (86-70) at Minnesota Twins (85-72)

The two teams atop the standings in the A.L. Central continue their most important series of the season at the Metrodome, with the White Sox pitting veteran Mark Buehrle (14-11, 3.87) against Minnesota youngster Nick Blackburn (10-10, 4.15).

The Twins hammered Chicago 9-3 in Tuesday’s series opener to cut their deficit in the A.L. Central to 1½ games. Despite the crucial victory, Minnesota is still just 3-6 in its last nine overall, but Ron Gardenhire’s club does sport positive trends of 46-20 at home and 17-4 in the dome against lefty starters.

Chicago is in the midst of a 10-game road trip that has seen the team go 3-5 so far, and the White Sox have now lost 10 of their last 15 games on the highway. On the bright side, the Pale Hose are on positive runs of 5-2 within the division and 9-2 on Wednesdays, but they’ve dropped 21 of their last 28 on artificial turf.

The home team has dominated this rivalry in 2008, winning 13 of the 16 meetings, with the Twins going 6-1 hosting Chicago.

Buehrle has come up huge in September, delivering four straight quality starts (two at home, two on the road), going 3-1 with a 2.13 ERA after going 3-2 with a 5.86 ERA in August. The veteran lefty was terrific in his last two starts, both on the road (five earned runs in 12 innings with eight strikeouts and one walk), but he’s still 4-9 with a 5.14 ERA on foreign soil as opposed to 10-3 with a 2.74 ERA in Chicago.

Like Buehrle, Blackburn sports a dramatic home-road split, going 7-3 with a 2.92 ERA in the Metrodome, compared with 3-7 with a 5.20 ERA on the highway. His last two starts came in Baltimore and Tampa Bay, and the lefty got punished, allowing six runs in each outing while lasting a total of 5 1/3 innings, moving his season ERA from 3.67 to 4.15. Finally, Minnesota is 9-4 when Blackburn toils inside the dome, but 5-13 on the road.

Buehrle is 21-12 with a 3.85 ERA in 36 appearances (34 starts) against the Twins, but this year he’s 1-2 with a 5.79 ERA versus Minnesota in three outings. As for Blackburn, he’s faced the White Sox four times this year, going 1-2 with a 5.63 ERA. Not surprisingly, the one win came in his lone home outing versus Chicago, a 4-3 victory way back on April 30.

The over is 8-1 in the last eight meetings between these rivals (4-1 in Minnesota). Also, the over for the Twins is on runs of 6-1 overall, 9-1-1 against winning teams, 8-3-1 in divisional battles, 10-3-1 on turf and 4-0-1 when Blackburn battles an A.L. Central foe. Also, the over is 5-1-1 in Buehrle’s last seven outings overall

ATS ADVANTAGE: OVER

Bobby Maxwell

Cleveland +165 at BOSTON

Call it the champagne hangover, but most teams who clinch a plaoyff spot and have a celebration in the locker room one night, doesn't usually bounce back too well the next day. We took the Twins the day after Tampa Bay clinched a spot and we'll play the Indians tonight after Boston celebrated last night.

Boston scored a 5-4 win on Tuesday to earn a spot in the postseason and I think the Red Sox realize they are probably too far behind the Rays to catch them in the A.L. East standings, trailing by 2 1/2 games with just five remaining.

The Red Sox have Paul Byrd (11-12, 4.53 ERA) going tonight and this guy struggles normally at home, even without the champagne hangover. Byrd is 0-1 in his last two starts with a 6.55 ERA and he is 1-2 with a 6.05 ERA in his last three starts at Fenway Park.

Fausto Carmona (8-7, 5.19) goes for the Tribe and he is 1-2 with a 5.00 ERA in one start and two relief appearances against the Red Sox. But tonight his stuff will look unhittable as Boston comes out sluggish.

Let's grab the plus money and play the Indians tonight.

3♦ CLEVELAND

Dave Cokin

NYY Yankees @ TOR Blue Jays
Take TOR Blue Jays

The Yankees are now officially out of the playoff chase and they're facing a pitcher with major incentive tonight. Blue Jays righty Burnett has 18 wins. If he nabs the decision tonight, it's likely he'll get a chance to win #20 on the season's final day. The Yankees worked hard to get Mike Mussina his 19th last night, tonight it's Toronto's turn.

Jim Feist

CHW White Sox @ MIN Twins
Take MIN Twins

Big series here for these two teams as the AL Central is on the line. The prize is obvious, the winner goes to the playoffs and the loser is done for the year. White Sox are just 35-43 on the road this year while Minnesota is 49-26 at home. However it ends for the Twins they have to consider 2008 a success. With a big makeover in the offseason and entering as the eighth best team according to the Vegas oddsmakers, they have nothing to really lose here. Mark Buehrle starts for the Sox at 14-11 on the year with a 3.87 era. The 29-year lefty has seen his era rise since the All star break, but he's still had a very good year. The Twins have given him problems this year as he's just 1-2 with a 5.79 era against them. Nick Blackburn will start for the Twins. He's 10-10 with a 4.15 era. A team like the Twins isn't expected to do much and therefore they will play looser in this kind of game, while the Sox are expected to produce. We'll take our shot here today with Minnesota who has nothing to lose.

Alex Smart

Oakland Athletics @ Texas Rangers
PICK: Texas Rangers

Matt Harrison ( 8-3, 5.68 ERA) the Rangers starting hurler today , goes against a A's offense that struggles mightily against lefites, as is evident by having recorded the worst OPS in the majors against unorthodox pitching with a (.638) average ... Harrison has owned the Atheltics this season registering a 2-0 mark along with a minuscule 0.65 ERA in 14 innings of work that includes a five-hitter in his last start against them .Considering the native of North Carolina's domination in this series, it will be an easy decision to back him and the Rangers in this spot.

Meanwhuile,Dana Eveland (8-9,4.09 ERA)the As starting pitcher for this tilt in Arlington, just got back from the minors. He pitched well in his first start after his return, but has had a lot of problems with his control all season. The southpaw could easily wilt and regress, in the Texas heat this afternoon against a Rangers offense that has averaged 5.9 RPG at home this season.

Marc Lawrence

GAME: Arizona Diamondbacks @ St. Louis Cardinals
PICK: Arizona Diamondbacks

Note: Max Scherzer has had nothing but bad luck this season, going winless in his six team starts for the Diamondbacks. The results don't tell the story, however, as Scherzer has hurled extremely well in those starts.

He enters tonight game in great KW form with 5 walks and 28 strikeouts in his last three starts. He's been even better on the road with 3 walks and 25 strikeouts in his three road efforts. Look for Scherzer to break through to the winners circle here tonight. Take the Diamondbacks.

We recommend a 1-unit play on Arizona with Scherzer.

Scott Ferrall

AJ Burnett and Jays -160 over the Yankees and Phil Hughes, who never wins and hasn't won one single game the whole year despite being on the DL for most of it

BOSTON -185 and Paul Byrd over the Indians and Carmona at Fenway

Estes and the Padres +190 in the UPSET SPECIAL over the Dodgers and Kershaw, just when the Dodgers need it mostTAKE BRETT MYERS and the PHILLIES (no early line) over the Braves at CitizensTB -150 at Baltimore--Jackson gets the Rays going in their tuneup games before the playoffs

Bob Harvey

Florida Marlins -140

Florida pitcher Josh Johnson should be among the front-runners for the NL’s Comeback Player of the year award. Here’s a guy that was out of baseball for nearly two years and has bounced back to post a 6-1 record with a 3.65 ERA. will try to win his third straight start. He pitched five innings against the Phillies on Friday, allowing six runs - five earned - and seven hits in a 14-8 win. The right-hander is 2-0 with a 3.15 ERA in three starts and one relief appearance against the Nationals. On Sept. 13, he pitched six innings, allowing two runs and six hits in a 4-2 win over Washington. While the loss ended its postseason hopes, Florida can hand the Nationals their 100th loss of the season if it wins the next two games. The Marlins also could play spoiler this weekend, wrapping up the regular season in New York against the NL wild card-leading Mets. Even though they’ve lost four straight and will be outside looking in when the playoffs begin, the Fish still have something to play for. They’re guaranteed at least a .500 record and you figure they’ll want to top that. Look for Johnson to make another strong start as the Marlins finish strong over the final five games.

BRAD DIAMOND SPORTS

Play on: Cleveland over Boston

The action line on this encounter is unusual considering the playoff status of both clubs and the opposing projected hurlers, Carmona versus Byrd. Cleveland has won 7 straight, 5 in a row versus RHP and 4-0 on the road versus a team with a winning record. Although the Sox are 5-1 with Byrd of late and 5-1 in the most recent meetings with Cleveland, prefer the visitor here.

Jimmy The Moose

Kansas City Royals at Detroit Tigers
Prediction: Kansas City Royals

The red hot Royals are 10-2 in their last 12 games. In their last 9 games vs. a team with a losing record the Royals are 9-0. KC is 9-4 in their last 13 games vs. a left-handed starter. The Royals are 7-2 in Bannisters last 9 road starts vs. a team with a losing record. In his last 20 starts overall vs. a team with a losing record the Royals are 14-6. Tigers are 7-20 in their last 27 overall. They are 3-9 in their last 12 home games vs. a team with a losing record. Detroit has lost 4 of Robertson's last 5 starts. In his last 28 starts vs. a team from the AL Central the Tigers are 8-20. KC has won 6 of their last 8 trips to Detroit. Play on the Royals +.

Frank Jordan

Tampa Bay Rays vs. Baltimore Orioles
Play: Tampa Bay Rays

Tampa Bay swept the double header Tuesday and will go for the series sweep on Wednesday as they look to keep their 3 game edge and one step closer to a division crown. Play Tampa Bay

Bryan Leonard

2* Tampa Bay over Baltimore

There is no doubt about what these teams are trying to accomplish. The Rays are about to clinch their first ever playoff spot as they head down the stretch very focused. Tampa has won seven of their last nine games with pitching leading the way. In those seven victories the Rays allowed just 16 total runs. This is a team with something to prove and they are living up to their talent level.The same cannot be said of the host as once again the Orioles are long out of the playoffs and just playing out the string. Baltimore has now lost eight straight games heading into Wednesday, dropping 25 of their last 30 games overall. To top it off the Orioles have dropped 11 straight games to Tampa Bay.Today Baltimore sends to the hill Radhames Liz who owns a whopping 6.69 ERA on the season. The sad part for Orioles fans is that they have very little pitching help in the minors which is why Liz is still in the rotation. If the 6.69 ERA doesn't scare you enough maybe his miniscule 52 to 48 strikeout to walk ratio will do the trick.Anyway you slice it the Orioles and their organization have quit on their fans. Today's opponent is the small market team who did it right, building from the inside. Along with the Tigers you can put a fork in the Orioles, they are done.

Vegas Experts

Florida Marlins at Washington Nationals

Both of these teams came into this series riding multi-game losing streaks and surprisingly it was the Nats that put an end to theirs in the series opener Tuesday night. However, we look for the Fish to return the favor tonight as Florida is still 6-1 in the Nation's Capital this year and has beaten Washington in 13 of 16 meetings this season overall. Marlins starter Josh Johnson has a perfect 8-0 team start record in division play this year.

Play on: Florida

WSP Smooth 44

Top-rated

Oakland +105